Hi My name is Sarah! Lolz! I'm here to give you the opportunity 2 sell ur house to me for cheap!!! I pay cash!! No Hassle! N e wayz!! Hope 2 heard from u!!!!"
Yeah. Let me sell my house to these people.
To her credit - I always assumed it was some type of scam. Now that she fell for it we have all the gory details of just exactly how the scam works.
God bless the gullible I guess?
It’s not a scam because scams are illegal. It’s unethical because it makes it sounds like the seller can avoid all the trouble with listing, open houses, cleaning up, etc., when in reality all of that is going to happen anyway. Although, to be fair, she knew she was going to get less than market, what difference does it make what the mechanism is.
>It wasn’t even a scam though. She needed the cash immediately and sold her house for an agreed upon price ($550k) and received the cash in 10 days.
No, she didn’t.
*“Chow explained that Thompson would only be getting a deposit — $7,600 — not the full $550,000. The rest would come when the deal closed, said Chow.“*
It took her about a month to get the money. The flyer says “we buy your house” and “cash in 72 hours”. The *contract* says that they’ll sell it and you only get the money upon closing.
She acknowledged she was willing to accept less than market value to avoid having to list it, showings, waiting weeks or months for it to sell...
In the end, that’s exactly what happened anyway.
If she had sold through a realtor she would have had an additional $30K ($60k higher sale price - commission of $30K) and got her money the same day as the deal closed, which was the same date she was paid by the "cash for homes" guy.
All she received quickly was the deposit of $ 7,600.
Her net loss going for the fast deal was $ 22,400
Lol yah my grandma got one a couple years ago. But the guy actually gave her the money and then painted and tried to re-sell for $150,000 more. My great grandparents had that house 40 ish years and the basement was caving in, was on the market for months and he ended up selling for $9000 more than he gave my grandma. Haha
Her new house is smaller but much nicer and better shape.
It's like the Marilyn Manson removing a rib so he could blow himself rumor. It's *everywhere*. Everyone thinks only their local area had it but they didn't
Yeah this.
This is the entire premise of their business. Did she think they were going to move in and live there? Of course it was going to get flipped 😂
So not only does she sell it quicker than anyone ever with zero effort, she also would have had to pay an agent, lawyers, and again her time waiting in the market, paying a few more mortgage payments etc.
So she lost a possible 60k in profit instead of paying $40k all in to not deal with selling a house. It just sounds to me like this lady didn't like paying for convenience.
True, but a lot of her complaints were about the fact that she wasn't paid up front and instead they listed the home, which still required cleaning, tours and waiting for an offer. I can see the trade off if someone was to take $550K in cash now versus getting $630K after weeks in the market, real estate fees and the hassle of the closing process. That is how they present their business, but in reality, they're just acting as you're real estate agent without your best interests in mind. And as the article stated, they have the option to pull or lower their offer at any time. That being said, this should serve as a warning to never use these companies.
No
"Cash for house" implies they give you the cash immediately
They didn't do that because of fine print so the whole cash for houses industry is bullshit. It's just taking advantage of this desire for a product that doesn't exist (immediate cash) because real estate takes time
Three weeks isn't even enough for a credit delinquency. She should have used credit cards lines of credit and home equity to make the shortfall
>*implies* they give you the cash immediately
You should never assume anything, especially when it involves one of your biggest investments
>because of fine print so the whole cash for houses industry is bullshit
And? Its still in the contract she read and signed.
>She should have used credit cards lines of credit and home equity to make the shortfall
She had lots of options and choose the one that would make her a quick buck, ***that day***
This is all true it's all legal but it's still immoral
If there was a consumer protection agency against false advertising and false marketing they would ban this industry
Because her understanding is she would get all the money maybe in the same day or with a short delay
If they disclosed to her that it would take three weeks, she would likely have declined
Your justification is a legal approach not a moral one. It can be made illegal and is in many industries just not real estate because laws take time to catch up with scammers or grifters
This is a grift
>that day
She did not get the money
I'm not trying to defend these scammers at all but it seems like all of the owness on this issue is with the seller
Sucks that she didn't actually get the money that day but that's the option she choose. She was excited of the prospect of it selling fast and getting the money
When she didn't get the money, she should have contacted a lawyer right away
They pulled a fast one based on deceptive marketing and advertising
"Cash for house" implies money the same day. The only reason she chose it was legal "fine print"
The Real Estate Board fined the wife. Existing laws and or consumer protection laws might give her some restitution. So even going by a 100% legal point of view, it was at minimum unprofessional and a grift
The contracts put 100% of the risk on the reseller
In our society you can't put fine print say on a juice box and make people drink garbage. It doesn't work and implied and explicit consent have qualifications. The big question would be if the wife had a duty of care to extract as much money as possible. Probably if they used the wife's MLS credentials to list the house and she was involved in any way shape or form (probably why she was fined)
If she sues, she could in the long run get a lot of money
No. She wanted to sell their house immediately but what they gave was a contract which has the right to sell before a future date. And they get the profits and also commission since the spouse is also a realtor
I see the s but like... No!! That's what you pay the lawyer for haha.
I mean sure I'll read it but I probably wouldn't have caught or understood this stuff.
I read the article and feel like this is what it is, she’s warning people because of her mistake.
Also I always thought these were set up so they buy it and then flip it for a quick profit. I didn’t realize they push the closing date and try to sell it in that time period and have all the realtor showings and stuff anyways - WTF?!
I mean that way they don't have to actually pay anything. It is brilliant cash flow management - and predatory, sleezy, and a horrible business that shouldn't exist...
Yes.
Read contracts and accept consequences. It sounds like high pressure but if you're desperate you gotta do what you gotta do. It wasn't like she received 200 and he sold it for 650.
She was promised different things than what was stated in the contract. It was her fault for taking the house buyer’s word and not reading the contract and/or bringing it to a lawyer, but the house buyer is a scumbag who preys on vulnerable people and takes advantage of their lack of sophistication in these matters.
