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Seller duplicity - It ain't over til it's over

By
Real Estate Agent with Falcon Property Company

If you've been in real estate for any length of time, you recognize that every deal is different and there is no way to anticipate some of the crazy twists and turns ahead for a transaction, or how some people can find ways to try to beat the system. Over the two decades since this happened, the specifics are fuzzy, the Title Company is no longer in business, I've simplified details to make it understandable, but 'the punchline' is indeliby seared into my psyche.

You may know I started my career as sole support of five daughters. I mention this so you might understand the excitement of a $650,000 closing, and the difference the infusion that commission was going to mean in our lives.

ArrestThe buyers were excited about their move to town. They were anxious to get to their new house and prepare it for the moving truck that was sitting in the parking lot.

Everyone was signing paperwork when the closing room door opened. I remember the confusion of seeing policemen standing in the doorway, the momentary eerie stillness that enveloped the entire building, and then the cacophony of confusion that followed as Mr. Seller was handcuffed and removed from the proceedings.

We sat in stunned silence as they explained that Mr. Seller, who owned his house free and clear, had already sold it twice that morning, and this was his third closing. He had represented himself on all of the closings. He set back-to-back closings at different Title Companies believing he wouldn't get caught, and after this sale he planned to board a plane to South American with his almost two million dollars in proceeds.

Unbeknownst to him, two of the Title Companies shared a plant for checking title and were alerted to the duplicity. Needing to catch him in the act, they allowed it to get to closing. I was never clear on the details of how that worked, but the first one was a legitimate closing, the second one they needed for conviction, and the third one never actually closed. What I was clear about was that we were all in the middle of a nightmare.

What happened from there became a blur. The Buyers moved into a rental as we all recovered from the shock. Over time I absolved myself of guilt with the knowledge that there was absolutely nothing I nor anyone else could have done to anticipate, prepare for, or prevent the outcome. One of the valuable lessons learned from this one: Never spend your commission before the check clears your account. 

Comments (102)

Victoria CB Trees
Victoria CB Trees Real Estate Services - Chiloquin, OR
Principal Broker

I don't even LOOK at the Buyer's Agent share in a listing, nor do I figure out what the commission is when I list a property.  There's something about the anticipation of that paycheck that feels like it's a "jinx" to know what could be coming...

Apr 12, 2016 06:07 AM
Mimi Foster

I'm the same way . . . now :) Lessons learned . . . 

Apr 12, 2016 07:03 AM
Derrick Guevremont
Counselor Realty of Rochester - Rochester, MN
Rochester MN Homes for Sale

Oh man.  What a bummer.  That would make me sick to my stomach.  But I guess it wouldn't be the first time.  My story involves a seller accepting two offers and trying to figure out which one was going to close.  The listing agent didn't realize the first offer was still valid until a week before closing, when he found out and told us...  Oh boy.  What a deal that was.  That's a whole other blog.

Apr 12, 2016 08:27 AM
Mimi Foster

Would love to read that blog, Derrick. That sounds like a great story! (Thanks for the follow!)

Apr 12, 2016 08:36 AM
Joyce Marsh
Joyce Marsh Real Estate LLC - Daytona Beach, FL
Joyce Marsh Homes

That was an incredible story. I learned very early on that many things can go wrong and it's not a done deal til closed and money is transferred. Thanks for sharing!

Apr 12, 2016 10:05 PM
Mimi Foster

Thanks for stopping by, Joyce.

Apr 17, 2016 03:07 AM
Patricia Kennedy
RLAH@Properties - Washington, DC
Home in the Capital

Mimi, this guy could be a character in your next novel!  What a nasty thing to do.

Apr 13, 2016 01:16 AM
Mimi Foster

The fun thing about putting them in a book, Patricia, is you get to decide what the punishment is 

Apr 17, 2016 03:07 AM
Bob Force (REALTOR®)
Weichert Realtors - Aspen Hill - Mount Airy, MD
The FORCE in Maryland Real Estate

Never count on a commission check, until it is in the bank.  Then again the for that second sale is up the creek too.

Apr 13, 2016 01:54 AM
Mimi Foster

Yep. Lot of people lost that day.

Apr 17, 2016 03:06 AM
Thomas F. Kennedy
Oz Realtors - Olney, MD
Esq. - Montgomery & Howard County Real Estate

Good story, Mimi...

I always tell my agents and all of my buyers and sellers, "it's nothing until it's something" and that klittle sentence has been true many, many times in this business.

Tom Kennedy *** (202) 215-4663 - cell

www.AllMDListings.com

Apr 13, 2016 05:11 AM
Mimi Foster

Great line!

Apr 17, 2016 03:06 AM
Eva B. Liland Century 21 Doug Anderson
Century 21 Doug Anderson - Lancaster, CA
Glad to be of Service 661-714-1643

Oh boy, what a scammer! Similar things has happened to me too but not as extreme, thank you for sharing.

Apr 13, 2016 05:49 AM
Mimi Foster

Thanks for stopping by, Eva.

Apr 17, 2016 03:05 AM
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

I've also had a few scammers during my career. Interesting story but sorry that you had to go thru it. I'm sure the buyers were not happy either.

Apr 13, 2016 07:34 AM
Mimi Foster

The buyers were in a state of shock for weeks. We all were.

