Phone Sales Offer

Anyone been getting offers to buy your house on the phone? I’m curious about whether there is any legitimacy there (and no, I don’t believe those Nigerians will cut me in on a million dollars.) But if it is legitimate, wouldn’t the lack of a sales commission compensate for the reduced amount these guys may offer? Does anyone go for it? Who are these people? Incidentally, to the blog-powers-that-be: a Forum search on the title of this post returns things like: Facade question ? Jahn mortar versus traditional stucco? and Source for discounted appliances Time for a fix?

cmu

in About Brooklyn 10 years and 1 month ago

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slopefarm | 10 years and 1 month ago

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bored — I think some are indiscriminate and some are targeting specifics. I would think the phone callers are more targeted. In our case, I think they are targeting the fact that our property is underbuilt (3100 sf compared with 5k max under current zoning). I suspect so because others on our block with underbuult properties get a lot of calls as well from the same folks. cmu — I’m not an architect, but i would imagine landmarking protects a house from teardown but zoning does not. Limiting factor is probably unused buildable square footage — can developer replace the house with 3-4 condo units. But they could also be fishing for easy flips, with a strategy of buying under market, doing cosmetic reno on the cheap and then selling at market. A good chunk of slope is protected, but not all of it. Certainly not much is protected from teardowns in my little vinyl-sided neck of the woods. Two are about to happen on my block. Whatever the plan, and they may not know til they get into the particulars of a property, the model depends upon underpaying in the first instance.

cmu | 10 years and 1 month ago

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Thanks, all…just a question. I just assumed there’d be no sales commission, but having never spent time talking with these guys, I wondered about the savings. slopefarm…they can’t just tear down anything, can they? I thought park slope was pretty protected?

dorkofwindsor | 10 years and 1 month ago

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the fact that the OP has come on here and asked about it means it must be working sometimes. They are looking for a deal. With the market moving up so fast in brooklyn, even using a comp for a recently closed house is proving to be too low. Their strategy lies in showing you their cherry picked / stale comps that suit their low offer, offering cash and giving you horror stories of mortgages that didn’t get approved etc and the sales commission thing, fast close no headache. If anyone saves money on a deal – you should get the commission not some low baller flipper. **ALWAYS** put your house on the open market, and (IMHO) pick a big outfit such as corcoran etc. The only “deals” i have seen as a buyer were the old school local indie brokers that listed at a recent comp that three months later is 100k, 200k undervalued. The big broker see heavy volume and know where to list it without a bunch of BS to make you feel good.

boredatwork | 10 years and 1 month ago

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I dont get calls but I do get letters all the time. They are ready to pay all cash, NOW. Some are even hand-written, as if from a real person. What I think triggers this is my mortgage, which I have refinanced several times over the years, is now about 10% of the market value of my home. They get the info from the City records and hope that they find a willing seller (me) who thinks the market value is close to the mortgage (not me). I have been tempted to call back and hear what they have in mind, but have not yet wasted my time. If someone comes to my door with a suitcase full of cash, that’s another thing. I think they operate with the presumption that there is a sucker born every minute.

slopefarm | 10 years and 1 month ago

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Cmu, I know you are smarter than that. The calls are from developers who want to do tear downs, or perhaps flips. They don’t make their money by paying you, say, 3% below market, and who can even predict what that number is with that degree of precision without putting the house on the market sand testing it? Their model depends upon significantly underpaying, which depends upon the homeowner not understanding the market well enough. But if you want to test it, you should have a very firm grasp of your current market value before you talk to them. Also, they always want you to make the first move on price. I kind of am curious how lowball they are, so I sometimes tell them I will talk to them after they make an offer. They never do it.

bliz | 10 years and 1 month ago

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Swindlers, all of them. Beware.

tm07 | 10 years and 1 month ago

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My brother has been called weekly for at least 2 years. He lives in a modest house in Queens and does not wish to move. Every time he gets a call, he informs them that he will only move for an enormous figure. He is currently up to $3 million or so. I agree with Bob Marvin.

peaceout | 10 years and 1 month ago

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“But if it is legitimate, wouldn?t the lack of a sales commission compensate for the reduced amount these guys may offer?” Have you every heard the saying, ‘You get what you pay for.’ “Does anyone go for it?” Naive and foolish people who think they are going to save a few bucks. “Who are these people?” Shysters. Summary: If it looks too good to be true, it is. Stick with a local realtor and negotiate the commission.

BobMarvin | 10 years and 1 month ago

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The lack of a sales commission COULD compensate for the reduced amount these guys may offer but, in the real world, they’re probably trying to con you into accepting a low ball offer so they can flip your house for a quick profit. There’s little harm in having them quote a price, but also consult a reputable broker who has experience in your neighborhood.