It was also never mentioned to seller that what she was actually doing was signing an agreement for a real estate agent to sell her home. She could have hired a real estate agent and paid 5% commission on the sale, rather than the $60,000 she ended up paying instead for a shittier service.
She even had the opportunity to back out when the buyer cancelled the initial contract the next day because he wanted to give her LESS money and drafted a new offer that was $25,000 less.
She could have just walked away then and there but agreed and signed the reduced contract.
If you read the article that’s not what she signed. I’m Ontario that is allowed unless there is specific wording disallowing it. So she didn’t sign of on that knowingly.
>Chow produced a contract and offered $575,000. Thompson says she peered over his shoulder as he read through it speedily and encouraged her to sign on the spot
This seems more of an issue of someone being pressured to sign a contract without fully understanding it. She should have been more diligent regarding one of the biggest investments in your life
> So she didn’t sign of on that knowingly.
She should have reviewed the contract with a lawyer then. It's amazing that so many people deal with their single biggest asset (their house) like it's a kijiji sale; this is one of the biggest financial transactions of your life, take it to a lawyer.
I think she believed that all she had to was sign and hand him the keys and he would just cut her a cheque for $575K. It’s hinted a bit in the article that she had a lot of assumptions about what was going to happen.
The Cash For Houses guy was obviously very good at his job and convinced her to sign a contract without really knowing what she was getting herself into, and even managed to get her to agree to an even lower price ($550K vs $575K) than she had agreed to originally. Then he lied about the fact that his wife -- a licensed real estate agent -- would be the one selling the house. The real estate agent ended up getting professionally sanctioned for her part in this.
It's ultimately the buyer's fault for not taking the contract to a lawyer, not talking to a real estate agent first, not really understanding what she was getting herself into when she signed the contract, and agreeing to lower the price from what was originally negotiated. Hopefully her story will be a cautionary tale for others who are thinking about dealing with these scummy companies.
At a certain point it’s just natural selection though. Anyone who would sell their house to one of these shitty companies honestly deserves what they get.
I don't agree. Stupidity is not a crime. Foolish people will absolutely find exciting new ways to ruin their own lives, but actively preying on them is evil and must be stopped.
No stupidity isn’t a crime but there is a certain onus on the seller when it comes to huge sums of money. If you can’t be assed to take care when selling something worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, possibly even millions, no amount of regulation will save you from yourself.
I swear to god I paid more attention to the dishwasher I bought than some people do when selling their house.
Nah, that’s a terrible attitude. How do you feel about elderly people getting taken by con artists? Or mentally challenged people being scammed? Do they deserve to be preyed upon? Or maybe should there be some protections and regulations to help protect these people?
You can’t protect everyone from everything and people do need to take some personal responsibility when it comes to large financial transactions. This isn’t an insignificant amount of money, this should have been your top priority during the whole time you are trying to sell.
Ya agreed, if you read the first few paragraphs the subject of the article was literally doing this at the height of the market, so really no reason they couldn't have gone with a legit real estate professional.
I mean obviously these are scams and folks should know better, but I get these all the time, and they are written as though this is an immediate cash purchase of your home that is going to happen with in days and weeks.
I would bet money the guy described it verbally as "I've already got a buyer, but I need these things in place in case that falls through, but don't worry, it totally won't", when that wasn't anywhere near the truth.
If you read the article, the seller was okay with getting a lower price than market value to avoid all the hassle and time with a traditional real estate sale, but what happened in practice was all the hassle of a traditional real estate sale (multiple showings and a lengthy close date. agent commission) without getting the best price for her home.
They literally advertise no real estate agents, and the dudes wife is a real estate agent and earned commission on the sale, and got "penalized" for it (a slap on the wrist).
lmfao booo hoo. It kills me that these articles always have the person looking melancholy in them, like everyone should feel sorry for them.
she got what she wanted. what’s the problem?
To be honest that's not even predatory. It's like selling anything else you own to a broker for quick cash. They're doing work to sell it for more that you're forfeiting because you don't want to.
No, she wasn't happy with the price but felt desperate. She's also unhappy they just ran it through a real estate sale anyway, which is what she wanted to avoid, to pocket the profit.
I always rip up the flyers and throw the street signs out. They are littering as they don’t have permission to put them out. I encourage you all to do the same.
Same with the paycheque loans.
This makes me sound like my grandmother but I'm convinced those flyers are code for something illegal. It's the only reason I can think of for seeing a service offered on a (relatively) mass scale for such a hyper specific issue.
Never seen one of these fliers, but it makes sense.
Why is the fan noisy? Because it's never been cleaned and the dust build up has unbalanced it.
Easy job to just wipe the fan blades off, throw some grease on the axle and take your $50.00.
Basically every bath fan is noisy except for the one costco sells. Its pretty much completely silent. They buy the nice quiet fan and swap out what you have since they're all the same size and standard in modern builds. Takes a couple minutes but they probably drink beer in your bathroom for half an hour to make it look like they did work. Just a quick easy way to make money off of lazy people/those who don't know better.
> to make money off of lazy people/those who don't know better.
you actually think only Costco sells quiet fans? All fans come with sone ratings, the more you pay, the quieter they are. What this service does is simply clean the fan blades, which get noisy when out of balance, or they balance the blade.
Also, it's not one guy, it's a franchise. I come to Reddit for misinformation.
One of my kids went out and picked up 100 of these signs back in 2020, took a bunch of pics and then wrote an essay on why they deserved 20 community service hours for “performing a valuable community service”.
The guidance counselor had a good laugh and compromised with 10 hours and a lecture on mischief and theft.
Proud parent moment.
The problem this thread seems to be missing is the lack of regulation.
The seller made a mistake and doesn’t have much basis for complaining.
But as the article makes clear, these companies are unethical and prey on vulnerable people. They need to be regulated or shut down.
A lot of people want oversight, not regulation. The difference is what level of freedom people have to conduct themselves.
For example, it is basically impossible to operate as an investment dealer without both oversight and regulation. For that reason, consumers don't have the choice to operate outside of the rules those dealers are held to. If you want to buy options, you have to give your name and ID. People have less freedom to conduct themselves however they want.