Apr 17, 2016 03:05 AM
Jeff Stevens
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New Mexico Properties - Las Cruces, NM
Jeff Stevens, Associate Broker/REALTOR

Mimi Foster - It's official. I love that story, heartbreaking as I know it was for you. I just lost a deal that had been nurtured for more than a month. (And I do mean nurtured!) I concur with not spending that commission check until it clears. Me? I was going to go buy a new car...hell, I still might. I'm worth it and after that, I deserve it! Great post.

Apr 14, 2016 08:10 AM
Mimi Foster

Oh, Jeffrey, I hope you get your new car. It's tragic all the way around when a deal falls through. I'm so sorry yours didn't work out.

Apr 17, 2016 03:05 AM
Erica Love
Brokers Guild Cherry Creek - Colorado Springs, CO

I feel bad for the buyers who were excited to get the house. What a crazy story!

Apr 14, 2016 08:26 AM
Mimi Foster

I grieved for them (and the others) for a long time.

Apr 17, 2016 03:03 AM
Elyse Berman, PA
LoKation Real Estate - Boca Raton, FL
Boca Raton FL (561) 716-7824

Mimi Foster This is a new one for me.  I've never heard of this happening before, but then you have to think like a criminal to come up with this stuff.  I"m sorry it happened to you with 5 girls and the buyers.  You don't forget these things, but you're right about never spending that check until it's in the bank.

Apr 14, 2016 08:45 PM
Mimi Foster

And something like this you just can't anticipate.

Apr 17, 2016 03:03 AM
Shanna Day Team Leader AZ & UT - Call 480-415-7616
Keller Williams Realty EV (AZ) & Keller Williams SLC (UT) - Mesa, AZ
Top 0.33 of 1% of 79,000 AZ Realtors

That's aweful Mimi Foster !   I'm glad he got caught and had to suffer the consequences.   I've seen crazy stuff like this happen and the thieves didn't have to pay a dime or suffer any damages, but it caused the victim a ton of legal fees and pain and suffering.   Why?   How?  Who knows! 

Apr 16, 2016 05:28 AM
Mimi Foster

I don't understand how people can live with themselves, Shanna. But you have to be wired a certain way to even think of these things. I don't get it.

Apr 17, 2016 03:03 AM
Gene Riemenschneider
Home Point Real Estate - Brentwood, CA
Turning Houses into Homes

Wow - What a scheme and I can see how it might have worked.  I hope you closed on something later with the buyers.

Apr 16, 2016 01:18 PM
Mimi Foster

You know what, Gene, I didn't. They moved into a rental, and as a newer agent, it took me a while to get over my unfounded guilt. After we scrambled for a few weeks and I helped them move and got them settled and did everything I could think of, I didn't contact them again. Shame on me.

Apr 17, 2016 03:01 AM
Ernest Villafranca
Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate - Oakland, CA
3923 Grand Ave. Oakland CA, 510-418-9443

That's what I call equity plus.

Apr 17, 2016 02:50 AM
Mimi Foster

Right, Ernest?

Apr 17, 2016 02:59 AM
M.C. Dwyer
Melody Russell Team at eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Felton, CA
MC Dwyer-Santa Cruz Mountains Property Specialist

Just getting to this late in the scheme of things, but wow am I glad I read it!    Unbelievable, except that, nearly the same thing happened in our county a few years ago (I wasn't involved thank goodness).

Victoria C.B. Trees really nailed my sentiments perfectly.

My saying, "Don't smell the roses until the escrow closes."

 

Apr 22, 2016 07:18 AM
Mimi Foster

Ohh, that hurts, Victoria C.B. Trees


Good way to put it, M.C. Dwyer !

Apr 22, 2016 08:07 AM
Victoria CB Trees

I broke my own rule just yesterday, sort of.  I have a small inheritance coming that should have been a slam dunk, and thought I might buy a new-to-me car.  Then the executor called to tell me that we have to probate the will after all...

Apr 22, 2016 07:43 AM
Ericka Sumo
Bossier City, LA
TEAM SUMO

Wow, that could have been a page from one of your novels!  I can't believe that happened in real life!

 

Jun 08, 2016 06:53 AM
Mimi Foster
Falcon Property Company - Colorado Springs, CO
Voted Colorado Springs Best Realtor

It's amazing some of the horrible things people can think up, isn't it, Ericka Sumo? I first started blogging in AR about five or six years ago, and these are the kinds of stories I wanted to tell - incredible things that were happening in the real estate market in the late 90s and early 2000s. 

Jun 08, 2016 07:36 AM
Sybil Campbell
Fernandina Beach, FL
Referral Agent Amelia Island Florida

I'm surprised that the guy really thought he was going to get away with that even twenty years ago, Mimi.

Jun 27, 2016 02:15 PM
Mimi Foster
Falcon Property Company - Colorado Springs, CO
Voted Colorado Springs Best Realtor

Except for the fact that the title companies shared a plant, he might have gotten away with it, Sybil Campbell. What always surprises me is that people can even think these things up and are willing to hurt others like this.

Jun 27, 2016 10:39 PM
Rebecca Gaujot, Realtor®
Lewisburg, WV
Lewisburg WV, the go to agent for all real estate

I agree with Patricia Kennedy the seller could and this story could be your next novel.

Jul 05, 2016 12:36 PM