Why do they lest these scammer type of companies persist in Florida? Company only backed off on this case because of the news spotlight, but it will be back to the same tactics.
The real crooks are legislators who leave this in place. Reality is that such agreements should have a time limit of a year from original signature unless extended via signature. And fraudulent filing should hit the company for $50,000 minimum and put the agent in jail for at least 366 days.
There should be a percentage of residential homes that are allowed to be purchased by investors. We have entire neighborhoods and half of cities owned by soulless and faceless investors who don’t care about the tenants and don’t properly care for the properties.
I can see a simple "I changed my mind" clause being added to the contract and an "inexpensive" cancellation fee being something that is doable ... like maybe $500 if cancelled after the right of rescission period is over but within 60 days of date of contract and $500/month for each month or portion thereof after 60 days has passed. But $17,000 is pure extortion, greed and elderly abuse.
If I ever buy a home I would use a friend I trust. I have more than one real estate agent who I know and trust. And then if I ever sold I would do the same thing.
She signed an agreement with the company then changed her mind and 'shut down and ignored them.' That is not how you solve a problem. She made an agreement and then choose not to complete or fix the problem. Ignoring a contract is not the best way to solve the problem.
They were crooked. Why are you blaming her? If something doesn't feel right, why should anyone proceed? You have issues if you think she is the problem, and you seem to be part of the problem.
@@Darci3333 no, the commenter just understands the contracts people sign with realtors. You can't hire someone to do a job and once they've completed it, back out and refuse to pay them.
@@InTruthNLove "Why are you blaming her?" Because she signed a contract agreeing to the terms, and one of the terms was she could not prevent the sale of the home without being liable for the commission.
There should be a nationwide ban on corporations, in particular 'investment LLC's from owning residential property. Period. They're the #1 reason rents are out of control and home prices are skyrocketing.
Yeah and when they get in trouble for stuff, they end up selling their companies to subsidiaries to avoid liability. That's what my landlord is doing right now. If you Google Ocean management, and the Yale newspaper, the article will pop up. It is so sickening. My landlord's own thousands of properties, (and that's just my state, they own property in New Jersey to I know for a fact) and are millionaires... I even spoke to the daughter, directly, who is related to the owner. Never been spoken to so rudely in my life. They're refusing to fix everything, and I'm having to fight them for abatement now. Edit: they're currently trying to sell my property right now,that I'm leasing, and will be selling it to a subsidiary. To avoid legal liability. It's nuts.
@@keithhupp5995And? It still doesn’t absolve the FL government of a lack of oversight! It’s predatory! And often targets seniors. Stop blaming the victims in this.
I get these post cards all the time. I write the received date on them and write on them I did not answer. Then I file them in a file. My file is getting full of them.
The courts are just as much to blame allowing these people to file these kinds of documents. Glad they could solve her problem. So glad there are people in the world that still care.
Thank you for helping this lady and I hope everyone else in her situation gets together to file a class action lawsuit! There needs to be legislation in every state to protect property owners from these unscrupulous companies!
How are investment companies even able to do this? How is this even legal? If they only have a year to file legal action, & they don't, how can the county even accept their bs affidavit?
@@DagNeb_It "There are using loopholes." No they aren't. The terms of a standard realtor contract says you can't prevent them from selling your home or you owe them the commission anyway. It makes sense for realtors to ask that because people pull shit like this lady did- hire a realtor to sell a home and after the realtor invests money to list it, advertise it and show it, and succeeds in selling it for the terms the owner set down, the owner changes their mind and won't pay the realtor shit. Not only is the realtor entitled to the commission, the buyer of the home also has a legal right to sue for for backing out of escrow without a legal reason. This lady is completely at fault but you think it's a scam because the reporting was bullshit.
No scammer will ever agree to any on camera interview and especially the attorney representing the scammers. I'm glad the news station was able to help a fellow senior citizen. Shalom
they didn't scam anyone. if she would have read the contract she signed then she would have known that she wasn't allowed to prevent the sale of her home during the period she had contracted with them to sell it and that she would owe the commission if she did. The realtor lived up to their end of the deal and sold the home on the terms she asked for. The realtors are 100% in the right. This is a standard clause that every realtor puts in their contract to sell your home and it's reasonable because people do shit like this lady did.
