Community Chat

[novamc1]

@jlkz 

As a former residential sales agent and broker, I'd suggest your husband not ask how much they're offering, but say that if they mail him a written, signed offer, he will consider it.  

That will either shut them up quickly and search for another sucker, or they might actually do it and then you will know how serious they are.

Inviting scammers to submit verbal phone offers could potentially make  them think of another way to devise a property scam.  No agreements to buy or sell that are made verbally are court-enforceable.

Both where I lived before and where I live now, we have  received numerous phone and mail contacts from people wanting to buy our house or sell it for us.  I ignored them all.

My husband owned some Texas properties that he bought many years before we married.  He received numerous mail and phone solicitations from prospective buyers over the years.

I finally forced him to get rid of the properties and couldn't have cared less about random phone or mail inquiries. I hired brokers in two different Texas counties, was willing to pay for their local expertise and service, and  they successfully sold the properties quickly--no headaches, no scams.

[sgraham30]

@On It, I've gotten several stating that interested parties want to buy my townhouse for cash. I have to click on it to see what it is, once I see what it is, I text back STOP, block the number, then delete the text.  

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I do get the occasional text and flier about interest in the property.  It comes from a legitimate business concern but I'm not selling, so I just ignore them.

We have a nicer than average lot in what has become a desired location.  Modest home, nice sized lot and (rare) no HOA.  Mature trees.  I think we'll be able to sell when the time comes and for sure we'd work with a broker.

[Boehm Collector]

Just yesterday my DH received a text message ( I didn't pay attention to the number as we just deleted it) asking if I was interested in selling the house where my office is located.   I still use my maiden name so I have no idea how this person knew to get in touch with DH and how he got his cell phone number.  The message clearly mentioned my name and the address of the property.

[Carmie]

Anyone can go to the county courthouse and look to see who owns property.  They can tell if it is paid for or there is a lien on it.  This is Public information and many scammers just help themselves.  

Often phone numbers and a home address of the owner is listed as well.  

I used to spend the day doing this myself when I worked  as a real estate agent looking for listings in neighborhoods where houses sell pretty fast.

[On It]

I just received a text wanting to buy our Texas house. It does seem to be some sort of organized effort. I had never received one until a few minutes ago.

[Duckncover]

I get these texts all the time. My provided is starting to block them as potential spam but some still get through.

[sunshine45]

its not new at all and has been around for quite a while now.

i get those texts weekly, block the number, and they turn around and use another number, which i also block. its a cycle.

[sunshine45]

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@Carmie wrote:

Anyone can go to the county courthouse and look to see who owns property.  They can tell if it is paid for or there is a lien on it.  This is Public information and many scammers just help themselves.  

Often phone numbers and a home address of the owner is listed as well.  

I used to spend the day doing this myself when I worked  as a real estate agent looking for listings in neighborhoods where houses sell pretty fast.

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@Carmie 

in our area you dont even have to go to the courthouse. owners names, property, and property taxes are a matter of public record. you can look it up online easily.

[PickyPicky3]

I get texts, phone calls and mail about this all the time. There are also many, many TV commercials. Not necessarily a scam -- just marketing.