Million dollar home lists for $22K
By Greg Collier
The online real estate market has been rife with scams and fraud almost since the beginning. It almost seems like you can’t post an online real estate listing without someone copying it. This is what usually leads to the numerous rental scams out there. However, it’s not just rental scams you have to worry about, but there are scams when trying to buy a home too. Except, the scam we’re about to discuss today had so many red flags it could have been part of the Soviet Navy.
A local realtor in Atlanta found a peculiar listing on Zillow. The home was in an affluent Atlanta neighborhood and was estimated to be worth at least a million dollars. However, the Zillow listing claimed the house was for sale at the low, low price of $22,000. The supposed owner of the house claimed the price was so cheap because they owned a number of properties and this would be a tax write-off for them.
If those weren’t enough warnings, this listing could be a scam, it also came with plenty of strings attached. The listing specified that this was for first time buyers only, who didn’t have any representation. The listing also stated that the price was non-negotiable and approved applicants would pay a $2,000 payment through Zelle.
No matter how bad the real estate market may be, no one is going to sell a million dollar home for .02% of its value. The scammer was obviously looking for homebuyers with no experience in the market, so they easily could be taken advantage of. If a listing specifies that you should have no representation, you should assume it’s a scam.
Lastly, the fact that the listing is asking for payment through Zelle should be a dead giveaway that it’s a scam. As we’ve said previously, Zelle should only be used to pay people you know personally and not to random strangers on the internet.
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