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Friday, January 18, 2008

Another Local Real Estate Scam!




Real Estate Code of Ethics

Click on images to enlarge.
Before the Blogs came alone, things like this would go unnoticed because The Daily Times is too afraid of the Donny Williams & Richard Insley's of the City.

Quite frankly, I have never had a problem personally with either of the two but the rumors of the two of them could go on for many hours, all of which I'm not going to get into.

That being said, let's look at what we have here, shall we? This TINY little gem is on North Blvd. The PROFESSIONAL Real Estate Agent went ahead and listed this property originally for $159,900.00! The Agent was well aware from the very beginning, (for personal reasons) that this home needed to sell fairly quickly.

IMO, at $159,900.00, that's NOT a very motivated price to move a home like this quickly. That being said, they reduced the price down to $134,900.00 in the hopes of sparking some more interest.

I have yet to say WHY this home needed to move but let me assure you of one thing here, the Real Estate Agent was WELL aware of it, hence the final selling price and to whom it was SOLD to!

Once the home stayed on the market long enough where no one was showing interest, in comes the SHARK! That's right, look at the name of the LISTING Agent and then look at the name on the contract of sale. The Real Estate Agent purchased this property directly from the property owner for, $75,000.00!!!!!!!!

Then look at the final paragraph. That comes from the Code of Ethics. Does someone want to contact that Board now? I can assure you, if "I" had known I could purchase that home in pristine condition for $75,000.00 CASH I would have done so for one of my kids and it would NOT have become the rental unit with 5 cars in it as it is right now.

That's right. This Real Estate Agent immediately turned it into a rental property and has taken advantage of the former owners. I could see if they put it on the market for 2 weeks at that price and someone who is desperate for a nice home for their family to OWN had the opportunity to buy it, that would be one thing. But to screw the former owners just so a Real Estate Agent could screw their Client into a quick sale and then turn it into a rental, (IMO) has screwed every struggling prospect and deserves to be reported for this one.

So let's see how many of you agree and let's see how many of you follow up with reporting this one?

Perhaps we should recognize the withdrawn date and the purchase date as well. It was pulled off the market on 10/22/07 and PURCHASED on 10/31/07?????

39 comments:

Anonymous said...

Did they apply for the rental license? It is against zoning to place more than 2 unrelated in this property, have they done that? Guess the Meisers can join their fellow Tony Tank slumlord buddies like Stu Leer now. How do people sleep at night knowing they exploit people down on their luck.

Anonymous said...

wow. This seems to be highly unethical. Any realtors out there want to comment?

Final Frontier

Anonymous said...

You should send Meisers that imformation about going to Hell.

Anonymous said...

IF I OFFER TO SELL YOU A CAN OF AIR FOR 200.00 DOLLARS AND YOU AGREE TO BY SAID CAN OF AIR DOES THAT MAKE ME A BAD PERSON BECAUSE YOU MADE A BAD CHOICE?....THAT SAID NO ONE HELD A GUN TO THESE POEPLES HEAD AND MADE THEM SELL SO CHEAP. THEY COULD HAVE TURNED DOWN THE OFFER.

Anonymous said...

Wow, don't you think there would be alot of young professionals (like policemen,teachers, health care workers) that are being priced out of owning their own house but would have loved the opportunity to buy this home for 75,000.? So the real estate agent takes advantage of the owner by purchasing it HERSELF for HALF of what SHE listed it for? WTF????Which leads one to also ask how much of this crap goes on quietly every day in the city because the mayor doesn't care that it is 85% rental? Transiency is one of the main reasons for neighborhood instability,crime andlack of upkeep. Come on people, get this mayor and her cronies OUT OF OFFICE!! Joe, you are truly the "Charlie Wilson" of Salisbury--thank you

WatchfulEye said...

Anonymous said...
IF I OFFER TO SELL YOU A CAN OF AIR FOR 200.00 DOLLARS AND YOU AGREE TO BY SAID CAN OF AIR DOES THAT MAKE ME A BAD PERSON BECAUSE YOU MADE A BAD CHOICE?....THAT SAID NO ONE HELD A GUN TO THESE POEPLES HEAD AND MADE THEM SELL SO CHEAP. THEY COULD HAVE TURNED DOWN THE OFFER.

9:27 AM

They were in a desperate situation. The real estate market is begining to slide, and they had to get rid of the house FAST. Desperate people have to do desperate things. The point Joe was making, I think, is that the REAL ESTATE AGENT benefitted from the person's desperation. That is unethical. Who's to say that the agent didn't have her eye on the property from the start and overpriced it, knowing that A)the people wouldn't know it was being overpriced, and B) the person was desperate to sell, and could be convinced to get rid of the house cheap.

Real estate agents are just like baraccudas.

Anonymous said...

