Very personalized letter wanting to buy my house... (Portland: for sale, real estate) - Oregon (OR) - City-Data Forum

sayulita · 11-18-2011, 09:02 AM

Yesterday, for the second time, I received what looked like a very personalized letter inquiring whether I might be willing to sell my house to them. Both letters were hand written and addressed to me personally. They referenced my address and a desire to buy in my neighborhood. I googled the name on the first one and learned that he was a real estate professional in the area. (He did not reveal this in the letter.) The second letter DID reveal herself as a real estate professional but in a way that indicated it was incidental to her interest in my house. She stated that she was NOT soliciting a listing.

Just out of curiosity, I contacted the first writer and heard absolutely nothing back. I have not contacted the second writer. I'm not really interested at this time in selling my house but I'm curious about this tactic. It seems better suited for the boom years than for the current selling environment.

Has anybody else had this happen to them? Any insights as to why this tactic is being used? It's very effective in engaging one's interest but it makes no sense in today's market. It has the hallmarks of a stealth marketing scheme touted at some real estate professional seminar.

I'm going to DM Silverfall, a frequent Oregon CD contributor who is a real estate pro but thought I'd put it out there to see if anyone else has been contacted in this manner.

By the way, my house is nothing special and certainly not in the upper end of Portland real estate.

hamellr · 11-18-2011, 09:20 AM

Maybe someone wants your house specifically.

Or you're about to get an interesting surprise from the City who has decided to OK the building of a cell tower on your property, and you have a few speculators who want to cash in.

sayulita · 11-18-2011, 09:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hamellr

Maybe someone wants your house specifically.

Or you're about to get an interesting surprise from the City who has decided to OK the building of a cell tower on your property, and you have a few speculators who want to cash in.

Well, that's what I thought in the beginning, but I have an advertising background and I smelled something. The first letter was very clever, looking like it was handwritten on a legal pad (complete with a slightly torn corner) especially for me. But on closer examination, I could see that it was a copy and the part where my address was written in was a slightly different ink and style than the rest of the letter.

And the fact that I replied to them and never heard back indicates to me that this was a wide net casting and I wasn't a specific target. I just can't figure out the angle.

tigerlily · 11-18-2011, 09:41 AM

The letter we received a few weeks ago from a real estate agent asked if we wanted to list our house. Apparently, a resident in our neighborhood had a daughter and son-in-law from Kent that wanted to buy in the same neighborhood as the parents. I checked it out and the parents actually live a few streets away. They may have been the actual real estate agents.

I do like receiving the monthly newsletter from a real estate agent in our area because it lists sale price, pending sales and for sale houses.

doggiemama · 11-18-2011, 09:47 AM

We got 3 or 4 letters just like this for my father-in-law's home in Texas after he passed away. It was in disrepair at the time, in a neighborhood with better looking homes. I assumed it was a tactic to buy low and flip the house. I'm not saying that your home must be in disrepair, but it makes sense that it would be people who think they can make a lot of money on the deal. Maybe if the house hasn't been sold in many years, the tactic is that the owner is not aware of the current value of the property.

sayulita · 11-18-2011, 09:53 AM

Well I've lived here nearly 20 years but it's one of the best maintained houses on the street so that can't be it. It's an ordinary house on a street of ordinary houses. It's great neighborhood with few rentals though. With so many houses sitting on the market, I just don't get it.

christiner81 · 11-18-2011, 09:59 AM

i've gotten one or two of those before. the address was hand written, and the letter looked hand written too but it was actually printed. i did a search and found out it was a real estate agent. I'm not really sure why they do that. we bought an underpriced foreclosure, so maybe they wanted to flip it.

SETabor · 11-18-2011, 10:11 AM

If you've lived there for 20 years, you probably have had a huge increase in the value of your home - even accounting for the drop in the last few years. Maybe they think you're getting old and might want to sell without thinking how much the house is worth?

sayulita · 11-18-2011, 10:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SETabor

If you've lived there for 20 years, you probably have had a huge increase in the value of your home - even accounting for the drop in the last few years. Maybe they think you're getting old and might want to sell without thinking how much the house is worth?

Well they would be very much mistaken. But I suppose it's a possibility. I hate to think that's the tactic and they are hoping to prey on a confused elder person.

doggiemama · 11-18-2011, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sayulita

Well they would be very much mistaken. But I suppose it's a possibility. I hate to think that's the tactic and they are hoping to prey on a confused elder person.

I think this is exactly what they are hoping to do. I'm pretty sure they can look up tax records and see if the owner has the 65+ exemption (again, not saying that this is you). I bet they think that older people respond to a "handwritten" letter.