Real estate agents remind customers who were there to spy, not buy

She contacted me and said, “There is a house in East Hampton that I would like to see.” It was beautifully maintained, with an asking price of just under $ 3 million. But one thing that was strange was that she and her boyfriend had specifically told me they didn’t want a house with a pool, and this house had a pool.

Another thing that was unusual was that she brought a friend to see it. When I showed her a house, it was usually with her boyfriend. They had been a couple for a while, probably 10 years.

When we arrived for the show, the woman who owned the house was just leaving. The two said hello to each other, but in a very uncomfortable way. After the screening, we stood in the backyard with the sales agent and the customer said, “You know what? I’ll just go back in and have a quick look around before we leave. “

She was in a few minutes longer than you might think for a quick look. As we left she said, “The owner of the house is my boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend. That’s why it was a bit uncomfortable – I didn’t expect her to be there. “

I know some background on this couple, and she’s the jealous type. She was a hair color customer and clients tell you a little more than they would tell anyone else. I put things together and thought, “Oh, now I get it.” I got the feeling that she thought her partner and the ex were still seeing each other. She had persuaded me to get her into that house to find out things. I don’t think she intended to buy, she just wanted to poke around.

I still do hair coloring and go into town one day a week to do it. It keeps me in the game.

Ban H. Leow

Real Estate Agent, Brown Harris Stevens, Brooklyn

We had a listing for a co-op in Fort Greene. The seller – who didn’t live in the co-op and was in no hurry to sell – had a friend who was going through a controversial divorce, with a child and a husband who wanted full custody.

With the kindness of her heart, the salesman says to her boyfriend, “You know what? I have a place available. Why don’t you stay there and just pay for utilities? “

We were not really cool with that because we preferred to show an empty building. But that was what the salesperson wanted, so we said, “Okay, so she knows we need to have access to show the apartment.”

Then I get a call from a gentleman who said he was interested in buying the cooperative for his daughter. He says, “I can’t make it to the show, but I’m sending my daughter.” We were like, “Sure.” He sounded real.

The daughter came to see the cooperative. We didn’t suspect anything until two weeks later, when we got a subpoena and I was told to appear in court. Apparently the “daughter” was a private investigator sent by the husband to report on the living conditions of the ex-wife. She filmed everything in the apartment. We didn’t know, but she had a secret camera during the screening.

Because the apartment was a temporary residence and not fully furnished, the man used that against the mother, like, “Our son got into a very bad situation.”

And I am responsible because I was the listing agent. He said there was evidence of other things: cards he claimed were sent by a friend.

When I told the seller she was furious. She called the husband and threatened to sue him. Then his lawyer told us that we did not have to appear in court. But we took the cooperative off the market, because who knows what else it could do?

The couple went to court and have shared custody. It’s been about a year, and the seller says she will bring the cooperative back to market in the spring. If people come in under a pretense, we have no control over it. We must adhere to fair housing rules.

—Edited from interviews