Smiling JOe
SoWal Expert
I guess the real question is how many sellers are accepting 35% off their price.
Mango ---- that's cute. But honestly, these folks are simply offering up another option to sellers who are in desperate need to sell. It may appear that they are "indian givers" to some but to others they might just be their saving grace. At this point in the game, how many offers are people really getting on their homes today?
I guess the real question is how many sellers are accepting 35% off their price.
They may not be your listings these investors are bidding on, but if the property is listed with a realtor, the realtor should be protecting their clients by advising them not to get into these types of scams in my opinion. The market will regulate the price someone gets. If it isn't selling at the price they list it at and they truly need to sell, the market will dictate if they lower on their own.
Mango --- certainly we can see your point of view and we appreciate your sharing it. It sounds as if you or someone you know may have been the victim of some questionable practices. Believe us, we have had alot of crazy offers in the last couple of months --- most of them scams --- wanting large sums of cash back at closing. You really have to be more careful than ever.
However, we want to assure you that this is not a scam. We, along with our broker, title companies, former FBI agents have checked these folks over and they are legitimate.
And yes, in a sense, they are preying on people who are desperate. That's what investor groups usually do --- look for steals with potential to make a profit. But these folks aren't trying to hide anything, they fully disclose everything, including the exact dollar amount of profit they intend to make. And they are not out twisting anyone's arm to sell. They are completely honest about how they operate and if someone wants to participate, then the option is available to them. There are alot of owners who desperately need to get out --- and just like auctions, this is simply another way to try to accomplish the goal of selling.
Neither one of us or our broker are unethical people. We would NEVER try to take advantage of anyone -- it's just not in our blood. And of course if these were our listings, we would do our best to get the best deal for our sellers. However, you have to be realistic about what has happened to the market here. Sellers are lucky if they can even get a showing much less an offer. All we were doing by writing this post, was letting people know that this may be an option for them. No one is going to make them accept it --- we just wanted to open it up for discussion to anyone who was interested.

Someone would have to be very desperate and very dumb to deal with these "investors" It is a classic bait and switch scheme. A pure scam.