[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

Often, these are small companies given access to a large amount of credit by bigger companies. The small companies specialize in finding and contacting people who might be interested in moving and offering them cash in exchange for skipping the entire sales process and 6% paid to realtors. Some of them make a low-ball offer, but some make a pretty fair offer. These small companies tend to immediately turn the houses over to bigger companies, repaying the loan they received and keeping part of it. These larger companies then bundle house sales from all over the country and sell them to REITs. (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Investors buy into these REITs. The investors don’t own the houses. They just own shares. These are also sold like mutual funds. Some years they are the best investments on Wall Street. Some years they tank.

At some point the homes are reconditioned and perhaps sold for a good profit but more likely rented out. The huge companies doing this use computer algorithms to figure out the absolute maximum the market will bear for each house in its neighborhood and charge it. That is how REITs make their money, mostly from rents. However, when one of these companies starts renting out a house, the top dollar it charges is discovered by other companies in the area that rent out homes and duplicated. The result is that these companies bear the primary responsibility for the huge increase in the cost of rent around the country. As local owners raise rents, that money goes into the pockets of the local companies and out of the pockets of the millions who have to rent homes and apartments. However, the companies that own thousands of homes and hundreds of thousands of homes and raise the rent every year are doing it for investors.

Just one more example of what makes America great.

The opportunity to earn money in the USA, is boundless. Thank you for capitalism, long may it live!

[SoCalGal]

Originally Posted by manaboutown

It seems to me the calling people/companies were watching the obituaries

They don't need to watch the obituaries. They buy a list from a list broker who gets the data from the public record that provides the name, address, and sometimes the phone number of the homeowner.

[SoCalGal]

Originally Posted by thevillages2013

I refuse to answer phone calls if I don’t know who is on the other end. Also IMO life is too short to be listening to voicemail. I still get the occasional rogue text message but it gets deleted

Get off my lawn!

[BrianL99]

Originally Posted by SoCalGal

They don't need to watch the obituaries. They buy a list from a list broker who gets the data from the public record that provides the name, address, and sometimes the phone number of the homeowner.

That's old school.

The information is readily and quickly available to anyone with a computer and internet connection.

I get an email every morning, that tells me who died in the cities & towns that concern me. Less depressing than reading obits.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by Bonanza

It isn't disgusting or creepy. Those offers to do business are legitimate and are from Realtors or private investors. It's simply an innovative way to drum up business and there's nothing wrong with it. You probably wouldn't like the offer but they usually pay all closing costs and it's a way to get rid of a property quickly with no inspections or repairs.

It's also a way that some people earn a living!

Hmm, I wonder if they stand at the gates of the cemetery or at the mortuary/crematorium. Some living! I still think it's like some trying to tell a widow to invest the life insurance payout in their "special" investment plan.

I'll have to edit my prepared obit to read: "The ghouls looking to buy my home can pester someone else. Arrangements have been made for my home's sale and my life insurance policy is already spoken for and divvied up". That should keep the ghouls off the honey wagon.

[Aces4]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

Often, these are small companies given access to a large amount of credit by bigger companies. The small companies specialize in finding and contacting people who might be interested in moving and offering them cash in exchange for skipping the entire sales process and 6% paid to realtors. Some of them make a low-ball offer, but some make a pretty fair offer. These small companies tend to immediately turn the houses over to bigger companies, repaying the loan they received and keeping part of it. These larger companies then bundle house sales from all over the country and sell them to REITs. (Real Estate Investment Trusts) Investors buy into these REITs. The investors don’t own the houses. They just own shares. These are also sold like mutual funds. Some years they are the best investments on Wall Street. Some years they tank.

At some point the homes are reconditioned and perhaps sold for a good profit but more likely rented out. The huge companies doing this use computer algorithms to figure out the absolute maximum the market will bear for each house in its neighborhood and charge it. That is how REITs make their money, mostly from rents. However, when one of these companies starts renting out a house, the top dollar it charges is discovered by other companies in the area that rent out homes and duplicated. The result is that these companies bear the primary responsibility for the huge increase in the cost of rent around the country. As local owners raise rents, that money goes into the pockets of the local companies and out of the pockets of the millions who have to rent homes and apartments. However, the companies that own thousands of homes and hundreds of thousands of homes and raise the rent every year are doing it for investors.

