I'm retired and my mortgage is paid off. I keep getting offers, usually by mail, but occasionally by phone, to purchase my home "as is' for cash.

The housing bill that's been in the news lately allegedly bans big corporations from buying up single family homes. Apparently some rich corporations want to buy up all the single family homes and turn us into a nations of renters. This means nobody owns their homes and everybody rents. I've been thinking that all of these offers that I am getting to buy my house may actually be a part of that.

Do any real estate people here know anything about this? What thoughts does anybody have about this?

I got those calls and texts all the time a few years ago, but they have kind of dropped off. They're obviously cash buyer-flippers looking for desperate sellers, and I'm sure they strike gold once in a while. I've met people who sold those guys. Their houses were paid for long ago, inherited, in terrible disrepair, were probably teardowns, but the land was worth the kind of money a poor person would see as a huge windfall.

I'm not a real estate person, just a market observation around here over time.
Pre covid there used to be several listings, fixer up stuff, between $20K and 40K.
Virtually all but gone now, as if someone bought them all up.
With the cost of materials now, unless you do it yourself, I doubt they could be renovated within reason.
I don't know if these "affordable" homes were bought to increase market rentals or increase real estate values or who owns them now.

All the time, it's crazy people trying to buy it at a discount, started not soon after we paid the loan off, got one yesterday as a matter of fact.

I own a house in Savannah, GA that has never had a mortgage since I've owned it. No exaggeration, I have been getting calls, texts and direct mail at least 10-15 time per week for over 10 years from bottom feeder buyers. Even my kids have been contacted. It's ridiculous and annoying but not much I can do about it. I think they see a house with no mortgage and an out of state owner on the tax roll and assume it's ripe for the picking.

My wife and I own a home in Florida and property in Tennessee, the house in Florida never had a mortgage and the property in Tennessee has been paid off for years.

We each get text messages, phone calls and offers in the mail all the time for both of our property's.

Just this week we got not only text messages each about or property in Tennessee but a letter in the mail.

I don't know how true this is but a real-estate agent who helped sell my wife fathers property after he passed last year said what ever they offer you, you can just about double it's worth to them when they sell it.

My wife and I grew up on, and owned our first home at the jersey shore. I heard stories about people sitting home on a Sunday and there was a knock on the door. The person at the door would make a cash offer to the homeowner on the spot.

From what I was told most of the people making the offers were from New York city and they were looking for a summer home near the beach. This was over 25 years ago.

On our last trip to New Jersey in 2023 we heard people are not looking for a summer home but a place to move to completely out of the city, once again this is what we have been told.

If I get one more Arborist / Tree Trim text. I'm gonna lose my freaking mind. I can't possibly block any more... but they keep coming.

We get calls & texts here in Tampabay to buy our house, inspect our roof and trim or remove our trees. I used to politely say "Not interested!" but the sheer number has made me become pretty impolite and sometimes downright nasty. I can block the callers on my iPhone or when they text, but, sure enough, another one pops up.

The worst is the door to door guys who say they are working on a roof or trimming trees in the neighborhood and wanna inspect my roof or trees/bushes. One guy was really nasty and pushy and acted like he was going up on my roof whether I allowed it or not and started toward the gate to the side and back yard. Didn't end well for him but he's not been back.

Bob

Not just homes. I've been getting constant offers for the separate pieces of land I own for the last 4-5 years. Dozens of offers each year. This started after the Covid plandemic.

I have maintained my home. Any needed repairs are addressed promptly. It's not a "fixer upper." The offers I get do vary, but most meet the price range of similar homes in my area. So I find it difficult to believe it would be a quick flip at a profit for anyone who purchased my home but who knows.

These people/company prey on the elderly. I’ve been getting these calls for over a decade on my home in TX. Initially I’d field the call and tell them sure, you can buy it, and I’d give them a price that was $100k over market/comps as I’m pretty tight with my real estate agent. As they kept calling I’d increase the price to the point now if I even talk them (I really don’t) I’d quote them a few hundred k over what it’s worth.

Growing tired of where I live due to millions moving to my state, basic overpopulation, I bought land where I want to build, out of state. Finish my career working remote there and retire there, both. Same shit. It’s raw land and these third party bozos call or email several times a month. Same MO as my house, they offer 1/2 to 1/3 of actual value.

So basically for either a home or land, they lowball like crazy looking for a sucker. It must work for people not in the know or the elderly. My land agent said that a number of elderly fell for the shit and sold their land dirt cheap. Nobody should be surprised because people monetize anything and everything. A friend is into backpacks for some reason and he tells me a new one comes out, and people will buy ALL of them up in one swoop. Then list them for double the price online. That’s just one example.

I’ve had a coworker contacted by someone looking for me and offering to by my fathers house.
These people just connect dots and shoot in the dark.

I get contacted by these cash buyers all the time. What surprises me most is how persistent some of them are. I'll tell them to look up what the county has as tax-assessed value or Zillow Zestimate, and tell them, "It'll take at least double that to entice me to sell."

A few months later, I'll get contacted by the same party. "Hello, just checking back to see if you'd be interested in selling. We're prepared to make you an attractive offer!"

Rinse & repeat.

I don't get which properties they target. Do they specifically target ones that are paid-off? If so, why?
I know they seek desperate & distressed homeowners. Why do some of the same solicitors repeatedly contact me after I've established I'm not one of those?

If I got a dollar for each time I trashed these mails and messages, I would be a zillionaire.

About once a week for the last several years I get a text wanting to know about my property at 139 Walnut St. which I have never owned and my name is not Phil. The other day I almost responded to get them to contact me so I could politely ask them to take me off their list but it would probably increase the texts ten fold. UGH!

I wonder if some new project is being considered and they need your property to proceed.
I recall way back in the last century a auto plant that quietly bought up a bunch of property to build a new plant on it.

I Get those mails and phone calls all the time. They offer to buy my house “as-is”for about 40% less than it’s worth. Yeah, I’m really interested in that.

I think there’s some kind of scam conference these people go to.

We get all manner of weird attempts to “rent space in the front of our plant”

One lady said she just needed 60 square feet.

I think it must be some kind of scam.

Usually we now say “will consider offers over astronomical price,” and it works better than just saying no.

I get texts for people wanting to buy my property in Versailles, KY. I've never been to Versailles nor have I ever owned property there. ???

quote:

Originally posted by Schmelby:
About once a week for the last several years I get a text wanting to know about my property at 139 Walnut St. which I have never owned and my name is not Phil. The other day I almost responded to get them to contact me so I could politely ask them to take me off their list but it would probably increase the texts ten fold. UGH!

Just text them back and tell them sure, type up the paperwork and bring it by for my signature. The issue should resolve itself.

Just under 2 years ago I had every last tree on my lot taken out. Now when I get the call about giving me an estimate for tree trimming, I just say sure, come on by and give me a quote. Don’t waste my time, I won’t waste yours.