Driving for dollars
Investors driving neighborhoods looking for distressed properties: overgrown yards, boarded windows, dated exteriors. Then they skip trace the owner and reach out.
Every term like this one lights up in the step you're on.
Free to set up. No credit card.Part 1 of 4
Why a seller cares
The postcard that says "we buy houses" arrived because somebody drove past and saw a tarp on the roof. It is how investors find sellers before they list, and the offers that follow are priced for a seller who has not seen the market.
Part 2 of 4
A simple example
Your late mother's house has a sagging gutter and tall grass. Within a month, four handwritten letters offer to buy it for cash.
| What arrives | What it is |
|---|---|
| A handwritten letter or a postcard | An investor's opener, sent to hundreds of houses |
| A call from someone who "noticed the house" | The same, after a skip trace |
| A cash offer with no showing | A number set to leave room, not to match the market |
The mail is a sign the house looks distressed from the street, and a sign of what the offers assume.
Part 3 of 4
What people get wrong
That the letters mean your house is worth what they offer. They mean it looks like a house whose owner might take less.
Part 4 of 4 · where to read next
Where it appears in the sale
What a definition is, and what it isn't
Keighbor is a software company, not a law firm, brokerage, or tax adviser. This is general information, not legal, tax, financial, or real estate advice about your sale. Your situation may differ. Before acting on a contract, disclosure, title, tax, or pricing question, ask an appropriately licensed professional in your state.
Written and researched by Keighbor Research · drawn from the reference glossary · how we research and check what we publish
One piece of your sale. Here is where all the pieces live.
In your room, this word explains itself where it appears.
Keighbor keeps your whole home sale in one place and defines every term like this one right where you meet it, in the step you're on. Free to set up, with or without an agent.