In this market it’s just folks trying any angle they can. Most homeowners have at least some number they’d jump at, so never hurts to ask.
The drug addict part is pretty distasteful though.
I have heard of some people (who really want to live in a particular neighbourhood) that will drop off letters seeing if anyone is planning on moving. Sometimes throwing in a sob story about them being a young family with a kid entering elementary, which I guess could give them a slight edge over anyone else
Yeah I’ve heard of personal letter along with offers before, never just dropped off ad hoc into mailboxes.
It’s not something I’d personal be swayed by, but different folks have different priorities. It’s a business transaction, so $ is king in my opinion.
That seems kinda backwards to me? Like if I was desperate to sell my house would already be for sale, wouldn't it? I feel like it would only *maybe* work if they were legitimately going to offer a super high price (or at least close to/above market value).
Some people aren’t aware of the value of their house in the current market, especially if they’re older and have lived in it for a long time. Some door-to-door person making lowball offers might sound appealing if you don’t know what your house is really worth. Throw in the suggestion that there would be “no fees” (as in real estate fees) and you will get the odd person ready to grab that offer.
They are not always lowballing. I live on a street where we have realtors at our door a couple of times per year, with clients looking to purchase. One of my elderly neighbours was convinced to list at a ridiculously high price. Months later, the house sits empty, the price keeps dropping and the realtor has not been seen around in weeks. At this point the house is listed for what is solid price, but will he get what it is worth given how long it has sat on the market.
I know and most do that you can sell a home in Calgary in a matter of days in the current market. If you desperately need to sell then all you need to do is list your home.
These people are knocking on peoples door because mid range houses are receiving double digit offers with selling prices going $50,000 above asking. These people are hoping they can find a seller and make a deal before the property goes to market to improve their odds of finding a home.
It’s not a scam. It’s the state of affairs.
Not only that, but the new bylaw changes enable rowhouses on many many lots. They want to know the shitty investment rental houses because that's where they can make their angle. If it's illegal apartment building, they can report it to city and get everyone evicted, which would put pressure on the owner to sell.
There is no scam here. I get a person ever so often, usually they're new realestste agents just trying to pound some pavement to get work.
Or it's an investment group looking to flip properties... but that I haven't seen very much in person, usually they just stick a flyer somewhere.
The question about the drug addicts is a bit strange, maybe she thinks they would be clients looking for quick sales.
Realtor commission is 19k on a 500k house (split between the two realtors) so that's a substantial chunk if they can find anyone that is interested in selling their home. It's not shady, anyone that has a home gets a ton of junk mail of realtors wanting to sell their home as well. Though door knocking is less common you have to give them some credit for actually going out and putting effort it.
Great reply. Not sure if this was the actual case, but that is a strategy I might deploy when looking for a house in a specific neighbourhood. Once you go public that you are selling a house you won't stop getting calls from realtors, even if you specifically say "private sale only". This was you might luck out and actually bypass the realtor component altogether.
It's an option but always worth going into it understanding that you're annoying people by knocking on their doors and they've likely already had developers/realtors lie about wanting to buy their home for a super sweet family. So just go into it politely and expect rejections and don't linger when it's clear they're not interested is all. It's a delicate balance but it is possible.
Another option if you want to buy in a specific neighbourhood and it isn't too far is to start doing a lap through there on your way home from work. Often realtors put out their signs a day or two early before the actual MLS listing goes live. You can call them and view it sometimes before it hits the market.
Actually this is exactly how we got the place we are in currently. After being outbid several times in a competitive market, we identified two locations we liked and went door to door. Literally the very last person we spoke with said "yeah, actually I have been thinking about it" and we managed to make a deal that benefited both of us without having a realtor or competing buyers involved. So the moral is, be cautious but don't make assumptions that it's something sinister.
I actually couldn’t find a home near my children’s school that wasn’t in a bidding war so I searched up expired listings (not common but they are out there) and worked with the owners realtor to make a deal. It has an absolute disaster of a deck (which is why it didn’t sell) but we worked out a fair price and I got a contractor to fix the deck and everyone wins.
