[Holger]

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know or has anyone dealt with a company called

First Direct Investments (International) Ltd.

They claim to act on behalf of investors who want to get onto the property market, have been dealing internationally for a few years but have been registered with Companies House only since March this year. Offices in London and (possibly) Crawley.

They propose to sell my property to one of their investors. Although they sound professional or at least well organised, I find their business model unusual and am sceptical.

More details maybe later, first I would like to hear if anything is known about them.

Many thanks,


Holger

[ajay]

Holger, on Jun 26 2009, 06:34 PM, said:

Hi everyone,

Does anyone know or has anyone dealt with a company called

First Direct Investments (International) Ltd.

They claim to act on behalf of investors who want to get onto the property market, have been dealing internationally for a few years but have been registered with Companies House only since March this year. Offices in London and (possibly) Crawley.

They propose to sell my property to one of their investors. Although they sound professional or at least well organised, I find their business model unusual and am sceptical.

More details maybe later, first I would like to hear if anything is known about them.

Many thanks,


Holger

How much commision are you paying them, and dont be fooled by people/companies that say they can sell it at a much higher price than the competitors.

Thats just a hook.


It looks like they want to charge you money......

[Holger]

ajay, on Jun 27 2009, 09:34 PM, said:

How much commision are you paying them, and dont be fooled by people/companies that say they can sell it at a much higher price than the competitors.

Thats just a hook.


It looks like they want to charge you money......

Got it in one. :-)))

Anyway, let's just explore this a little bit.

They sent a surveyor to value my property (um, yes, I paid something for that, but it was a relatively small sum, perhaps meant to be the hook). He came up with a price above market value. They say they have an investor who is happy to buy at this price but before they can get things moving, they want me to pay a "finder's fee" to protect their interest in the transaction (i.e. not to be cut out).

Alarm bells! Why should I pay up front, just on the promise of a service? Of course they "guarantee" to find another investor should this one pull out or to pay my money back if the deal fails due to their fault. But what is such a guarantee worth? I offered to deposit the money with my solicitor and for it to be handed over once contracts are exchanged, but they don't agree to that.

Out of interest: What would happen if I paid this "finder's fee"? Would they just take it and disappear?

But what puzzles me ist that this is not just a cheap con you can smell against the wind. They have all the glossy paperwork and at least 4 employees all well-spoken and business-like. This means that it must be big money. They would not just go through all this trouble to trick me out of a measly finder's fee of £900, or would they?

I am interested to hear stories of people who have fallen for this and also stories of success (if there are any).

BTW, don't have a go at me. I am not silly. I just want to know how this works and to what lengths they are prepared to go to make money out of it.


Holger

[Monkey]

how much commission are you getting for advertising them on here?

[helenreed]

I suppose the money is in the amount of people they can con. If 10 people are conned per month that is quite a good profit. Times that by a year ... The glossy brochure and smooth talking salespeople are the hook.

A mate of mine was trying to flog her BTL a few months ago (is now getting it repossessed) and had it on with an agent at far too high a price. Through the agent she was contacted by a similar set up who would buy on behalf of an 'investor'. She paid some initial 'fee' and then mentioned it to me. I told her to not pay another penny. Pointed out that similar properties in her block (yes, new build apartment) had not sold for £50,000 less than she was asking so why on earth would someone pay her price? This is beside the fact that the rent only covered half her mortgage repayments. Told her it was a complete con and leave well alone. Couple of months after that she paid £500 for debt-management advice!!?

You just cannot help some people.

[Holger]

Monkey, on Jun 29 2009, 12:09 PM, said:

how much commission are you getting for advertising them on here?

I am not advertising them. That would sound rather different.

But ignoring them is not quite an option either. If it is a con, then potential victims need to know how it works.


Holger

[johnny5thumbs]

Holger, on Jun 29 2009, 05:12 PM, said:

I am not advertising them. That would sound rather different.

But ignoring them is not quite an option either. If it is a con, then potential victims need to know how it works.


Holger

Never heard of them, but anything with an upfront 'finders fee' smells pretty bad ...

[ajay]

Hey Holger,

Why dont you see if you can sell it without an estate agent......interested.

1. where is the property

2. how many rooms

3. approx price in the area, and how much do you think it will sell for

This post has been edited by ajay: 29 June 2009 - 10:18 PM