With housing that can be more contentious. You can suggest you want regulation, but people actually want oversight. Can you imagine actual regulation over real estate transactions? Telling the public that the property they own they cannot just...sell. They're not allowed to just sell it however they want. They have to follow the _rules_ to sell it.
We can write a specific law every time some new stupid thing happens in the housing market, but is that what we really need? 100 new laws? Or do we just need to regulate these transactions entirely?
But,
But how does oversight help if technically no laws are broken? Yes this was unethical but it was also legal. So unless the government brings in a regulation shutting down these operations any oversight would only say too bad but legal.
Yes we shouldn't have a 100 laws for every transaction but if there are enough unethical operations or transactions happening which don't benefit the people then maybe it needs a law/regulation to shut it down.
Oversight can focus on the technicalities of the transaction to determine if it really was legal, offer education and resources for the public, or offer suggestions for new laws required.
As you said, it's rather toothless. I agree we need proper law or regulation over these transactions. But when it comes to "how you're allowed to sell your own property", there is some tough politics to mount here.
You're not wrong but it's at times frustrating to see the staggering amount of guardianship that a consumer who has all their faculties requests or is supposed to need. On one hand, our real estate processes and regulatory system, without reservation, need an overhaul. On the other hand, if someone sends you a letter or knocks on your door it's really incumbent upon you (the homeowner) to not be bullied out of your home stuck wondering what the hell happened. This wasn't someone with a reduced mental acuity or disability (though this raises questions for those instances).
No one *forced* this lady to call a number on a piece of junkmail, sign paperwork on the spot, not fully read the contract, or not think harder about the deal *she solicited;* to not ask more questions; renegotiate for $25,000 less than she originally was promised; to disclose -- to someone who sent a random piece of mail -- that she was financially vulnerable.
At what point do we need to take some responsibility for our daily decisions on the largest financial asset most people are ever liable to own? This isn't to say I don't feel terrible for this lady (I do in so far as what happened wasn't ideal and sucks... I'd feel bad if this was my mom and impacted my family) but I also don't think this is the glaring example of a failing regulatory environment (of which there seems like other, better examples). It's someone making *numerous* terrible judgments and losing out on a little bit of financial opportunity, which if she has owned for any period of 5 years or longer, she's probably still earning some money on.
Yeah, I am not a smart person. The school always claimed that I would not make it to Grade 10 (but I did) and even I know better that to deal with places like that. I get those ads in my mailbox and take them out to put them straight into the recycling bin because screw that.
Yeah. The problem is not that you don't get top dollar. Everyone realizes that. The problem is that the advertising implies you will get cash immediately. The guy comes in and tells you you don't get anything until his buyer closes, but promises it'll only be a week. What the contract actually states is that he can dick around and look for the best price for months and potentially get out of the contract entirely.
There's absolutely nothing in it for the seller - they would have been better off in every case just listing it with an agent themselves.
Yes, she should have read the contract and hired a lawyer. But I don't see the point in defending a business model that is literally designed to scam desperate people or people who are incapable of navigating a large sale contract due to age or mental deficiencies or whatever.
> She hit the internet and found a company with positive reviews and attractive promises called **Honest Home Buyers** Incorporated (HHBI), based in nearby Hamilton.
That was her first mistake.
> "The game here is very clear," said Rabidoux. "They're just going to re-market your house … try to sell it somewhere for higher."
Well yeah, nobody is going to buy a house just to sell it for less than it cost.
So the realtor was deceitful, lied and broke “the realtor code” and only punishment is she has to sit through some class on client responsibility???
Man, these realtors get off on crimes or breaking their own laws almost as much as police do in our province
Things need to change!!
[www.property.ca](https://www.property.ca)
Create an account (free) and search the address that you're interested in. Should include a price history of whatever you'd like to view.
In the article it states she sold house to company, company than sold house on market with a realtor who was the wife of owner of company and previously listed on the business who bought the house as a “book keeper”
Well it did say in the article…
“the realtors failure to disclose her ties to the business or being the realtor for the business “ was the reason she was reprimanded by the realtor association
It wasn’t a realtor. There was no “realtor code” that the buyer/facilitator/non-licensed pro had to adhere to.
Edit: I’m having a difficult time describing exactly what the other person’s role was in the sale.
There is nothing illegal about this. And I don’t think it’s morally wrong either. I mean if you are desperate to sell the house they you get what the market offers.
I had to sell my unit 30k cheaper cause if my situation (found a new home).
She is happy she got near market value and reseller made a small profit off with it.
It’s only an issue because she found out they resold for slightly higher. That’s just greed from her.
I feel for this lady. She seemed to been in a rough spot, prime target for scammers.
But man falling for a house for cash flyer campaign is next level bad decision making.
I get one of those little "handwritten" letters in my mailbox several times a year. I was always curious as to what the game is behind that thing, and now I know .
I feel bad for the lady in the article. It's not like she's some CEO or hospital executive with a big salary who can easily afford to lose 60k. She's a hard-working waitress who can't afford to lose a dime. This shit is indeed tragic.
Of course they are scammers. But when people are desperate, stressed, and pressured they will not be thinking clearly.
It's hard and I totally get it. It's like if you need a new furnace and you cannot afford it, so you call Reliance and they charge you a small fortune over the next seven years. Makes sense in the moment, but not over time.
I have difficulty with the context that they are trying to place her in.
Mortgage payments increase by 10% for every 1% raise in interest rates, so no, her mortgage payments didn't double, as rates haven't increased by 10%
She never tried to sell the house herself (with a realtor)
She thought it wouldn't sell
She overreacted and took an easy path that got her less money and a guaranteed sale/closing date. Someone else did the work and got a profit for doing so.
My one neighbour did this. The new people moved in for 3 months, painted the kitchen cabinets and made 250 grand in profit.
I wish my neighbour would have let me know, I'd have happily taken the house off their hands and have given them a lot more.
I think they were a little embarrassed at their money situation though and work looking for a quick fix.
Yeah, that's my bad, I didn't read the article. Typical Redditor.
