Maybe the Russian Spy Listed the White House for Sale?

Redfin, the online real estate company seems to be on a roll.  First they list the White House for sale by owner for $10 million and the newest scandal is that they have a Russian spy hired as a real estate agent.

Am I coming down too hard on Redfin?

Like they always say, “You get what you pay for.”  Get $1,000.00 back at close, but we don’t negotiate a penny for you.  In one Redfin transaction that I had, the Redfin agent was out of town weekly, cell phone turned off and no one to fill in for her in her absence.  I’m sure that she could have negotiated a little more for her clients….if she’d been around.  I always say that you can save 1%, but I can negotiate $10,000 for you.  Which one is greater?

Back to Redfin.

A few weeks ago the real estate website listed a “DC Charmer” as a for sale by owner.  I saved the listing for you to see.

Fast forward to today and now we have an alleged spy employed by Redfin. 

The FBI alleges that Ann Foley along with nine others has been working as a Russian Federation agent since in or around the 1990s.   She apparently passed a criminal background check by Redfin and even represented a customer on a transaction.

Hope it wasn’t a $10 million bogus listing!

Redfin itself learned of the arrest in the newspaper.  They say that they do not have a large Human Resources Department or any legal counsel regarding privacy matters.  They no longer are in communication with Ann Foley due to the “grave crime.”

As a heads’ up, many times websites that do not pull listings directly from the MLS offer bogus properties.  Have you ever been to craigslist and read about a house that sounded too good to be true?  Or have you ever heard of a rental scam on craigslist?