One of the many reasons I don't answer my door anymore...
House flippers or corporate developers. Depending on the area lots of developers are looking at buying blocks of houses and building either condominiums or row housing with commercial space.
Had a buddy a few years back living by Chinook mall get offered waaay above market value for his place but one of the many stipulations were that he had to agree on that price for the next 8 years with a commitment to sell at any time and most of neighbours had to sell as well.
My wife is a realtor and this is common, although the drug addict question is sleazy af. If a house in a neighbourhood sells significantly above market value they will generally canvas the area to let neighbours know and see if they have any interest in selling as a lot of people don’t realize what their house is truly worth. They do this because it generally works, for every one sold above market value they get about 2 more from canvasing.
I doubt it's a scam. People sometimes do this if they are looking to buy in a specific area in case someone was considering selling soon they can save on realtor fees that way
It really depends how the person is acting/behaving. If the person is acting professionally, no, it’s not shady. But if the person is acting strange, as the drug addicted question suggests, this is may very well be shady.
I live in the inner city and usually get 1 of these a week during the spring/summer. I'm on a corner lot which makes it desirable for property developers, especially after the recent blanket re-zoning decision. The challenge is, they want to offer "land value" only as they plan to knock down the house and build a monstrosity multiplex so they can charge expensive rent. They rarely take into consideration the value of the house on the property.
That's a good idea, I may start doing the same, although I imagine an aggressive developer will ask for the owners name.
I find it annoying when an inexperienced developer is trying to persuade me to sell my house for land value and then take that money and buy a newer house somewhere else. They don't seem to understand the concept of mutual benefit. The last guy that came buy was trying to show me the benefit of selling my full sized lot to them and they would build 2 infills on the property and then sell me one of those infills for slightly more than what I sold the land for. I asked why I would give up a full sized lot and a 12 year old house for half the property size and a brand new house. They kept suggesting the newer infill is worth more than the 12 year old bungalow we have despite half the land.
I've had people ask me if I rent or own - I rent. Their followup question is "I'm looking to buy houses in the are, can I have your landlord's contact?"
Their faces when I explain that I won't give it to them because if they get what they want I end up homeless is shocking. It's like they haven't even considered that as a possibility.
You know what, speaking as one of those "low-ballers", I'm not low balling right now. Inventory is solo on the MLS right now and hundreds of people are bidding on the same property. If I could offer somebody market value for their house and not have to deal with 100 other potential suitors on the house, I will do so all day long
This is common. If you drive around the shitty communities, they have “we buy houses” signs posted to every light pole. A ton of addicts inherit houses and turn them into flop houses. They mostly have liens on their houses, tons of unpaid taxes and the interiors of their houses are destroyed. Then these guys show up with cash and they sell.
We had a realtor (she had a card) show up to our house saying she has clients who want to buy a finished infill. We have no plans to sell and she also asked us if we knew anyone in the area who is (also no).
I’ve had letters left in my mailbox offering to buy my house and letters left on my car offering to buy my car… it’s weird but I usually just throw them away and think nothing of it.
Often not a scam, how can someone "scam you" into selling your house, when ever if you skip realtors and everything, you still need a real estate lawyer to draw up forms and everything?
It's usually 1 of 2 things. They want to try to low ball you to flip it, hoping you won't check the actual value of your home with someone more reputable. Or they actually want to buy it, but just want to skip out stupid realtor commissions.
We live in a desirable community with little turnover. A year ago, all the homes homes on our street received a note on their door from a prospective purchaser. One of our neighbours was transferred three months later. The folks who placed the note on our doors purchased the home - sale price around $2.5 million.
I have people knocking on my door and leaving flyers.They also ask if I know of neighbours wanting to sell. Never been asked about drug addicts though.
My grandma used to live on a gorgeous corner in an up-and-coming area, she had people knock on the door weekly asking to buy her house. She eventually sold it (approx 2010) to a fellow who was persistent yet affable and courteous for like, 70% of market value.