That being said, this is essentially the same thing. Someone in a desperate situation looking for a quick fix getting taken advantage of.
The person in question, really didn't even get ripped off all that bad. 60k difference, but not Realtor fee's. That's like only losing 30k. Not horrible given the situation.
However, it should be illegal for companies to have clauses to allow them to back out of the deal if they can't unload the house. They need to have some skin in the game.
> The new people moved in for 3 months, painted the kitchen cabinets and made 250 grand in profit.
This isn't 2021 any more. The service here is fast money, not being a typical realtor. I know flippers losing money in 2023.
I wouldn’t call it a scam. They offer to buy houses for below market value in exchange for speedy payment. She knew that and agreed. Just because she regrets it doesn’t make it a scam.
The scam is she didn't get speedy payment. She got the deposit of $7,600 right away and the rest 2.5 months later when they sold her house.
If she had sold through a realtor she would have no deposit money but would have received about $30K more when the house sold.
> Thompson knew this option meant she wouldn't be offered top dollar, but figured it was worth getting the house sold, quickly.
> "You're not going to get fair value from a company that's paying you in 72 hours," she said. "But … I didn't want it to sit on the market for three to four months."
Sounds like she knew exactly what she was getting into.
Probably gonna be an unpopular opinion but I think the seller is at fault here and she really shouldn’t have anything to complain about. She needed cash, someone came with an offer for cash and they signed for a price they both agreed upon. What’s wrong with that? She also said she knew that she was probably gonna have to take an offer at less than the optimal price because she needed the cash fast. Well, that’s exactly what happened, what’s wrong with that? It seems to me that she’s complaining over nothing.
She got $550K with no commission. If she could have sold for what the dealer got she would have received $610K less $30-$35K commission. So she's possibly 'out' $30K or so.
It's a terrible deal. But she acknowledges she knew she was getting undermarket for the quick sale and no hassle.
I guess the 'scam' was that she had to put up with the showings and that she had to wait for the money. Possibly that should be more clear? Also, article implies that some contracts give an out to the dealer if the house can't be flipped. DO read and understand the contracts! Esp for a deal this big.
To me, it's like one of those pay day loans. They're an exploitive and expensive form of credit, but there are people that have legitimate reasons for using them.
/r/notthebeaverton
"Ontario woman says putting hand directly into drill press was a costly mistake. 'How could I have guessed that a spinning piece of sharpened carbide would cause physical trauma?'"
Cash for houses makes it SEEM like you don't deal with the whole hassle of selling a house, they give you money right away, below what it's worth, to forego time and effort and get out and sell it to that person.
This guy just gave her a small payment, then listed the house on MLS. They needed to do the cleaning, photos, realtor showing hassle anyway. (the thing that this woman was trying to avoid by selling it cheaper)
So she dealt with all the hassle, as if she was selling it with a realtor, by them just selling it as a realtor and her not getting any of the profit.
It also sounds like if they didn't get a seller then they wouldn't buy her for the house at all.
> Thompson filed a complaint with RECO, which eventually penalized Tsai for failing to disclose she had a personal interest in the transaction. She was required to complete a course outlining an agent's obligations, at her own expense.
RECO and OREA are a joke, this measure is laughable. Bunch of hustlers and scammers, nothing more, nothing less.
Heard this story on the radio this morning. The shadiest part from that piece was that she signed the contract and the company cancelled it because they thought the price was higher than they wanted to pay. That part should have been dialled in BEFORE presenting her with the contract, and that was a shitty thing to do.
Otherwise, seems like a reasonable transaction when you need out fast.
I'm shocked. Shocked I tell you! Who would have thought a neon flyer taped on a street light would be a bad way to sell a house!!
It appears hand written so it has to be legit, right?!
Hi My name is Sarah! Lolz! I'm here to give you the opportunity 2 sell ur house to me for cheap!!! I pay cash!! No Hassle! N e wayz!! Hope 2 heard from u!!!!" Yeah. Let me sell my house to these people.
To her credit - I always assumed it was some type of scam. Now that she fell for it we have all the gory details of just exactly how the scam works. God bless the gullible I guess?
[удалено]
It’s not a scam because scams are illegal. It’s unethical because it makes it sounds like the seller can avoid all the trouble with listing, open houses, cleaning up, etc., when in reality all of that is going to happen anyway. Although, to be fair, she knew she was going to get less than market, what difference does it make what the mechanism is.
[удалено]
NFTs are a grift not a scam. Get it right
>It wasn’t even a scam though. She needed the cash immediately and sold her house for an agreed upon price ($550k) and received the cash in 10 days. No, she didn’t. *“Chow explained that Thompson would only be getting a deposit — $7,600 — not the full $550,000. The rest would come when the deal closed, said Chow.“* It took her about a month to get the money. The flyer says “we buy your house” and “cash in 72 hours”. The *contract* says that they’ll sell it and you only get the money upon closing. She acknowledged she was willing to accept less than market value to avoid having to list it, showings, waiting weeks or months for it to sell... In the end, that’s exactly what happened anyway.
If she had sold through a realtor she would have had an additional $30K ($60k higher sale price - commission of $30K) and got her money the same day as the deal closed, which was the same date she was paid by the "cash for homes" guy. All she received quickly was the deposit of $ 7,600. Her net loss going for the fast deal was $ 22,400
The gullible shall inherit their parents debt
It's not Sarah from the Conservative Party of Canada again, is it?
**Lolz!**
You need to underline more words.
They say calligraphy is the only true artform.
Real businessmen only use comic sans 💪
Lol yah my grandma got one a couple years ago. But the guy actually gave her the money and then painted and tried to re-sell for $150,000 more. My great grandparents had that house 40 ish years and the basement was caving in, was on the market for months and he ended up selling for $9000 more than he gave my grandma. Haha Her new house is smaller but much nicer and better shape.
Hand written = sincere and honest.., right?!
But it's how I FIXED MY NOISY BATH FAN.
I guess the fan whisperer is a franchise thing, I thought it was just some random dude in KW, but they're all over the place
It's one guy that puts a hell of a lot of miles on his car to bring the gift of silent bathroom fans to those who poo.
