I ran across a blog recently talking about a letter that was received by a 70 yr old woman stating that a transfered executive was interested in buying her house. I received a similar letter within the last year. Simply put, these letters are a marketing tactic used to try and negotiate a 1-on-1 sale of your home. "Flippers" with funding will use these letters to try and find people that are in a financial bind and hopefully purchase their home without any competition. If you search the web a little further, you can even get training to buy homes in this fashion from Marco Kozlowski. While I don't believe they are doing anything illegal, it is my opinion that what they are doing is immoral. The best way to get the most for your house is to expose the property to as many possible buyers as you can, normally the larger the market (or the higher the demand), the more the property is worth. I have investment property and have flipped homes in the past, but this letter tactic is misleading and untruthful (a scam) and has serious potential to hurt individuals that sell their home in this fashion. Before you consider this option, call in a professional Realtor to provide you with a CMA (Competitive Market Analysis). A CMA is very similar to an appraisal, but has a different primary focus and only uses one approach. Appraisals will normally use at least 3 different approaches to establish property value:
  1. The Cost Approach- What would it cost to build the property?
  2. The Income Approach- Would the property be profitable as an income source?
  3. The Sales Comparison Approach- Looks at the most comparable sold properties.
A CMA revolves around the Sales Comparison Approach, which is the most accurate in establishing a property's value. The nice thing about a CMA vs. an appraisal? Most real estate agents will preform a CMA at no charge!!! Now, I'm not telling you to go out and waste a bunch of Realtors' time, but this is a great way to figure out what the value of your home in the current market is. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to have a CMA performed on your house by a professional.
 
Posted by James Wells - Zionsville Indiana Real Estate on 10/15/2007 12:15 AM   Comments (5)   cma, real estate, flippers, appraisal, realtor  
Short URL: http://actvra.in/ddZ

5 Comments on The "I want to buy your home" letter

DEC
22
2008

you're just mad because they do this without an agent. they can offer a lower price when they can buy without the seller needing to handle repairs themselves and without a 6% commission going to both buying and selling agent.

when sellers are "in a bind" you'd rather them go to an agent? that quite literally makes no sense. if they need money now their best bet is coming in with an all cash offer, and, do your research, they typically will walk away from the property with more money in their pocket then dealing with an agent.
bob
11:52pm • #1

that 6% is a total split

3% buying, 3% selling.. just to clarify
bob
11:53pm • #2
OCT
06
2009

I totally agree with bob. Realtors can ruin a good deal. I have bought property by sending similar letters to other investors in order to avoid the 6% inflation and a realtor with their own interests involved. There is nothing immoral or unethical about it unless you make it that way by intentionally misleading someone. There are crooks in every business.
Jim
10:18pm • #3
MAY
04
2010

Im a realtor and I agree with Jim and Bob, if your in trouble get out, proffessional marketing by a realtor such as myself should be reserved to situations that can afford them.  I think james is confusing
morality and ethics.  There is nothing unethical about helping someone.

 
ken
2:21pm • #4
NOV
29
2011

I am a marketing coordinator for a real estate company that represents builders who are constantly looking for properties they can buy and develop for new construction. we use letters with the sq ft criteria we need to build and offer above market value for the homes with no closing costs.  We are not crooks because we send out letters to homeowners and give them great deals for their homes and it's getting harder for us to get people to trust us because of posts like these all over the internet claiming we're trying to scam people and are immoral.
marissa
12:03pm • #5


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James Wells - Zionsville Indiana Real Estate

Zionsville, IN

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Honeycomb Properties

Address: PO Box 614, Zionsville, IN, 46077

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An active community member, James is an expert regarding Zionsville Indiana Real Estate, Carmel Indiana Real Estate, Lebanon Real Estate, Westfield Indiana Real Estate, Indianapolis Indiana Real Estate, Avon Indiana Real Estate, and many other ares in Indiana including Boone, Marion, Hendricks, and Hamilton Counties. Experienced in new construction, residential resale, short sale, foreclosure, custom homes, and real estate negotiations, James makes a great choice when choosing a professional to assist you in your real estate needs.


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