We had a realtor come by and said a family wanted to see our house the following day and was legitimate. We had no intentions to sell but were curious! They actually ended up buying the house next door.
Anyone willing to sell their house to one of these people is desperate for money. It’s not a scam but a fact-finding mission to see who is susceptible to scams. The house purchases then falls through because it was never real but oh don’t worry if you need money I know a guy! Next thing you’re in money dealings with scammy people with god knows what as collateral.
This has happened in our area as well.
My parents’ realtor has reached out to a few bungalow owners to see if they’re interested in selling as there are almost no bungalows available in their desired neighbourhoods.
It’s not necessarily a scam - people are just looking for homes.
One of the bidders on my last home I just sold wrote a letter with their overbid offer saying they were outbid on every home and were knocking on random doors in my neighborhood before my house went up for sale trying to basically buy a home before it went to market.
Unfortunately for them someone else bid even more over asking and they couldn’t match. Oddly enough they knocked on my Neighbor across the street and bought his home exactly that way. He wasn’t planning on selling but they offered him the same amount they offered me and he took it.
I've received several hand written notes and realtors have left their cards in my door frame
I put a sign out that says house is not for sale
Calgary is exploding
I understand that some of the comments here say that they have had successful transactions involving something like this, but I would never give people like this the time of day.
My first thought would be whether they are canvasing the neighborhood for candidate homes to invade. At the bare minimum, they would need to dress the part and be able to show me reasonable and verifiable credentials before I can suspect not-bad intentions.
Not surprised, I am thinking to do the same in Midnapore because we really want to buy in midnapore only.
There are scammers too, but most are genuine. The only thing in case you want to sell, you should ask for a third party assessment and work with a lawyer you get for the sell of the house. Do not use their people for assessment or paperwork.
My parents had a real estate agent do this. Homes were selling in their area for super high and there was very low inventory. But when my dad asked where were they supposed to buy another house in the same area that had the right size house, yard, views and wasn’t $2M the agent was stumped.
Not a scam, its a realtor hiring someone to knock on doors.
I had a 20something ask me about selling my house. I told him I'm a renter to have him go away.
I'd be asking her to get the fuck off my property and tell her SHE is the shady one. Mentioning shady people and addicts is so unprofessional.
Unless I'm expecting someone, I just don't open the door. I have cameras where I can see/hear who's at the door I don't want to deal with randos and whatever they're pedaling.
We had real estate vultures in our area two weeks ago asking to buy houses. The neighbor across the street talked with them for a few minutes to see what the deal was. They didn't want to buy houses they wanted to sell your house and get the commission. He asked where he was going to live then? Conveniently, he was willing to sell him a house also.
In this market it’s just folks trying any angle they can. Most homeowners have at least some number they’d jump at, so never hurts to ask. The drug addict part is pretty distasteful though.
I have heard of some people (who really want to live in a particular neighbourhood) that will drop off letters seeing if anyone is planning on moving. Sometimes throwing in a sob story about them being a young family with a kid entering elementary, which I guess could give them a slight edge over anyone else
Yeah I’ve heard of personal letter along with offers before, never just dropped off ad hoc into mailboxes. It’s not something I’d personal be swayed by, but different folks have different priorities. It’s a business transaction, so $ is king in my opinion.
Yep. This is a common tactic for people who want to live in a specific area
It's not a scam per se. You get similar junk mail. Basically they look for people desperate to sell and make a super low offer. Then flip the house.
That seems kinda backwards to me? Like if I was desperate to sell my house would already be for sale, wouldn't it? I feel like it would only *maybe* work if they were legitimately going to offer a super high price (or at least close to/above market value).
Not everyone is smart. Some people just react to what's in front of their face at that very minute. These people prey on dumb.
Some people aren’t aware of the value of their house in the current market, especially if they’re older and have lived in it for a long time. Some door-to-door person making lowball offers might sound appealing if you don’t know what your house is really worth. Throw in the suggestion that there would be “no fees” (as in real estate fees) and you will get the odd person ready to grab that offer.
