Anyone have any experience buying a house that wasn't listed for sale? I'm curious to know your experience.

There's a house in my neighborhood that I walk by nearly every day that isn't for sale, but likely will be at some point. I base that on a major clean out effort at the house and a conversation I had with the clean out crew.

The owner is an old lady. I don't know her. I sent her a letter asking for the opportunity to purchase, but I didn't make an actual offer. I haven't heard anything back yet. I don't know how I'll follow up. I'm hesitant to knock on the door to ask because I don't want to look like I'm trying to force her out of her house.

Investors buy off market deals that aren't for sale all the time. The best deal is the one that isn't for sale. There's a fine line to letting them know your interest and being intrusive. It's a line many investors cross. Try to be a solution to their problem and you will do well

We did something similar with our current house. We had targeted a nearby neighborhood we wanted to move into, and there were certain floorplans that were most appealing to us. So we'd been eyeballing the neighborhood closely for a good 5-6 months and knew a lot of people in the neighborhood since our house at the time fed to the same schools. Through this, we got wind of one where an older couple whose children had all left the nest and they were ready to downsize. They were apparently a good ways from being ready to put it on the market, but they had at least reached out to an agent to get ready for the process and we knew of this agent. So we actually reached to the agent and basically kick-started the process.

Dont be concerned about following up. Keep it light, friendly, etc. but do it. More than once if necessary, every couple of weeks.

And if she does respond, and is interested in possibly selling, whenever you've seen the place or whenever you feel comfortable to get around to talking price and terms, do what you can to get her to name her price before you state your offer. It might be lower than what you have in mind.

I have a neighbor who always said he had no interest in selling his property to me. When I would bring it up he would dismiss my efforts and politely tell me he didn't need the money. Earlier this year I gave him a written offer. It changed his position with me and we have been actively engaged in me purchasing the property for a few months now.

I do not think we will get there because we are not really close on the value of the property which is an inherent issue with buying from an unmotivated sell. The point though is that I believe people will take you much more seriously if they have a written offer letter from you as opposed to conversation.

Thanks for the advice. I've followed up my initial letter with another one month later. Should be delivered today. We'll see.

Meanwhile, improvements continue at the house (landscaping, trim painting, new gutters, replaced roof tiles), which is both promising and troubling; It's probably being prepped to sell, but my dreams of a bargain are slipping away. Hopefully it's lipstick on a pig and the inside is a disaster.

Sounds like they are investing in the home to get full price. Just had a granny across the street fall and the family moved her to assisted living. I asked the daughter if they were interested in a cash offer and they declined. They spent in guessing around 12k on roof and paint and left the kitchen original needing updated and sold it for 10k over list in a weekend.

The best realtors are so well connected in neighborhoods that they know about properties before they go up. That's how we bought our first home.

Update: I got a chance to tour the house during an estate sale last weekend and was pleased to see that despite the freshened exterior, the inside needs a lot of work.

I also had a conversation with the owner, and a younger relative who is helping her prep the house, who told me that I'd written her "sweet" letters and that they haven't talked to a realtor yet, but are thinking August for selling and they have my contact info.

Obviously this doesn't necessarily mean they're gonna sell it to me, but I'm far more hopeful than before.

1. It's for sale.
2. "Yet". Wonder who gets the listing...
3. Hope you get a great deal, if it suits you.

If you are in position....offer a fair price, with quick close and look at a close with a Real Estate Lawyer. You could both save money before realtors get in there with their 6% commission. Another option is if they want a realtor, see if you can bargain off the 6% if the seller tells the agent she already has a buyer. One big stumbling block could be how many heirs have a say in the sell of the house.

75 or so

We bought a house that had a for rent sign in the front yard. Called and asked if they wanted to sell it and we eventually made a deal. A little easier than what you're describing but I guess that fits.

itsyourboypookie said:

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75 or so

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75 homes? Care to elaborate? Interested to hear how you pull that off.

Thanks!

Present a written offer. If you personally know a Realtor(Broker), ask them what they would charge. For a friend who has already identified the property, I would complete this transaction for a dramatically reduced commission depending on the parameters of the offer, such as financing, termination option period, inspections, repair intensions/expectations, etcetera.

We talked to our realtor and submitted a written offer. We're hopeful that our early interest and letter writing campaign pays off.

Best of luck to you! I would recommend in the future to send the written offer with the first correspondence. A signed written offer carries much more weight than a verbal or written communication of interest.

Just did this - our realtor heard about the house from her agent friend. We were able to tour the house and gave a competitive written offer with other perks we knew the sellers may want (ie rent back). Agree with all the comments that a written contract with pre-approval letters means more than a letter.

Congratulations! I hope you get the property. The process you employed is a very forward thinking and progressive way purchase property.

Realtors call them pocket listings. We are in the process of selling and buying under those circumstances. Our house had a coming soon sign in the yard so it wasn't listed in MLS. It sold in a matter of days. The property we are buying didn't have a sign in the yard. Our realtor found it for us via networking.

Update: My quest didn't work out. I was hoping the situation was a little old lady moving out of an old run down house. I was half right. Her niece decided to make a go at renovating. She's made necessary updates, but it has a long way to go before it could be considered complete. She's selling it by owner and is expecting fully renovated money for a partially renovated house.

I am encouraged, however, that my letter writing campaign paid off in terms of getting me to the point where I could make an offer. I will continue to do that in the neighborhood until it works.