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Old 01-18-2014, 05:45 PM
 
Location: Central Texas
20,958 posts, read 45,298,124 times
Reputation: 24740

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Quote:
Originally Posted by jghorton View Post
Did she happen to live with your parents and does she basically consider the property 'hers'? -- The problem you could run into, particularly if she were to move into and occupy the property ... is getting her back out and/or keeping her from sabotaging any future sale. If you are unable/unwilling to buy each other out, it would be in your best interest to keep this aspect of the situation under control.
There's apparently no building or utilities on the property, it's bare land, so unless she's moving out there in a tent or RV, seems unlikely.
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Old 01-18-2014, 07:59 PM
 
3,756 posts, read 4,075,188 times
Reputation: 7766
A wacky situation to say the least. My suggestion is for you two or three sisters to find an honest, trustworthy, and reasonably priced attorney who knows real estate and does real estate closings. Make that attorney the contact person for this piece of real estate, and possibly the trust. EVERYTHING goes through that attorney. Have the attorney list the property with a realtor he recommends, or a realtor you recommend, or have him list it himself as the broker (as long as the attorney is practicing in that state, they can act as a real estate broker). That way none of you three would have to bargain, negotiate, or put up with such nonsense. When an offer is received, either through a realtor or directly to the attorney, the attorney should go over the offer with the three of you, explaining everything in plain English. Some realtors do this, many others do not; the advantage of having your attorney do it would be that he is looking out for your best interest. Many listing realtors do not look out for your best interest. If you had done this before, the last listing realtor would not have handed you the listing back because of having to deal with your sister. An honest attorney should do this for free if he does the closing on the property. If he does not do the closing because the buyer would like his attorney to do the closing, the fee should be nominal.
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Old 01-18-2014, 09:13 PM
 
28,110 posts, read 63,531,084 times
Reputation: 23235
I know two sisters that bitterly fought over a piece of property...

The one that lived in one of the units wanted to sell and the other sister that lived in another State did not.

The market was very good in 2007 in the Bay Area and the money offered was a lot.

They went to court and when it was all said and done... the court ordered a sale... by that time the market tanked 40%... plus the court costs.
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Old 01-18-2014, 09:54 PM
 
Location: In the city
1,581 posts, read 3,845,597 times
Reputation: 2417
Quote:
Originally Posted by ocngypz View Post
You know..... I don't think there is any buyer. Just like there's no PhD program, bridegroom etc.
This is my deep suspicion.

Our realtor would call us when the land was listed and say "I think I have an interested party." To which this same sister would reply "Send us an offer." Which never materialized in any of the cases. This sister got on the realtor's case so badly that she quit. My sister is more than aware that a written contract is king-- talk or emails mean nothing.

I really sadly and honestly think she is trying to pull a fast one. I don't know why or how. But this story does not hang together.

End of day today, 24 hours after the initial conversation about this, and I have zero emails, contracts or phone calls which have any additional offers or info. And, apparently, this person wanted a deal right away....

Last edited by confusedasusual; 01-18-2014 at 10:15 PM..
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Old 01-18-2014, 10:41 PM
 
Location: In the city
1,581 posts, read 3,845,597 times
Reputation: 2417
Quote:
Originally Posted by cully View Post
So what is that sister's reason for not forwarding the emails to you? Did this person say not to? And that they may run off in the sunset together once the land is sold?
No reason has been given. Its just a red flag, and one that is too familiar.

When she was supposedly getting married, I asked her for a pic of her bridegroom, her ring, anything that had substance to indicate that she was getting married. Its natural to want to see a pic of your sister and your new brother in law, right? She always had an excuse as to why she couldn't take or send a pic.

This real estate deal came out of nowhere. Now she claims she will send the emails, which takes half a second, but somehow, mysteriously, I have nothing in my inbox.

The phantom bridegroom strikes again!!!
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Old 01-19-2014, 06:57 AM
 
5,989 posts, read 6,748,914 times
Reputation: 18485
Quote:
Originally Posted by confusedasusual View Post
I have an unstable sibling with a history of falling for scams (and another sibling who isn't unstable). Unstable sibling is a hypochondriac, was going to marry someone who turned out to be a Nigerian internet scammer, uses a service dog though she has no diagnosed medical condition which would require one, and is generally difficult to be around.

