Perhaps you have received a letter like this in the mail recently from one or several REALTORS®. I have one particular client in San Carlos who told me she received several letters saying something similar to the above, all within a few weeks of each other. Welcome to the wonderful world of real estate in a very tight market. While the average price of homes in San Carlos has remained relatively steady over the past year, the number of homes coming onto the market has dropped dramatically. The translation: you have a lot of REALTORS® in San Carlos who have done very little business this year. Some are very experienced, quality, REALTORS® who are trying to hang in there. There are others who are resorting to “interesting” tactics.
Now, there is always a chance that the REALTOR® does have someone to buy your home for cash; however, common sense would dictate that it is hard to believe someone is going to pay you cash (or even entertain the thought) for your home without ever seeing the inside of it. Additionally, there is a very good chance that your neighbor received the exact same letter. I had a listing earlier this year in San Carlos, where my client showed me a similar letter from a fellow REALTOR® that had been sent to his residence just days before I listed the property.
My client asked that I contact the REALTOR® immediately to see if we could arrange the sale without the property going on the market. Shockingly, after I contacted the REALTOR®, we never heard another word from that REALTOR® or his clients. The bottom line is that most of these types of letters are generated by REALTORS® who may have a client looking in the prospective home’s general area, but what the REALTOR® is most likely looking for is a call from a prospective seller rather than brokering a non-MLS deal, which would result in the sale of the seller’s home to a pre-existing buyer. I think most San Carlans see right through this type of marketing. However, some do not and are curious about the prospect of selling their home at a premium without having to put their home on the market.
Here are a few others that you should think twice about:
- REALTORS® claiming to be excellent salesmen or saleswomen. The hard sell is not what sells homes in San Carlos. Local knowledge, pricing, presentation, and preparedness are what move homes in San Carlos. Most San Carlos buyers will see right through the sales pitch…and it will be a major turnoff.
- Offers by REALTORS® to buy your home from you if it does not sell within a certain number of days. There are several inherent issues with this proposition, including pricing, fiduciary issues, and a myriad of legal pitfalls that may be waiting for the agent and seller.
I think most homeowners in San Carlos are savvy enough to approach the above with a certain amount of caution. The folks that you worry about are those who may be experiencing some financial trouble and may view one of the above options as a possibility without doing their homework. Expect to see more of these types of offers until the inventory picks up.
