Yesterday a potential seller called asking Triangle to buy his three homes! We were very excited! This is the dream – having someone call US instead of us having to find a motivated seller.
We quickly found out he was already under contract with someone else. (insert sad music here)
He pleaded with us to help him. He felt like he had been tricked by this buyer and he was very disappointed in his deal. We really, really wanted to help him because we would have loved to get cash in his pocket! Unfortunately, since he already has a contract there is not much Triangle could do.
Here is where we BEG you to PLEASE read your contract BEFORE you sign it! If you do not understand it, ask someone to translate it for you. Preferably an attorney or paralegal.
This particular gentleman was sent several addendums over several days leading up to their deadline. The seller was desperate to get their tax liens paid and didn’t understand the language in the contract so he stopped reading the addendums. He signed a contract saying the buyer would pay $200 a month over 5 years with 0% interest, instead of the lump sum he was expecting.
Unfortunately as wholesalers, we are fighting a reputation battle, and buyers like this one make it much more difficult. The buyers social media was mostly him bragging about purchasing homes at 0% interest with payments over several years. This makes it feel like his intent all along was to confused the seller with all the addendums.
All hope is not lost. There are several things you can do to protect yourself and your property.
First, go immediately go to the buyers social media – if they are boasting about ripping people off, maybe that’s not the wholesaler for you!
Don’t forget to check to see if they have a website and reviews. Call the Better Business Bureau to see if they have complaints against them.
Are they local?
Also, double check to make sure they are local. In general, their service will be better and they will be more concerned about being honest. The real estate community is small and reputation means a lot. This buyer was out of Florida so he never had a home visit, did his business through text and was not very responsive to calls.
There are dozens of reputable wholesalers in the Tulsa area, so even if you don’t choose Triangle, please do your due diligence to protect yourself and your property!