Brokers not recall clients who were there to spy, not to buy

Broker, The Corcoran Group, Bridgehampton, NY

I worked for 27 years as a hair dye worker in Manhattan at some of the best salons on Madison Avenue before starting in real estate. These are the people who own homes in the Hamptons or want homes in the Hamptons, so it was a very good customer base. Many of my hair color clients have turned into regular clients over the years, and this client was one of them.

She contacted me and said, “There’s a house in East Hampton I want to look at.” It is beautifully maintained, with a asking price just under $ 3 million. But something that was weird was that she and her boyfriend specifically told me that they did not want a house with a pool, and that this house had a pool.


She made me rope to get her into that house to check things out.


– Broker Michael Lynch

Another unusual thing was that she took a friend with her to see it. When I showed her a house, it was mostly with her boyfriend. They were a couple, probably ten years, a couple.

When we arrived for the show, the woman who owns the house left. The two of them said hello to each other in a very awkward way. After the show, we stood in the backyard with the sales agent and the customer said, ‘You know what? I’m just going to go in again and check back quickly before we leave. ‘

She was a few minutes longer inside than one would think to look at quickly. When we left, she said, ‘The owner of the house is my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. That’s why it’s a little uncomfortable – I did not expect her to be there. ‘

I know a little background about this couple, and she’s the jealous type. She was a hair color customer, and customers tell you something more than they would tell anyone else. I put things together and thought, ‘Oh, now I get it.’ I got the feeling that she thinks her partner and the ex still see each other. She made me rope to get her into that house to check things out. I do not think she intended to buy, she just wanted to sniff.

I still do hair coloring and go into town one day a week to do it. It keeps me in the game.

Prohibition H. Leow

Broker, Brown Harris Stevens, Brooklyn

We had a listing for a cooperative in Fort Greene. The seller – who did not live in the cooperative and did not want to sell quickly – had a friend who had a controversial divorce, with a child and a husband who wanted full custody.

Through the kindness of her heart, the saleswoman said to her friend, ‘Do you know what? I have space available. Why not stay there and pay only for utilities? ‘

We were not really nice with it because we would rather display a vacant property. But that was what the seller wanted, and we said, ‘OK, just so she knows we need to have access to show the apartment.’


Illustration:

Sol Cotti

Then I get a call from a man who said he was interested in buying the cooperative for his daughter. He says, “I will not be able to do this, but I will send my daughter.” We were like, “Sure.” He sounded genuine.

The daughter comes to look at the cooperative. We only suspected something two weeks later when we received a summons and I was told to appear in court. The ‘daughter’ was apparently a private investigator sent by the man to report on the ex – wife’s living conditions. She filmed everything in the apartment. We did not know, but she had a secret camera during the show.

Because the apartment remained temporary and was not fully furnished, the man used it against the mother, such as: ‘Our son was put in a very bad situation.’

And I’m responsible because I was the listing agent. He said there was evidence of other things: cards he said were sent by a boyfriend.

When I told the seller, she was alive. She called the man and threatened to sue him. After that happened, his lawyer told us we did not have to appear in court. But we have taken the cooperative off the market, because who knows what else he can do?

The couple went to court and have shared custody. It took about a year and the seller might say that she will put the cooperative back on the market in the spring. If people come under pretense, we can not control it. We must adhere to the fair housing rules.

Copyright © 2020 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All rights reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

.Source