Why Am I Getting Unsolicited Offers to Buy My House – And Should I Pay Attention?

Why Are You Suddenly Getting So Many Calls and Letters About Buying Your House?

The short answer is that your information is publicly available and someone decided your property fits their buying criteria. The longer answer involves a multi-billion dollar data industry that most homeowners do not know exists.

How Did These Companies Get Your Information?

Every property sale, deed transfer, and mortgage recording in Maryland is a public record filed with the county and available through the Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT). Real estate investors and data companies purchase, aggregate, and analyze these records to identify homeowners who might be motivated to sell.

Factors that put your home on these lists include:

• Long ownership tenure – homeowners who have owned 10, 20, or 30+ years are assumed to have significant equity and may be approaching a life transition
• Older property – homes built before 1980 are flagged as likely to need repairs, making them targets for investors who buy as-is
• Absentee ownership – if your mailing address differs from the property address, investors assume the property may be a burden
• Probate filings – estates in probate are public record and heavily targeted, because heirs are known to be motivated sellers
• Tax delinquency – properties with unpaid taxes are public record and prime targets for investor outreach
• Zip code targeting – certain Baltimore City and Baltimore County zip codes are systematically targeted because of neighborhood transition patterns and investor activity levels

None of this means you have done anything wrong or that your property has a problem. It means an algorithm flagged you as a potential seller based on publicly available data.

Who Is Actually Behind Unsolicited Cash Offers?

The people and companies sending these offers fall into several distinct categories and understanding the difference matters:

• Wholesalers – the most common source of unsolicited offers in Maryland. Wholesalers do not actually buy your house. They get your property under contract at the lowest possible price, then sell that contract to an actual investor for a fee. Many cannot close the deal at all if they cannot find a buyer. The Loch Raven Boulevard deal I closed in Baltimore City came to me after a wholesaler had tied up the property for two to three months and then failed to close.
• Direct cash buyers – companies and individual investors who actually purchase properties with their own funds. These offers are more likely to close but vary enormously in legitimacy, local knowledge, and offer quality.
• iBuyers – technology-driven companies like Opendoor that make algorithmic offers. Generally more transparent but charge service fees and operate primarily in certain markets.
• Hedge funds and institutional buyers – large-scale operators targeting specific markets. Less common for individual homeowners but increasing in Baltimore County suburbs.

The postcard that arrives in your mailbox does not tell you which of these categories the sender falls into. That distinction matters enormously for whether the offer will actually close and whether the price is legitimate.

Why Are You Getting Calls About a Property You Don’t Own?

This is a surprisingly common situation, receiving calls or texts about a property you do not own, may have sold years ago, or that belongs to a relative. Several things cause this:

• Data lag – property records take weeks or months to update after a sale. Investors working from older lists will contact the previous owner.
• Heir targeting – if a relative recently passed away and you are on record as a contact or heir, investors may reach out to you about the estate property before probate is complete.
• Data errors – purchased mailing lists frequently contain errors, duplicate records, and outdated information. The data industry is imperfect and these calls happen.
• Absentee owner confusion – if your name appears on any public record associated with an address (even as an emergency contact or co-signer from years ago), you may receive calls.

If you are receiving calls about a property you genuinely have no connection to, a simple statement that you are not the owner and asking to be removed from their list is sufficient. Report persistent callers to the FTC.

I Received a Letter or Postcard Saying Someone Wants to Buy My House — Is It Legitimate?

Possibly, but the burden of proof is on the buyer, not on you. A legitimate cash buyer will welcome your scrutiny. A predatory one will resist it.

What Does a Typical Unsolicited Offer Letter Look Like?

Most unsolicited offer letters share a recognizable template: a handwritten-style font designed to look personal, vague language about being interested in properties in your neighborhood, a promise of a fast close and no repairs, and either a specific lowball number or a request to call for an offer. Some include a personal name to seem more trustworthy. Very few include the buyer’s actual business name, license information, or BBB rating.

The handwritten font is a marketing technique, not a sign of a personal relationship. The sender has likely mailed the same letter to hundreds or thousands of homeowners in your zip code.

Signs the Letter, Postcard, or Call Is from a Credible Buyer

• They provide a verifiable business name, website, and physical address, not just a phone number
• The company has BBB accreditation and reviews you can independently verify
• They can provide proof of funds documentation showing they have the cash to close
• They do not pressure you to sign anything immediately or within a tight artificial deadline
• They are willing to give you time to consult an attorney or real estate professional before deciding
• They have verifiable local experience – they can name specific neighborhoods, discuss local market conditions, and reference actual transactions
• Their offer comes with a written explanation of how they calculated the number

Red Flags That Signal a Lowball or Predatory Offer

• No verifiable business presence – just a name and phone number
• High-pressure tactics demanding an immediate decision
• Asking you to sign documents before you have seen a full written offer
• No proof of funds available or evasive responses when you ask for it
• The offer is verbal only with no written documentation
• They claim they cannot tell you their offer until you sign a contract, this is a wholesaler red flag
• They ask for an upfront fee for any reason, legitimate cash buyers never charge sellers fees
• The company has no BBB profile, negative reviews, or complaints you can find online

How Much Are Unsolicited Offers Typically Worth in Maryland?

This is the question most homeowners actually want answered, and most articles about unsolicited offers deliberately avoid it. Here is the honest answer.

How Do Cash Buyers Calculate Unsolicited Offers?

Most cash buyers use some version of the 70% rule: they estimate the property’s after-repair value (ARV), what it would sell for fully renovated on the open market, then multiply by 70% and subtract estimated repair costs. The result is the maximum they will pay.

For example: a Baltimore County rowhouse with an ARV of $280,000 needing $60,000 in repairs would be valued at ($280,000 x 70%) – $60,000 = $136,000. That is the ceiling for a disciplined cash buyer’s offer. Some buyers use 75% in competitive markets or for lower-risk properties.

The unsolicited offer you received in the mail was likely calculated by someone who has never seen your property. They are working from public records data about your home’s age, size, and neighborhood. That means the number may be based on inaccurate assumptions about your property’s condition and value.

Is the Offer Below Market Value and Does That Matter?

Almost certainly yes, the offer is below what you would net from a traditional listing. But whether that gap matters depends entirely on your situation.

For a homeowner with a well-maintained property, no time pressure, and the ability to handle showings and negotiations, a traditional listing will almost always produce a higher net sale price. The cash offer discount is real and meaningful in that context.

For a homeowner dealing with a vacant property accumulating carrying costs, an estate with heirs who need to resolve assets quickly, a property needing significant repairs, a foreclosure timeline, or simply a strong preference for certainty over maximum price, the cash offer discount may be smaller than the cost of the alternative. This is the honest trade-off that most cash buyer websites do not explain clearly.

When an Unsolicited Offer Might Actually Be Worth Responding To

Based on over two decades of buying Maryland properties, here are the situations where engaging with a cash offer, from a verified, legitimate buyer, makes genuine sense:

• The property needs more than $30,000 in repairs and you do not have the funds or desire to manage a renovation
• The estate is in probate and the heirs need to resolve the asset within a defined timeline
• You are facing foreclosure and need to close before an auction date
• A parent is moving to assisted living and care costs are accruing daily
• The property has been vacant and is accumulating property taxes, insurance, and code violation risks
• Multiple heirs cannot agree and a fast resolution is preferable to a partition action
• You simply value certainty and speed over maximizing the sale price

None of these situations means you should accept the first number you receive. Even in urgent situations, getting multiple offers from verified cash buyers takes only a few days and can significantly increase what you net.