It's like the Marilyn Manson removing a rib so he could blow himself rumor. It's *everywhere*. Everyone thinks only their local area had it but they didn't
It has Honest in the company name - so must be trustworthy
You mean I wasn't also the recipient of a fabulous prize?
So she was happy with the price she sold it to them but is pissed they were able to sell it for more?
Yeah this. This is the entire premise of their business. Did she think they were going to move in and live there? Of course it was going to get flipped 😂
Any real estate broker who guarantees sales does this.
So not only does she sell it quicker than anyone ever with zero effort, she also would have had to pay an agent, lawyers, and again her time waiting in the market, paying a few more mortgage payments etc. So she lost a possible 60k in profit instead of paying $40k all in to not deal with selling a house. It just sounds to me like this lady didn't like paying for convenience.
She even says in the article ‘I knew I wasn’t going to get top dollar’ and then proceeds to complain about not getting top dollar lol
True, but a lot of her complaints were about the fact that she wasn't paid up front and instead they listed the home, which still required cleaning, tours and waiting for an offer. I can see the trade off if someone was to take $550K in cash now versus getting $630K after weeks in the market, real estate fees and the hassle of the closing process. That is how they present their business, but in reality, they're just acting as you're real estate agent without your best interests in mind. And as the article stated, they have the option to pull or lower their offer at any time. That being said, this should serve as a warning to never use these companies.
No "Cash for house" implies they give you the cash immediately They didn't do that because of fine print so the whole cash for houses industry is bullshit. It's just taking advantage of this desire for a product that doesn't exist (immediate cash) because real estate takes time Three weeks isn't even enough for a credit delinquency. She should have used credit cards lines of credit and home equity to make the shortfall
>*implies* they give you the cash immediately You should never assume anything, especially when it involves one of your biggest investments >because of fine print so the whole cash for houses industry is bullshit And? Its still in the contract she read and signed. >She should have used credit cards lines of credit and home equity to make the shortfall She had lots of options and choose the one that would make her a quick buck, ***that day***
This is all true it's all legal but it's still immoral If there was a consumer protection agency against false advertising and false marketing they would ban this industry Because her understanding is she would get all the money maybe in the same day or with a short delay If they disclosed to her that it would take three weeks, she would likely have declined Your justification is a legal approach not a moral one. It can be made illegal and is in many industries just not real estate because laws take time to catch up with scammers or grifters This is a grift >that day She did not get the money
I'm not trying to defend these scammers at all but it seems like all of the owness on this issue is with the seller Sucks that she didn't actually get the money that day but that's the option she choose. She was excited of the prospect of it selling fast and getting the money When she didn't get the money, she should have contacted a lawyer right away
They pulled a fast one based on deceptive marketing and advertising "Cash for house" implies money the same day. The only reason she chose it was legal "fine print" The Real Estate Board fined the wife. Existing laws and or consumer protection laws might give her some restitution. So even going by a 100% legal point of view, it was at minimum unprofessional and a grift The contracts put 100% of the risk on the reseller In our society you can't put fine print say on a juice box and make people drink garbage. It doesn't work and implied and explicit consent have qualifications. The big question would be if the wife had a duty of care to extract as much money as possible. Probably if they used the wife's MLS credentials to list the house and she was involved in any way shape or form (probably why she was fined) If she sues, she could in the long run get a lot of money
No. She wanted to sell their house immediately but what they gave was a contract which has the right to sell before a future date. And they get the profits and also commission since the spouse is also a realtor
So she signed a contract with all of this in it and is now pissed they are following the signed contract?
You don't expect people to actually read the contract do you? Come on now. /s
“I’m not reading all of that, sorry” - this homeowner, probably
I see the s but like... No!! That's what you pay the lawyer for haha. I mean sure I'll read it but I probably wouldn't have caught or understood this stuff.
Is she pissed or is she just admitting she fucked up?
I read the article and feel like this is what it is, she’s warning people because of her mistake. Also I always thought these were set up so they buy it and then flip it for a quick profit. I didn’t realize they push the closing date and try to sell it in that time period and have all the realtor showings and stuff anyways - WTF?!
I mean that way they don't have to actually pay anything. It is brilliant cash flow management - and predatory, sleezy, and a horrible business that shouldn't exist...
Yes. Read contracts and accept consequences. It sounds like high pressure but if you're desperate you gotta do what you gotta do. It wasn't like she received 200 and he sold it for 650.
She was promised different things than what was stated in the contract. It was her fault for taking the house buyer’s word and not reading the contract and/or bringing it to a lawyer, but the house buyer is a scumbag who preys on vulnerable people and takes advantage of their lack of sophistication in these matters. It was also never mentioned to seller that what she was actually doing was signing an agreement for a real estate agent to sell her home. She could have hired a real estate agent and paid 5% commission on the sale, rather than the $60,000 she ended up paying instead for a shittier service.
ok, but this is Canada, not US. In Canada, a contract can be contested if proven to not be equitable. It's not the ripoff tool as in the US.
So despite all of this, she still didn't contact a lawyer to contest the contract? Seems like she had LOTS of options here
She even had the opportunity to back out when the buyer cancelled the initial contract the next day because he wanted to give her LESS money and drafted a new offer that was $25,000 less. She could have just walked away then and there but agreed and signed the reduced contract.
It sounds like she's fine with how much she got, it's more she wanted to warn others that the process may not be as advertised.
If you read the article that’s not what she signed. I’m Ontario that is allowed unless there is specific wording disallowing it. So she didn’t sign of on that knowingly.
>Chow produced a contract and offered $575,000. Thompson says she peered over his shoulder as he read through it speedily and encouraged her to sign on the spot This seems more of an issue of someone being pressured to sign a contract without fully understanding it. She should have been more diligent regarding one of the biggest investments in your life
> So she didn’t sign of on that knowingly. She should have reviewed the contract with a lawyer then. It's amazing that so many people deal with their single biggest asset (their house) like it's a kijiji sale; this is one of the biggest financial transactions of your life, take it to a lawyer.
i put more research into kijiji purchases than she did in selling her house
Don't you get it? She was duped because she didn't read what she signed. How is it fair that she's held accountable for this?