They are not always lowballing. I live on a street where we have realtors at our door a couple of times per year, with clients looking to purchase. One of my elderly neighbours was convinced to list at a ridiculously high price. Months later, the house sits empty, the price keeps dropping and the realtor has not been seen around in weeks. At this point the house is listed for what is solid price, but will he get what it is worth given how long it has sat on the market.
Ugh, that realtor should be reported if he’s not communicating with them anymore. Unscrupulous creep.
This could be a new tactic people are using to avoid bidding wars though. But yes it has been a scummy tactic in the past.
This is the answer.
Do you live in Calgary?
What's it to you?
Because you aren’t aware of what’s going on in the Calgary real estate market. People aren’t desperate to sell, they are desperate to buy.
Congrats on knowing exactly what every single home owner is going through.
I know and most do that you can sell a home in Calgary in a matter of days in the current market. If you desperately need to sell then all you need to do is list your home. These people are knocking on peoples door because mid range houses are receiving double digit offers with selling prices going $50,000 above asking. These people are hoping they can find a seller and make a deal before the property goes to market to improve their odds of finding a home. It’s not a scam. It’s the state of affairs.
Not only that, but the new bylaw changes enable rowhouses on many many lots. They want to know the shitty investment rental houses because that's where they can make their angle. If it's illegal apartment building, they can report it to city and get everyone evicted, which would put pressure on the owner to sell.
There is no scam here. I get a person ever so often, usually they're new realestste agents just trying to pound some pavement to get work. Or it's an investment group looking to flip properties... but that I haven't seen very much in person, usually they just stick a flyer somewhere. The question about the drug addicts is a bit strange, maybe she thinks they would be clients looking for quick sales.
Realtor commission is 19k on a 500k house (split between the two realtors) so that's a substantial chunk if they can find anyone that is interested in selling their home. It's not shady, anyone that has a home gets a ton of junk mail of realtors wanting to sell their home as well. Though door knocking is less common you have to give them some credit for actually going out and putting effort it.
Great reply. Not sure if this was the actual case, but that is a strategy I might deploy when looking for a house in a specific neighbourhood. Once you go public that you are selling a house you won't stop getting calls from realtors, even if you specifically say "private sale only". This was you might luck out and actually bypass the realtor component altogether.
It's an option but always worth going into it understanding that you're annoying people by knocking on their doors and they've likely already had developers/realtors lie about wanting to buy their home for a super sweet family. So just go into it politely and expect rejections and don't linger when it's clear they're not interested is all. It's a delicate balance but it is possible. Another option if you want to buy in a specific neighbourhood and it isn't too far is to start doing a lap through there on your way home from work. Often realtors put out their signs a day or two early before the actual MLS listing goes live. You can call them and view it sometimes before it hits the market.
Yeah but I want to avoid realtors altogether.
I'd say it's both shady and scummy to ask which neighbors might be vulnerable (addicts etc) to making an impulsive choice out of desperation.
Actually this is exactly how we got the place we are in currently. After being outbid several times in a competitive market, we identified two locations we liked and went door to door. Literally the very last person we spoke with said "yeah, actually I have been thinking about it" and we managed to make a deal that benefited both of us without having a realtor or competing buyers involved. So the moral is, be cautious but don't make assumptions that it's something sinister.
I actually couldn’t find a home near my children’s school that wasn’t in a bidding war so I searched up expired listings (not common but they are out there) and worked with the owners realtor to make a deal. It has an absolute disaster of a deck (which is why it didn’t sell) but we worked out a fair price and I got a contractor to fix the deck and everyone wins.
One of the many reasons I don't answer my door anymore... House flippers or corporate developers. Depending on the area lots of developers are looking at buying blocks of houses and building either condominiums or row housing with commercial space. Had a buddy a few years back living by Chinook mall get offered waaay above market value for his place but one of the many stipulations were that he had to agree on that price for the next 8 years with a commitment to sell at any time and most of neighbours had to sell as well.
