Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think you are hearing naysayers from the burbs, where I guess this isn't as common. In desirable neighborhoods in DC, we get at least one of those letters a quarter. As a PP said, I find it flattering, show it to my husband, and then it immediately goes into recycling because we're not planning on moving. I don't actually think there is an harm in it if it's a neighborhood norm. That said, I pay slightly more attention to letters from the known handful of realtors who handle much of the traffic in our neighborhood. Random realtor who is sending a bad form letter is less interesting and seems scam-like. Along those lines, I'd definitely only use a realtor who specialized in the particular neighborhood. They are the ones who know the scuttlebutt and who might be moving and who is aging and who was tempted last year but didn't sell but might be ready this year.

I'm 13:41 and I live in the suburbs.

Anonymous wrote:I think you are hearing naysayers from the burbs, where I guess this isn't as common. In desirable neighborhoods in DC, we get at least one of those letters a quarter. As a PP said, I find it flattering, show it to my husband, and then it immediately goes into recycling because we're not planning on moving. I don't actually think there is an harm in it if it's a neighborhood norm. That said, I pay slightly more attention to letters from the known handful of realtors who handle much of the traffic in our neighborhood. Random realtor who is sending a bad form letter is less interesting and seems scam-like. Along those lines, I'd definitely only use a realtor who specialized in the particular neighborhood. They are the ones who know the scuttlebutt and who might be moving and who is aging and who was tempted last year but didn't sell but might be ready this year.

Anonymous wrote:These responses are so interesting. I don't know that we need a miracle, just good timing. People do downsize, and some in the neighborhoods already have (there are a number of homes we'd love but were sold within the last 15 years, and we wouldn't send letters to them).

We're looking at 4-5 bedrooms homes, and many people don't want those once their kids are in their 20's/30's.

I hear you guys on the list serve suggestion. My only concern is that more than 50% of the homes are smaller than we want. I'd hate to offend anyone who contacted us.

Also, these areas are desirable to me, but they aren't "super hot". We're not looking in Chevy Chase or Old Town or anything. It's a family-friendly area outside of the beltway. I happen to like these neighborhoods because of the elementary school/walkable to an upscale (relatively speaking) shopping center combination. Target price is $800-900K. Many of these homes will go for $650K because they are so much smaller, and we are flat out not interested (would never want to say that to a potential neighbor!).

I'm not ignoring all those who are super, super offended. I just don't want to miss out on a dream home because they waited until June to put in on the market and we really wanted to make a decision before that. Because of our kids' ages, we want to get them settled before the next school year starts.

Anonymous wrote:These responses are so interesting. I don't know that we need a miracle, just good timing. People do downsize, and some in the neighborhoods already have (there are a number of homes we'd love but were sold within the last 15 years, and we wouldn't send letters to them).

We're looking at 4-5 bedrooms homes, and many people don't want those once their kids are in their 20's/30's.

I hear you guys on the list serve suggestion. My only concern is that more than 50% of the homes are smaller than we want. I'd hate to offend anyone who contacted us.

Also, these areas are desirable to me, but they aren't "super hot". We're not looking in Chevy Chase or Old Town or anything. It's a family-friendly area outside of the beltway. I happen to like these neighborhoods because of the elementary school/walkable to an upscale (relatively speaking) shopping center combination. Target price is $800-900K. Many of these homes will go for $650K because they are so much smaller, and we are flat out not interested (would never want to say that to a potential neighbor!).

I'm not ignoring all those who are super, super offended. I just don't want to miss out on a dream home because they waited until June to put in on the market and we really wanted to make a decision before that. Because of our kids' ages, we want to get them settled before the next school year starts.

Anonymous wrote:I posted here recently that I get annoyed when realtors ask if I'm selling (because I live in what DCUM would call a teardown shitshack in an in-demand area).

Assuming anyone falls in love with my $800K house in a neighborhood of $1.4Ms, I would be much more open to a prospective homebuyer sending a personal letter with reasons why they love my house. Or my land, if you want to know the truth! I would toss out a generic "Are you thinking of selling? Let us know!" letter but would give careful consideration to, "We've been in the market for a classic Cape like yours."

Anonymous wrote:I've received one and nearly went ahead with a sale. Buyers/ letter senders had a big life change and things didn't go through.

I didn't think the letter was rude at all. The prospective buyer was both apologetic about wanting to buy and very complementary about the house.

Finally: money is green. A private sale saves both parties lots of costs. It makes more sense for non-standard properties, but to everyone pinching their pennies, just think of what standard costs are on selling a $1M home.

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