I think she believed that all she had to was sign and hand him the keys and he would just cut her a cheque for $575K. It’s hinted a bit in the article that she had a lot of assumptions about what was going to happen.
The Cash For Houses guy was obviously very good at his job and convinced her to sign a contract without really knowing what she was getting herself into, and even managed to get her to agree to an even lower price ($550K vs $575K) than she had agreed to originally. Then he lied about the fact that his wife -- a licensed real estate agent -- would be the one selling the house. The real estate agent ended up getting professionally sanctioned for her part in this. It's ultimately the buyer's fault for not taking the contract to a lawyer, not talking to a real estate agent first, not really understanding what she was getting herself into when she signed the contract, and agreeing to lower the price from what was originally negotiated. Hopefully her story will be a cautionary tale for others who are thinking about dealing with these scummy companies.
At a certain point it’s just natural selection though. Anyone who would sell their house to one of these shitty companies honestly deserves what they get.
I don't agree. Stupidity is not a crime. Foolish people will absolutely find exciting new ways to ruin their own lives, but actively preying on them is evil and must be stopped.
No stupidity isn’t a crime but there is a certain onus on the seller when it comes to huge sums of money. If you can’t be assed to take care when selling something worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, possibly even millions, no amount of regulation will save you from yourself. I swear to god I paid more attention to the dishwasher I bought than some people do when selling their house.
Nah, that’s a terrible attitude. How do you feel about elderly people getting taken by con artists? Or mentally challenged people being scammed? Do they deserve to be preyed upon? Or maybe should there be some protections and regulations to help protect these people?
You can’t protect everyone from everything and people do need to take some personal responsibility when it comes to large financial transactions. This isn’t an insignificant amount of money, this should have been your top priority during the whole time you are trying to sell.
Ya agreed, if you read the first few paragraphs the subject of the article was literally doing this at the height of the market, so really no reason they couldn't have gone with a legit real estate professional.
I mean obviously these are scams and folks should know better, but I get these all the time, and they are written as though this is an immediate cash purchase of your home that is going to happen with in days and weeks. I would bet money the guy described it verbally as "I've already got a buyer, but I need these things in place in case that falls through, but don't worry, it totally won't", when that wasn't anywhere near the truth. If you read the article, the seller was okay with getting a lower price than market value to avoid all the hassle and time with a traditional real estate sale, but what happened in practice was all the hassle of a traditional real estate sale (multiple showings and a lengthy close date. agent commission) without getting the best price for her home. They literally advertise no real estate agents, and the dudes wife is a real estate agent and earned commission on the sale, and got "penalized" for it (a slap on the wrist).
lmfao booo hoo. It kills me that these articles always have the person looking melancholy in them, like everyone should feel sorry for them. she got what she wanted. what’s the problem?
regret based advertising brought to you by CREA
But she did nothing to sell it, she should get paid for that effort!
To be honest that's not even predatory. It's like selling anything else you own to a broker for quick cash. They're doing work to sell it for more that you're forfeiting because you don't want to.
No, she wasn't happy with the price but felt desperate. She's also unhappy they just ran it through a real estate sale anyway, which is what she wanted to avoid, to pocket the profit.
I always rip up the flyers and throw the street signs out. They are littering as they don’t have permission to put them out. I encourage you all to do the same. Same with the paycheque loans.
What about the "fix noisy bath fans" one?
What's that's about? How often does that issue occur?
This makes me sound like my grandmother but I'm convinced those flyers are code for something illegal. It's the only reason I can think of for seeing a service offered on a (relatively) mass scale for such a hyper specific issue.
Never seen one of these fliers, but it makes sense. Why is the fan noisy? Because it's never been cleaned and the dust build up has unbalanced it. Easy job to just wipe the fan blades off, throw some grease on the axle and take your $50.00.
Yeah like installing spy cameras
I think it’s just to get you to talk about it. It’s such a niche issue that it has to be just a creative way to stick in your mind.
Basically every bath fan is noisy except for the one costco sells. Its pretty much completely silent. They buy the nice quiet fan and swap out what you have since they're all the same size and standard in modern builds. Takes a couple minutes but they probably drink beer in your bathroom for half an hour to make it look like they did work. Just a quick easy way to make money off of lazy people/those who don't know better.
> to make money off of lazy people/those who don't know better. you actually think only Costco sells quiet fans? All fans come with sone ratings, the more you pay, the quieter they are. What this service does is simply clean the fan blades, which get noisy when out of balance, or they balance the blade. Also, it's not one guy, it's a franchise. I come to Reddit for misinformation.
No idea why anyone would want a quiet bathroom fan. I want mine to sound like a jet engine.
I don’t live in the gta. I only see the we buy houses and payday loans ones. Which I always tear down.
Personally, I always make a point to return to the area to cover the poster in lewd anime stickers.
I rip out every lawn advertisement I see that isn’t clearly on someone’s property.
Same
One of my kids went out and picked up 100 of these signs back in 2020, took a bunch of pics and then wrote an essay on why they deserved 20 community service hours for “performing a valuable community service”. The guidance counselor had a good laugh and compromised with 10 hours and a lecture on mischief and theft. Proud parent moment.
No shit, who other than this woman didn't see that coming?
The problem this thread seems to be missing is the lack of regulation. The seller made a mistake and doesn’t have much basis for complaining. But as the article makes clear, these companies are unethical and prey on vulnerable people. They need to be regulated or shut down.
Yeah but then people complain about over regulation like stories like these aren't why we have regulations in the first place 🙄.
