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How an Elk Grove Home Buyer Hoodwinked a Buyer’s Agent
Google suspicious Elk Grove home buyers
This weird homebuying story has been turning over in my mind ever since it happened as I’ve been debating whether I should write about such a wild and wacky situation. Today I say what the hey. It might save another buyer’s agent in Elk Grove from humiliation. Certainly, it could put another Elk Grove real estate agent on alert as this criminal is still on the loose (he wasn’t reported to the police). Although, no seller wants to take her home off the market for a phony buyer who is playing a con game, either.
Most real estate agents in Sacramento and Elk Grove go about their business trusting other people to be who they say they are. We don’t normally need to verify identification or missions. If a buyer says she wants to buy a home in Elk Grove, typically she produces a pre-approval letter, specifies her wants and needs, and we show homes. It wouldn’t hurt for agents to be a little less vulnerable, though.
This particular “home buyer,” we’ll call him Clarence, hauled his group of kids and wife to see a home in Elk Grove. His agent — not me, of course — picked him up at his home because Clarence did not have a car. Clarence also did not have a computer so he could not look at homes online, but he knew what he wanted: a gorgeous home with 5 or 6 bedrooms in Elk Grove. Clarence negotiated, through a counter offer no less, to buy a home in Elk Grove for cash. Half a million.
Where was the money coming from, otherwise known in the industry as Proof of Funds? The purchase contract gives a buyer 3 days to produce it. The buyer’s agent promised the listing agent the funds were coming. Every day, same story. That was enough to make the listing agent suspicious but the buyer’s agent was still hopeful. Where are the proof of funds, the listing agent asked again and again.
Turned out Clarence’s brother had won the lottery. No joke! Not only that, but Clarence had bought two brand new cars from Elk Grove Ford and those vehicles would be delivered at the end of the week to Clarence’s present home in Elk Grove.
You might ask yourself who would believe such a story — but then you don’t know real estate agents and how gullible many real estate agents can be. There is an entire industry that sells books, tapes and seminars to real estate agents because they can be so easily snookered. Who better to sell to than another salesperson? Well, I guess one could sell to a con-artist.
To be fair, an honest person might have a hard time believing that another human being would pull such a stunt, in addition to asking what’s in it for the con artist? The buyer can’t close escrow if he doesn’t have any money. He is not getting the keys early so he can’t take possession. What’s the point? I suspect the point is to dream. Maybe drive by and tell friends that he is buying a home for half a million. Perhaps to cruelly punish the children when they don’t bring home A’s on their report cards. “I promised we’d buy that house if you got an A in Science, but you failed, so . . . “
Maybe there is no rationalization at all. Maybe the buyer is mentally ill? At some place one needs to stop hoping for the best, look at the excuses and piece the situation together. There is always Google, too. Turns out Clarence had been arrested for stealing cars. He gave a Mercedes dealer a fake check and had driven off in a Mercedes before the police nabbed him. Clarence had been arrested several times, and his alleged wife (he probably wasn’t married) has a police record, too.
Since when do Mercedes dealers take a check?
Maybe it’s not a bad idea to Google your Sacramento home buyers, check Facebook? Especially if something doesn’t seem right. Trust your instincts.
Buying That Perfect Home in Elk Grove
Matching first-time home buyers for a home in Elk Grove with an experienced real estate agent is a brilliant way to pair the innocence of younger buyers with the wisdom of the grouchy. Because an experienced agent will just lay it on the line. Buy the damn house before somebody else snatches it from you, we’ll tell buyers. Why would we be so direct whereas another type of Elk Grove real estate agent might suggest buyers go home and sleep on this monumental decision?
Several reasons. First, been there and done that — painfully watched buyers lose the home of their dreams. It’s not true that every suburban house, for example, looks alike. Homes in Elk Grove differ from each other, sometimes dramatically, including location. Which is the second reason. When a house is special, generally agents can spot it way before the buyer will realize it.
I’ve talked with agents who know that their buyer is making a mistake when writing an offer to buy a home. The buyer either takes too long to reach the conclusion that an offer should be presented, or the buyer often doesn’t offer enough to beat out competition. Buyers don’t seem to get it that if they are out looking at homes, other buyers are, too. If they like a home in Elk Grove, other buyers will like it, too. These agents silently hope the buyer will learn the lesson early on and not get mad at the agent when the offer is too low and unacceptable.
Sometimes, listing agents will suggest a seller set a date for reviewing offers, but that strategy can backfire. It can also cause buyers who otherwise might have paid more not to make an offer. In today’s Elk Grove real estate market, it is better for sellers to deal with the offers as they arrive. If the home in Elk Grove is very desirable, priced right and comes on the market at the opportune time with a huge splash, that home will attract multiple offers without advertising for it.
If you see such a home, don’t go home to sleep on it. Ask your agent to call the listing agent and find out how many offers the seller has received. Write the very best offer that you can, and don’t hope, for goodness sake, that you can offer list price and buy the home. It doesn’t matter if the offer to purchase is cash, either.
Let’s just put it this way. You would be amazed at how many buyers in the $500K and up market are paying cash right now. They are not screwing around with non-conforming loans or whining about fluctuating interest rates. They are offering to pay all of the seller’s closing costs and paying over list price, when the home in Elk Grove warrants it. (That “when” is the important factor. Most homes sell for less. Look to your agent for guidance.)
If you know that you can put your lips together and blow to whistle, you are savvy enough to buy that home of your dreams. Just do it.