AGAIN I AGREE THAT THERE ARE POEPLE OUT THERE THAT WOULD LOVE TO HAVE BOUGHT THIS HOUSE SO CHEAP HELL ILL TAKE 2 , BUT I STILL DONT BLAME THE AGENT THE HOMEOWNER COULD HAVE DONE SOMTHING DIFFRENT

joe albero said...

Robinson 9:27 & 10:14, STFU!

You always want to stir the pot! Go back to the other Blogs, please.

Anonymous said...

SO IF JOE HAD BOUHGT IT FOR 75000.00 IT WOULD OKAY ,HE WOULDNT BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THESE PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE HE IS NOT THE AGENT?

Anonymous said...

WOW! now that's reporting. 60 minutes has nothing on you. you bring us the news like no other on the shore. this happens all the time and I'm not sure anyone or anything can stop it. I once heard a rich man say he loves it when the economy and the real estate market is bad, because people like him can buy everything up at a cheap price hold it until it turns around and sell it at an incredible profit.

WatchfulEye said...

Anonymous said...
AGAIN I AGREE THAT THERE ARE POEPLE OUT THERE THAT WOULD LOVE TO HAVE BOUGHT THIS HOUSE SO CHEAP HELL ILL TAKE 2 , BUT I STILL DONT BLAME THE AGENT THE HOMEOWNER COULD HAVE DONE SOMTHING DIFFRENT

10:14 AM

Pray tell, what the hell could the homeowner had done? They needed to sell the house. They needed a real estate agent. It is more than likely that if this agent didn't do this, another would have done it for a SAPOA crony. Would you think before you post?

Anonymous said...

The point is that the real estate agent seems to have engaged in unethical practices: initially overpricing the house (look at comparable sales in the area, by the way), then given the fact that the agent knew privileged information (that the seller was particularly desperate to sell), she bought the house for half of what she initially adevertised it for, and then immediately turned it into a rental to make money. If that is not a direct violation of the ethical rules realtors are required to follow, I'd be surprised. At the very least, this realtor should have a hard time sleeping at night, knowing what they did. Keep on this one, Joe, and please keep on the other issue of the flea market--where's the missing money?

Final Frontier

joe albero said...

Robinson 10:21,

I said I would have purchased it for one of my kids. Yes, I would have carried a mortgage for one of them. NOT to rent out! The point behind it is, THEY could have taken advantage of a great deal, NOT the Real Estate Agent.

I also stated that they should have advertised it for the lower price for 2 weeks. IF it didn't sell, then I can see where the Real Estate Agent would have been fair and would/should have every right to purchase it at that price. I see a Lawsuit in the making here, period.

Anonymous said...

Unless you know the intimate details of the transaction, accusing the agent of being a thief is ridiculous.

A lot of the time a property sold for a large discount will have substantive maintenance, environmental or legal issues that neither the current owner, or most prospective residential purchasers want to deal with. "Fix it up" investors step into those scenarios and take on the problems, and the associated risks, for a reduction in price.

If you're going to accuse people of being cheats you had best have more to go on than raw sale prices. You keep claiming a degree of expertise in real estate, and then you do something foolish like this.

You need to do your background homework before making your assertions, and you have obviously have not done anything like that in this case.

joe albero said...

I did my homework, hence the statement "pristine condition." This home needed next to nothing! Read the LISTING before you crack on me.

WatchfulEye said...

Anonymous said...
SO IF JOE HAD BOUHGT IT FOR 75000.00 IT WOULD OKAY ,HE WOULDNT BE TAKING ADVANTAGE OF THESE PEOPLE JUST BECAUSE HE IS NOT THE AGENT?

10:21 AM

There's a difference in negotiating a price vs. KNOWING the the house was overpriced and then buying it for about half its listed price. If Joe had puchased it, he wouldn't necessarily know how desperate the people were to sell. There are agents who say that the seller wants to hurry and sell, but sometimes that's just a ruse so the sale goes through faster. This agent not only listed the house, they knew EXACTLY how desperate the sellers were to sell. THAT, in my opinion, is EXTREMELY UNETHICAL.

Get over it. Nothing you can say can justify what this agent did. You lost, Joe won. Move on.

Anonymous said...

The point is that no one had a chance to make the owner an offer, regardless of the condiiton of the house, for the asking price of $75,000. It is much like "insider trading" which is also unethical.I would like to say though that I think the vehicles belong to the Steve Meiser who is renovating the house.

Anonymous said...

That's kind of my point Joe. After the property was listed anything could happen. Did a water pipe break? Was hidden mold or other environmental contamination discovered during a home inspection? Did the seller have a tax lien filed that needed to be satisfied immediately? Did the seller need to move immediately for health or family reasons?

If a seller says "I need the the money RIGHT NOW!", there are a relatively limited number of QUALIFIED buyers who can belly up to the table and close immediately. And in those scenarios even the qualified investors will not be able (or willing) to close without doing some due diligence which takes time.

