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In Memoriam – Richard A. Talbott, Talbott Real Estate View full obituary here: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?n=richard-a-talbott&pid=181497178
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Crime Alert: CyberScam continues to spread across the country The agent receives an e-mail from a “buyer” purporting to have property under contract and wants the agent to facilitate the closing – often a cash deal or large earnest money deposit from an “out of town” buyer. When the agent agrees, the fraudulent buyer sends funds in the form of a wire or check along with purchase and sale agreement. The agent might even know or confirm that the property really is listed for sale – and it is. The amount for the contract even looks right given the list price/value. After a few days, the buyer says the deal fell through and asks for the money back saying, “a wire would be best.” The check or wire has either not cleared yet, or even if it has, it is still within the period for which payment can be stopped or reversed. Either way, the agent ends up having paid out good funds, but has no good funds paid in. Below are suggestions from First American Title on how to protect yourself from Cyberscams:
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Crime Alert: Fraudulent buyer back to wasting agents’ time David Scott Gale who walked away from at least 4 contracts on million-dollar plus homes a few years ago is back at it again and using the same MO, where he makes a cash offer on a million-dollar listing and claims to want to close in 30 days. He never does any due diligence (negotiate in good faith, provide proof of funds or produces an earnest money deposit). We’ve been told that he is charming, tells lots of stories; many of which have been found to be lies. He has a rap sheet, is a registered sex offender and also has a securities violation. He hasn’t threatened any of the agents he’s been in contact with, but he does waste a lot of their time and no one knows what he’s up to. In the past, he’s looked at properties primarily in Southern Delaware County, but has also contacted agents about properties in Bexley and downtown Columbus. Just want to remind agents about this fraudulent buyer and his MO.
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In Memoriam: Dick Fagan We’re sad to report that Past President Dick Fagan passed away this morning (Sept. 9) at 8 o’clock. Obituary available to view here http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/dispatch/obituary.aspx?n=richard-fagan-dick&pid=181361045&
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Caution Alert: Non-legitimate inquiries from an Al Maktoum According to HER, Realtors®, two of their agents have received non-legitimate email inquiries from Al Maktoum almakt0808@gmail.com (863) 400-6366 x2 on two different properties through Zillow. https://columbusrealtors.com/alerts/default.aspx
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Holiday: Closed Monday for Labor Day The Columbus REALTORS® association headquarters will be closed all day on Monday, September 5th in observance of Labor Day. The association will open for normal business hours on Tuesday at 8:30am. Schedule:
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LeadPages is not affiliated with NAR/RPR LeadPages (RPRPages.com) is soliciting members for lead generation services. The language used in the emails would suggest they are affiliated with NAR and/or RPR. They are not (and NAR RPR is examining the use of RPR trademarked logos in this vendor’s marketing).
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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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