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Internet Exposure - The Dark Side
When I first began practicing real estate the World Wide Web was just starting to exert measurable influence on the industry. During the past ten years the impact of the Internet on the process of buying and selling real estate has exploded. I certainly don’t need to provide a detailed account because we are living it, 24/7 in many cases.
What a fabulous way to expose ourselves, and our client’s properties, to countless potential buyers, sellers, investors, tenants, landlords, etc. Newspaper Real Estate Ads and the venerable Homes Magazine are down for the count having been replaced by digital media. I am absolutely positive that at this very moment some industrious individual is dreaming up yet another way to collect and present real estate data electronically. (As though the 47,200,000 sites found by Google don’t already cover the subject.)
Isn’t life great? Well almost. Along with all the exposure and information comes the dreaded Dark Side. In the beginning the email asking for “more information” appears to be a legitimate request originating on one of the many portals. Who wouldn’t be happy to answer questions and provide more information to a prospective buyer? Wow, this could lead to a sale! Not only that, but most of us will respond with lightening speed.
The second email starts to sound a little fishy. Usually something is said that doesn’t quite add up. The inquiry I received this week was for a Vacant Land listing but now the guy says he told me he wanted to buy a house from me. He asks for details about how to make payment and mentions that he doesn’t live in the US. Golly, this is a $660,000 listing and not even a peep about the price or about initiating a Sales Contract. I suspect, as the scenario plays out, the guy will say he is sending payment but later there will be some reason for his payment to be returned.
In case you haven’t heard of this one before, the buyer’s payment is as phony as a $3.00 bill but he is going to try to get real money back when he cancels the deal. The whole thing about asking for more information is just to get the discussion going and to draw you into the charade.
No doubt this game is played out across the country and around the world every day. I hope the con men are unsuccessful but something tells me every once in a while they score with some unsuspecting soul. When they come knocking at my inbox I can’t help but feel a bit offended. The exposure we enjoy on the Internet is tremendously positive and productive. The Dark Side however also has access to us through the many portals and we must not be so naïve as to think these con men wouldn’t steal from us every chance they get.
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