In those scenarios a seller's agent (or often a seller's lawyer) who is familiar with the property, and the problems/issues involved, can usually close faster than anyone else if they have access to cash.

Again, you don't know the internal issues involved that transaction, and you need to find them out before making claims of the seller being cheated.

joe albero said...

IF the Agent had done her job, ALL of those points would have been covered. Hence the List Price of $159,900.00 originally. PLEASE, you have no arguement here. You Lose, period.

Anonymous said...

Anon @ 10:23:

Which of our local slumlords are you quoting - "he loves it when the economy and the real estate market is bad, because people like him can buy everything up at a cheap price hold it until it turns around and sell it at an incredible profit."

Anonymous said...

Your response makes no sense. How is an agent going to foresee things on the front end of marketing a listing that even the seller might not even realize are going to come out of left field?

A residential listing can only cover so many bases. You can do all the due diligence in the world, but unless the seller is willing to pony up the cash for a preliminary home inspection some problems can easily remain undetected until the final professional inspection.

RE surprise health, job or family issues for the seller that would make selling immediately necessary, I was unaware a real estate agent was equipped with a crystal ball as part of their standard equipment.

Anonymous said...

It was purchased by the agent days after the listing was "withdrawn." You can tell from the date on the deed and the listing information if you enlarge it. What does the real estate company think of their agent buying the home within days of it being "withdrawn" from the market?

Anonymous said...

From what I know of this situation, and I did know about it before the house was sold, this is what was relayed to me. Seller needs to sell house fairly quick (a few months) for family reasons. Seller tells Realtor about this up front. Realtor prices house, Seller says it's too much. Realtor says, "we can always lower it if it doesn't sell at this price." Other Realtors tour the house, immaculate, but small, asking price is too high, were their comments. Seller again asks Realtor to lower the price. Eventually Realtor lowers asking price to around 134 if I remember correctly. I personally know young professionals who went to look at it. They were interested, but 134 was still too high for the size of the house, and even though it was immaculate, it needed a lot of updating. Seller's date to sell by is rapidly approaching. Seller wants to lower price further and get house sold. Realtor does not lower price any further. Seller not happy with Realtor. Finally Seller has to leave town. Realtor buys property for 75. That's as impartially as I can deliver the facts. I hope this helps.

Anonymous said...

Truth is the paid 120000.00 for the place put gave the howards 45000.00 cash so the taxes would be easier on everybody since they were in such a jam

Anonymous said...

I absolutely do not care for Colleen Meiser nor DO NOT CARE who knows. Infact i make sure i tell everyone who is selling or buying to make sure they have no dealings with her. This woman has no right to be a real estate agent for she makes those that are PROFESSIONAL agents look bad. Our home that we purchased was listed by this lady. Lets just say that it was 30minutes before closing that we discovered we had been screwed by this lady and not a damn thing could be done. When i went to the board to report her their comment was "I'm sure she did not do it intentionally". LIEING is INTENTIONAL people. The board just doesn't like to deal with such things. And it was our word against hers. Well lets see, who are they going to believe, the purchaser or a LICENSED real estate agent? The lie? She told us we owned a half acre more than what we actually did not to mention all the other little white lies that she told us throughout the process. And a year ago today you can imagine how much more we paid for the land that we never acquired with our purchase price!!!! No one held a gun to our head either but how were we to know (except through the surveyor that discovered how much land was actually ours) that she lied to us and because we were at the settlement table who is going to adjust the price at that point since the bank, the sellers, and the settlement agency all had their paperwork done! How does an agent not know how much land conveys with the house SHE has listed with her face on the sign!!!!!!!!!! It's ok, i truly believe in what goes around comes around. And one day i believe that this agent will wish that she didn't SCREW so many people since afterall it is the public who ultimately gives her a paycheck. I think it's great that you posted this ridiculous transaction that she was a part of-------it's just another reason why the BOARD needs to step up and believe the public over their so called PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE AGENT!!!!! As i said, she makes the true professional agents who truly earn their living look bad!

Anonymous said...

FYI,

The mortgage on this house is for $107,200.00 so there might be more to this contract than meets the eye. The note holder is Suntrust Mortgage.

Anonymous said...

that just means thats how much they borrowed against it not how much they paid.they could have pocketed 32200.00 or used for repairs on the property

Anonymous said...

Is this something for the State's Attorney????

Anonymous said...

Well of course it is Suntrust Mortgage, Rod Flowers loves to lend money to his greedy neighbors but truly loves to lend money (an illegaly out of proportion to one sector ie slumlords) to landlords Plus they both live in Phony Tank-Win Win!!!

Anonymous said...

Slumlord said...