I'm a licensed Florida real estate broker. I have over 12 lisitngs and none of my listing agreements nor past agreements have this ridiculous clause. I have simplified my agreements so that sellers never feel hostaged or threatened in any way. This company did this to many sellers. They're the type that give erhical realtors like me a bad rep. They're wholesalers and file liens on your property if you cancel. Any offer, including wholesale offers I receive, I forward to my clients detailing the tems of the offer and I have no issues letting my sellers know to turn down any offer that has clauses that will certainly screw them up. I don't play.
If a company had a legal ground to fight the contract, they would. The fact they were willing to dismiss it, especially once media got involved, indicates it's not a legit claim, and they knew they'd likely lose if it went to court.
The whole real estate industry is a giant scam. If they were honest, they would charge a flat fee for their services and not a percentage of the sale. That just incentivizes the agents to work together to get a higher price for the house. There is no reason why they should make tens of thousands of dollars more for doing the same work just because the house sold for more.
You don’t hear much about the “realtor tax” contributing to price increases, but it’s a real thing..people feel they need to sell at minimum 6% above their purchase price just to break even. And in my experience, real estate agents don’t really do much, they spend most of their time and effort in selling themselves, not the property. The property sells itself, the agent just applies some standard techniques like hiring a photographer and getting the place staged (two people who actually do real work). Listing is a joke, it’s all a standard process and the description blah-blah is a zero skill activity. Guesstimating the sale price is a semi-skill, though mainly a product of having access to the data and knowing the local market. For a fraction of the 6% a seller could get all of the “real work” items completed … the only snag is that their is a monopoly of the market via the MLS. With all of the moaning about house prices, why is this scam not brought up more often? The new not-forcing-the-seller-to-pay-buyers-agent rule is a step forward, but the Realtor monopoly should be busted to create real competition. No reason brokers can’t charge a flat fee or fees based on actual time, cost, or expertise involved.
@@msmith3395 That and the scam that many agents won't show houses to their clients unless it is listed by the agency that they work for. That way the agency gets both the selling and buying commission. There are so many scams that real estate agents do and get away with because the industry is self regulated. People need to really understand what is going on in the industry. Why should an agent, that does the same amount of work for a $200,000 home that they do for a $400,000 home get double the pay? They steal people's equity. Where I live, they want 7% so for a $400,000 home sale, the agents get $28,000 of people's hard earned money. There is no way that any agent does enough work to earn that kind of income, especially now when houses are selling themselves in a few days.
You shouldnt be able to sell any property without a florida lawyer to approve the transaction!! And all transactions MUST be in writing and recorded in the county the property is located or they are invalid and illegal !!
Florida isn’t an attorney only state for real estate transactions like some other states. I disagree with the notion that two parties should be required to use a lawyer for any kind of transaction. But if you aren’t sure about navigating contracts, you can hire a lawyer if you like.
that would be a fucked up law to have. You must be a lawyer. I wouldn't want to pay 1k to get a lawyer to rubber stamp each offer I get before i could accept it
All the Realtors advertising on facebook are the real criminals, one listed my next door neighbors house a couplemof months ago. Her house was never up for sale.
Just go through a local real estate agency. You can always pay an attorney to go over the contract in the attorney's office before you sign anything and don't let anyone add anything to the contract after the lawyer has reviewed it. If they insist, tell them you will need to have it reviewed by the attorney.
Somebody help me out. In the second story, the "real estate company" placed a lien on her house because she exited the contract without cause? A lot missing here, like what was signed.
On occasion I too get cards in the mail from real estate "solicitors" offering to buy my condo here in Largo. I just throw it in the trash because If I ever were to put my place on the market I would only allow any transactions with a real estate co. I know and trust. Its a shame that these "victims" have been subjected to this scam.
no it isn't. they are simply enforcing terms of their contract that she agreed to when she hired them. You can't hire a realtor to do a job for you and then prevent them from doing it without owing them commission. nothing unreasonable about that.
Why on Earth would you sell to a single buyer? Of course you're going to get shortchanged. Put it on the market and get the best price from competing bids.
A home shopper now has to sign an employment contract with a buyer's agent before even VIEWING a house he or she MIGHT be interested in? Seriously, this is crazy.
