Thinking of doing a letterbox drop to buy a house

Alicante · Apr 08, 2008 3:53 pm

Ok, this is a long shot but we've been looking for 'the perfect' house to knockdown and rebuild for just over 10 months now and I'm sick of the games real estate agents play and people doing up their houses before putting them on the market to get a better price when we only want to knock it down anyway.

So, I'm thinking of doing a flyer to put in people's letterboxes in the area we are looking to see if they are thinking of selling and wouldn't mind doing it privately without paying R/E comission.

Has anyone else done this? How would you respond if you received a note in the letterbox to this effect? Or, am I just wasting my time?

TIA

stonecutter1309 · Apr 08, 2008 3:56 pm

I've heard of this in one of the Neil Jenman articles.

I think it would have to be worded very carefully.

BFG · Apr 08, 2008 3:57 pm

Definately worth a shot, i'm an ex agent, thats exectly what we used to do to get business, i'd even go to the point of knocking on the door and asking if the location is right.

The only way it definately wont work is if you dont do it!!

Cheers, Troy

to_do_list · Apr 08, 2008 4:30 pm

oops..

commodorenut · Apr 08, 2008 4:35 pm

I say go for it.

Start off by saying words to the effect of "I am not a real estate agent, but a private individual looking to buy a house in the area that my family and I love. We think the location of your house is exactly what we are looking for, and would like to talk to you if you are considering selling the property any time soon"

Reason I say that, is I reckon I've chucked out over 3 trees worth of mass-produced letterbox dropped R/E sales pitches, so you need to do something that sets you apart from them so your effort isn't wasted.

'chelle · Apr 08, 2008 4:48 pm

We had someone do this in our area. She really liked the street we are on and so letter boxed the whole street. And as we are in a position of wanting to sell some land and eventually this house we rang her straight away. No hesitation.

Poor thing has now been waiting almost 18 months for our subdivision to be finalised

, but we'll get there eventually

So in short, go for it - you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Alicante · Apr 08, 2008 5:17 pm

Wow - thanks for all your replies! I like your wording Commodorenut, because I too was worried about sounding like a realestate agent. Now I just have to talk DH into the idea.

If anyone else has any example wording, please post so I can compile the perfect little note.

d@n · Apr 08, 2008 5:22 pm

I like the idea and have been thinking of doing the same thing. But who do you get to do the paper work so it's all official?

Casa2 · Apr 08, 2008 5:25 pm

d@n

I like the idea and have been thinking of doing the same thing. But who do you get to do the paper work so it's all official?

I think they're called conveyancers.

dancelisah · Apr 08, 2008 5:31 pm

I did exactly that. I did about 100 letterbox drops and got one phone call and bought the house, demolished it and am now up to frame stage on our new house! I would have kept doing letter box drops until someone replied.
Our leaflet had a photo of our family with the following text:

"Our names are [our names]. We are looking for somewhere in [surburb] to build our dream house. Due to a lack of properties in the market we are having trouble finding what we are looking for. As the estate agents have not been able to find us a suitable property we thought we would try a more direct approach by sending you this flyer directly. We hope you don’t mind.

We believe your land size may be the size we are looking for so we are hoping that if you have been thinking about selling you would contact us on
[phone number] to see if we can come to an agreement. You would save on agent’s commission and advertising costs as well as the hassles of strangers having to come through your house for inspections.

We are genuine buyers not developers or real estate agents. We have chosen your street because we like the location and streetscape. Our budget is [budget]. We have sent this flyer to some other houses similar to yours so if you are interested please contact us as soon as you can. We only need to buy one house!

Thanks for taking the time to read this."

I hope this helps

Helyn · Apr 08, 2008 6:38 pm

Casa2

d@n

I like the idea and have been thinking of doing the same thing. But who do you get to do the paper work so it's all official?

I think they're called conveyancers.

If you come to an agreement with a private seller by this or any other method, then both parties just have to go to a conveyancer who organises paperwork, stamp duty etc for the transfer, sends you a bill which covers all such costs and their own fee.
If you buy/sell through a real estate agent they organise conveyancer for you and is included in transfer costs but all conveyancers will also do private sales.
We had a unit for a few years which was a rental property and then sold privately to our son, very easy to do.

d@n · Apr 08, 2008 11:48 pm

dancelisah

Our budget is [budget].

