House hunting? Don't do this

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Super weird reaction OP. It’s just junk mail. Do you get as upset when Lands End sends you their catalogue?

Yes! Those bathing suits are highly offensive!

[Anonymous]

My parents bought their house this way. My mom had MS and they needed a ranch style home that was on one level. They drove around their desired neighborhood, kept a list of addresses of houses that would work and left letters in their mailboxes. One person called them back.

Even in todays hot market I hear about a few word of mouth houses that sell that never hit the market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do people get SO MAD about ever being asked anything…

I once had a neighbor ask if we'd like to sell them my car because "We noticed you don't drive it much." Weird and pushy and funny, but not infuriating.

[Anonymous]

You gotta get a life, OP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I get that it’s annoying, but chill. Also not sure why you expect them to quote a price on a property they’ve seen from the sidewalk. Odd.

+1.

[Anonymous]

we took our names off the property tax assessment website

How do I do this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Coworker sold his house to someone like this. Wrote a letter all about how they wanted to raise their family in the home, etc etc.

Nope. They never intended to move in. Turned it into an AirBnB property.

This. The sob story is the tipoff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sunday afternoon, I noticed a guy I'd never seen before messing around with particular mailboxes on my street.

Turns out . . . . He was putting anonymous, un-signed, unpostaged mail in the boxes: "Dear Homeowner, Thank you so much for your kindness in giving this note your attention. My name is DING-A-LING and I am in search for the right home for my family with three little very friendly and fun boys. We relocated to Northern Virginia from K------ C---- and are looking for a great home in which my boys could garden and explore the outdoors. If the stars line up and you are by any chance looking to sell, we would absolutely love an opportunity to speak. We are strong buyers- already preapproved and currently renting, and thus very flexible on the timeline . . ." (name changed to protect the ignorant).

They are SUCH strong buyers that's why they don't quote a price. They instead go on and on about how they are such a great family who will CHERISH "every corner of our home." This ding-a-ling fully doxxed themselves, describing their family, education, job, former residences etc.

We have no soliciting signs and we took our names off the property tax assessment website because of the constant barrage of geniuses like this. The house isn't for sale. It's never going to be for sale.

I do not think someone putting anonymous notes in my mailbox genuinely wants to "Care for every inch" of my 1948 Sears kit shit-box. No, I do not believe that.

Either they fully doxed themselves, or it was an anonymous note. It can't be both.

On a related note, OP:

[Anonymous]

Wow, OP. This tactic works often. A cash buyer and eliminating realtors and staging can make everyone more money.

Get a grip. It took you longer to write this email than to read the letter and throw it away.

[Anonymous]

I don’t know why you would get this worked up about it. Who cares. Let the guy waste his time and effort, just throw his note in the trash and roll your eyes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A lot of us like Sears kit houses/

Plus Sears stopped selling kit houses in 1942, so OP doesn’t have a 1948 Sears kit house. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Modern_Homes

[Anonymous]

i've written letters to folks that own interesting houses, but I send them through the mail. None of them sold me their house, but I did get a response to 70% of the letters I sent, and a builder reference from one of them led me to the contractor that ultimately built my house.

Letters from someone that wants to live in your neighborhood shouldn't infuriate you. If you don't want to sell, then just throw it away.

Now, I *was* infuriated when I got a letter from a real estate agent with a lowball bid AND an unsolicited contract for sale that included a full commission despite them having a buyer that "desperately wanted your house!"

I told them that I would never consider using them as an agent and to not contact me again, and they did not. win, win.

[Anonymous]

You sound psychotic.

[Anonymous]

I offer to sell my house for twice what is is worth, all closing and realtor costs and moving expenses when I get calls. They hang up quickly. No big deal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow, OP. This tactic works often. A cash buyer and eliminating realtors and staging can make everyone more money.

Get a grip. It took you longer to write this email than to read the letter and throw it away.

We sold to our neighbor cash. And bought cash. Both transactions without agents so saved probably $140k