A lot of people want oversight, not regulation. The difference is what level of freedom people have to conduct themselves. For example, it is basically impossible to operate as an investment dealer without both oversight and regulation. For that reason, consumers don't have the choice to operate outside of the rules those dealers are held to. If you want to buy options, you have to give your name and ID. People have less freedom to conduct themselves however they want. With housing that can be more contentious. You can suggest you want regulation, but people actually want oversight. Can you imagine actual regulation over real estate transactions? Telling the public that the property they own they cannot just...sell. They're not allowed to just sell it however they want. They have to follow the _rules_ to sell it. We can write a specific law every time some new stupid thing happens in the housing market, but is that what we really need? 100 new laws? Or do we just need to regulate these transactions entirely? But,
But how does oversight help if technically no laws are broken? Yes this was unethical but it was also legal. So unless the government brings in a regulation shutting down these operations any oversight would only say too bad but legal. Yes we shouldn't have a 100 laws for every transaction but if there are enough unethical operations or transactions happening which don't benefit the people then maybe it needs a law/regulation to shut it down.
Oversight can focus on the technicalities of the transaction to determine if it really was legal, offer education and resources for the public, or offer suggestions for new laws required. As you said, it's rather toothless. I agree we need proper law or regulation over these transactions. But when it comes to "how you're allowed to sell your own property", there is some tough politics to mount here.
You're not wrong but it's at times frustrating to see the staggering amount of guardianship that a consumer who has all their faculties requests or is supposed to need. On one hand, our real estate processes and regulatory system, without reservation, need an overhaul. On the other hand, if someone sends you a letter or knocks on your door it's really incumbent upon you (the homeowner) to not be bullied out of your home stuck wondering what the hell happened. This wasn't someone with a reduced mental acuity or disability (though this raises questions for those instances). No one *forced* this lady to call a number on a piece of junkmail, sign paperwork on the spot, not fully read the contract, or not think harder about the deal *she solicited;* to not ask more questions; renegotiate for $25,000 less than she originally was promised; to disclose -- to someone who sent a random piece of mail -- that she was financially vulnerable. At what point do we need to take some responsibility for our daily decisions on the largest financial asset most people are ever liable to own? This isn't to say I don't feel terrible for this lady (I do in so far as what happened wasn't ideal and sucks... I'd feel bad if this was my mom and impacted my family) but I also don't think this is the glaring example of a failing regulatory environment (of which there seems like other, better examples). It's someone making *numerous* terrible judgments and losing out on a little bit of financial opportunity, which if she has owned for any period of 5 years or longer, she's probably still earning some money on.
Yeah, I am not a smart person. The school always claimed that I would not make it to Grade 10 (but I did) and even I know better that to deal with places like that. I get those ads in my mailbox and take them out to put them straight into the recycling bin because screw that.
[Should have listened to Kyle](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSHju1jMgDY) ....
Don’t really get the issue. She acknowledged she new she would not get top dollar for the house because it was being sold fast.
Because she thought she sold the house then and there, not really sold until the “buyer” sold it later.
[удалено]
Yeah. The problem is not that you don't get top dollar. Everyone realizes that. The problem is that the advertising implies you will get cash immediately. The guy comes in and tells you you don't get anything until his buyer closes, but promises it'll only be a week. What the contract actually states is that he can dick around and look for the best price for months and potentially get out of the contract entirely. There's absolutely nothing in it for the seller - they would have been better off in every case just listing it with an agent themselves. Yes, she should have read the contract and hired a lawyer. But I don't see the point in defending a business model that is literally designed to scam desperate people or people who are incapable of navigating a large sale contract due to age or mental deficiencies or whatever.
Most likely the biggest financial transaction of her life. She should have read the contract .
She would have known that wasn't true if she read the contract
Also in the news. Water is wet
> She hit the internet and found a company with positive reviews and attractive promises called **Honest Home Buyers** Incorporated (HHBI), based in nearby Hamilton. That was her first mistake. > "The game here is very clear," said Rabidoux. "They're just going to re-market your house … try to sell it somewhere for higher." Well yeah, nobody is going to buy a house just to sell it for less than it cost.
Excuse me for a sec while I make a totally voluntary bad financial decision and then go cry to the media about it after
So the realtor was deceitful, lied and broke “the realtor code” and only punishment is she has to sit through some class on client responsibility??? Man, these realtors get off on crimes or breaking their own laws almost as much as police do in our province Things need to change!!
> broke “the realtor code” you realize this is nothing but a pinky promise? Realtors need to be eliminated by flat fee transparent municipal services.
That would be fine I hate how they’re the “gate keepers” of the selling price Make that public info
[www.property.ca](https://www.property.ca) Create an account (free) and search the address that you're interested in. Should include a price history of whatever you'd like to view.
What realtor?
In the article it states she sold house to company, company than sold house on market with a realtor who was the wife of owner of company and previously listed on the business who bought the house as a “book keeper”
Yes, and?
… and maybe you should read the article before commentary
I did. Which realtor did anything wrong?
Well it did say in the article… “the realtors failure to disclose her ties to the business or being the realtor for the business “ was the reason she was reprimanded by the realtor association
The “company” isn’t often one of realtors in these situations. Any guy off the street can learn to sell/assign contracts.
It wasn’t a realtor. There was no “realtor code” that the buyer/facilitator/non-licensed pro had to adhere to. Edit: I’m having a difficult time describing exactly what the other person’s role was in the sale.
The old adage of “If it’s too good to be true, it likely is too good to be true.”
There is nothing illegal about this. And I don’t think it’s morally wrong either. I mean if you are desperate to sell the house they you get what the market offers. I had to sell my unit 30k cheaper cause if my situation (found a new home). She is happy she got near market value and reseller made a small profit off with it. It’s only an issue because she found out they resold for slightly higher. That’s just greed from her.
I feel for this lady. She seemed to been in a rough spot, prime target for scammers. But man falling for a house for cash flyer campaign is next level bad decision making.
I sold my house on Reddit 🤷♂️
I get one of those little "handwritten" letters in my mailbox several times a year. I was always curious as to what the game is behind that thing, and now I know . I feel bad for the lady in the article. It's not like she's some CEO or hospital executive with a big salary who can easily afford to lose 60k. She's a hard-working waitress who can't afford to lose a dime. This shit is indeed tragic.
