It wasn't until after over a year paying this criminal three times in cash that I learned he was listing my property EXCLUDING the commission for the buyers' agent, which is THE only reason why an agent would bring me a buyer. So I paid Ryan Call for nothing. In fact, having my house listed for so long, has hurt the sale tremendously because now every agent in the area can see the listing history and would think there is something wrong with the house!
Details:
I've had my house in Los Angeles listed on and off with RealtyZoom/ZoomMLS from April 2013 to July 2014 and it didn’t sell. I only got a lousy offer in May 2013 but it didn‘t work out.
Prior to April 2013, I had the house listed with a full service agent and got over 6 offers in 3 weeks, some over asking, but the agent tried to change the commission deal we had and I couldn't take any of those offers thereafter.
The form that I filled online for when I signed up for RealtyZoom/ZoomMLS.com, was very detailed, including, of course, the commission I was offering to the buyers’ agent. During the time RealtyZoom was listed my house, I had the most agents phone calls at the beginning, but didn't know if it that activity was more or less what was usual in the area, or any different to the activity the full service agent had had prior. Then phone calls went down to once a week or every other week. I cancelled and relisted for the spring 2014 in the hope that it would bring more activity, but nothing changed!
I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting agent calls or offers. I thought maybe the market had changed dramatically, until I got a voicemail from an agent on June 15th 2014 who said he saw my house and was going to skip it, but he thought he'd give me a quick call to ask me what was going on. When I called him back he said "Is that a real listing or a joke? I'd never seen anything like that on the agent's comments and I was spooked! Was wondering if I would get paid to sell your house!"
This agent told me that my house was listed offering 0% commission to the buyers’ agent and he sent me a link to the MLS agent’s comments, which are private for only agents to see. It had a big red box with this note inside:
“Broker who posted the MLS listing will not be representing the Seller in the selling transaction. Therefore it is recommended that you execute a Commission Agreement directly with the Seller since the Seller's Listing Agreement with the Broker who posted the MLS listing does not guarantee the commission which the Seller is offering directly to the Selling Broker.”
This, which appears to be a big red flag, is only visible once agents click on the “Agents Remarks” private comments section. So if they got spooked by seeing the 0% commission offered, most would not look any further. I can see how agents would be discourage to show my house if they felt there was a chance they would not get paid their very hard-earned commission, and I'm almost certain many would skip to the nexthouse in case there could be any trouble getting paid.
The removal of the buyers’ agent commission or the inclusion of that note on my house listing were NEVER disclosed to my by Ryan Call and I never saw anything like it on RealtyZoom/ZoomMLS.com. None of this is visible from my online view of the property details I filled in, and it isn’t visible on any website such as Realtor.com or Trulia or Zillow either. It was never mentioned when I signed up for the service online or later, when I cancelled and re-listed. Had I seen such a red flag, I would have most definitely chosen not to work with this scammer.
In the meantime the house has suffered deterioration and has been broken into and vandalized 4 times with over $15,000 in property damage, as it has been semi-vacant. It was a turn-key and now it's a fixer upper! My life is on hold, as I need the money from the sale to move on!
Even if the house was in its original conditions, and even if I re-listed with a full service broker, the time on the market factor will negatively influence the sale and the sales price in additional tens of thousand. Most agents in the area have provably already seen it and chosen to ignore it, when they saw the 0% commission. That will not change with a new listing. Any new agents who have not previously seen it, would see the long listing history. Having been on the market for so long, it's a general agent preconception to assume there's something wrong with the house and most agents would think they would waste their time showing it, unless they have a client that is looking for a big deal. I've seen many articles on the topic, based on proven research and statistics on listings showing activity over time, agents surveys and publications. First, the activity goes down and second, it only attracts bargain hunters and "investors" who offer 60 cents on the dollar.
Then Ryan Call, the scammer, on June 6th 2014 dared to send me an Email asking for $999 or 0.5% to actually put the commission offered to the buyers agent on the MLS!!!
"We have just launched a new program that will help you sell or lease your property faster and for more money. You can now post to your MLS listing the commission you are offering to buyer/lessee agents. There is no additional upfront cost to take advantage of this opportunity.
Please click the link below to learn more about this exciting opportunity."
He NEVER disclosed that this was NOT included in the original price I paid THREE times!!! HE IS A SCAMMER!!!
