Writing a letter to prospective sellers aka, "are you selling your house soon?"

[Anonymous]

We've targeted several neighborhoods in the town (DC suburb) we want to live in. We can afford the size house we want. We really, really want to go under contract in the next 6 months.

I can see a scenario where we compromise on a house, buying a smaller house that needs a bump out and kitchen gut job, etc, and then one of the homes we'd prefer comes on the market a week later.

Our realtor suggested writing letters to prospective sellers. I know it only takes one, but how many homes should we include in the list? Only homes where owners have been there 20+ years? 30+ years? Original owners only? What if we don't know the floorplan, only the square footage? Any sense of "don't bother unless you have 20 homes on your list" or "don't bother unless you have 100 homes on your list"?

Do you know anyone who has had success with this? Any stories to share?

[Anonymous]

If you sent me that letter I'd throw it out. I don't accept cold calls.

[Anonymous]

As you should already know, home owners HATE receiving such letters. Please refrain.

[Anonymous]

I'd ignore the letter too. I don't see how this will work.

Wait for the house you want (or find something that you really like/love/can fix to fit your dream) - otherwise you'll always be looking for what you missed.

[Anonymous]

Yes, I have received them and I think they are AWFUL.

Just post in the listservs what you are looking for. Much less obnoxious.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you sent me that letter I'd throw it out. I don't accept cold calls.

OK, but what if you were actually getting ready to put your house on the market? Like, you were renting a pod, replacing carpet, etc? You would still throw it out?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes, I have received them and I think they are AWFUL.

Just post in the listservs what you are looking for. Much less obnoxious.

Much better idea. Find FB pages for the neighborhood, or if you have friends in the area, ask if they would post for you on Nextdoor.

[Anonymous]

Imagine you own a house and some stranger sends you a letter asking to sell it to you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you sent me that letter I'd throw it out. I don't accept cold calls.

OK, but what if you were actually getting ready to put your house on the market? Like, you were renting a pod, replacing carpet, etc? You would still throw it out?

If you had a realtor with good connections in the area, they would know about houses preparing to go on the market.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine you own a house and some stranger sends you a letter asking to sell it to you.

No, I'm imagining I'm planning to put my house on the market soonish, and an agent sends me a letter that says "I have a client interested in your neighborhood/your home model. Please let us know if you are planning to sell it soon."

I'm not seeing the awfulness??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you sent me that letter I'd throw it out. I don't accept cold calls.

OK, but what if you were actually getting ready to put your house on the market? Like, you were renting a pod, replacing carpet, etc? You would still throw it out?

If you had a realtor with good connections in the area, they would know about houses preparing to go on the market.

Maybe 2 weeks in advance, but would they know about homes 3 months in advance? People don't necessarily get agents that early.

If you've lived in a large SFH for 30+ years, it can take a long time to get it ready for market.

[Anonymous]

It's like hovering over a table at a restaurant waiting for the other couple to finish their meal. Just rude.

[Anonymous]

12:54 again - if your real estate agent is so far off his or her game, then perhaps you need another one.

The thing is, most desirable neighborhoods already receive endless solicitations to sell their homes. Yours will just be an additional annoyance that gets thrown away.

We are not lacking in buyers, and putting our house on the open market exactly when we're ready means a better sale outcome.

My advice to you is: try your best to get an "in" in the neighborhood you want, but don't stress - the spring market is when most sellers put their house for sale, so you'd best wait for that. And be prepared to make an offer the same day the house goes on the market! Be approved beforehand, have all your ducks in a row.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you sent me that letter I'd throw it out. I don't accept cold calls.

OK, but what if you were actually getting ready to put your house on the market? Like, you were renting a pod, replacing carpet, etc? You would still throw it out?

I sell to qualified buyers who can pay cash and close in 30. I figure someone buying off the street is probably going to need a mortgage.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Imagine you own a house and some stranger sends you a letter asking to sell it to you.

As someone who has received a lot of those letters, I find it flattering and encouraging. I show it do DH, he smiles and then it goes in the recycle bin. There is exactly zero harm.

To OP, my main advice would be to have your realtor send the letter under their letterhead. After that, you have different options. You can drive around and note the addresses you like and then send the letter only to those houses. You could send it to everyone in the neighborhood. Or, you could target types of owners as you suggest. I think this last one is a bit iffy. Most of my older neighbors have no interest in moving. The younger ones may be more persuadable, however you'll need to offer a premium because thye will obviously need to find somewhere else to move to.

Personally, from everything I have heard, I think advice about a neighborhood listserv postings is the best move. I know someone who has done this and was successful. We also had someone in our neighborhood sell their house through a "make me move" ad on Zillow and there was a private sale of a house down the street from us to a developer who tore it down, so clearly the cold call letter worked on someone.