We all inherited money, property and investments from my mother who passed away last year in equal portions. We had some of the land up for sale, had an agent, got a few "bites" but no actual offers. The agent would call and say that she had an interested party, but a written offer never materialized. The agent terminated her own agreement with us citing the unstable sibling who was too difficult to work with. The property has not been listed since but we had plans to re-list in the spring.

I got a call from this sibling with the following claim: someone called her out of the blue about the property. This particular land doesn't even have a street address, no signage, no nothing. This alleged individual is living in another state, found this land when they were visiting family over the holidays, and tracked down my sister through the trust that owns the land. This person never spoke to an agent, and has been emailing my sister with a low ball offer but has not submitted any written contract, gotten an agent, or been represented by a real estate attorney. I have not seen any of this email correspondence (in contrast,when we listed it with the agent, everyone was on the emails and unstable sis would forward anything that she got from her). Nor am I aware that the trust has any publicly listed contact information.

I think this is so bizarre. My other sister and I told unstable sis that she needs to get a contract in writing before we even consider this. She immediately got defensive and started yelling, but we stood our ground. Does this sound weird to anyone else? How to proceed from here?
Not a scam, just someone looking for a bargain. Ask your sister for their contact information, send them an email to make contact. See if you can arrive at a price, then have your lawyer work with their lawyer to arrange a closing. I don't understand why people who are selling property seem to think that anyone who approaches them to buy it is trying to "steal" it from them. This buyer just wants to get it for a lower price by not having anyone have to pay a realtor's commission.
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Old 01-19-2014, 07:00 AM
 
7,214 posts, read 9,375,282 times
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I wonder if this mystery buyer has offered your sister an "under the table" cash kick-back if she gets the deal to go through.
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Old 01-19-2014, 07:10 AM
 
5,989 posts, read 6,748,914 times
Reputation: 18485
Have the three of you arrived at a price that you want for the property? I don't think it's unreasonable for this potential buyer to want to arrive at a price before he goes through the trouble of submitting the offer in writing. Offers in writing aren't worth any more than a verbal offer - after all, if you accept the offer, and he immediately says, "Never mind, don't want it, not bothering with the septic and well tests, just don't want it" - you can't hold him to the deal. But if the sister hasn't forwarded you the emails from the supposed buyer, then based upon her past history, it's probably your SISTER's scam, not a buyer's scam.

I'm sure that the three of you had agreed upon the listing price in the past. Tell her to tell him to send an offer in writing for that listing price minus whatever the realtor's commission was, and then forget about it, because she's probably lying.
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Old 01-19-2014, 08:58 AM
 
5,048 posts, read 9,585,378 times
Reputation: 4180
Quote:
Originally Posted by confusedasusual View Post
No reason has been given. Its just a red flag, and one that is too familiar.

When she was supposedly getting married, I asked her for a pic of her bridegroom, her ring, anything that had substance to indicate that she was getting married. Its natural to want to see a pic of your sister and your new brother in law, right? She always had an excuse as to why she couldn't take or send a pic.

This real estate deal came out of nowhere. Now she claims she will send the emails, which takes half a second, but somehow, mysteriously, I have nothing in my inbox.

The phantom bridegroom strikes again!!!
I seriously think it would be best to have her out of the picture and not such a point person in all this. You don't need to have her declared incompetent or anything so harsh...just appeal to her greed and ego and try to give her her share, buy her out, based on a stated number of appraisals, such agreement signed by all. Sometimes it's one, sometimes 2 or 3. I'd be concerned she would sell legally or illegally all the property, entangling it for some time. She could forge; does she have your passwords? Just having her out of the picture would be a relief to all.
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Old 01-19-2014, 09:00 AM
 
5,048 posts, read 9,585,378 times
Reputation: 4180
PS Was the realtor a real person? Did you meet the realtor? Or was she a figment? Your sister could be good at IT stuff and could have made up those emails herself.
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