Ever hear of 21st Century Land Sand Sales?

[cedman]

I think this is ok in GQ... might not be as defined as a specific answer type question but is certainly not a poll. But if the mods feel that it needs to be moved, please do so.

I was contacted by this company because I have a building lot that is for sale and has been for a while. They offered just over my asking price which is closer to the true current market value than my price.

I don't feel that this is too good to be true, I just find it very... timely? lucky? a blessing? I don't want to look a gift horse in the mouth but I've been around long enough to have been bent over a time or two and want to avoid it if I can. I did a brief 'net search and really didn't find anything pro or con.

So, I turn to the SDMB and ask if any Dopers know of anyone who has dealt with 21st Century before or have had a friend or family member with experience with this company.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

CedricR.

[samclem]

While the answers to the OP may well be factual, they'll still be mostly opinions, so--moved from General Questions to IMHO.

samclem, Moderator

[silver07]

I was also contacted by 21st century land sales for our lot in Lake Royale. Have you received any information on this company.

Thanks,
silver07

[depsce]

we were also contacted by this same company they offered to purchase

[MannyL]

I would say if google didn't come up with a site for them they are not legit. Do you have a ph# to call them at?

[depsce]

http://www.21stcenturylandsales.com

and have name number 18008038410

[Ferret Herder]

Per whois search (http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/21stcenturylandsales.com), the domain was seemingly first registered in the end of June. It's weird that a company that claims to have been in business for years would only get on the good ol' WWW in June of this year.

Oh, and check the disclaimer (http://www.21stcenturylandsales.com/jhome/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=64) on their website. It looks like they charge sellers about $1K for getting them together with a prospective buyer. Any guesses on whether or not the buyers are real?

[cedman]

I was also contacted by 21st century land sales for our lot in Lake Royale. Have you received any information on this company.

Thanks,
silver07

Wow! My lot is in Lake Royale too.

Mike Kennedy is the guy who contacted me. Same guy for you?

I plan on calling FL Attorney General's office on Monday and see if they have any info as well as the BBB.

Do you plan on actually selling your lot?

CedricR.

[cedman]

I would say if google didn't come up with a site for them they are not legit. Do you have a ph# to call them at?

Yep, website & phone number with extention number too. Of course, anyone can put up a website at any time.

[cedman]

Per whois search (http://www.networksolutions.com/whois-search/21stcenturylandsales.com), the domain was seemingly first registered in the end of June. It's weird that a company that claims to have been in business for years would only get on the good ol' WWW in June of this year.

Oh, and check the disclaimer (http://www.21stcenturylandsales.com/jhome/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=64) on their website. It looks like they charge sellers about $1K for getting them together with a prospective buyer. Any guesses on whether or not the buyers are real?

The disclaimer states that they charge you if you place an ad on their site. No mention of a fee to make a connection between buyer and seller though.

[cedman]

we were also contacted by this same company they offered to purchase

Do you plan to sell? Was their offer reasonable?

[MannyL]

Their ph# is the same as Ramos Construction http://www.rcgconstruction.com/contact.html

[astro]

I am a commercial real estate agent, and have been for over 24 years.

Here is what they say -


Bringing buyers and sellers together for years.

Because we are not brokers, we cannot accept any type of commission. Once we receive an offer on a property, we will contact the owner within 24 hours, release the amount offered, and provide them with the buyers contact information. Both parties are forwarded to several entities to assist with the sale once an offer is accepted. These include the lending or financing companies, appropriate attorneys, and closing companies that process and handle all the appropriate and necessary paper work and escrow services. Because we are the referer, we attain a referral fee from each party involved in the sale. This makes for a quick and pain free process eliminating the middleman, but most importantly everyone gets paid!


The interesting part is that it sounds like (I'm guessing) they get paid for just making the contact. Whether the deal goes to closure or not is not their issue.

This is IMO borderline practicing real estate without a license. They are skirting being licensed because they are not "technically" acting as brokers, and representing clients, but a "referer". Referers that have a website offering property people pay to advertise on.

IMO this will be able to go on until somebody, at some point, thinks they got royally boned in a transaction and sues the pants off everyone involved. It'll be interesting to see if the court agrees with the notion that they have no representative duty to anyone in these transactions.

[depsce]

I talked to Mike Kennedy today and it looks like he wants 1500 bucks for a marketing fee before I get any paperwork and that puts me on edge normally when someone buys the property closing costs are paid by the buyer. His response to that was would to just float it on a credit card ,and by the time you have to make a payment the deal will be closed . this to me sounds like a con artist so to anyone else out there I would have to say buyer beware. However, this thing could be legit but it really doesn't sound like it. and as far as I'm concerned unless he just wants to send me a check and take the closing costs out of the purchase price the deal is off I was suggest you guys do the same thing my fellow lake royal people oh yeah i almost forgot he even said that he would add the closing cost back into the deal when i told him i was backing out then he came up with his software auto deleting me if i didnt pay him at least 500 dollars really suspicious.

[Mangetout]

Land Sand Sales?

[cedman]

Land Sand Sales?

yeah, ya got me!!

