Con artists thrive in boom times

In fact the commission chain, is one of the prime factors in pushing real estate prices towards the final bubble burstEveryone offering a commission to everyone else, and the same ‘bargain’ offered on different web sites at different pricesIs that what is meant by the free market? Subtract the commissions and you get a little nearer realityIn the land of MLS you pay five to six percent commission when you “sell” your homeIn Panama, when you come up against an unscrupulous salesperson, you are paying commission to buyJust figure the base price if the salesperson has offered 10% to your pimp, and has to add his or her profit to thatAnd if you think 10% is an exaggeration, one fly by night realtor, offered 20% by for a chicken-for-the-plucking.

On a smaller scale the cons are at work in many cornersExpat Explorers carried an example in a recent online postingTwo of its members turned over their home for dog and house sitting to a fellow expatWhen they returned from abroad they found lock doors drilled through or kicked in, items of value missing or broken, damage to the building, service charges tripled, and reports from neighbors of loud parties and guests staying for days at a time

The house sitter, a slightly overweight woman in her mid-forties, about 5 feet four inches tall, with large scars on her arms has disappearedThe original con was that she was a fellow expat who had fallen on hard times and was awaiting money from a male friend in FloridaShe ingratiated herself by being “helpful” and providing small services at no cost during the waiting stage

Other expats community reports of similar cons by the same woman came in Boquete and Bocas del ToroLike wife beating, no one wants to talk about being suckered

GOLD AND FEATHERSDid you get the answer to the question: which weighs the most, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold? FeathersGold is weighed in troy ounces 12 to the poundFeathers are weighed in avoirdupois, 16 ozs.