Scam Type
Home Improvement Scam
Business Name Used
Date Reported
Nov 6, 2022
Victim Postal Code
Total Dollars Lost
HELLLP!!! I have been scammed in the process of buying a home and need help!!!! I went through the home buying process, went under contract on September 26th. I sent my EMD ($1,000) on September 29th. On October 7th, we negotiated repairs. At that point the sellers came back and said they got an all cash offer $250,000 (making them $1,000 more then my offer), they wanted to move forward with the cash deal and they won’t make any repairs. I decided to take the home without the repairs because they weren’t a big deal in the grand scheme. For the next two weeks, the selling realtor was impossible to reach, no answered calls/emails, or returned messages. October 16th, my realtor emailed the selling realtor about installing railings on the front of the home(which we were doing) for the VA loan to pass. He responded by saying he never got my EMD and we don’t have a contract, the sellers took the other deal. I offered to hand deliver a new one to him that day because I did mail it, which I had a copy of the check as well for proof stamped with 9/29/22. The selling realtor never responded. So me, wanting answers, I politely knocked on the sellers door and spoke with her directly. The seller said when I asked for repairs “we took that time to take the cash offer”. I said that we had a contract and she said “there was a release of contract signed”. I responded with “I never signed anything”. She said “no, but I did.” So moving forward, I just chalked it up to shady stuff and I lost the house. On October 22, I put a stop payment on my “lost” check. Yesterday, when I met with my realtor, he game me a cashiers check from the seller herself refunding me for the appraisal and inspection I got on her home. I also got my original $1,000 refunded back into my bank account from the EMD they “never got”. Today, my bank calls to tell me, they did in fact cash my check and had to take that $1,000 back they refunded me. So I mailed my check 9/29, they took another deal which was stated by both the seller and realtor on 10/16 & 10/19, I put a stop payment on my check 10/22, and they cashed my check on 10/24. Please help me with what I do in this situation?