[brazil84]

I don't know how things are done in your jurisdiction, but in my area, it's common for serious buyers to attach a check to their offer sheet. For example, when I bid on my house, I paper-clipped a check for a thousand dollars to the offer. The money went into the broker's escrow account and was credited against my deposit which I put down once we agreed on a price. If the deal had fallen through, the money would have been refunded to me. Attaching a check to the offer shows that you are serious and not just screwing around.

So I would be tempted to insist that they put money up, even if it's only a couple hundred dollars, in order to show they are serious and not just wasting your time. If it's some kind of scam, they surely will not put up money.

[astro]

I talked to Mike Kennedy today and it looks like he wants 1500 bucks for a marketing fee before I get any paperwork and that puts me on edge normally when someone buys the property closing costs are paid by the buyer. His response to that was would to just float it on a credit card ,and by the time you have to make a payment the deal will be closed . this to me sounds like a con artist so to anyone else out there I would have to say buyer beware. However, this thing could be legit but it really doesn't sound like it. and as far as I'm concerned unless he just wants to send me a check and take the closing costs out of the purchase price the deal is off I was suggest you guys do the same thing my fellow lake royal people oh yeah i almost forgot he even said that he would add the closing cost back into the deal when i told him i was backing out then he came up with his software auto deleting me if i didnt pay him at least 500 dollars really suspicious.

Just curious. Are they guaranteeing the property will go to closure for the $1500 or is that entirely your risk?

[brazil84]

Just curious. Are they guaranteeing the property will go to closure for the $1500 or is that entirely your risk?

I don't think it really matters . . . what's their "guarantee" worth? I can't think of any legitimate reason why the seller would have to put money up in advance, since any such fee can just come out of the proceeds at closing.

A good rule of thumb is that "stranger" + "business proposal which requires an advance fee in exchange for a large cash payoff" = SCAM. My guess is that this rule applies here.

[nickspops]

I was also contacted by 21st century land sales for our lot in Lake Royale. Have you received any information on this company.

Thanks,
silver07

Did you or anyone ever follow through to see what happened? Did anyone ever get their money? What happened???

[nickspops]

I was contacted yesterday and today by these people and even though they want $2,495 to "list" my two lots in Lake Royale, everything seems legit, at least on the surface. They are saying they will send me out the paperwork and contracts to review and then if everything checks out by my attorney, I can send them the $ and they will sell my property.

I know this is one of those "sounds too good to be true" scams, but I would really like to know if anyone has ever gone through with it and what were the results?

Thanks,

James

[cedman]

I talked to Mike Kennedy today and it looks like he wants 1500 bucks for a marketing fee before I get any paperwork and that puts me on edge normally when someone buys the property closing costs are paid by the buyer. His response to that was would to just float it on a credit card ,and by the time you have to make a payment the deal will be closed . this to me sounds like a con artist so to anyone else out there I would have to say buyer beware. However, this thing could be legit but it really doesn't sound like it. and as far as I'm concerned unless he just wants to send me a check and take the closing costs out of the purchase price the deal is off I was suggest you guys do the same thing my fellow lake royal people oh yeah i almost forgot he even said that he would add the closing cost back into the deal when i told him i was backing out then he came up with his software auto deleting me if i didnt pay him at least 500 dollars really suspicious.

Yeah, BUT... if the deal takes longer than 30 days, you've lost the ability to dispute the charge on your credit card. At least that is the way my VISA works. Any delay over 30 days and your money is gone.

[cedman]

I don't know how things are done in your jurisdiction, but in my area, it's common for serious buyers to attach a check to their offer sheet. For example, when I bid on my house, I paper-clipped a check for a thousand dollars to the offer. The money went into the broker's escrow account and was credited against my deposit which I put down once we agreed on a price. If the deal had fallen through, the money would have been refunded to me. Attaching a check to the offer shows that you are serious and not just screwing around.

So I would be tempted to insist that they put money up, even if it's only a couple hundred dollars, in order to show they are serious and not just wasting your time. If it's some kind of scam, they surely will not put up money.

I think this seals the SCAM for me, the buyer always puts up some ernest money NOT the seller.

[cedman]

I was contacted yesterday and today by these people and even though they want $2,495 to "list" my two lots in Lake Royale, everything seems legit, at least on the surface. They are saying they will send me out the paperwork and contracts to review and then if everything checks out by my attorney, I can send them the $ and they will sell my property.

I know this is one of those "sounds too good to be true" scams, but I would really like to know if anyone has ever gone through with it and what were the results?

Thanks,

James

I asked for the paperwork to be sent to me so that my wife and I (and attorney) could review it and they sent me a brochure about how great their company is... I'll not be doing business with them. I have the Florida Attorney General's number. I will call and see if they have had anything surface on their radar. Maybe give them a heads up.

[depsce]

Just curious. Are they guaranteeing the property will go to closure for the $1500 or is that entirely your risk?

yes, Mike Kennedy said the property would be guaranteed to go to closure

[brazil84]

yes, Mike Kennedy said the property would be guaranteed to go to closure

Then tell them they can have their $1500 at the closing. I'm pretty confident they won't agree to it, i.e. for some strange reason they don't have confidence in their own guarantee.

[Taomist]

yes, Mike Kennedy said the property would be guaranteed to go to closure


Great! Knock 2,000 off the price and ask him for the total; he can then resell it to the 'guaranteed closure'.