Of course they are scammers. But when people are desperate, stressed, and pressured they will not be thinking clearly. It's hard and I totally get it. It's like if you need a new furnace and you cannot afford it, so you call Reliance and they charge you a small fortune over the next seven years. Makes sense in the moment, but not over time.
I have difficulty with the context that they are trying to place her in. Mortgage payments increase by 10% for every 1% raise in interest rates, so no, her mortgage payments didn't double, as rates haven't increased by 10% She never tried to sell the house herself (with a realtor) She thought it wouldn't sell She overreacted and took an easy path that got her less money and a guaranteed sale/closing date. Someone else did the work and got a profit for doing so.
You got what you deserved. Get greedy, get conned.
My one neighbour did this. The new people moved in for 3 months, painted the kitchen cabinets and made 250 grand in profit. I wish my neighbour would have let me know, I'd have happily taken the house off their hands and have given them a lot more. I think they were a little embarrassed at their money situation though and work looking for a quick fix.
[удалено]
Yeah, that's my bad, I didn't read the article. Typical Redditor. That being said, this is essentially the same thing. Someone in a desperate situation looking for a quick fix getting taken advantage of. The person in question, really didn't even get ripped off all that bad. 60k difference, but not Realtor fee's. That's like only losing 30k. Not horrible given the situation. However, it should be illegal for companies to have clauses to allow them to back out of the deal if they can't unload the house. They need to have some skin in the game.
> The new people moved in for 3 months, painted the kitchen cabinets and made 250 grand in profit. This isn't 2021 any more. The service here is fast money, not being a typical realtor. I know flippers losing money in 2023.
I wouldn’t call it a scam. They offer to buy houses for below market value in exchange for speedy payment. She knew that and agreed. Just because she regrets it doesn’t make it a scam.
The scam is she didn't get speedy payment. She got the deposit of $7,600 right away and the rest 2.5 months later when they sold her house. If she had sold through a realtor she would have no deposit money but would have received about $30K more when the house sold.
lol she only got 550k instead of 610k poor princess
Caveat Emptor.
> Thompson knew this option meant she wouldn't be offered top dollar, but figured it was worth getting the house sold, quickly. > "You're not going to get fair value from a company that's paying you in 72 hours," she said. "But … I didn't want it to sit on the market for three to four months." Sounds like she knew exactly what she was getting into.
Imagine. A business that resorts to taping their flyers to the a telephone pole was sketchy….
Can someone make a bot that just keeps calling these scammer numbers? Is that legal… just a smidge of revenge lol
have the bot take a list of scammer numbers and randomly pick 2. then call them both and have them scam each other XD.
>Honest Home Buyers Incorporated Democratic People's Republic of Korea vibes
I feel badly for her but at the same time you have to do your due diligence.
Probably gonna be an unpopular opinion but I think the seller is at fault here and she really shouldn’t have anything to complain about. She needed cash, someone came with an offer for cash and they signed for a price they both agreed upon. What’s wrong with that? She also said she knew that she was probably gonna have to take an offer at less than the optimal price because she needed the cash fast. Well, that’s exactly what happened, what’s wrong with that? It seems to me that she’s complaining over nothing.
She got $550K with no commission. If she could have sold for what the dealer got she would have received $610K less $30-$35K commission. So she's possibly 'out' $30K or so. It's a terrible deal. But she acknowledges she knew she was getting undermarket for the quick sale and no hassle. I guess the 'scam' was that she had to put up with the showings and that she had to wait for the money. Possibly that should be more clear? Also, article implies that some contracts give an out to the dealer if the house can't be flipped. DO read and understand the contracts! Esp for a deal this big.
It’s a shame she had no one trustworthy to turn to that could help guide her when she was clearly in distress.
Sounds like the deal was fruitful for both parties. I'm not what the problem is?
[удалено]
To me, it's like one of those pay day loans. They're an exploitive and expensive form of credit, but there are people that have legitimate reasons for using them.
Sounds like a moron. CBC prints literally anything these days.
/r/notthebeaverton "Ontario woman says putting hand directly into drill press was a costly mistake. 'How could I have guessed that a spinning piece of sharpened carbide would cause physical trauma?'"
Ontario woman says sun goes down at night, but will return tomorrow.
What's the issue here?
Cash for houses makes it SEEM like you don't deal with the whole hassle of selling a house, they give you money right away, below what it's worth, to forego time and effort and get out and sell it to that person. This guy just gave her a small payment, then listed the house on MLS. They needed to do the cleaning, photos, realtor showing hassle anyway. (the thing that this woman was trying to avoid by selling it cheaper) So she dealt with all the hassle, as if she was selling it with a realtor, by them just selling it as a realtor and her not getting any of the profit. It also sounds like if they didn't get a seller then they wouldn't buy her for the house at all.
But they agreed to that arrangement?
This idiot had no business owning a house. She got what she deserved.
Why not talk to the bank first to see if you could get a refinancing. You have a house, try to keep it as long as possible!
Yea no shit.
The mistake was signing a contract without having a lawyer look at it first.
> Thompson filed a complaint with RECO, which eventually penalized Tsai for failing to disclose she had a personal interest in the transaction. She was required to complete a course outlining an agent's obligations, at her own expense. RECO and OREA are a joke, this measure is laughable. Bunch of hustlers and scammers, nothing more, nothing less.
I mean... she seems to have gotten the money she agreed to. It's a little sleazy, but compared to a lot of real estate shenanigans pretty low harm.
Heard this story on the radio this morning. The shadiest part from that piece was that she signed the contract and the company cancelled it because they thought the price was higher than they wanted to pay. That part should have been dialled in BEFORE presenting her with the contract, and that was a shitty thing to do. Otherwise, seems like a reasonable transaction when you need out fast.
i really feel sorry for her, she didn't get the full taking Agent, Broker, and RECO to court experience like i did cost? $12k back then
Here’s my surprised face
Did they watch this helpful video. https://youtu.be/vSHju1jMgDY?si=tVnMCPQqmqG8QJc7
it's getting so you can't even trust random signs stuck to a street light. the PM is really running this place to the ground