We want to move into a certain subdivision, no homes are for sale?
Since September we’ve been driving around looking at neighborhoods and going on showings with our Realtor. There is one subdivision that we really like for numerous reasons. If we move elsewhere we will be settling for less than ideal. What are some good ways (no jokes please) on how to find out if people are thinking of moving, or get them “off the fence” if they are thinking of listing?
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That’s absurd. How do you expect to find out “if people are thinking of moving”? The only thing you can do is to watch for new sale listings.
You could find some way to get a hold of the HOA. They might know if someone is looking to move/sell. The only other way would be to look thru the MLS listings and see if someone put a house up then took it down due to lack of offers.
Knock on doors.
Also, drive through the neighborhood, and look for homes that have overgrown lawns, or otherwise appear to be vacant. You’ll have an easier time convincing an absentee owner to sell than an occupying owner.
Good question. My wife and I were in the same position. This is what we did. We made up a flyer that said we wanted to live in the neighborhood and if they were interested in selling, please call.
Out of 300 houses, we got around 10 calls and out of these calls, around 4 were really interested in selling. We ended up buying a house in the neighborhood.
You can do this yourself or have your agent do it. HOwever, the seller will usually not want to pay the agent.
I have gotten a couple of “we have a buyer interested in your area… let us know if you are thinking of moving” letters myself. I will point out that this is a shot in the dark, since I don’t know anyone who has suddenly just decided to sell a house based on getting the letter. But that and just watching for something to go on sale is about your only option. You may want to broaden your horizons, because you will be going into any sale based on this tactic from a weaker position, since you have basically begged the owner to sell to you, and the owner wasn’t already planning on selling. So you will pay top dollar for any house you get this way. Another neighborhood may not be “ideal”, but it may be “good enough”.