Sometimes Referrals Just Aren't Meant to Be

I got a call from a real estate agent (or at least he said he was). He indicated that he was from NYC and he had been referred by someone. He couldn’t remember the name, but told me that the person sold real estate. I always want to thank the person that referred me, so I always ask.

I work with a couple of Realtors that do business in NYC, but this was someone I had not heard of before. While we were speaking I looked him up on Linkedin, nothing, Googled his name, nothing and not a good sign.

So, the story was that he had a number of clients that were buying homes in New York, many of them pay cash but others need mortgages. I asked him how he got my name, he said that he did a search and my name kept coming up. I asked him about where his typical clients were and if they were Americans or Foreigners? He asked me what difference that made? I told him I need to know if I will need a translator for the mortgage application. He was apparently satisfied with my answer, but let me know that he would be handling all of the mortgage applications.  

I asked him if there was any particular country or counties that these folks would be coming from? He told me, primarily Iran, but a few from other counties in the region. I could feel myself getting into muddy waters, but kept the conversation going. He asked me if I had lenders that will do mortgages for Foreign Nationals, absolutely I do. He thanked me and told me he would be in touch.

I do not do a lot of Foreign National business, but have done enough of these loans and for the most part, the loans have worked well.

The next day I got a call from the same person, telling me about a transaction. I gave him a list of all that I needed, he let me know he would have everything to me within 24 hours. I told him that I wanted his email address to give him a written list of what I would need from his client, including the purchase agreement and his cell number in case I had questions. He asked me for my email address, which I gave him and he told me, he would forward all to me.

That was over a week ago. Sometimes referrals just aren’t meant to be.