Our Transaction Policies

We send a notice to anyone who wants to utilize our services to sell their property BEFORE we will even consider an employment agreement, particularly for sales of vacant land. These policies have become necessary in a global economy, where scammers can be located anywhere on the planet. Out of our legal jurisdiction. So you’d get an e-mail that looks like this:

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Dear [Customer Name]:

We are looking forward to working with you to sell your property.

As part of our company policies (in accordance with licensing law & regulations duties) we ask you to review our policies listed below and reply to to this communication with the statement, “I agree.”

We are unable to list any property unless you first agree to these terms:

We will be conducting an exhaustive title search to confirm the rightful ownership of the property at the cost of the seller.

We require a copy of the seller’s latest property tax bill and the most recent proof of payment.

We require an in-person meeting or video conference with all sellers.

A “For Sale” sign with our contact information must be posted on every property we list, including the name of our listing agent and a phone number where we can be reached (unless prohibited by law or HOA or Condo Assn.)

We require all clients use one of our approved notaries public. If you are located out of our immediate area, we will provide a list of approved Notaries Public to you.

All transactions are subject to a minimum 48 hour hold before funds will be released. If the 48-hour period ends during a holiday or weekend, funds will be released on the next business day.

Sincerely,

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Phones

Phones are absolutely essential in real estate. But they, along with email addresses, can be compromised. My home telephone number was recently transferred without our authority. Our alarm system was set off as a result. And of course these things happen when they can result in the most chaos! So now I get to waste another couple of days changing my phone number on all of my licensing records, web sites, etc. (This really peeves me since we’ve had that number–a “beachside” number for over 13 years.)

There is literally almost no way to ever fix these things now with the widespread use of AI to filter communications. This type of occurrence does not fit into the standard things AI is trained to filter for if you call for assistance. One good thing is that the AI actually transferred me to a human being!

The moral of this story is that YOU have to be sure at all times that you are communicating with the actual real estate broker you think you are communicating with. Emails can be impersonated to steal escrow funds, etc. So be careful out there.

I’ve been a licensee for more than 42 years. I thought I had seen all the ways things could be compromised, but this has certainly enlightened me a little more.

If a broker is asking you lots of questions if you call to list vacant land or a second/vacation home, they’re doing it to verify your authority to list a property. If you are the rightful owner, this is a safeguard to protect your interests. So please do not be offended. Many title companies are seeing an increase in fraudulent impersonation of owners.

I also recommend that even if working with a seller or buyer directly that you always use a title agent!

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