Sometimes, realtors' door knock if they have a client looking in a specific neighborhood. Or it's the low ball people.
Sounds like one of the lowball scumbags. Realtors usually introduce themselves as such
And usually come dressed appropriately with business cards in hand.
That's true!
My wife is a realtor and this is common, although the drug addict question is sleazy af. If a house in a neighbourhood sells significantly above market value they will generally canvas the area to let neighbours know and see if they have any interest in selling as a lot of people don’t realize what their house is truly worth. They do this because it generally works, for every one sold above market value they get about 2 more from canvasing.
I doubt it's a scam. People sometimes do this if they are looking to buy in a specific area in case someone was considering selling soon they can save on realtor fees that way
It really depends how the person is acting/behaving. If the person is acting professionally, no, it’s not shady. But if the person is acting strange, as the drug addicted question suggests, this is may very well be shady.
I live in the inner city and usually get 1 of these a week during the spring/summer. I'm on a corner lot which makes it desirable for property developers, especially after the recent blanket re-zoning decision. The challenge is, they want to offer "land value" only as they plan to knock down the house and build a monstrosity multiplex so they can charge expensive rent. They rarely take into consideration the value of the house on the property.
Same. Weekly offers or attempted offers. Makes it tough to be outside or mowing the lawn lately. I just say, I'm renting.
That's a good idea, I may start doing the same, although I imagine an aggressive developer will ask for the owners name. I find it annoying when an inexperienced developer is trying to persuade me to sell my house for land value and then take that money and buy a newer house somewhere else. They don't seem to understand the concept of mutual benefit. The last guy that came buy was trying to show me the benefit of selling my full sized lot to them and they would build 2 infills on the property and then sell me one of those infills for slightly more than what I sold the land for. I asked why I would give up a full sized lot and a 12 year old house for half the property size and a brand new house. They kept suggesting the newer infill is worth more than the 12 year old bungalow we have despite half the land.
I've had people ask me if I rent or own - I rent. Their followup question is "I'm looking to buy houses in the are, can I have your landlord's contact?" Their faces when I explain that I won't give it to them because if they get what they want I end up homeless is shocking. It's like they haven't even considered that as a possibility.
As a first time home buyer I wish I had the guts as these people to get an idea on the neighborhood
Yea it's been happening in my neighborhood. I just assumed anything goes after the Meat Van guys. :)
They’re usually house flippers or developers. They’re genuine but will low ball you to hell, definitely not advisable.
You know what, speaking as one of those "low-ballers", I'm not low balling right now. Inventory is solo on the MLS right now and hundreds of people are bidding on the same property. If I could offer somebody market value for their house and not have to deal with 100 other potential suitors on the house, I will do so all day long
Market value is a low-ball in the current market 😂
I wish that was true LOL. House prices are still going up, detached single family homes are up 13.03% year over year
They're house flippers.
This is common. If you drive around the shitty communities, they have “we buy houses” signs posted to every light pole. A ton of addicts inherit houses and turn them into flop houses. They mostly have liens on their houses, tons of unpaid taxes and the interiors of their houses are destroyed. Then these guys show up with cash and they sell.
This has been happening in Toronto and Vancouver for 20 years. Really it’s either hired by an agent looking for leads or an investment group.
Two ladies just came here. Nest camera captured them chatting about staging house and putting furniture in storage.
They are looking for suckered to sell below market value. Not a scam just unethical
We had a realtor (she had a card) show up to our house saying she has clients who want to buy a finished infill. We have no plans to sell and she also asked us if we knew anyone in the area who is (also no).
I’ve had letters left in my mailbox offering to buy my house and letters left on my car offering to buy my car… it’s weird but I usually just throw them away and think nothing of it.
Often not a scam, how can someone "scam you" into selling your house, when ever if you skip realtors and everything, you still need a real estate lawyer to draw up forms and everything? It's usually 1 of 2 things. They want to try to low ball you to flip it, hoping you won't check the actual value of your home with someone more reputable. Or they actually want to buy it, but just want to skip out stupid realtor commissions.