The mistake was signing a contract. It likely contained cancellation terms. Going through a reputable realtor would have been a better option. Again there are clauses that describe what the terms are should you cancel. It doesn’t matter if you are a mother, someone’s aunt, etc. We are all people.
if the seller signed an exclusive contrat with the real estate agency, it is perfectly legal. If it is not an exclusively contract, illegal. That s how it works,
hey, wholesaling real estate is not easy. And its predatory. The potential seller ends up being a victim and all the roaches come out of the woodwork with their contract s to sell. Its similar to a realtor only this time they are not looking out for your best interest.heck they are not evem representing you nor the buyer. Its a bad deal throughout out.for all the wholesalers out there u could spend the same energy doing the right thing. Then you dont have to come out trying to defend your position. These contracts that you push down people throats only benefit you as a w/s. And to this jim person goint to every comment trying to defend this companies just stop. Eveyone can see whats happening here. If a deal doesn't go through why be salty about it. Let it go and go chase another deal.yes there is different ways of skinning this cat, but the route of there is a fool born every day where you are constantly looking for a greater fool is really messed up.
As a real estate investor I stay away from wholesaling because there are so many corrupt, shady and dishonest investors who do this same exact thing to unknowing sellers.
Wait ... so she agreed to the sale, set the move by date .... then didn't move? Yeah they have a claim if she caused a default maybe not that much but she does need to compensate them for the time they spent working on that deal that she invalidated.
So she signed a contract saying she was selling the decided not too? Sounds like she is the one in the wrong. You cant sign a contract then back out when you want.
This is called extortion.
Legalised extortion supported by state and courts in hindsight.
Who was punished?
This is called America
fraud and extortion
It's called she agreed to a contract that has fines if she backs out.
How about them pay her for filing something they never paid for this should be 100% illegal what a hell of a scam
Abuse of elderly as always! There should be a law!!!!
Why do they lest these scammer type of companies persist in Florida? Company only backed off on this case because of the news spotlight, but it will be back to the same tactics.
These companies is nation wide, just just Florida
This is a against the law and this is heinous real estate companies hurting so bad that they’re ripping off a senior citizen
If she dies do they get the property for the agreed on price? Thats the kicker no one talks about.
The real crooks are legislators who leave this in place. Reality is that such agreements should have a time limit of a year from original signature unless extended via signature. And fraudulent filing should hit the company for $50,000 minimum and put the agent in jail for at least 366 days.
These investment and development companies are the reason why prices are so fuqing high
What did the contract say? Might be important to read a contract before you sign it.
There should be a percentage of residential homes that are allowed to be purchased by investors. We have entire neighborhoods and half of cities owned by soulless and faceless investors who don’t care about the tenants and don’t properly care for the properties.
I don't know why that would cloud the title. It's bot a lien, it's not a judgment, it's not a deed.
Selling something you don’t actually own is simply fraud, and should be treated as such.
Sounds like a fraud was committed to me. GREEDY lying realtor needs ybe charged
I can see a simple "I changed my mind" clause being added to the contract and an "inexpensive" cancellation fee being something that is doable ... like maybe $500 if cancelled after the right of rescission period is over but within 60 days of date of contract and $500/month for each month or portion thereof after 60 days has passed. But $17,000 is pure extortion, greed and elderly abuse.
Sounds like a CFO needs some jail time...........................
They should rename that business “Simply Scam”
If I ever buy a home I would use a friend I trust. I have more than one real estate agent who I know and trust. And then if I ever sold I would do the same thing.
Wholesalers can be deceptive
When you turn the light on, the roaches scatter.
Figures ,it's Floriday
So they did this in lust for money after she told them she had changed her mind. Can’t just say “ah that’s too bad” and leave her alone.
Close loop holes.
It’s a real thing.
Realized that scammer home 🏡
There's way too many money men with their paws in the pie. Never ever ignore these bottom feeders.
As if there isn’t enough reasons to hate real estate agents
Simply Scam.
Don't sell or deal with direct mailing companies.
THAT'S WHAT THE OFSPRINGS OF ESAU DOES GODS HATED NATIONS 😮
What a slime ball RE
nothing in florida surprises me
Crooks
Florida is trashy!!
