08/09/2021
Senior Citizen Scammed by Investors
"Mom traded her million dollar, oceanfront estate, for a brand new home in Osteen FL worth only 300k!"
My name is Sheryl Stockstill, I’m a real estate agent with Keller Williams and founder of the Senior Care Advisor program with My 24 Care.
As an expert in the long term care industry over the past 12 years, elder exploitation is a big area of concern that needs more attention. As more people enter retirement age, the problem of exploitation only multiplies. Our seniors are very trusting and can be easy targets to be taken advantage of. To raise awareness of this growing issue, I’d like to share one such story that happened to a friend’s mom.
My friend and her husband live just 45 minutes away from their mom, who owned an oceanfront home in the most desirable area of New Smyrna Beach. One day, they received a call from their mom, with some exciting news. She traded her million dollar, oceanfront estate, for a brand new home in Osteen FL. An investor offered her mom any of their custom home models and any upgrades she wanted. Her mom was so excited to have something that was new and low maintenance. She didn’t tell any of her children about the deal because she wanted to surprise them and be independent. Essentially, she was scammed out of her retirement given a home that was worth a fraction of the value. Her mom should have had a very comfortable retirement. Instead, she now lives only off her social security payments.
Unfortunately, my friend's story is not an isolated incident and can happen to anyone. Real Estate Guru’s all over the internet and social media sell training programs that teach people how to get a great steal …… I mean, a great deal. They mail letters, make phone calls, knock on doors, and send emails to people who may be desperate or vulnerable. As a professional in both real estate and long term care, this story really bothered me. I wondered if this could happen to my parents.
In the photo below is my father-in-law Charlie Stockstill. My son calls him “Granddad”. Granddad is often sharp as a whip; however, there are times he can be a little forgetful. I asked granddad if he gets calls from people offering to buy his properties. To my surprise, he said he gets these calls, text messages, and mailings, several times a week. Granddad laughed and told me don’t worry, “I tell them I want a million dollars”, he says. That’s funny until the day Granddad’s property is worth much more than that. Our seniors may not be as up-to-date with the current real estate market valuations. What if his real estate is worth 2 million now? What if he doesn’t share any of these investor offers with his friends or family who may know better? What if he agreed to sell way below market value? I needed to develop a solution to this problem
After some consideration, I realized the best defense to these predatory investors is to create a Senior Care Advisor Certification and Senior Protection Program. This includes 3 important steps:
1. Real Estate Agent Training and Screening
2. Annual home valuation report.
3. Regular contact or communication.
Real Estate Agent Training and Screening
As a long term care educator, everyone on our team should have some level of knowledge regarding eldercare concerns. To be a Senior Care Advisor, agents must complete a 15 hour Senior Care Advisor Training program, annual continuing education, and an annual background screening.
Annual home valuation report.
Our team will provide him with a full market evaluation annually. A home analysis report that is easy to understand and prepared specifically for seniors. The report uses larger fonts, and makes it perfectly clear what the value range is for their property. They can keep the report close by for an easy reminder. In addition, our system will alert our team if their valuation increases above a certain threshold. This will trigger a call or a visit with an updated market evaluation.
Regular contact or communication.
Our team of Senior Advisor Agents will make a monthly call just to say hi. For many seniors, this friendly call can mean the world to them and keep an open line of communication.
Our team is made up of professionals who want to serve the aging population. They are patient, compassionate, and have great communication skills. None of our agent advisors will pressure a senior to sell their home. If they are ready and would like to sell, 2 of our agents will be assigned to the listing and we will order and pay for a 3rd party, pre-listing home appraisal. As part of the agent training, they become very familiar with all the senior care services available within the market. These services include, homecare, assisted living, and independent living options.
Do you have a similar story to share of investors preying on seniors or elder exploitation? I ask that you share these stories with me. Our team is committed to share every story of exploitation on all our platforms, to highlight this growing issue of elder exploitation.
If you know any senior or vulnerable adult that would benefit from our Senior Protection Program, please complete the form below, or contact me directly, at 321-271-5112 or email [email protected]
Sincerely, Sheryl Stockstill.
