“We Buy Houses.”If you’re selling yours and the pitch on signs around town look enticing, think again — especially if you’re a senior, cautions Lisa Dunn, a realtor who specializes in working with older adults.Seniors whose prime earning years are over should probably fetch the best price they can for what may be one of their largest investments, Dunn said.“There are some people who benefit from realizing a quick sale on their home,” the Burnsville resident said. “I’m a little biased because I’m a real estate agent, but any time you only deal with one person for your home — whether it’s one of these investors or your second cousin once removed that wants to buy your house — if it’s only one person, you don’t know that you’re going to get fair market value because it hasn’t been exposed to the market. I think that consumers are best served when their house is put on the market, as many people see it as possible, and if we can get them to bid against each other, even better.”The “We Buy Houses” pitch is among the topics Dunn covers in educational talks around the Twin Cities. She’s one of six professionals presenting a seven-week series on senior services through the University of Minnesota’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, which continues through Nov. 19.Dunn’s session — covering topics including quick-cash offers, real estate scams and agent vetting — was Oct. 22. It was her fifth time working with the program.Her upcoming talks are 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 10 at Amira Choice Champlin as part of its “The Next Chapter” series, and 1 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2 at the Lenox Community Center in St. Louis Park.Dunn, who works at The Change Agents Group|RE/MAX Results in Edina, has been helping older adults and their families with later-life moves since 2003.“There’s not a lot of us that do it,” said Dunn, who attributes her choice of specialty to a business coach early in her real estate career who urged students to find meaning in their work.“You have to know more; you have to be willing to do a little bit more,” said Dunn, a former nursing assistant at a nursing home. “It’s challenging in different ways than other real estate, but I can’t imagine doing anything else. It’s really rewarding.”The “We Buy Houses” approach may work for some older sellers who are forced by a medical condition to move abruptly, Dunn said.“They know they’re not going to get fair market value, but that’s not their goal,” she said. “Maybe their goal is to get it sold quickly.”Other times, quick-cash sales can be “shady,” according to Dunn. She said a former client, who had a conservator to make decisions for her, was approached directly by a company offering 60% of fair market value. The client signed a purchase agreement, which the company took the rare step of filing with the county, a “red flag,” Dunn said.“I happen to think it was an indication that they know they had done something shady,” Dunn said.She filed a complaint with the state Department of Commerce and, with help from an elder law attorney, got the agreement nullified and put the vulnerable senior’s house back on the market.“Older audiences are more prone to fraud and scam in general. They just are, especially older seniors,” Dunn said. “They have fewer people around to watch them, and one of the keys of being a scam or a fraud is they try to make sure you don’t tell anybody what they’re doing.”A common real estate-related scam is advertising the sale of people’s deeds to them for $99, Dunn said. The invitation is often mailed in an official-looking envelope. The state Attorney General’s Office has warned against falling for deed solicitation scams.Deeds are available for $10 from the county and are not even required in many cases, she said.Homebuyers should watch out for wire fraud, Dunn advised. Beware of emails claiming to verify instructions for wiring money that ask for bank account numbers.“You could wake up the day of closing and your money isn’t at the closing table, it’s in India somewhere,” Dunn said.Certified by the National Association of Realtors as a seniors real estate specialist, she gives clients general advice about housing choices based on their health, finances and lifestyle.That includes knowing the senior housing landscape in the Twin Cities so she can help clients make their next move, whether it’s renting or owning.“I can’t list their house and help them sell it unless they know where they’re going,” Dunn said.John Gessner can be reached at john.gessner@apgecm.com or 952-846-2031.
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