She signed an agreement with the company then changed her mind and 'shut down and ignored them.' That is not how you solve a problem. She made an agreement and then choose not to complete or fix the problem. Ignoring a contract is not the best way to solve the problem.
Correct, but she’s old.
You work for that crooked real estate agent or something....
They were crooked. Why are you blaming her? If something doesn't feel right, why should anyone proceed? You have issues if you think she is the problem, and you seem to be part of the problem.
@@Darci3333 no, the commenter just understands the contracts people sign with realtors. You can't hire someone to do a job and once they've completed it, back out and refuse to pay them.
@@InTruthNLove "Why are you blaming her?"
Because she signed a contract agreeing to the terms, and one of the terms was she could not prevent the sale of the home without being liable for the commission.
I need people to stop being so gullible
This is the reason I bought my mom a home and payed it off quickly 🫶🏻🇺🇸
There should be a nationwide ban on corporations, in particular 'investment LLC's from owning residential property. Period. They're the #1 reason rents are out of control and home prices are skyrocketing.
Yeah and when they get in trouble for stuff, they end up selling their companies to subsidiaries to avoid liability. That's what my landlord is doing right now. If you Google Ocean management, and the Yale newspaper, the article will pop up. It is so sickening. My landlord's own thousands of properties, (and that's just my state, they own property in New Jersey to I know for a fact) and are millionaires... I even spoke to the daughter, directly, who is related to the owner. Never been spoken to so rudely in my life. They're refusing to fix everything, and I'm having to fight them for abatement now.
Edit: they're currently trying to sell my property right now,that I'm leasing, and will be selling it to a subsidiary. To avoid legal liability. It's nuts.
Because it makes them money
What A$$holes. Why isn’t the government helping out people to stop these predatory companies?
Governments are the enemy of the people
Well if she would have used a real estate agent this wouldnt have happened.
@@keithhupp5995And? It still doesn’t absolve the FL government of a lack of oversight! It’s predatory! And often targets seniors. Stop blaming the victims in this.
Because voters keep people getting kickbacks from these companies in office for decades.....
where are the children and grand children... and the use of some concrete blocks and some chains
Never respond to a random postcard or letter to buy anything, especially your real estate.
I get these post cards all the time. I write the received date on them and write on them I did not answer. Then I file them in a file. My file is getting full of them.
Trolling, i guess. Those steps are not needed. @@ginger6582
@@ginger6582 I get them, too. Even for rentals I sold 2 years before.
Thanks for exposing this scam! Great job! 👏
The courts are just as much to blame allowing these people to file these kinds of documents. Glad they could solve her problem. So glad there are people in the world that still care.
Thank you for helping this lady and I hope everyone else in her situation gets together to file a class action lawsuit! There needs to be legislation in every state to protect property owners from these unscrupulous companies!
What a bunch of crooks
How are investment companies even able to do this? How is this even legal? If they only have a year to file legal action, & they don't, how can the county even accept their bs affidavit?
There are using loopholes. A simple way to fix this is write a law about using loopholes in laws and make it mostly illegal.
@@DagNeb_It "There are using loopholes."
No they aren't. The terms of a standard realtor contract says you can't prevent them from selling your home or you owe them the commission anyway. It makes sense for realtors to ask that because people pull shit like this lady did- hire a realtor to sell a home and after the realtor invests money to list it, advertise it and show it, and succeeds in selling it for the terms the owner set down, the owner changes their mind and won't pay the realtor shit. Not only is the realtor entitled to the commission, the buyer of the home also has a legal right to sue for for backing out of escrow without a legal reason.
This lady is completely at fault but you think it's a scam because the reporting was bullshit.
No scammer will ever agree to any on camera interview and especially the attorney representing the scammers. I'm glad the news station was able to help a fellow senior citizen. Shalom
They attempted to scam this old lady but failed, now they’ll search for another easy prey.
they didn't scam anyone. if she would have read the contract she signed then she would have known that she wasn't allowed to prevent the sale of her home during the period she had contracted with them to sell it and that she would owe the commission if she did. The realtor lived up to their end of the deal and sold the home on the terms she asked for. The realtors are 100% in the right. This is a standard clause that every realtor puts in their contract to sell your home and it's reasonable because people do shit like this lady did.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@@jimbeam-ru1my oh, you have the heart of a scammer 😂
Simply Solid executive IMHO need to go to jail. They are criminals IMHO.
