We have two small tracts of property—one near Highway 19 and Interstate 20 in Canton and one (3 lake lots) at Brierwood Bay near Frankston. Every-sooften we receive an officiallooking business letter that offers to buy our land/ property, and all of the offers are basically the same.
We have been studying “so-and-so” county and have come across some land that you own. We would like to make you an offer with easy, hassle-free closing. We are prepared to offer you (differing amounts, but nearly always some, to much higher than average, realistic appraisal values). Closing can be stressful, so that is why our company is willing to pay all closing costs to ensure peace of mind.
At this point there is usually a directive to “call to discuss more” and a section with the property’s legal description at the bottom to “sign to accept this offer and return to our office, using our e-mail or return address.”
Man-oh-man, that surely does sound good!
What have I/we done the past few years?
1) Printed a nice, precise letter, saying who my real estate agent is (giving the phone number and mailing/ office address) and that this agent will be happy to handle all the closing details with your company. Results: never heard back from the four letters that I sent to differing companies.
2) Asked a reputable realtor if these were “scams” or ”illegal,” and was told, “No, they are not scams or illegal, but there is a ‘catch.’” 3) Briefly stated (from what I have learned): When you agree to sell, the document for you to sign will say this company can cancel the sale at any time right up to the date money changes hands and for any reason. It will also state that no “earnest money” or down-payment will be made to the seller. Then they will attempt to market the property for a price quite a bit higher than what they have agreed to pay you, and if they cannot sell and make a nice profit by the stated date, they will cancel the deal before the final date. Some of these deals do end with sales, but do not count upon it unless you have agreed to an offer that is significantly lower than the “real” value for that area.
4) One time we decided to test the above offer(s) and got as far as being about ready to go to the title company specified by the company handling the sale. Not long before we were to make the drive, we received notification from the “real estate company” that they had done an “on-site” inspection and were drastically lowering the offer. (As you can tell, they had found our vacant land on a tax roll or elsewhere and made an offer just based upon the acreage and “best” land values in that area and never even seen the property first before offering.) 5) Needless to say, we affirmed in writing, electronically, and on the phone that we would not accept the lower offer and that all negotiations were finished. We now use these “offering” letters (still receiving them) to start the wood in the fireplace on cold days!
Hope you have enjoyed our odyssey and possibly learned something—or at least had a good “chuckle” when hearing our experiences!
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