I should have realized the stock market would have it's tentacles in there. Never enough nickels, eh?

[OrangeBlossomBaby]

OP those are scams. It's a huge industry and it's incredibly ugly. They're not legitimate offers. It's one of the most common types of real estate fraud.

Never, ever, EVER allow anyone to have a conversation with you about buying your home if YOU didn't reach out to THEM to express YOUR interest in selling. They can steal your identity, put the title in their name, and then they will own your home and you'll be homeless - and penniless.

After my mom died in 2023 I started getting letters from a particular company that wanted to buy my house at my mom's address. But my mom's house wasn't ever mine, it was in my name and my sister's name for a year, around five years ago. We shifted it to my sister's name when she got the financial and medical power of attorney for my parents. I did a semi-deep dive (more than just a cursory Google search, but not enough to make calls or contact a lawyer) on the company where the letters came from, and there were pages upon pages of warnings about real estate fraud in the results.

These companies prey on beneficiaries. Don't talk with them, don't answer their questions when they call, get in the habit of not saying "Yes?" when someone asks if you're you. Instead, ask "who's asking?" If it's a robocall, it might suggest you press #2 (or another number) to remove yourself from their mailing list. DO NOT DO THIS. It confirms that they reached an actual person, and will sell your name and number to list-companies. Just hang up.

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by Villagesgal

It is a scam. They are hoping that in your grief you make a decision in haste
and sell for next to nothing. I got these for 6 months after my husband died. One listed a cash price they would pay me that was about $200,000 less than my house was worth. They are hoping you are desperate for cash. Two actually stopped by my house and made offers. I did not sell and was angry at these people for trying to make a buck off of my misfortune. Don't make any major changes in your life for at least a year after a spouses death. These are dispicable people.

It is NOT a scam and those people are NOT despicable! You have no clue. Six months after your husband died their offer probably had nothing to do with his death, but if that was the case, it is not an unreasonable amount of time after the fact. Yes, they are trying to "make a buck" because they are trying to earn a living. So -- what's wrong with that??? In many cases, they will offer you about 25% of a property's value. I know how these people operate. They are trying to purchase a property at somewhat less than its value so they can turn it over for a profit. They offer no contingencies, cash, no repairs, fast closings, pay all closing costs, and buy "as is." Those things alone are worth something even if their cash offer is not acceptable to you.

[Bonanza]

Originally Posted by OrangeBlossomBaby

OP those are scams. It's a huge industry and it's incredibly ugly. They're not legitimate offers. It's one of the most common types of real estate fraud.

Never, ever, EVER allow anyone to have a conversation with you about buying your home if YOU didn't reach out to THEM to express YOUR interest in selling. They can steal your identity, put the title in their name, and then they will own your home and you'll be homeless - and penniless.

After my mom died in 2023 I started getting letters from a particular company that wanted to buy my house at my mom's address. But my mom's house wasn't ever mine, it was in my name and my sister's name for a year, around five years ago. We shifted it to my sister's name when she got the financial and medical power of attorney for my parents. I did a semi-deep dive (more than just a cursory Google search, but not enough to make calls or contact a lawyer) on the company where the letters came from, and there were pages upon pages of warnings about real estate fraud in the results.

These companies prey on beneficiaries. Don't talk with them, don't answer their questions when they call, get in the habit of not saying "Yes?" when someone asks if you're you. Instead, ask "who's asking?" If it's a robocall, it might suggest you press #2 (or another number) to remove yourself from their mailing list. DO NOT DO THIS. It confirms that they reached an actual person, and will sell your name and number to list-companies. Just hang up.

Once again, it is probably NOT a scam and not fraud. Yes, it could be but in most cases those who make an offer are local Realtors and will identify themselves with their name and the real estate company with which they are affiliated.