I met this person that was scammed by someone in to buying a property to lease option to someone else. The person that sold to him convinced him to use his good credit, buy the home, and then sell it for a profit to someone with less than desirable credit that had picked the home they wanted to buy.

But, here was the problem, the home had a false appraisal done on it and the appraiser did an appraisal on this home for $15,000 more than he was buying for. The seller gave the $15,000 to the con artist, and told the investor with good credit that in two years the people living there would buy it from him for the $15,000 more than he just paid.

Only one problem! The buyers worked on their credit during those two years. They went to get a loan and when the appraisal came back it came back it came back for $30,000 less than they were being offered the house for. You see the value of the property didn't go up. The $15,000 that the fake appraisal brought in was now gone also. It left this seller out $15,000 if he wanted to sell to this buyer.

The seller was now stuck with a vacant home that he had never even seen along with 15 other homes that he was guessing when the lease ended were going to be in the same situation. He realized that he had been ripped off! I knew about the other 14 homes and when I got in to this one, I was scared, scared bad! It was the dirtiest house I had ever seen, but if I wanted to sell it, either the seller or I was going to have to clean it up.

The seller lived over 2 hours away and I wanted to get this home sold quickly. I knew I would have to do some work. I really only did the work to show that I was an agent that was willing to go the extra mile for my sellers. It worked, this home took me two weeks to clean and mow, but I got it done and it sold within days of that. It ended up costing him $35,000 out of pocket to close after closing costs and commissions, but it was sold.

My hope was that I would get the other 15 listings if and when the time came that he had to do something similar to what had happened on this home. Now, we are now less than 2 months from the next lease ending and I am looking at the numbers. Now he can either lower the price up front or he can take the home back and lose even more. I've advised him that the former would be his best option and I know by doing that I won't get 15 listings from him, but at the same time I am hoping to get a referral or two.

Now, in hindsight, would I have cleaned that property like I did for as little as it netted me in the end? I'm not sure, but I seriously doubt it. But, you never know. I do know that you have to go that extra mile for clients, but how far is too far?

Todd Clark - broker
Kastings & Associates
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

Todd Clark and the Friendly Home Team
Knipe Realty
Todd@IFoundYourNewHome.com
Phone: (503)524-9494
Fax: (503)622-8739

 

 

 I am a licensed Realtor who specializes in Washington County, Oregon and also work in both Clackamas and Multnomah Counties including the cities of Aloha, Beaverton, Canby, Clackamas, Gladstone, Gresham, Happy Valley, Hillsboro, Milwaukie, Oregon City, Sherwood and Tigard.
All information contained in these posts are copyrighted and cannot be used without prior written approval authorization from the author me Todd Clark. If you are looking for an outstanding agent please give me a call I would love to help you with all your real estate needs.

 

What if there was a way you could search the MLS for FREE just like Realtors

Now you can access the MLS using similar tools as Realtors. You are in control of what you want to search for, and you can search the MLS at your leisure. The information you submit in the form below can also be used to put you on an automated system where you'll be emailed all homes that meet your search criteria. You'll get internet access to a website that includes pictures, prices, and addresses to real estate that's listed in the MLS!

Click here to start your FREE home search now