I'm so happy to hear that everything turned out in her favor. ❤❤
Those scammer companies should not be allowed to operate anywhere! They should be outlawed!
I'm a licensed Florida real estate broker. I have over 12 lisitngs and none of my listing agreements nor past agreements have this ridiculous clause. I have simplified my agreements so that sellers never feel hostaged or threatened in any way. This company did this to many sellers. They're the type that give erhical realtors like me a bad rep. They're wholesalers and file liens on your property if you cancel. Any offer, including wholesale offers I receive, I forward to my clients detailing the tems of the offer and I have no issues letting my sellers know to turn down any offer that has clauses that will certainly screw them up. I don't play.
This is what’s artificially driving up home prices. The government needs to put a stop to these investors.
I don't deal with anyone unless I initiate contact!!
This is what happens when you sign with corporations to “save money” . Zillow tried this and thry just got hammered with lawsuite from homeowners .
Too many scammers out there. You should always have a lawyer involved with real estate.
Don't sign anything!! Hang up or don't answer calls from numbers you don't know. Throw away all mailers/fliers/ads you get in the mail!
If a company had a legal ground to fight the contract, they would. The fact they were willing to dismiss it, especially once media got involved, indicates it's not a legit claim, and they knew they'd likely lose if it went to court.
The whole real estate industry is a giant scam. If they were honest, they would charge a flat fee for their services and not a percentage of the sale. That just incentivizes the agents to work together to get a higher price for the house. There is no reason why they should make tens of thousands of dollars more for doing the same work just because the house sold for more.
You don’t hear much about the “realtor tax” contributing to price increases, but it’s a real thing..people feel they need to sell at minimum 6% above their purchase price just to break even. And in my experience, real estate agents don’t really do much, they spend most of their time and effort in selling themselves, not the property. The property sells itself, the agent just applies some standard techniques like hiring a photographer and getting the place staged (two people who actually do real work). Listing is a joke, it’s all a standard process and the description blah-blah is a zero skill activity. Guesstimating the sale price is a semi-skill, though mainly a product of having access to the data and knowing the local market. For a fraction of the 6% a seller could get all of the “real work” items completed … the only snag is that their is a monopoly of the market via the MLS. With all of the moaning about house prices, why is this scam not brought up more often? The new not-forcing-the-seller-to-pay-buyers-agent rule is a step forward, but the Realtor monopoly should be busted to create real competition. No reason brokers can’t charge a flat fee or fees based on actual time, cost, or expertise involved.
@@msmith3395 That and the scam that many agents won't show houses to their clients unless it is listed by the agency that they work for. That way the agency gets both the selling and buying commission. There are so many scams that real estate agents do and get away with because the industry is self regulated.
People need to really understand what is going on in the industry. Why should an agent, that does the same amount of work for a $200,000 home that they do for a $400,000 home get double the pay? They steal people's equity.
Where I live, they want 7% so for a $400,000 home sale, the agents get $28,000 of people's hard earned money. There is no way that any agent does enough work to earn that kind of income, especially now when houses are selling themselves in a few days.
You shouldnt be able to sell any property without a florida lawyer to approve the transaction!! And all transactions MUST be in writing and recorded in the county the property is located or they are invalid and illegal !!
Florida isn’t an attorney only state for real estate transactions like some other states. I disagree with the notion that two parties should be required to use a lawyer for any kind of transaction. But if you aren’t sure about navigating contracts, you can hire a lawyer if you like.
that would be a fucked up law to have. You must be a lawyer. I wouldn't want to pay 1k to get a lawyer to rubber stamp each offer I get before i could accept it
Everything is some sort of scam
Beware
All the Realtors advertising on facebook are the real criminals, one listed my next door neighbors house a couplemof months ago. Her house was never up for sale.
Your neighbor needs to talk to the district attorney.
What a scam.
This is extortion, plain and simple. You get a 30 day cooling off period for contracts.
