1818 Cedar Lane

The Greater Nashville Realtors recently alerted its membership of a real estate fraud associated with vacant and unencumbered properties. By unencumbered, they are referring to properties that are owned outright, free of mortgages or liens.

The thieves locate their prey by searching public records, pose as owners of the property and contact real estate agents asking them to list the property.

With the low and shrinking inventory levels, most Realtors are eager to list properties. Plus, it is not unusual for sellers from other areas to own properties in the Nashville region. The listing agreements are signed electronically, which is not unusual.

Once the properties are under contract, the documents – all signed remotely – are sent to the title company for closing. The title company will ask for identification, which is easily created by the perpetrator.

As is often the case, the seller closes remotely and uses their own remote notary public – a co-conspirator – to fraudulently notarizes the documents. The title company then transfers the proceeds of the sale to the imposter.

Unfortunately, the fraud is not discovered until the time of recording of the documents transferring ownership are recorded in the applicable county.

The Realtors group suggests its membership independently search for the identity and a recent photograph of unknown sellers, local or in other regions.

Additionally, it is recommended that title companies arrange the remote notary and the exchange of documents before wiring funds.

With the world becoming more and more comfortable with working electronically and remotely, fraud is becoming more prevalent. Wires are often being sent to the wrong accounts, as hackers are able to impersonate closing attorneys, lenders and real estate brokers. For example, [email protected] looks quite similar to [email protected].

The foxes are at the penthouse door. Let the buyers beware, for when their funds are gone, they are gone.

Sale of the Week

While upper-end homes are selling at a pace even higher than in record-shattering 2021, there is now some room for negotiation on some houses.

There were 955 homes that sold for $1 million or more in 2021, and 1,262 single-family homes and condominiums that sold for $1 million-plus in 2022.

Sales on houses priced for more than $1 million increased 32%, while the overall Greater Nashville market is down more than 20%.

In 2022, there were 10 homes selling for $7 million or more. There were six homes that sold for $6 million-$7 million, seven for $5 million-$6 million and 27 that sold for $4 million-$5 million.

At the $3 million point, the dams burst with 77 $3 million-$4 million sales and 162 sales at $2 million-$3 million.

Remember when paying $1 million for a home was a big number? In 2022, there were 973 $1 million-$2 million sales.

Last week, the house at 1818 Cedar Lane sold for $2.7 million, an impressive price, even by today’s standards.

However, the house was originally listed for $3.25 million by MacKenzie Strawn Hyde, a veteran real estate broker with extensive experience in new construction and to-the-studs renovations that border on new construction.

Cindy Wallace of Compass RE represented the buyer and negotiated $150,000 off the reduced list price of $2.85 million.

With 77 sales in 2002 between $3 million and $4 million, the $3.25 million was a price supported by comparable sales and market activity, yet the market had shifted, although there were 162 buyers in the $2 million-$3 million range, some 85 more buyers than the $3 million range.

The sellers paid $678,000 when they bought the property in October 2020, a time when the house in its renovated condition might have sold for $3.25 million. The house included 4,503 in the main building with an additional 471 square feet in the DADU (Detached Accessory Dwelling Unit) for a combined 4,974, thereby reaping a healthy $573 per square foot.

Hyde noted that there is possibility of having six bedrooms in the main house with two suites on the main floor. The kitchen, she added, has a hidden pantry and a soapstone waterfall island. Including the DADU, there are at least six bedrooms, five full bathrooms and one half bathroom.

The entire 1925 home was renovated with new built-in appliances and still lasted 69 days on the market. In today’s real estate world, anything more than 15 days on the market gives buyers permission to negotiate and sellers an opportunity to “improve” the price, as they say.

Richard Courtney is a licensed real estate broker with Fridrich and Clark Realty, LLC and can be reached at [email protected].