Buying with USDT? Could be a scam?
Not sure if I should post in creative real estate financing. Gonna give it a try here. There are so many news about the buying houses with cryptocurrency, especially in Manhattan. However, it's still not adopted by the majority of sellers. This year when I advertise some of my company listings, I keep getting the leads asking if they could pay with USDT.
One guy scheduled the showing appointment but didn't show up. Another lady got super offended when I asked her for financial proof. Eventually she sent her USDT balance screenshot showing how much she owns, which seems like she can afford the luxury apartment in Manhattan. But I am still very skeptical. It's easy to make a fake balance. I even wonder if this is an organized scam. Someone is behind this to teach people how to scam the agents or the sellers.
Any comments or ideas are appreciated. Thank you!
Hey @Meng Lin - first time I've heard of this. Generally, the RE industry is behind the curve when it comes to tech advancements and crypto.
Inbound leads asking if they can pay with USDT is pretty strange, is there anyone else in your office that's running into the same issue? You might want to flag it for whoever is responsible for lead generation as these are likely scam/spam leads.
Someone getting offended when being asked for proof of funds is also a red flag - you're going to buy a large ticket item... being asked for proof of funds is the norm (along with a preapproval letter if they're financing).
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@Meng Lin With all the volatility in the crypto market I would avoid anything other than cash. There have been some very large failures in the industry recently and probably more to come.
Hi Meng Lin!
I would have them show a preapproval to you as a safety net in case we have another crypto winter.
Couple reasons i am suggesting this.
1.Lender would be required to verify assets and most have access to various services in order to get proof of funds. Typically Cheksystems helps for bank accounts and i forget what is used for other assets.
2.From a lending perspective, coins/tokens have to be liquidated, sent to a US or state regulated financial institution and cannot usually be used a reserves. Hopefully this changes but right now the IRS treats the coins more like property than a traditional asset like 401k or stock
Hope that helps