After seeing their $1.6 million home listed for under $10,200, a couple is fighting off hordes of would-be buyers pounding down their door.
After paying about $1 million for their 5,300 square-foot Kansas City house in 2019, Jamey and Lauren Bertram never listed it for sale.
It was an elaborate scam on the Zillow real estate website that took nearly a week to rectify while curious onlookers scrambled to view it.
In order to justify the absurdly low price, the con artist said that the owner was filthy rich and could afford to donate it basically.
The fraudster continued by claiming that he sells a property or two to first-time buyers for less than $25,000 once a year. This serves as a tax deduction while also helping a deserving family or individual.
According to the ad, the home was only accessible to first-time purchasers and was not to be inquired about by real estate agents, lenders, investors, wholesalers, or attorneys.
It was probably crucial to the success of the fraud to leave off the list of more intelligent homebuyers.
Customers were instructed to contact “Mandi” via phone before being directed to transfer $200 to the owner’s mother using an internet banking app. The money would after that be reimbursed.
According to Jamey Bertram, a senior vice president at Burns & McDonnell, an architecture and engineering firm, the couple was unaware of the ad.
He said that he and his wife had been attempting to disarm the individual who had seized control of their home over the internet for the last three days.
Finally, over the weekend, Zillow removed the listing for the home, which is estimated to have a value of $1.6 million.
In order to help users recognize and prevent scams on the Zillow platform, homebuyers were cautioned against sending deposits and warned against sellers or landlords requesting unconventional processes due to their “international status.”
Zillow said that before buying or renting a home, one should always see it in person, make sure the listing is accurate, and never use an unknown or suspicious method to transfer money.
