So emails have been coming in from this person who claims he wants to sell his house nearby. Writes that he needs to get so much from the sale of his property and, as it turns out, the most recent comps should allow him to get right about that amount after sales expenses. Other research revealed that the name this person uses is that of the owner according to tax records and the deeds on file at the state superior court. The property purchase date this writer gave is also consistent with those files. I also Googled his name, the property address and about everything that could be thought of and even spoke to a neighbor who confirmed that tenants did reside in the property as this person wrote. Everything checks out.

Here are my concerns.
--The phone number given goes to voice mail answered by the MagicJack system that, at one time, was full and could take no more messages
--He only wants me to send a CMA because he's unable to speak with me right now due to a disability
--He became angry when advised that we would have to speak at some point because of the number of scammers targeting agents over the internet

For me this situation still walks and talks like a duck (perhaps one from an alleged king of some unheard of foreign country) so I'll be passing on this listing opportunity. Just wanted to know if anyone else senses some funny business here or if I'm just being overly cautious.

Solomon, it sounds like this person is just trying to impersonate an Absentee Owner (sometimes one who is already deceased), and either sell the property to obtain the proceeds . . . . or sometimes, get a cash out mortgage or HELOC.

Your State may have a unit at the State Police or the Attorney Generals Office who would like to receive the information you've collected already.

I deal with absentee owners most of the time. What you describe does not sound like a problem.

If you want to be sure then snail mail the paper work to him at the tax data address.

I don't understand it, but I sometimes call other agents whose voice mail is full. Seems really stupid to me, but whatever.

For the few minutes it takes you to do a CMA, I would take a chance. I listed and sold a property last year where I never actually spoke to the seller until the day of the listing, and I have sold several where the sellers were out of state and we never met in person.

If he wants to list with you, he will talk to you at some point. He is probably just collecting CMA's to decide who he will list with.

Has the Caller authorized you to make contact with the Tenants and make arrangements to go inside and take measurements and assess the general condition of the property for this CMA?

When you do so, you might be able to verify that the Tenants have had contact with this same person and encountered the same idiosyncrasies (handicapped, hard to contact, prone to anger) . . . . and that's the same person to whom they currently pay their rent.

My experience with identity theft in real estate is limited to situations where the property is (or was) owned outright by the absentee owner (or an Estate), and neither the Tenants nor the Neighbors would even recognize him if he ever showed up.

Please let us know if it goes any further. Meanwhile, here's a link to a short article on combining Identity Theft with Mortgage Fraud: House Stealing

Agreed. I really don't see too much of a problem either. It just sounds like a regular FSBO who is probably going to bawk at anything you say you need. Just sounds high maintenance. I'd give it a little more of a chance, check it out some more, before I passed.

Well, I had a little more time on my hands this week than preferred, so I dug a little deeper. This owner has a property listed for sale in another area of the state. I called that listing agent and she confirmed that this person actually does exist, but that his strange behavior led them to part ways (though the listing remains active in MLS). The property was not one that I cared to list anyway and I certainly did not want another problem client contacting me everyday. I have enough of that now.

Thanks for the feedback everyone.