Letter to Home Owner ? (sale, neighborhood, buying)

[Memorialite]

What worked for me:
Sent letter
Had neighbor approach owners daughter when she was checking on the house
Followed up with a call to the daughter
Saw house & bought

The owner was in a nursing home.

[Cinco Ranch]

Originally Posted by mikeyyc

I would have whatever agent you decide to work with reach out to see if they're interested. Or you can do what our friends did, and go knock on the door. There was an acreage that was previously for sale, and came off the market. Our friends were looking about a year later, knew of the property, drove up, knocked on the door, and within a week were the new owners of the property.

I don’t get it, a lot of people such as your self say “just go knock on the door”, I mean seriously if you do this how would the homeowner react? My immediate impression would be for them to say “get off my property”. Which is why I’m scared to death to do the “knock on door” option. I think sending a letter is the safest option because most potential sellers don’t really like to meet a buyer face to face for whatever reason even though there is still a high chance of them throwing letter in the trash.

[mikeyyc]

Originally Posted by Cinco Ranch

I don’t get it, a lot of people such as your self say “just go knock on the door”, I mean seriously if you do this how would the homeowner react? My immediate impression would be for them to say “get off my property”. Which is why I’m scared to death to do the “knock on door” option. I think sending a letter is the safest option because most potential sellers don’t really like to meet a buyer face to face for whatever reason even though there is still a high chance of them throwing letter in the trash.

Well if their immediate reaction is get off my property, it's pretty clear they don't want to sell. If you're genuine, people tend to be genuine right back. If you come across as a flake and a weirdo, people will react accordingly. If I was thinking of selling my home, and someone knocked on the door, and said, hey, I know your house was listed before, are you still thinking of selling? My immediate reaction isn't to run them off.

[bohunak]

Write them a letter. That's what I did with one property, no problem. Make sure they know you are a private person, not company, flippers etc. Very easy to find their names. Good luck

[PinkLadyK]

Originally Posted by Cinco Ranch

I don’t get it, a lot of people such as your self say “just go knock on the door”, I mean seriously if you do this how would the homeowner react? My immediate impression would be for them to say “get off my property”. Which is why I’m scared to death to do the “knock on door” option. I think sending a letter is the safest option because most potential sellers don’t really like to meet a buyer face to face for whatever reason even though there is still a high chance of them throwing letter in the trash.

I would agree about not knocking on the door - I do not open my door to strangers and I don't appreciate when they knock on my door. I would write a letter and include your contact info and let them know in the letter that you'd love to talk to them in person if they are interested. Offer to meet a public place near their home.

[fbf2006]

Originally Posted by mikeyyc

Well if their immediate reaction is get off my property, it's pretty clear they don't want to sell. If you're genuine, people tend to be genuine right back. If you come across as a flake and a weirdo, people will react accordingly. If I was thinking of selling my home, and someone knocked on the door, and said, hey, I know your house was listed before, are you still thinking of selling? My immediate reaction isn't to run them off.

Hmm not so sure about this. People tend not to open their doors to strangers. It doesn't matter if you look "right" or whatever. This is talked about all the time on nextdoor.

I'll try to get a hold of their realtor and send a letter through him/her.

[JanND]

Originally Posted by notkim

What are the pros and cons of writing/emailing a letter to the homeowner asking if they are still interested in selling their home?

We were looking at houses online before we moved to The Woodlands, but since we were not sure of the area, we decided to rent. I had liked one house but it was taken off the market before we moved to TX. So I am wondering if I should contact the owner and ask if they are planning to relist the house or want to show/sell it to us. Also, there is another house that I found which was listed in 2017, but taken off the market (reasons unknown) and has since never come back on the market.

I do not have a realtor at the point and I understand that I will need one at some point, but just wanted to see if going this route is advisable. I have a realtor in mind but wanted to ask here before contacting this person. We also may go the Redfin route.

Don't know what other information to provide here to get better responses, but ask away and I will try my best to answer them.

TIA

Go for it. Explain why you are contacting them, and why you loved their home on site. You never know....sometimes people take it off because the realtor was ineffective and costs too much.....Couldn't hurt.....and you never know, they might have a lead for a neighbor if theirs isn't available.

[notkim]

Thank you everyone! Will send out a letter to the owner. Will keep y'all updated if anything transpires.

[abrahammiel]

I would advice against redfin, my aunt is suing them for fraud.
Talk to a realtor about options, look at ammenities you need like gym, restaurants, parks etc. Calculate how far you'd like to commute to points of interest.
I have a rule that i must be within 5 mins drive to 3 grocery stores, a gym, at least 2 dog parks etc.

[notkim]

Originally Posted by abrahammiel

I would advice against redfin, my aunt is suing them for fraud.
Talk to a realtor about options, look at ammenities you need like gym, restaurants, parks etc. Calculate how far you'd like to commute to points of interest.
I have a rule that i must be within 5 mins drive to 3 grocery stores, a gym, at least 2 dog parks etc.

Hmmm....can you tell me more about the Redfin issue?