My craziest deal - The money is in the suitcase

It was during the foreclosure crisis.  I must have picked them off via Zillow or Trulia.  They were a couple.  The woman was very pretty and the man seemed sort of macho with tats.  They told me they could buy a home and were prequalified.   They wanted to see property with some privacy.  They seemed to want to see some expensive property and bid low.  I located a wonderful property with a beautiful views of the foothills and the city.  The house wasn't too nice but they wanted to bid low and the offer was refused.   They paid their earnest money in money orders.  That was really unusual. 

I didn't think much about it until they called me again to see more property.  This time they wanted isolated property.  I was a little uncomfortable with them by now.  For some reason my gut reaction was not to deal with them again.   As I drove to the 10 acres in Kuna I called a friend and fellow Realtor and I gave her the address of where we were going.  She wrote it down and I was to call her when I was finished.  She would call me 30 minutes after we started.   The land was nice but the house had some issues.  They loved it and wanted to put an offer on it.   I wrote up another low ball offer.  It was fairer since the house was in rough shape. 

We were sitting late at night at my office signing the new contract.  I asked them for proof of funds to strengthen our offer.  They told me they were paying in cash.  I then explained that proof of funds is useful so that your offer is stronger.  They told me the money was in their suitcase.  By now many warning bells were going off.  They had always treated me OK but they were strange.   I explained to them that title did not take cash over a certain amount.  They would have to put the cash in the bank or get a loan so the money could be transferred properly.  Once again they paid the earnest money in a money order.  My broker did not accept cash for earnest money.

Turns out we didn't get that contract either (no surprise there).  They collected a check for their earnest money.  I took a picture of their license plates.  I looked them up via their address and couldn't find anything in their names in California.   I called a friend who was in the police department.  After checking them out he told me that they were not good people but he couldn't tell me about them.  He told me to make an excuse but never meet with them again.   He also told me to trust my gut, and that no deal was worth working with people that you didn't trust. 

I never pack.  I do not like guns.  After that experience I understood why some of my fellow agents pack.  That is my craziest deal. 

I have other stories but this one stands out in my mind.