Spring Flower Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 We are moving and are interested in purchasing a house in a certain neighborhood. Right now there are zero houses for sale in that neighborhood and I'm feeling a little discouraged. A friend of mine said that she once passed out flyers in a neighborhood they wanted to buy and was able to successfully find a house this way. I'm getting a little desperate and I'm thinking of doing this. Has anyone ever done this? Would I list my phone number? Email? Would I knock on doors and just talk to people? The neighborhood isn't particularly large and it is in a relatively small town with friendly and neighborly people. Any advice? Is this totally weird? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Not weird at all. We own a home in a similar neighborhood and real estate agents call and send mail frequently wondering if we want to sell. You might also see if there is a neighborhood Facebook group and post on there. Of course, you will lose some leverage in the negotiating process if the seller knows you really want the house. :D 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Hey I think that's worth a try. I've heard stories about people randomly knocking on doors of houses they love, asking if the owner would consider selling. I've heard of realtors doing it and asking on behalf of clients, and sometimes the owners do sell! My dh likes to play a spin of this game. He always has in mind a figure for "if someone randomly knocked on my door and offered me $XX, I'd sell!" 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spring Flower Posted April 12, 2017 Author Share Posted April 12, 2017 I've been thinking about this more and it would make sense for me to list our realtor information instead of my information. That would help me feel better about this. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 I've been thinking about this more and it would make sense for me to list our realtor information instead of my information. That would help me feel better about this. It might be more appealing to the seller to just deal with you. I don't know for sure how it would work in this case, but in normal situations the seller pays the realtor fees. If you have a contract with a realtor to help you find a house to buy, you should discuss this with them or wait till the contract has expired. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beth S Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 We did have a guy (married, NOT weird) who would periodically ring the doorbell & practically BEG to buy our house. Said his wife really loved the house. It was charming. I would actually pinpoint the specific houses you are interested in. You can get on zillow and get details. I think it's called "Wanted to Buy". 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frugalmamatx Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Try looking on Zillow for "make me move" listings in that area. It's kind of an unofficial listing by the homeowners of I'm willing to move for X price. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MooCow Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 We've had a realtor knock on our door and received a letter from a family . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 We've done this with land we wanted to purchase (not a house). Our realtor sent the letters and dealt with the contacts. I think it's not an uncommon request for them to perform so if you already have a realtor I would go that route. Let them be the filter. There are some odd ducks out there, and people have some weird expectations with real estate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J-rap Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 I've seen this done. My sister-in-law did this and found her home this way. She designed a flyer with a nice picture of her family on it, plus a short description of them (to make them sound like they'd be a good addition to the neighborhood :)), and then distributed them up and down the blocks of a neighborhood they really liked. I think they mostly just put them by the front doors, wherever flyers can be left. I suppose they must have had a phone number listed on it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MotherGoose Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Just saw a post in neighborhood Facebook page of someone wanting to buy today! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 Try looking on Zillow for "make me move" listings in that area. It's kind of an unofficial listing by the homeowners of I'm willing to move for X price. I am going to have to tell dh, he'll have a blast with this! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idnib Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 This happens to people in our neighborhood all the time, but the flyer is usually sent by a realtor representing the buyer and not the buyer herself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 I see people doing it on neighborhood listservs too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 We are moving and are interested in purchasing a house in a certain neighborhood. Right now there are zero houses for sale in that neighborhood and I'm feeling a little discouraged. A friend of mine said that she once passed out flyers in a neighborhood they wanted to buy and was able to successfully find a house this way. I'm getting a little desperate and I'm thinking of doing this. Has anyone ever done this? Would I list my phone number? Email? Would I knock on doors and just talk to people? The neighborhood isn't particularly large and it is in a relatively small town with friendly and neighborly people. Any advice? Is this totally weird? I did this in March. I left my phone and a rarely used email (rather than my main one). I also shared my realtor's contact information. I only got 3 responses and none of them were the type of house we were looking for - one was looking for a renter and the house was WAY too big, one had a tree that had fallen on it and was in foreclosure, and the 3rd was the wrong type of house. I spent about $150. So there's that too. Oh, I just remembered my realtor hear from another realtor in the neighborhood who was planning on listing two houses in the neighborhood. So, I guess I got 5 total none of which worked out. But, we're particular about the type/size of house & yard we want. That narrows our choices down by quite a bit. But, my current neighbor sold his house exactly like this. A family sent out a letter to everyone in the neighborhood and he was getting ready to move.. The house never went on the market... so much easier for him. You just never know. I still think it's worth it if you're settled on that neighborhood. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mom2scouts Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 For some strange reason, getting those flyers from realtors always annoys me. They say "I have buyers looking for a house in your neighborhood! Call me today to sell!" and I always think "Yeah, I want to live here too. That's why I bought a house here." We spent years looking for a house we could afford and we had a low budget. This is an older, but nice family neighborhood. This isn't much in our city in the price range that isn't run down or filled with student housing. I'm not planning to go anywhere for a long time! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PrincessMommy Posted April 13, 2017 Share Posted April 13, 2017 For some strange reason, getting those flyers from realtors always annoys me. They say "I have buyers looking for a house in your neighborhood! Call me today to sell!" and I always think "Yeah, I want to live here too. That's why I bought a house here." We spent years looking for a house we could afford and we had a low budget. This is an older, but nice family neighborhood. This isn't much in our city in the price range that isn't run down or filled with student housing. I'm not planning to go anywhere for a long time! but she's talking about sending one out personally, not via a realtor. That's what I did and that's what my neighbor did too, because I remember getting the letter myself. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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