IF I OFFER TO SELL YOU A CAN OF AIR FOR 200.00 DOLLARS AND YOU AGREE TO BY SAID CAN OF AIR DOES THAT MAKE ME A BAD PERSON BECAUSE YOU MADE A BAD CHOICE?....THAT SAID NO ONE HELD A GUN TO THESE POEPLES HEAD AND MADE THEM SELL SO CHEAP. THEY COULD HAVE TURNED DOWN THE OFFER.

9:27 AM


Thanks for that insight Mr. Slumlord!!

Anonymous said...

The difference between this and teh "can of air" example is that a real estate agent is a licensed professional. When a seller or buyer works with an agent they trust that person to represent their interests.

joe albero said...

Amen, Anonymous!

BossHogg said...

Joe:

This is what they train realtors to do in the continuing education classes.

The problem is with a broken system controlled by a monopoly known to the public as the National Association of Realtors.

I call them the Chicago real estate mob.

They lay up waiting for the little old lady with a million dollar waterfront farm who says she could go to her grave happy with $200,000.00

The the agent who knows its worth a million in a quick sale tells them they can make her happy and just write a check.

I know of a dynamic due who used to list waterfront lots in Captains Cove for $25,000 when that was overpriced and they would not sell for two years.

Then they would offer the seller $10,000 as a courtesy to help them out.

The public record would show a sale to the agent (whom had the listing) for $10,000.00 then another transfer from that same agent to another buyer for $45,000.00 THE SAME DAY!

I have seen hundreds of these right here on the Eastern Shore and guess what?

Its standard operating procedure.

These people should have called a professional real estate auctioneer to put cash on the table.

It happens every day.

This is blessed by the Chicago mob and since they spend over $30 million a year on lobbying... its perfectly legal.

Sleazy as you know what but legal.

Anonymous said...

Re the lady that asked "How does an agent not know how much land conveys with the house SHE has listed with her face on the sign".

Realtors are not omniscient and have to go by what sellers represent, and the information they provide, and (to the extent it is available)tax data. Tax data is notoriously unreliable and sometimes old surveys are not much better. Modern surveying techniques and equipment are much more accurate than the older methods.

Mistakes in land area, especially in rural areas, are not uncommon, and are something ever realtor wants to avoid like the plague.


Typically the lending institution (I assume you were using financing) requires a survey to be done as part of the due diligence process, and to confirm what is being sold. Usually the bank requires the borrower (you) to pay for the survey, and you get a copy of this at some point before sitting down at the settlement table.

For the agent to lie she would have to been made aware that the size of the property was not represented correctly before sitting down at settlement. If the survey was not handed to her before settlement by your attorney, your bank or you personally, how would she have known this?

Anonymous said...

"PROFESSIONAL REAL ESTATE AGENT."

Well that's an oxymoron if there ever was one.

Keep up the good work, Joe, and keep reporting the "real" estate stories. The public deserves to know.

BossHogg said...

Typically the lending institution (I assume you were using financing) requires a survey to be done as part of the due diligence process, and to confirm what is being sold. Usually the bank requires the borrower (you) to pay for the survey, and you get a copy of this at some point before sitting down at the settlement table.

This is one more example of the system being broken.

DUE DILIGENCE IS TO BE DONE BEFORE ONE ENTERS A CONTRACT YOU MORON AND REALTARDS DO IT BASS AKWARDS!

If the agent did more than take a few pictures and copy the tax map maybe they could call it marketing.

But no they think people want to look at their high school glamour shots from the mall.

Anonymous said...

Boss Hogg says:

"This is one more example of the system being broken.

DUE DILIGENCE IS TO BE DONE BEFORE ONE ENTERS A CONTRACT YOU MORON AND REALTARDS DO IT BASS AKWARDS!"

Good lord are you seriously this utterly stupid? It's no wonder you lost the Tyson deal. You must have signed it with a crayon.

Due diligence often involves professional inspections and analysis, surveys, title examinations etc., and this costs serious money. Who in the world is going to be stupid enough to lay out a substantive chunk of change on due diligence unless they have the property under contact and under control.

Anonymous said...

someone should contact clark howard. he'd be sure to tell of all the options.

Anonymous said...

Just for the record, I'm glad you know i'm a "lady" in response to your email "Re the lady that asked "How does an agent not know how much land conveys with the house SHE has listed with her face on the sign"--------it's this simple......DUMBASS......IF YOU DON"T KNOW FOR SURE than don't walk out and guide the clients throughout the yard to show them and say "THIS IS YOUR LAND". She was not going off of the tax records.....she was simply trying to sell the house because she knew if the truth be known about the land being owned by a community/church that chances of it ever being obtainable is slim to none. And as i said in my previous "lady" email this was just one of the many wrongdoings that she did. Besides, the more i write the more mad i get, you may as well forget it----no one will step up and see that she does RIGHT.