RealtyZoom.com Reviews
It wasn't until after over a year paying this criminal three times in cash that I learned he was listing my property EXCLUDING the commission for the buyers' agent, which is THE only reason why an agent would bring me a buyer. So I paid Ryan Call for nothing. In fact, having my house listed for so long, has hurt the sale tremendously because now every agent in the area can see the listing history and would think there is something wrong with the house!
Details:
I've had my house in Los Angeles listed on and off with RealtyZoom/ZoomMLS from April 2013 to July 2014 and it didn’t sell. I only got a lousy offer in May 2013 but it didn‘t work out.
Prior to April 2013, I had the house listed with a full service agent and got over 6 offers in 3 weeks, some over asking, but the agent tried to change the commission deal we had and I couldn't take any of those offers thereafter.
The form that I filled online for when I signed up for RealtyZoom/ZoomMLS.com, was very detailed, including, of course, the commission I was offering to the buyers’ agent. During the time RealtyZoom was listed my house, I had the most agents phone calls at the beginning, but didn't know if it that activity was more or less what was usual in the area, or any different to the activity the full service agent had had prior. Then phone calls went down to once a week or every other week. I cancelled and relisted for the spring 2014 in the hope that it would bring more activity, but nothing changed!
I couldn't figure out why I wasn't getting agent calls or offers. I thought maybe the market had changed dramatically, until I got a voicemail from an agent on June 15th 2014 who said he saw my house and was going to skip it, but he thought he'd give me a quick call to ask me what was going on. When I called him back he said "Is that a real listing or a joke? I'd never seen anything like that on the agent's comments and I was spooked! Was wondering if I would get paid to sell your house!"
This agent told me that my house was listed offering 0% commission to the buyers’ agent and he sent me a link to the MLS agent’s comments, which are private for only agents to see. It had a big red box with this note inside:
“Broker who posted the MLS listing will not be representing the Seller in the selling transaction. Therefore it is recommended that you execute a Commission Agreement directly with the Seller since the Seller's Listing Agreement with the Broker who posted the MLS listing does not guarantee the commission which the Seller is offering directly to the Selling Broker.”
This, which appears to be a big red flag, is only visible once agents click on the “Agents Remarks” private comments section. So if they got spooked by seeing the 0% commission offered, most would not look any further. I can see how agents would be discourage to show my house if they felt there was a chance they would not get paid their very hard-earned commission, and I'm almost certain many would skip to the nexthouse in case there could be any trouble getting paid.
The removal of the buyers’ agent commission or the inclusion of that note on my house listing were NEVER disclosed to my by Ryan Call and I never saw anything like it on RealtyZoom/ZoomMLS.com. None of this is visible from my online view of the property details I filled in, and it isn’t visible on any website such as Realtor.com or Trulia or Zillow either. It was never mentioned when I signed up for the service online or later, when I cancelled and re-listed. Had I seen such a red flag, I would have most definitely chosen not to work with this scammer.
In the meantime the house has suffered deterioration and has been broken into and vandalized 4 times with over $15,000 in property damage, as it has been semi-vacant. It was a turn-key and now it's a fixer upper! My life is on hold, as I need the money from the sale to move on!
Even if the house was in its original conditions, and even if I re-listed with a full service broker, the time on the market factor will negatively influence the sale and the sales price in additional tens of thousand. Most agents in the area have provably already seen it and chosen to ignore it, when they saw the 0% commission. That will not change with a new listing. Any new agents who have not previously seen it, would see the long listing history. Having been on the market for so long, it's a general agent preconception to assume there's something wrong with the house and most agents would think they would waste their time showing it, unless they have a client that is looking for a big deal. I've seen many articles on the topic, based on proven research and statistics on listings showing activity over time, agents surveys and publications. First, the activity goes down and second, it only attracts bargain hunters and "investors" who offer 60 cents on the dollar.
Then Ryan Call, the scammer, on June 6th 2014 dared to send me an Email asking for $999 or 0.5% to actually put the commission offered to the buyers agent on the MLS!!!
"We have just launched a new program that will help you sell or lease your property faster and for more money. You can now post to your MLS listing the commission you are offering to buyer/lessee agents. There is no additional upfront cost to take advantage of this opportunity.
Please click the link below to learn more about this exciting opportunity."
He NEVER disclosed that this was NOT included in the original price I paid THREE times!!! HE IS A SCAMMER!!!