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Crime Alert – Remember to always trust your gut An agent in Newark was contracted by a potential seller, requesting an appointment to list his property at 60 Peach Blossom Road, in Pataskala. He had mentioned that he had seen her picture, thought she was pretty, and that he had known of her for about a year. This made her a little apprehensive about meeting with him alone, so she took a colleague with her to the listing appointment. When they arrived at the property, there was a heating and cooling van parked and running in front of the house. They asked the gentleman in the van about the owner and he said “the owner was running late and that he was there to help the owner move some things.” When the owner arrived, he was very insistent about them seeing the bedrooms in the home and took them to the loft. They tried to turn on the light in the loft, but it was taped off. So, her colleague turned on a light she had, saw that there was someone in the bed, and their instinct was to run. As they were trying to get out of the home, the door handle came off, so they had to run out through the garage. They called the police and found out the seller had a 20-year history of criminal activity from assault to sexual imposition. The agent wanted other REALTORS® to be aware of this incidence and to always trust their gut — if it doesn’t feel right, proceed with caution. See more at: https://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx
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Crime Alert – Open House Notice “I will never hold an open house alone again!” See more at: https://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx
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Crime Alert: Suspicious woman taking photo of house Reported to Columbus REALTORS® Erik Hiss, Keller Williams Capital Partners, reported that a suspicious looking woman was spotted sitting in her car taking pictures of a Clintonville home. She claimed to be an appraiser and when asked for what company, she said “Got it. Thanks!” and sped off. She looked to be in her early- to mid-fifties, wore eye glasses with plastic rims, had longer, sandy colored hair and she didn’t look real professional. Her hair was pulled back and she was wearing a t-shirt. She was driving a tan/beige 90’s model Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable with a yellow “student driver” sticker on the back of her car, and the camera she was using looked like an older (bigger/boxy) digital camera. Wouldn’t have thought much of this, except for her odd behavior, and it’s just another reminder that if you encounter suspicious activity – trust your gut – and contact your local police department. See more at: https://www.columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx
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Resolved: Supra eKey Ongoing Issues – 8:45am Update Final Update – 8:45am – 6/24/16 – Columbus REALTORS® Member Service Center reports that Supra functions and updates are now operational. Previous message: Currently Supra is having a problem with the automatic updates for the keys. You may be able to get an update code from Kim voice at 1-888-968-4032 or on SupraWEB. However, we have received reports of extended delays and update failures using these methods. When Supra comes back online fully, these options should allow for updates. If you have any questions please contact Supra support at 800-545-9601.
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Man convicted of crimes involving REALTORS® released from prison Robert E. Willett was charged and convicted of abduction in 2013 and was scheduled to be released on June 11, 2016. Robert E. Willett has used at least 2 aliases, Bill Parks, and Tim Ramsey when setting up meetings with various real estate agents for house showings in northern Ohio. He has been known to be at open houses as well, illegibly signing the guest book, and typically staying to the end, being the last to leave. Even though this happened in another part of the state, we thought you should be aware of this man. Extreme caution should be taken when scheduling appointments with unknown clients and open house showings. News story Akron/Cleveland AOR notice
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Crime Alert: Columbus REALTORS Member Murdered We are sad to report that Joseph P. Remlinger, a broker with Discovery Realty and member of Columbus REALTORS®, was shot and killed yesterday while trying to collect overdue rent from one of his tenants (per Columbus Dispatch article). The tenant and another man have been arrested and charged with murder and arson. We have members who are involved in all aspects of the business and are in and out of places that can jeopardize their safety. Please, please incorporate safety precautions in your daily activities. Click here for real estate safety information.
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Caution Alert: Agents E-mails Being Hacked In addition to wire fraud issues, REALTOR® e-mails are being hacked and bogus e-mails (with the subject line “contract”, “real estate offer”, “addendum”, “wire”, etc.) are being sent from the hacked e-mail account to other REALTORS® and to people outside of the Association. Once you click on the link in the e-mail, it will take you to another online service (i.e. google docs, etc.) that requests your login/password which the hacker will then use to gain access to your personal information. Please be cautious when opening e-mails! If your e-mail has been hacked, click here for information on how to report it to the FBI.
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Caution Alert: Closing Scam involving wire fraud View the entire article by clicking here: http://www.columbusrealtors.com/NewsDetail/Closing-Scam-involving-wire-fraud
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Caution Alert: Craigslist rental scams appear to be on the rise again Read article here https://www.columbusrealtors.com/Alerts/default.aspx
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Caution Alert: Sophisticated e-mail scams targeting the real estate industry Read article here https://www.columbusrealtors.com/Alerts/default.aspx
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