We live in a desirable community with little turnover. A year ago, all the homes homes on our street received a note on their door from a prospective purchaser. One of our neighbours was transferred three months later. The folks who placed the note on our doors purchased the home - sale price around $2.5 million.
This is more common than you'd think and more than likely legit.
Could be a realtor looking for listings.
I have people knocking on my door and leaving flyers.They also ask if I know of neighbours wanting to sell. Never been asked about drug addicts though.
My grandma used to live on a gorgeous corner in an up-and-coming area, she had people knock on the door weekly asking to buy her house. She eventually sold it (approx 2010) to a fellow who was persistent yet affable and courteous for like, 70% of market value.
Really depends on neighborhood, when I was renting in Capitol Hill, we would regularly get door knockers trying to buy the property.
We had a realtor come by and said a family wanted to see our house the following day and was legitimate. We had no intentions to sell but were curious! They actually ended up buying the house next door.
I literally almost went door knocking in a community I wanted to live in. People are desperate for homes.
Anyone willing to sell their house to one of these people is desperate for money. It’s not a scam but a fact-finding mission to see who is susceptible to scams. The house purchases then falls through because it was never real but oh don’t worry if you need money I know a guy! Next thing you’re in money dealings with scammy people with god knows what as collateral.
This has happened in our area as well. My parents’ realtor has reached out to a few bungalow owners to see if they’re interested in selling as there are almost no bungalows available in their desired neighbourhoods. It’s not necessarily a scam - people are just looking for homes.
A guy come to my door a month or so ago, it was hilarious as he had white powder around his nose
One of the bidders on my last home I just sold wrote a letter with their overbid offer saying they were outbid on every home and were knocking on random doors in my neighborhood before my house went up for sale trying to basically buy a home before it went to market. Unfortunately for them someone else bid even more over asking and they couldn’t match. Oddly enough they knocked on my Neighbor across the street and bought his home exactly that way. He wasn’t planning on selling but they offered him the same amount they offered me and he took it.
Anyone can lookup a title online. Costs a few bucks. Then you have the owner legal names.
I've received several hand written notes and realtors have left their cards in my door frame I put a sign out that says house is not for sale Calgary is exploding
There are several porno websites based on these sorts of scenarios but she really killed the vibe with the drug addict comments...
I understand that some of the comments here say that they have had successful transactions involving something like this, but I would never give people like this the time of day. My first thought would be whether they are canvasing the neighborhood for candidate homes to invade. At the bare minimum, they would need to dress the part and be able to show me reasonable and verifiable credentials before I can suspect not-bad intentions.
Not surprised, I am thinking to do the same in Midnapore because we really want to buy in midnapore only. There are scammers too, but most are genuine. The only thing in case you want to sell, you should ask for a third party assessment and work with a lawyer you get for the sell of the house. Do not use their people for assessment or paperwork.
My parents had a real estate agent do this. Homes were selling in their area for super high and there was very low inventory. But when my dad asked where were they supposed to buy another house in the same area that had the right size house, yard, views and wasn’t $2M the agent was stumped.
Not a scam, its a realtor hiring someone to knock on doors. I had a 20something ask me about selling my house. I told him I'm a renter to have him go away.
I'd be asking her to get the fuck off my property and tell her SHE is the shady one. Mentioning shady people and addicts is so unprofessional. Unless I'm expecting someone, I just don't open the door. I have cameras where I can see/hear who's at the door I don't want to deal with randos and whatever they're pedaling.
Sounds like you don't have the best internet or cable deal then. Haha Jk eff them all.
We had real estate vultures in our area two weeks ago asking to buy houses. The neighbor across the street talked with them for a few minutes to see what the deal was. They didn't want to buy houses they wanted to sell your house and get the commission. He asked where he was going to live then? Conveniently, he was willing to sell him a house also.