Received unsolicited text from unknown person requesting to buy house

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Tommy999

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Got an unsolicited text on my cell phone today from a local number that I didn’t recognize who didn’t identify themselves. In the text, this person addressed me by my official name and asked if I wanted to sell my house at (gave my current address).

I didn’t respond and blocked the number they texted me from.

Just curious if anyone has had that happen to them before and how you handled it.

Also was curious as to how common this sort of thing is and if I can do anything to prevent a recurrence.
 
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Yes, unfortunately when my husband died, his death became a matter of public probate record and since then I have probably gotten 100 texts, letters, postcards, and phone calls from people who wanted to buy our house. I have occasionally gotten them when no one has died, but nothing like the deluge that happened after his death.

I found it intrusive and frankly horrible - when and if I sell a house it won’t be to the likes of people who cold-call me or leave handwritten notes in my mail box - but I reckon there are likely some families in financial difficulties or who are just in a hurry to unload property for cash.

Just block the number and ignore it.

I did call one of the ghouls back once and gave them what for, I just couldn’t help it that day.
 
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I get this via occasional phone calls and paper mailings. If by mail, it goes in the recycle bin. If by phone, I courteously reply that I won’t be selling soon. I figure it’s just hungry real estate agents or home flippers, and it is no cause for me to be concerned.
 
Thanks for the reply, but I’m not sure how an anonymous person is getting my specific info if I haven’t had any recent changes of any kind (no death of spouse or any other significant changes).
 
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Yeah, the invasion of privacy is the most disturbing. Hopefully the blocking of the number will suffice.

Sorry that happened to you, especially the timing of it so close to your husband’s death. Sometimes these people act like they have no soul or respect of other’s privacy.
 
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Your property records are public, and nowadays they are usually online at the county website where you pay your property tax.
Just plug in an address, it all comes up.

There’s nothing private about property ownership in USA.
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
There’s nothing private about property ownership in USA.
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I learn something new every day. 👍

I’ve been a homeowner for 36 years and this first time I’ve had this happen, so I was caught a bit off-guard by it. Although I’m sorry this has happened to you and others, I’m glad for the explanations to help put things in context.

I was beginning to think that maybe something more sinister might be occurring, but it sounds like it might be just an aggressive flipper or something in my case.
 
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Tommy999 said:
Yeah, the invasion of privacy is the most disturbing. Hopefully the blocking of the number will suffice.
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If you feel like doing something about it you can complain to your state’s AG. Complain to your Congressional representatives while your at it. If more people complained then something might actually be done about the lack of privacy in this country.
 
The opportunists and swindlers especially target the elderly too. My mom gets several offers a month from realtors and individuals offering buy to her home, always well under market value, of course. I’ve seen my mom become very interested in some of these offers, but thankfully she’s still financially savvy enough not to take them too seriously. She grew up during the Great Depression, and is very careful about money, but if her mind started to go she could become easy prey for a con artist.
 
1Lord1Faith said:
If you feel like doing something about it you can complain to your state’s AG. Complain to your Congressional representatives while your at it. If more people complained then something might actually be done about the lack of privacy in this country.
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The only thing that might help would be the ability to hide his cell phone, though. Public data about property ownership are unlikely to go away, nor should they.
 
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Yes, I sold my house in February of 2018 and for the next 24 months I received
phone calls or texts from different realtors or investors wanting to buy my house. It was so
infuriating. Sometimes I would reply to the texts or call the number back and
say I no longer owned the house and please don’t bother me again!
 
I got two instances where someone asked to buy my house at a given address.

Here’s the kicker.

I don’t own that house. In fact I don’t own any house.
 
7_Sorrows said:
I received
phone calls or texts from different realtors or investors wanting to buy my house.
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In my case, the person didn’t identify himself or herself, so I don’t know if it’s a realtor or not.

That’s one of the reasons why I thought it was creepy. But now that I know that property ownership records are not private, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, although it’s the first time I got texted on my cell phone by a realtor - ever.

In the past, I received a couple of letters from the ‘We buy ugly houses’ folks, but that was it. By the way, I never would sell to anyone who thought my house was ugly. 😀
 
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Sounds like their records weren’t current or you were staying one step ahead of them. 👍
 
I have never owned a house, ever.

I have never owned a house in a state I never lived in.

Their records aren’t current, they’re just plain wrong.
 
Beryllos said:
I get this via occasional phone calls and paper mailings. If by mail, it goes in the recycle bin. If by phone, I courteously reply that I won’t be selling soon. I figure it’s just hungry real estate agents or home flippers, and it is no cause for me to be concerned.
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If it’s in the mail, it goes into the cross-shredder. I wouldn’t want something like that remaining intact for recycling.

Scam mails, e-mails and phone calls happen all of the time. I tell people I know or do business with that if they want to e-mail me, put the name(s) I know them by in the FROM line. If they use some title or other name that I don’t recognize, I’ll delete it without opening it.

I get a lot of these “V” calls – a long string of numbers with a capital V in front of them. Those are no good. I just delete them.

Robo calls are supposed to be illegal, now, but I still occasionally get one. I don’t answer any political call, and I don’t talk to pollsters.

Honestly – haven’t these folks got anything better to do with their lives?
 
1Lord1Faith:

Something might be done about lack of privacy in this country? By Congress? Are you kidding? Since when do they care about US, anymore?
 
Thanks to all who replied. After reading your replies, my understanding is:
  1. Property information (owner name, address, phone number) is information available in the public domain. It is not private like I had assumed it was.
  2. Getting called, texted, or otherwise solicited without your consent is more common than I thought.
  3. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about it.
 
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Tommy999 said:
Thanks to all who replied. After reading your replies, my understanding is:
  1. Property information (owner name, address, phone number) is information available in the public domain. It is not private like I had assumed it was.
  2. Getting called, texted, or otherwise solicited without your consent is more common than I thought.
  3. Unfortunately, there’s not much you can do about it.
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Yep, all true. You can download the Zillow app and type in anyone’s address and get all kinds of information…when you bought the house, what you paid for it, etc. I suppose some realtors in certain markets are getting desperate for sales. In our county, average days on market are about 24 hours!

We own a rental and we are always getting flippers interested in buying it. Most requests come in the mail so into the garbage they go. My grandson that lives with us…he’s a teen…got a text interested in buying his house! I called back on that one to find out how they got his name and number and explained he was a minor. I think it scared her a bit but she admitted they buy lists of “active homeowners”. She immediately removed his name and he’s gotten no others.

I think some could be reputable but they would be the last people I’d ever use. How would I know?
 
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So your cell phone# is listed on public records? if not, I’d say your # was obtained through hacking
 
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