SCAM ALERT Important Scam Alert to All Agents and Brokers Dealing with China. Even homeowners. My name is Scott Cheng, Real Estate Broker in San Diego and Los Angeles. I have offices in both San Diego and Los Angeles counties. I wanted to share a very important piece of information with my fellow brokers and agents. Recently, another San Diego Broker employed me to help with translations on a house he had listed. This property was over $40 Million in value. A group of Chinese Investors claimed they had buyers with cash ready to purchase this exclusive property. However, because neither the owner or listing agent could speak Chinese; the Chinese Investors suggested a translation company be used to help with the communication over email and phone in order to complete the transaction. The seller spent nearly $10,000 on what he thought was a real buyer trying to negotiate this deal. The listing agent finally found my company, Cheng Realty Group, Inc., asking if I would please step in to help with the translations and negotiations of the sale. We easily worked out an agreement between our brokerages. Immediately my brokerage began making contact with the Chinese speaking buyers. Once these Chinese Investors realized they were now dealing with a U.S. based company that could read, write and speak Chinese, therefore the seller did not need the Buyer’s (paid up front) translation service. The so called buyers for this property disappeared. The listing agent and I quickly figured out that this was a scam, stealing from sellers by offering translation services in order to close the deal. My suggestion to all agents and brokers is that if you are in a situation similar to the one I mentioned or doing any type of transactions with Chinese Investors, Buyers, Sellers. Its a good idea to bring in a credible and licensed Chinese speaking Broker in the US. Otherwise, there is that chance you or your client can get ripped off. A very larger percentage of Chinese Investors and buyers are real; not out to take advantage or fraud anyone. However due to the recent influx of Chinese buyers coming to the US to purchase property, Its a new scam we discovered that can easily happen while dealing with this level of language and cultural differences in any transaction, large or small. It is too easy to get caught up in the excitement of thinking you will be able to work with “Chinese Investors”, please be aware there are those who are scamers. There will always be those who will take advantage of the situation in any language. If you are uncertain what to do, please feel free to give me a call and my brokerage will be glad to help.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 19:12:17 +0000
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