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Just asking for other opinions and gut feelings. We have had buyers inquiring about our home through one of the big sites with our realtor. The couple are in Kuwait, and have said that they wish to purchase the home if they can get a purchase history on it. There has been communication back and forth for over a week.

Anything that involves overseas usually sends up a flag for me, but a cursory Google search didn't pull up any other stories like this. My realtor has contacted her manager to see what our next step is, so hopefully we will know something more soon.

So what do you think?

No reason to get a purchase history. Past is past and doesn't prove anything for the present or future market. If I was the Realtor I would send them comps.

Fawn - I would suggest you check ebay guides and type in Kuwait real estate. There is a very interesting story from a guy who was selling real estate on line. Be very very wary!

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charming,

I must be super slow tonight Charming. I went to the eBay guides section and typed in Kuwait real estate and it didn't pull up anything. I'll chalk it up to hosting a neighborhood party and a sleepover in the past 24 hours, while trying to keep the house immaculate.

I'm very leery of the whole thing, and glad my realtor and her people are handling it. Of course you always hope for the best, but I'm also realistic and know that the odds of this happening are incredibly slim.

Hfawn, Simply because the inquiry is from individuals living in a foreign country doesn't make it suspect in my mind but it does mean that you and your agent need to exercise additional precautions so as not to waste your time...

First of all, I would find out if these people are American citizens who happen to be currently living in Kuwait? For example, my nephew and his wife lived in Kuwait a few years ago (teaching in an embassy school for a two year contract period) so it may very well be some American citizens looking to return home in the near future and re-locate to your area. In which case, there should be no red flags except the extra work involved in completing the transaction when the parties are in two different countries.

However, if they are not American citizens, I would then want to know exactly what makes them believe they will have authority to immigrate here? Do they already have a work visa and/or sponsor? Houston is the site of a number of international companies - do they have positions with one of them and thus the need for housing before arrival? If so, it could very well be a legitimate inquiry.

It will be difficult to check out many of the usual areas such as credit reports, employment backgrounds and such, however, if they are not American citizens. Is your agent experienced in doing so and up for that challenge?

Bottom line, it will involve a lot more complications, even if valid, so I really hope that some other buyers show up BUT I would at least explore the situation a bit further. Let us know what you find out.

Sorry - What I did was a search on Real Estate Scams and one of the return choices was - http://reviews.ebay.com/Real-E...id=10000000001599886

It gives a great deal of info on precautions to take to protect yourself. What I find interesting - what Hfawn wrote about the prospective buyer's comments were very similar to what the Ebay poster mentioned.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Charming,

The potential buyers haven't mentioned that they are in Kuwait, but after noting the unusual hours the emails were being sent and receiving the couple's phone number my realtor did a search to figure out where the number is from.

Idaho makes a good point, our neighborhood is near the energy corridor here in Houston so it is possible that they work in the oil industry.

I would think that comps would help them more than purchase history too Real Estate Lady. Then I was thinking that maybe they meant like a claims history on the home? That would also be useful information.

I will be sure to keep everyone posted! I expect we should have a better feel for the situation in the next few days. Things have picked up again, so hopefully we'll have a contract soon any way it goes!

I don't see what the big deal is. The potential buyers contacted the realty which posted your listing for the whole world to see on the Internet. Where the buyers are located is immaterial at this point.

As for asking for past history of the home, whatever that means, the ball is in your agent's court. Let her follow up on this inquiry, as she would any other inquiry. That's why you hired the agent: to represent your best interests. Now if you don't think your agent knows what she's doing, well that's another story.

Relax.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: aychihuahua,

IR - Anyone can leagally purchase property in the US. We have many people buy income property and second homes in my area from other countries.

quote:

Originally posted by Charming:
IR - Anyone can leagally purchase property in the US. We have many people buy income property and second homes in my area from other countries.

I am glad you brought that up, Charming. It bears repeating. One does not need to be a US citizen to purchase property in the US; the buyer just has to be creditworthy.

And, the reason why foreign investment in the US residential market has been growing, especially in the warmer states, is because of attractive real estate prices (relative to overseas markets), low interest rates and the weak US dollar.

BTW, the country with the highest percentage of investment in US real estate is Canada. It accounts for 50 percent of all foreign investment.

Legit! We have an offer. They are moving back to the states in a few weeks and need a home. they have an agent here in Houston working for them.

I guess the reason I was posting was because I was trying to guard myself against getting too excited if there was even a chance it might be too good to be true. This house selling thing is a real roller coaster!

CONGRATULATIONS!!!

quote:

Originally posted by Hfawn:
Legit! We have an offer. They are moving back to the states in a few weeks and need a home. they have an agent here in Houston working for them.

I guess the reason I was posting was because I was trying to guard myself against getting too excited if there was even a chance it might be too good to be true. This house selling thing is a real roller coaster!

YaHoo!!! That is wonderful news. Keep us posted on the process.

Of course non-American citizens can purchase property in the U.S. but I was speaking to the issue of someone purchasing the property for a personal residence as opposed to investment purposes.

That's why I hypothesized that maybe they were American citizens living abroad and moving back home in the near future - which it appears is correct since OP stated "they are moving back to the states in a few weeks and need a home."

Hfawn, So happy to hear they made an offer. Crossing fingers that all goes well!

Thanks guys! It was lower than we can reasonably go, but we've made a very fair counter offer. Hopefully they will take it.

Stick to your guns, Hfawn! Think these potential buyers REALLY want your place and are just testing the waters to see the "limbo - how low will you go?" Hang in there and DON'T blink - that is what they are counting on!

When I read your original note, I couldn't understand the question because, where I live, many of the people are from other countries that live in my neighborhood... and since you were approached through the realtor, I didn't see any issue - BUT, who cares about any of that - you have an offer!!! Best of luck with the negotiation!!

So I thought I would give the latest update. She didn't accept our counter offer, but then this weekend the lady arrived and wanted to look at the house. We verbally went back and forth (through realtors of course), and came to an agreement. Her agent finally got the contract finalized, and now the woman won't return her realtors calls. I'm beyond puzzled by the whole thing, but we're continuing to show the house and have one other possible buyer plus a new showing tomorrow. She was insistent that we need to be able to close and be out of the house in two weeks (she is a cash buyer), but it's going to be hard to accommodate her request if we don't hear back from her soon.

I would be happy if we could complete the transaction with this lady, but we're going to proceed ahead just in case.

Hfawn, thanks for posting back - I was wondering how things worked out! Glad you are keeping a level head throughout all of this - either she is for real or will fade away into the night.

In either case, just keep doing what you are doing and make sure your agent communicates that the time schedule depends on the potential buyer's actions and decisions. Keep us posted and good luck!

So she apparently signed multiple contracts with buyers agents, and she had in multiple offers on different homes. I guess she was trying to shop around for the best deal, but she went about it totally wrong. While I'm sad that we are still on the market, I feel like we may have dodged a bullet with this one.

What buyer would make offers on different houses at one time? Risky business!!! Hope, for her sake, that wasn't the case.