Part 1 ended with "Why would someone turn in a bogus request for a CMA giving a mortgage lenders' email address and phone #"?
Not finding peace in the situation, I decided to see if I could contact the real property owner. That was easy enough, I cross referenced the tax record owner name with the local phonebook and matched addresses. A sweet sounding older woman answered the phone. I explained first of all that she did not know me, I am a local REALTOR, and that I would need her patience as I explained the reason(s) for my call. I also let her know that I was not trying to convince her to list with me or in any way do business with me. (I forgot to check the DNC list--oops...)
I went over the information with her that I had already shared with you. I asked her if she had recently applied for a loan, or, if by chance she might be in a foreclosure situation. She answered no to both of those questions. I apologized for bothering her, but she assured me that she was glad that I called. She felt that alerting her about inquiries of her property address was the right thing to do. We both agreed that under the circumstances it might be prudent for her to keep an eye on her bank accounts, credit cards, and mail. If she felt uncomfortable about anything to contact a trusted party for help.
About an hour later my phone rang. I expected the call. It was from relatives of the above property owner. Now, they were concerned about my contact with the elderly mother. Once again, I began going through the information. Come to find out they owned the home in back of the mom. The address was the same except that their address had an "A" attached to it. They had recently applied to refinance their home through the previously mentioned lender.
However, the description of the property in the lead did not match either property. By this time things had just become more nebulous. This couple did not have a current internet conncection so I could not easily show them what I was talking about (also a strong indication that they would not have turned in the lead, then denied having done so). I told them I would bring the documents over as I lived about 5 minutes away.
After looking the lead over and comparing it to the property tax printout the owner immediately called his Loan Officer/Consultant. When the owner asked him why he told me that he had no knowledge of the address, the loan guy told the owner that it was their policy to claim "no knowledge" when unknown people called about properties--because once loan information hit the Internet others try to "piggyback" and get in on the transaction somehow (I did not hear this explanation, this was how the owner explained the response to me). The property owner asked me if I was familiar with the "piggyback" term. I had no choice but to tell him that I, personally had not heard of that concept--but, it could be a valid explanation. I told them I would go to my network to see if there was a logical explanation for any of this. He asked me to please inform him of any feedback I get from my "network".
A few minutes later the Mortgage Consultant called the owner back to let him know his closing was set for 4 days away. (Odd timing). I left with nothing completely resolved. At least the owners of both homes are aware that the mom's home has been fraudulantly placed on the Internet for a CMA. We could proably get to the bottom of this only if the lead provider were willing to reveal the computer that the lead actually originated from.
Although the couple was not buying or selling, they mentioned they have friends who are considering selling. They asked for several of my cards. Maybe this was a lead after all, it just required a LOT of unexpected work.
Market information: What did I find out?
1) The owner of the "A" property did ask me if the mentioned mortgage company was reputable. I reponded that I did not know, this was the first I had heard of them,
2) By this time I had so much invested in this information exchange, I felt I could ask a point blank question and get away with it. I asked them, "Did you check with local mortgage companies? ...Why would you go to an out of state lender?"
3) Yes, they did check locally. The rates were better with the lender they went with.
4) There are several "morals to the story" here. One that I got straight from the consumer is, "buy local is a good motto, its nice to trade with local people, but locals still need to be competitive with rates." So, I guess in the end it doesn't matter how much effort we put into the community, how much civic leading we do if our pricing is not competitive.
This is the end. Really. If you stuck with me this long, please tell me--What would you have done? Should I have simply dumped a bogus lead and gone on with my life? Was I correct in alerting the owners that someone was turning in their property for CMA requests?
Your professional comments will be shared with consumers. Thank you.
Comments(14)