Ottakee Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 We will be looking for a new house/property in the next few months. A highway is coming through our current house and the time line is for them to pay us in May and then we will have 90 days to move. The issue is that we have 5 1/2 acres with a horse barn, pastures, etc. and a 5 bedroom, 2 bath house with 3 stall attached garage on high and dry ground. Looking around, right now there aren't really any properties for sale in our area (and we don't want to leave this area) that are really what we need. I was just wondering if anyone has ever had luck with approaching people about buying their home or property that isn't even listed for sale. We have driven around and there are some places that look like they might be a good fit for us. Do you think there is any chance people would just want to sell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cindy in FL. Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 My SIL and her family are living in a house they purchased this way. She just rang the bell one day, told them she'd like to buy their house, and not long after the accepted! We did the same thing with a house we were interested in and ultimately decided not to buy it even though they were willing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in Jax Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 When we were looking for houses before we moved back to Jax, we saw a house we liked, but it had a few things about it that didn't quite work. I was mostly talking to myself when I described the changes I'd make, but my realtor said, "You just described my sister's house. It's not for sale, but..." She called her sister, who had thought about selling, but hadn't listed it. She decided that she was willing to show the house to us the next day, and we made an offer that same day. We've lived here 11 years. ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 I'd give it a shot. You are in Michigan, right? There are a lot of people in our area that do not have their houses/farms listed because they don't see the point. Soooo many repos and tax sales that things are on the market for many times well over a year - even two years - before they sell. So, not much is listed. If your area is having similar issues, you may find someone who has thought about listing but figured it was a waste of time. In our area, right now there is a really lovely, partially brick home (great paved country road) on 10 acres, partially wooded, partially decent pasture - four bedroom, two bath large living areas with a two car attached garage. It's not fenced and the outbuilding is small so you'd have to fence and build a stable. But, it's list price is $128,000.00 and I doubt they will get a penny over $100,000.00 for it. There are some other nice houses on 4-5 acres for less than $100,000 but most do not have barns or stables either. I suspect though that you are on the other side of the state as we don't have any new highways going through over here. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 Oh, and if anyone here wants to move to Blanchard, Mi. there is an gorgeous custom built (1998) brick home on 23 acres/1700 sq. ft. not including the semi-finished walk-out basement. Also has a 24x25 attached garage and a fully wired and plumbed 18x20 pole barn constructed in 2003. It's a good price, for that much acreage, at $190,000.00 and given the market, it can probably be had for $175,000.00 Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted January 20, 2011 Share Posted January 20, 2011 The former owners bought our house by knocking on the door and asking. You could also be asking people with property if they know of anyone who is interested in selling similar property. Someone looking to build stopped me in the yard once and asked about surrounding properties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dobela Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 When a friend of ours moved she made herself a business card with all her contact information on it. When she would see a house that she liked, she would go ring the bell, ask to speak to the owner, and hand in a card. All she said was that she had been driving by the house, really liked what she saw from the outside, and if they ever considered selling she would appreciate it if she could get the first call. She assurred them she wasn't a realtor and that she would/could pay a fair price if she liked the rest of the property. 3 months later someone called her and she ended up buying the house of her dreams that way. I say try it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 My parents, when I was 4, approached a house... next to an abandoned looking house... to ask the "neighbors" about that "empty" house. They found out my parents wanted to purchase a house... and sold them theirs!!! They sold the house when I was 12... for $33,000. They were excited :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DawnM Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 We are considering selling our house in 2012 and downsizing price wise. We went out looking to see what we could get in the price range we are looking and found a house we liked. It didn't sell and the owners took it off the market. IF it doesn't go on the market before we are ready (I look periodically) we would like to go back and ask them if they would sell it to us without a realtor involved. I WISH someone would knock on our door and offer to buy our house, it would save me the hassle! Dawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa in MO Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 long ago (like 25 years ago, boy that makes me look old) we were looking for a bigger house. We looked for over 6 months and could not find what we wanted. My MIL started walking around the area we were looking at. She found our street, which is a dead end street with only 3 houses on each side that backs up to 100 acreas of woods. We had driven past the street many times, but its easy to miss. Anyway, she walked down the street and realized it was just what we wanted. She knocked on the door at the house next to us and asked them if they knew anyone on the street who might be thinking of moving in the next little bit. They told her that actually the people in the house next door wanted to move out to acreage to start a dog kennel. They were not home at the time, but my MIL left a note. They called, we came and looked at it and offered him just what they needed to make the move. It was just what we wanted and we have been here for 25 years Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Our neighbors did that. It had been a college rental and they approached the owners about buying it. The worst they can do is say no. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ottakee Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 Glad to hear this has worked. I think that DH and I might do some driving around and see what places might interest us. With an address we can get on our county website and find the owners name, acreage, see an ariel view of the property with property lines marked, taxes, etc. That might really help us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halftime Hope Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 when they retired, they went knocking on doors around the lakes that they had their eye on. One of the homes was owned by an estate, but the heirs needed time to make up their minds what they wanted to do, as the home was their parents' delight, and no one could imagine parting with it. It took the heird a year or so to come to terms with the cold, hard reality of co-owning, paying a mortgage with no income stream to cover it, etc. When they finally decided to sell, they called my parents back, asked if they would take the house "as is" as no one wanted to work on it, and the rest is history. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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