I took an assignment from them as a new provider on 05/23/2025. Normally I do not do business with companies that are “we offer cash for your home” style businesses, however a local real estate agent said she provided this company my contact info and they are reputable.
Sadly they are not. They requested an invoice from me with either a Zelle, CashApp or my own internal credit card processor (I use PayPal to process my card transactions) to pay the invoice. I sent them an invoice thru PayPal and not only have they not paid as promised in 3 separate emails, but they actually tried to withdraw cash from my PayPal last night, which requires my authorization, so I was able to stop them immediately.
They have business locations all across the Southern United States. I would think twice about accepting an assignment from them as they are all interconnected (you call their Florida number and someone in Atlanta answers, then the next time someone in Maryland, etc).
They obviously aren’t going to pay for the service (which was both notarizations and a field inspection), so I just wanted to make everyone aware.
In the past, I performed work for a company that buys land. They pre-paid me and everything worked out. I made sure the person signing the documents understood my role as an impartial Public Official/Notary Public’s role in the whole process. There’s scammers out there that we have to beware and protect ourselves against phishing attack of in this business.
Just curious as to how they operate. You said the job was BOTH an inspection and had documents to notarize. Wondering what the notarized docs were? (Hopefully NOT a Deed!)
ANNND…WOW…they actually tried to pull cash from your PayPal account?!? Report 'em to your state’s Attorney General.
The documents were a Power Of Attorney, exclusuve right to buy for 4 months and a contract to purchase. No deed thankfully. No mortgage either.
They required 20 interior and 20 exterior photos of the property.
I have reported them to law enforcement. They tried to remove $800 from my account, which is almost 5x the fee they were supposed to pay me.
What the seller told me was this company buys the property as is. The photos are used to determine the repairs/remodeling needed. Then they remodel and relist the property in 45 days. The flipper never sees the property, does it all via photos.
Y’all, I’ve been approached by several “one-off” companies like the one described in this thread and I’ve been tempted to accept some assignments from them. Stuff like process server jobs, photographing residential and commercial buildings, auto accident evidence, access routes and so on. I quickly found out (in my early days as a notary) that serving a process to a person in divorce proceedings ain’t much fun. Taking picture of a house that’s in some sort of a dispute where the occupant is drunk and pissed off is kinda dangerous. Photgraphing someone’s wrecked car is no delight. No, no more of that for me.
Before I take on any one-offs, I do my due diligence (aren’t you tired of hearing that phrase?). I don’t even take on any new signing service until I do some checking to be sure I’ll get paid in a timely manner.
Here’s some [unwanted?] advice. You’re a businessperson. Never stray from your diligence processes and protocols. Risk assess any and every one off deal that presents itself. Keep dated notes on what you find. And, if you can’t discern that the fee is worth the time/risk, skip it.
I was a fraud investigator and risk analyst for 35 years. I learned a thing or two. Be careful out there.
All very sound items/suggestions. Had it not been a referral from a local real estate agent who I have done 75 plus transactions for, I never would have done this dual notary/field inspection assignment.
The good news is it was an estate situation, so no hostilities with the clients. As far as due diligence, there are no reviews on this forum, and the company is well rated on the BBB and their local board of realtors. That’s what’s so difficult about this, the fact that even with a referral, a good rating on the BBB and a good rating with the local board, they obviously have issues. As a follow up, they are not answering my calls or emails asking for payment and an explanation of why they attempted a debit to my account instead of payment. Their local representatives telephone number is now disconnected and her email address bounces back as undeliverable.
This company called me yesterday and advised me to collect my fee from the person I did the notarizations for (in other words the property seller) and they have blocked my number at their Miami regional office.
I just spoke to their corporate office today, which is in S. Carolina and the manager there said that he was under the impression that I was paid via Zelle, and then put me on hold, coming back on the line saying call him back in 30 minutes. Needless to say, my telephone number is blocked there as well when I attempted the call back.
Update to the update. The person who I did the notarizations for contacted me. She texted me to say that she has had words with SB (Solution Based) Homebuyers as well. She asked them if I had been paid and they told her no. She demanded that they pay me, and 1 hour later I got an email with payment in full.
for sharing your direct experience.