It was 2006 or 2007 that I first met an elderly gay man who I will call Forrest who came into the real estate office where I then worked. He was probably in his 70s and, while he appeared to be in fairly good physical shape, his rambling speech, faulty memory, and odd behavior suggested he was drifting toward dementia. And though he knew who he was and bragged about his apartment in New York City and his home on Fire Island, I don't think he knew what the heck was going on in his life.
Forrest would pop into the office all times of the day looking for Mike, another agent in my office. If Mike was busy or not in the office, Forrest would walk over to my desk to discuss whatever came into his befuddled head. This went on for several months. I began to dread seeing the old guy walk in the front door.
Mike was always very nice to the old guy and invited him into his office to talk and sometimes take him out to look at houses. I later learned that Forrest had been talking with a different Realtor who I will call Devin. At that time Devin was one of the top producing agents in Key West. He owned a big house and multiple investment properties. Devin sold Forrest an investment property that he owned on Lucky Street (made up name). Devin had purchased that property a couple of years earlier for a little over $500,000 and sold it to Forrest for well over $1,000,000.
A couple of years later I joined Preferred Properties where I still work. I was working with new customers who had moved away from Key West and wanted to return. They were searching house based on price and not location. One Saturday I drove them and their childhood friends to a house they selected in Bahama Village, an area with a large Black population where houses were markedly less expensive than Old Town. As we entered into Bahama Village their friend proclaimed "My momma wouldn't let me cross Duval Street when I was a kid". The buyers quickly decided that house and that location were not for them. The listing agent told me he was listing another house later that day on Lucky Street. It had a pool, off street parking, and a valuable transient rental license. That price was more than these buyers could afford. As soon as I finished showing those folks houses, I called the agent for more info.
The listing agent told me the address - it was the house Forrest purchased from Devin. The agent told me the executor for Forrest's estate contacted him to sell the Lucky Street house, I asked if Forrest had died. No - he was not competent. He was living in a "home" in New York. The executor decided to cut the losses to the estate and sell the Lucky Street house for just $550,000.
I got as much info from the listing agent as I could and then called a customer I had been working with. He was a cash buyer who had been seeking a transiently licensed home in the $500,000 price range. I faxed him the offer (remember fax machines?). He signed and returned it. I hand delivered it to the listing agent's home late that afternoon. It was accepted. My buyer closed the full price transaction. The house made it into the MLS and went contingent on the same day. My buyer still owns the house which is making him oodles of money.
6 comments:
There is another lesson to be learned here too. If the old man’s estate had simply held onto the property, they would be sitting on a gold mine. Perhaps he did not overpay after all?
Dear Anon,
1) Devin had purchased that property a couple of years earlier for a little over $500,000 and sold it to Forrest for well over $1,000,000.
2) Devin did not make any improvements to the property to justify the $500,000 price bump.
3) The old guy was cheated plain and simple.
4) My buyer's investment has more than doubled in value and he has had income of over $100,000 a year for almost each year since.
Gary
Fantastic story of realtor ethics.
Maga Every man is responsible about how he conducts his life. Some lie and cheat on taxes. Some run red lights. Some don't take out building permits or do work on houses outside the scope of permits. Some hire illegal aliens or contract employees so that they don't have to be a part of the security net the rest of us are a part of. Some men cheat on their wives when their wives are not in town. Some straight men have sex with gay men at Saloon 1.
My sister hired a Democrat State Senator to sell my grandparents house when I was just starting to law school. He listed it and bought it himself. I forgot that until I wrote this blog. I knew it was fishy then and know it was wrong now. It isn't realtor ethics. It is scumbag behavior.
I reviewed the Code of Ethics before I published this blog. I am a member of the Professional Standards Committee and I reviewed the Code to see if the agent violated any item. I could not find it if he did. But his conduct was horrible.
I work some very reputable people. I know those to watch out for. Devin was the devil.
Article 1
When representing a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, or other client as an agent, REALTORS® pledge themselves to protect and promote the interests of their client. This obligation to the client is primary, but it does not relieve REALTORS® of their obligation to treat all parties honestly. When serving a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant or other party in a non-agency capacity, REALTORS® remain obligated to treat all parties honestly. (Amended 1/01)
Gary...so the only way Devin didn't violate any articles of the code is if said house was worth the $1M.
Dear Anon, I read the Article while writing the blog. I know what Devin did was wrong. It may have been unethical but I am not sure of that without more facts The Standards of Practice state "Standard of Practice 1-1REALTORS®, when acting as principals in a real estate transaction, remain obligated by the duties imposed by the Code of Ethics. (Amended 1/93). I wrestled with the assumption that Devin told Forrest that he was the owner of the property (his name would have been on the contract, closing statement, and deed). That is factually correct. The property had a valuable transient license which would cause it to generate income probably greater than a similarly situated house with a pool and parking that did not have a transient license. Offering to sell real estate at a given price is not unethical if the buyer is willing to pay it. The property was listed for sale in the mls. Anybody could have bought it. That fact is an old fool bought it. People over-pay for things (houses, art, designer clothes) all the time. If the essence of the transaction was transparent at the time, Devin would not have violated the code. But he still would have been an awful person.
That is why I wrote this blog about poor Forrest. He got taken advantage of - by a Realtor.
I have carried a grudge about this for more than a decade. I wish someone would have filed a complaint about Devin. I don't know if the complaint would result in a finding of misconduct. There may be criminal or civil proceedings for taking advantage of an elderly person that results in a monetary loss. Butthat troubling mls listing that probably gets Devin off. Devin did not force anybody to buy.
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