Thank you for helping her! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Hire Real Estate Attorney PRIOR Signature To Sale
Just go through a local real estate agency. You can always pay an attorney to go over the contract in the attorney's office before you sign anything and don't let anyone add anything to the contract after the lawyer has reviewed it. If they insist, tell them you will need to have it reviewed by the attorney.
This is a sick world we live in to take advantage of our seniors citizens or any citizen is horrible.
Somebody help me out. In the second story, the "real estate company" placed a lien on her house because she exited the contract without cause? A lot missing here, like what was signed.
Another scam on Facebook
On occasion I too get cards in the mail from real estate "solicitors" offering to buy my condo here in Largo. I just throw it in the trash because If I ever were to put my place on the market I would only allow any transactions with a real estate co. I know and trust. Its a shame that these "victims" have been subjected to this scam.
Make sure you share this on every social media outlet so nobody does business with them please!!!!
Miserable people trying to steal from everyday folks
Where is the attorney general of Florida????
WFLA TV HAS "DAN" NO NAME WANTING TO BUY YOUR PLACE FROM YOU and the station doesnt say a thing about it!! Where is Sara B. now??
This is mobster action😮
no it isn't. they are simply enforcing terms of their contract that she agreed to when she hired them. You can't hire a realtor to do a job for you and then prevent them from doing it without owing them commission. nothing unreasonable about that.
Scammers are in Florida,
Why on Earth would you sell to a single buyer? Of course you're going to get shortchanged. Put it on the market and get the best price from competing bids.
Amazing how bad press got them to do the right thing when nothing else worked
Thank you for caring for this lady,
I smell a class action lawsuit
🤣 what? She should just pay! Squatter!
Sounds like west palm beach
A home shopper now has to sign an employment contract with a buyer's agent before even VIEWING a house he or she MIGHT be interested in? Seriously, this is crazy.
NEVER EVER buy from or use any company that advertises on Facebook. They are typically, more fren than not, problematic businesses. JMO
The mistake was signing a contract. It likely contained cancellation terms.
Going through a reputable realtor would have been a better option. Again there are clauses that describe what the terms are should you cancel. It doesn’t matter if you are a mother, someone’s aunt, etc. We are all people.
these LLC must be backed by politicians
Scummy practices from scummy companies , sadly US lawyers and real estate companies have little to no code of conduct
With everything digital we don’t need realtors. Zillow needs to come up with a program to make them obsolete
if the seller signed an exclusive contrat with the real estate agency, it is perfectly legal. If it is not an exclusively contract, illegal. That s how it works,
hey, wholesaling real estate is not easy. And its predatory. The potential seller ends up being a victim and all the roaches come out of the woodwork with their contract s to sell. Its similar to a realtor only this time they are not looking out for your best interest.heck they are not evem representing you nor the buyer. Its a bad deal throughout out.for all the wholesalers out there u could spend the same energy doing the right thing. Then you dont have to come out trying to defend your position. These contracts that you push down people throats only benefit you as a w/s. And to this jim person goint to every comment trying to defend this companies just stop. Eveyone can see whats happening here. If a deal doesn't go through why be salty about it. Let it go and go chase another deal.yes there is different ways of skinning this cat, but the route of there is a fool born every day where you are constantly looking for a greater fool is really messed up.
As a real estate investor I stay away from wholesaling because there are so many corrupt, shady and dishonest investors who do this same exact thing to unknowing sellers.
Raising real estate values to artificially claim the area is higher value from prospective buyers.
This is in Florida? Will the state government address this kind of shady business?
Hmmmm, Predatory Real Estate Fraud
Twrrible way to do business
If she signed the contract she owes the money. Contracts are not void because you get hurt or sick.
If both parties agreed and signed on the dotted line, then it's an enforceable contract. The seller could be held liable for liquidated damages 😊
Floridas laws are some of the worst at protecting citizens.
Wait ... so she agreed to the sale, set the move by date .... then didn't move? Yeah they have a claim if she caused a default maybe not that much but she does need to compensate them for the time they spent working on that deal that she invalidated.
Extortion allowed under 🇺🇸 law!
These aren’t regular real estate brokers! They are scammers!
So she signed a contract saying she was selling the decided not too? Sounds like she is the one in the wrong. You cant sign a contract then back out when you want.