Do you think it's wise to tell sellers how much you have to spend?

nzfiona · Apr 09, 2008 12:28 am

We sold our investment property to our tenants - it was a win-win situation as they asked the property agency's sales arm to call us about it and I simply called the tenant back that very same day! By the following week we had a conveyancer organising the paperwork and in less than two months we had gone from a query to settlement - and no agent involved.

It's pretty simple, really, but shop around for a good conveyancer.

Fiona

d@n · Apr 09, 2008 12:53 am

I might give it a crack as the market seems to have slowed down the past two weeks.

dancelisah · Apr 09, 2008 11:35 am

d@n

dancelisah

Our budget is [budget].

Do you think it's wise to tell sellers how much you have to spend?

We were just trying to use a no BS approach. We were not trying to get some incredible bargain we just wanted land to build on and wanted it for a sensible price. It meant people knew exactly how much they would get if they sold so there was no doubt or worry and only people who truely wanted to sell for that price would contact us.

It worked in the end and I think we got a very good deal and so did the seller.

d@n · Apr 09, 2008 1:00 pm

dancelisah

It worked in the end and I think we got a very good deal and so did the seller.

Fair enough.

Nice looking home you've chosen. :wink:

Mrs B · May 16, 2008 7:54 am

Hi D@n,

Remind me to post details of the best letter my relative received, personally delivered by the agent. In it was a contract of sale, price, terms and conditions. It was fantastic. relative said he would not sell for even 10mil and he meant it...sometimes, money cannot buy a person.

Mrs B...post letter tonight

Mrs B · May 17, 2008 8:32 pm

Sorry Alicante, I realised it was you who started the thread.

This is the best most powerful letter drop that I have ever seen, even better than the hand written ones. My relative gets letters all the time but this one stands apart....I have cut paragraphs out but you get the gist

Dear the home owner

I am writing on behalf of one of my clients who which to relocate back to your area. They have shown a genuine interest in your property and are willing to pay top premium price.

My client has instructed me to make an offer on their behalf making full aware to yourself the vendor that all aspects of the offer are negiotable as they would like a content result for all included.

PROPERTY xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

PRICE x,xxx,xxx

SETTLEMENT 1-3 months or up to 24 months or whatever you prefer that suits both you and your family.

DEPOSIT 10% for short settlement or 20% for long settlement, xxx,xxx which my client is pleased to release immediately at vendors request :shock:

SUBJECT to pest and building inspection

OFFER VALID 7 days....

We understand and respect your property has been in the family a very long time and respect etc....................

Honestly, this had impct this letter but my relative will never sell as his father built this home. Anyway, I hope this has given you some ideas ( dont forget I have cut out many bits)

Mrs B

Rajasthan Doors · May 18, 2008 8:26 pm

In the end, offering over the market price will get you what you want. And even then, a smarter vendor would use your offer to possibly leverage a better outcome for themselves. I can only imagine this approach working in select low turnover suburbs.

A relative of mine has sold his "dream home .....for the rest of his life....." 4 times in the last ten years. That's four different homes that he has been lucky to find somebody to pay 100-300K more than what he paid. Low interest rates and a booming market were the secret ingredients. Drove his Wife mad.

dannyboy92 · Sep 07, 2021 12:18 pm

Hi All,

I am looking to do a letter drop and am targeting an older home on a larger block for a knockdown/rebuild.
A few questions I'd like to ask:
1. Should I state a price.
I can give an accurate price. I am not chasing a bargain and by offering at or slightly above market value I believe this would gain interest.
2. Should I use an agent or go on my own.
Individual = personal, agent = professional. If I was approaching the vendor through an agent, what agent fees would they even have if any?
3. Should I include a picture of me and my partner.
We are private people. I get the sentiment, but does it make any difference.
4. Should I get a solicitor to draw up the letter?
Or just wait to involve them when I have a keen seller.
5. Should I track down the details of landlords and mail the letter to them?
Or is this a privacy invasion, and I suppose investors already have their own plans.

Any advice is welcomed and much appreciated.

Daniel.