How to Spot a Scam: The Price on This Forest Hills Midcentury Modern Was Too Good to be True
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At first, my eternal optimism and wishful thinking had me fooled when I saw this amazing deal on Zillow. Heck, who wouldn’t want to sprint for their checkbook after seeing this gorgeous four-bedroom, three-bath renovated midcentury modern for sale at the bargain basement price of $300K.
*record scratches*
Wait, that house looks familiar … wasn’t it on the market last year for more than twice that?
As it turns out, this was a bogus listing. I had stumbled upon a real estate scam.
After doing a little digging, I was able to track down the phone number of the homeowner. After one very awkward call, he confirmed that his house was absolutely not for sale and that he had no clue that someone was trying to sell it on Zillow. On the website, the home was listed as “for sale by owner.” There was no Realtor to follow up on, so it only had to pass muster with Zillow, but even Zillow’s own records show it was sold Oct. 8, 2014, for $685,000 …
Of course, I tried to see how far I would get by contacting the seller through Zillow’s agent contact form, and was connected with RE/MAX Realtor Shaun Walding, who was kind and apologetic and said he’d follow-up on the listing.
(UPDATE: Walding says he drove by the home and there wasn’t a sign in the yard or any indication that the home was for sale. He’s heard of people doing similar scams on Craigslist, posting pictures of already occupied properties and claiming that they are for lease, and then running off with the deposit and first month’s rent, leaving the would-be tenant without a place to hang their hat. This, however, was a first for him.”
Since then, the listing has been taken down, but I haven’t heard back from Zillow or the homeowner about the resolution. Will Zillow take action against the fraudulent seller? Will they report them to the police?
And that wasn’t the only strange FSBO I was sent today: 613 Aqua Dr. was on Zillow for $113,000 when it was sold in Oct. of last year for $195,000. Weird, right?
Have you ever dealt with a bogus listing on Zillow or one of the other MLS hubs?
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Another reason why Realtor.com data is more trustworthy.
So the question remains – who posted the FBSO listing? A legitimate fraudster, or did Zillow just get caught posting a false listing to pad their referral fee bank account?
We are waiting for a reply from Zillow. And waiting. But no fear, at the next NAREE I’ll just put this on the overhead screen for the whole world to see!
Yes, Candy. It has happened to me. I am a Realtor with Keller Williams, Dallas Preston Road. About 3 years ago, I sold a house in the M Streets. About 3 months later, the previous owner called me to let me know that she and the owner before her were being contacted by people who had seen a listing on Zillow of the house for rent and were suspicious. I began receiving email from people wanting to see the house and then email from a couple of people from out of town who were suspicious. It was a typical scam, is my understanding. The fraudsters were trying to collect rent and deposit, sight unseen, from people relocating here from out of town. Zillow took down the ad after it was reported. With a rental, I can see that they might have some success at bilking some poor tenant out of their money but I’m not sure what they would accomplish with a FSBO. I would be interested to find out, though. Thanks!