Is it OK to ask to buy a property?

stressederic

Hi all,

There are 2 apartment blocks that I want to buy in but nothing comes up often.

A 2 bed came up in October for £70k and I'm sure it's sold (I am checking on this) and another exact one has come up this week for £80k. Any speculation about why there is such a price change?

Anyway, my big question is would it be OK for me to write a notice and post them through the doors of the apartments in the block asking if anybody is selling or is this creepy? It cuts out estate agents for a start.. any downsides?

Thank you so much for any advice, this is potentially going to become a bit of a stress, after all the excitement of saving! :eek:

Generali

stressederic wrote: »

Hi all,

There are 2 apartment blocks that I want to buy in but nothing comes up often.

A 2 bed came up in October for £70k and I'm sure it's sold (I am checking on this) and another exact one has come up this week for £80k. Any speculation about why there is such a price change?

Anyway, my big question is would it be OK for me to write a notice and post them through the doors of the apartments in the block asking if anybody is selling or is this creepy? It cuts out estate agents for a start.. any downsides?

Thank you so much for any advice, this is potentially going to become a bit of a stress, after all the excitement of saving! :eek:

I think it's a great idea. If you save a seller the expense of using an estate agent you might even persuade them to split the saving with you.

I don't think it sounds strange or creepy in the slightest. I've heard of other people doing this on occasion although it's not very common. I think it shows a lot of initiative and says a lot about you as a person (in a good way!).

stressederic

Generali wrote: »

I think it's a great idea. If you save a seller the expense of using an estate agent you might even persuade them to split the saving with you.

I don't think it sounds strange or creepy in the slightest. I've heard of other people doing this on occasion although it's not very common. I think it shows a lot of initiative and says a lot about you as a person (in a good way!).

Thank you for your reply, and good morning to you!

I am guessing that the buildings are managed, so I'm going to go down in the week and see if I can find the caretakers for further advice.

rosie383

Just make sure that your note looks like it is from a real person rather than an investment-buy your property quick type of investor.
I think it's a great idea.

stator

I agree, there is nothing wrong with it at all, as long as it's polite

Also be prepared for disappointment. If you go fishing for sellers they are much more prone to changing their mind. You might get to exchange and find they've suddenly decided not to sell at all.

Snakey

You might also want to do a bit of digging - if flats in this block hardly ever come up, two people trying to sell within a few weeks of one another might just be a happy coincidence but it might also mean there's trouble in paradise.

I live in an area with high demand for properties and I get estate agents letters through the door about once every 2-3 weeks on average, asking if I want to sell. They don't annoy me any more than any other piece of junk mail.

topcat007

sorry to jump on your thread op but what do estate agents charge roughly how much would you be saving the seller ?

Thanks

Mickygg

At my old folks home we often had notes through the door. We also had people knocking on the door which I know annoyed the folks, but notes they didn't mind.

MisterB1959

don't make your letter look 'over' professional either, it might put people off, they may start thinking your trying to pull a fast one


make it a 'personal' approach, but not cheap !


other than that, go for it !!!

Soleil_lune

What a WEIRDO you are OP!





Just kidding! No of course there's nothing wrong with doing that. We have had it done to us several times in the past, and one man did actually take the person up on the offer. It saved a lot of time and hassle and fees.

Great idea! As a few have said though, make your little note friendly and informal (and quite short and succinct.) Maybe no need to put your actual address on, but you could put your landline, so they know it's not a hoax/spoof/scam.

Good luck.

stressederic

Thank you all for the tips and advice. I drove past there this morning, as it had occurred to me that I've never actually seen the area properly, and I'm even more in love it all!

I am not in a position to get anything done until April so I am going to view the one currently for sale (and very much overpriced IMO) so I can ask the estate agents some questions before I start breaking into buildings and posting junk through peoples doors! Cheeky viewing and knowing I'm not going to buy??