There is a couple that continuously offers to buy my home, but now they are becoming aggressive. What should I do? (monthly fee, property)
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You aren’t obligated to open their letters or read them. Just throw them away like any other junk mail.
I do agree with other posters though. Come up with a price that would make you move. Enough so that it pays every expense associated with moving, purchasing a new house of the size and location you want, fully paid off, money left after that for any remodels you want, and a bunch on top if that to sit in the bank. Maybe that means twice the market price, perhaps more.
Let them know that price, tell them that you will not negotiate, and if they do not immediately accept your offer with no conditions, buy a paper shredder for their next letter.
I purchased my home in late 2018 for $175,000. These past 7-8 months, there is a couple that continuously sends offers in the mail every week with sometimes a long letter. Every time they send a letter, the offer is always increased by a good amount. This last offer was for a little over $430,000. Well a couple of days ago, I received a letter from them asking why I have not responded to any of their letters.
I have not responded because I'm simply not interested in selling, but should I respond at this point? What used to be one letter a week has now become two letters a week.
I'd ignore and definitely not respond . . . for a couple who is actually now writing asking why you haven't responded (seriously, who does that?? ), I doubt that a letter with a ridiculously high dollar amount will make them stop with the foolishness. If they have the nerve to ever show up at your property, I'd call the cops. In the event that they are not scammers, they sound completely unhinged and I'd fear that they may try to do something crazy to get you to sell.
However, these terms are somewhat of a misnomer - criminals can't actually "steal" your deed or your house for that matter. What they are doing is creating a forgery of those documents, and therefore they never legally have possession of your deed, and they certainly do not legally gain possession of your home. That having been said, there is plenty of damage that can be done with a forged deed.
How do house stealing, deed theft, and title theft scams work?
These scams often target vacation homes, rental properties, or otherwise vacant houses. However, there have been situations where such a scam took place while the rightful owner still occupied the house. Either way, after finding a target home, they search through public records to find out who owns it, and that person becomes the target of the identity theft.
Essentially, these criminals piece together your identity from various sources. While this usually takes place on the internet, they might be able to do this using information they find on social media, tax returns, stolen pay stubs, stolen bank records, or even information they gather through phishing scams. While they typically can't fake your identity with a single piece of personal information, when they eventually gather your social security number, date of birth, and address, they can do a lot of damage.
Just like credit card fraud, the criminal will use your identity and forge signatures to get what they want. However, instead of opening up a line of credit, they use this mask to forge the proper paperwork necessary to make it looks as though they (or a third party) now own the property.
Once they have these forged documents, the real trouble begins. Often, they will use this to try and put your house on the market, luring buyers in with a good deal. They may also attempt to leverage the fake title to use the property as collateral for a loan, like taking out a second mortgage.
How to spot and avoid deed theft scams
The best way to prevent deed and title theft scams is to protect your identity. This is a good practice in general as your identity can be used for a variety of scams apart from those outlined here. It is often difficult, if not impossible, to know when someone has sensitive pieces of your personal data, so taking steps to keep it private is important.
Be careful what information you share on social media and be wary of suspicious emails, or possible phishing attempts or phone scams. It is common for customer service representatives to ask for verification when you call them, or when they are returning a phone call, but it is important to be wary when answering an unprompted call. When talking to any sort of representative of a company on the phone, make sure you are speaking to the right person. No matter what the situation is, no one should ever ask you for a password to an account, so keep that a closely-guarded secret.
Keep important documents in a secure place in your home, or in a safety deposit box at the bank. If you need to get rid of a document that contains sensitive information, make sure to properly dispose of them. Simply cutting documents with scissors likely won't be enough - you need to make sure the pieces are small enough to prevent them from being put back together.
Your mail can also provide important clues as to whether or not something fishy is going on. Don't automatically toss junk mail, but look through it for for booklets, flyers, or bills from a mortgage company that isn't yours. If you spot something strange, reach out to the lending company to find out what's going on.
I purchased my home in late 2018 for $175,000. These past 7-8 months, there is a couple that continuously sends offers in the mail every week with sometimes a long letter. Every time they send a letter, the offer is always increased by a good amount. This last offer was for a little over $430,000. Well a couple of days ago, I received a letter from them asking why I have not responded to any of their letters.
I have not responded because I'm simply not interested in selling, but should I respond at this point? What used to be one letter a week has now become two letters a week.
Do you live in a really good school district or something that makes your home extra desirable? It might be that their grandkids live down the street or something like that so they are looking for a specific home in a specific location.
I have sent out letters for buyers before but the two letters a week is really over the top. It appears to be their plan to harass you until you respond. So if you used an agent in 2018 when you bought and you like them, call them and ask them to step in and contact these potential buyers.
I own seven properties in the Phx metro area. I regularly receive letters and texts from those looking to buy my property.
If you decide to respond say you have no plans to sell at this time or in the foreseeable future.
It's a numbers game with these people. They shotgun out 2500 letters within a certain area and only need one home owner to bite. One homeowner for whatever reason needs to sell fast. If your house is worth 400k expect an offer in the 200k-250k range.
The pitch is: Sell and you'll have a 225k check in just a few days.
OP, they are sending identical letters out of dozens, if not hundreds, of people. Just toss their letter in the trash and ignore it.
They are hoping you will respond so they have your attention and can guilt you and manipulate you into selling for less than the house is worth. Refuse to play their game. ignore them.
Everyone else is ignoring them. They are used to it.
OP, they are sending identical letters out of dozens, if not hundreds, of people. Just toss their letter in the trash and ignore it.
They are hoping you will respond so they have your attention and can guilt you and manipulate you into selling for less than the house is worth. Refuse to play their game. ignore them.
Everyone else is ignoring them. They are used to it.
Agree. Any reply puts you on their radar. Letters I receive are tossed and text messages blocked.
As the owner of seven SFH in a hot market like the Phx metro and I get five, six letters a week and two, three text messages.
Save all the letters from the next couple of weeks and mail them all back wrapped with a picture of your middle finger. 'Tis the season!
The fearmongering upstream is a hard eyeroll - they just want this as a flip, or to get your attention/response. Send them one that is clear that you're not interested.
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), I doubt that a letter with a ridiculously high dollar amount will make them stop with the foolishness. If they have the nerve to ever show up at your property, I'd call the cops. In the event that they are not scammers, they sound completely unhinged and I'd fear that they may try to do something crazy to get you to sell.
