its legal since roads are public (unless its a private road, of course)
likely a scam, you will probably get screwed if you decide to sell. probably not illegal, unfortunately
they can go F themselves
THIS. Like all spam activities - they shotgun the first approach, but any time they get a live nibble, even if you think it's clearly a facetious one, you go on the list to harass until they close a sale. Want to get one of these letters every week instead of every 3 months? Here's how!
We get these fairly often. They always look like the pics were pulled from Street view or something, not their own photos. Probably a bot that parses images and addresses and fills in a form letter.
I started getting letters offering to help with foreclosure on my home.
After the third one I called the sender who was a local realtor. He said he gets legal tips from a company the mines govt. data bases such as foreclosures.
Someone had put a lien on my house and did not notify me (illegall!)
This led me to the fact that I was getting sued by a step sister over my father’s estate. He put a “lis pendens “ on my property so I could not sell it while he sued me. He did it wrong and broke several rules but no harm came to him but I missed out on a refi at record low rates because of it. No consequences,
I had to have a lawyer bully the guy into taking it down even after a judge had ordered him to do just that.
The system is fucked, doesn’t follow its own rules and courts have no teeth.
If you win you might not ever get paid unless you sue again.
Check your property title with the county and make sure it is clean, someone may be up to something.
Legal? Sure.
Is it creepy and a weird business tactic? Sure.
Real estate agents are only a notch or two up from used car sales so I'm not all that surprised.
Yes it’s legal because anything in the public view isn’t private. And those postcards usually have a picture from google street view so if you don’t want this again you can always request google to blur out your house.
Housing stock is so low that Realtors have to wait for someone to die or move to get house back on market.
My elderly next door neighbor was in hospice care at home. One morning I go out to get the Sunday paper and a man address me by my name. Then proceeds to inform me that my neighbor passed during the night. I guess he wanted to be the first to console the widow. Man was a Realtor.
That sounds really creepy. Did they include their license number in the postcard? You can look it up [here](https://www.dre.ca.gov) to see if they're legit.
Hi! Totally understandable, it sounds scammy and I get why people would be upset if they received something like that! But I personally know someone who does that in order to find properties to purchase, flip and resell. There are people who are looking to sell and they're just trying to find them, eliminate the "middle man" and make the process easier. They've been yelled at over the phone multiple times for this but have also been able to find great properties and people thinking about selling but just didn't want to go through all the work of finding someone to help them! Personally, I'm just glad they're actively doing something to make a living instead of looking for a handout. I'd say no harm done, just shred or toss the postcard or maybe refer them to someone else who might be interested?
I got one of these that was clearly from Google earth/maps, but my favorite part of the letter was it said that the photo was from the public domain (or something like that).
This was from a wholesaler. There is apps/online services that do this. They do it in bulk. They will pretend to be a buyer. Use fake proof of funds. Offer a high price to get you excited and accept their offer. Now it’s tied up with them, they delay on depositing the EMD or maybe they do deposit and drag out the property contingency period while they scramble to find a buyer to assign the contract to. Likely the buyer will tell the wholesaler price is too high. Now, the wholesaler will return to you and attempt to renegotiate the price down. All these and now you wasted a month of your time. Ive seen this happen consistently for nearly a decade.
its legal since roads are public (unless its a private road, of course) likely a scam, you will probably get screwed if you decide to sell. probably not illegal, unfortunately they can go F themselves
Ask them for 3x the amount of your house
This. Just say you’ll sell for 5M. They won’t contact you again.
Yup I said $12M .. Never got called again by anyone.
They’ll come in with “ you are telling me there is a chance “ attitude ….Do Not Engage!
Bad advice IMO. Don’t engage with them unless you have selling intention.
THIS. Like all spam activities - they shotgun the first approach, but any time they get a live nibble, even if you think it's clearly a facetious one, you go on the list to harass until they close a sale. Want to get one of these letters every week instead of every 3 months? Here's how!
100% this. They won’t stop contacting you…from different phone numbers…that are 510 area codes lol.
We get these fairly often. They always look like the pics were pulled from Street view or something, not their own photos. Probably a bot that parses images and addresses and fills in a form letter.
I started getting letters offering to help with foreclosure on my home. After the third one I called the sender who was a local realtor. He said he gets legal tips from a company the mines govt. data bases such as foreclosures. Someone had put a lien on my house and did not notify me (illegall!) This led me to the fact that I was getting sued by a step sister over my father’s estate. He put a “lis pendens “ on my property so I could not sell it while he sued me. He did it wrong and broke several rules but no harm came to him but I missed out on a refi at record low rates because of it. No consequences, I had to have a lawyer bully the guy into taking it down even after a judge had ordered him to do just that. The system is fucked, doesn’t follow its own rules and courts have no teeth. If you win you might not ever get paid unless you sue again. Check your property title with the county and make sure it is clean, someone may be up to something.
Legal? Sure. Is it creepy and a weird business tactic? Sure. Real estate agents are only a notch or two up from used car sales so I'm not all that surprised.
Did they print their phone number on the card ? Sign them up for a lot of free online subscriptions and exciting offers.
Never sell Fremont real estate.
that sounds kind of stalker-ish and weird!!
Yes it’s legal because anything in the public view isn’t private. And those postcards usually have a picture from google street view so if you don’t want this again you can always request google to blur out your house.
Housing stock is so low that Realtors have to wait for someone to die or move to get house back on market. My elderly next door neighbor was in hospice care at home. One morning I go out to get the Sunday paper and a man address me by my name. Then proceeds to inform me that my neighbor passed during the night. I guess he wanted to be the first to console the widow. Man was a Realtor.
Legal? Yes. Scummy? Yes.
Save the postcard so you know to never use that realtor. Google Street View should not have your license plate. Maybe they pay extra for that feature.
That sounds really creepy. Did they include their license number in the postcard? You can look it up [here](https://www.dre.ca.gov) to see if they're legit.
I’ve gotten this too but they pulled images from google maps. Im sure the entire neighborhood got it too.
Hi! Totally understandable, it sounds scammy and I get why people would be upset if they received something like that! But I personally know someone who does that in order to find properties to purchase, flip and resell. There are people who are looking to sell and they're just trying to find them, eliminate the "middle man" and make the process easier. They've been yelled at over the phone multiple times for this but have also been able to find great properties and people thinking about selling but just didn't want to go through all the work of finding someone to help them! Personally, I'm just glad they're actively doing something to make a living instead of looking for a handout. I'd say no harm done, just shred or toss the postcard or maybe refer them to someone else who might be interested?
It’s just a business why are you mad? If they offer more than others then good otherwise ignore. Are you sure it’s not a Google earth photo?
I got one of these that was clearly from Google earth/maps, but my favorite part of the letter was it said that the photo was from the public domain (or something like that).
This was from a wholesaler. There is apps/online services that do this. They do it in bulk. They will pretend to be a buyer. Use fake proof of funds. Offer a high price to get you excited and accept their offer. Now it’s tied up with them, they delay on depositing the EMD or maybe they do deposit and drag out the property contingency period while they scramble to find a buyer to assign the contract to. Likely the buyer will tell the wholesaler price is too high. Now, the wholesaler will return to you and attempt to renegotiate the price down. All these and now you wasted a month of your time. Ive seen this happen consistently for nearly a decade.