# Buying a house off a hand-lettered sign on a utility pole ... should I? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 22, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597 "2010-07-22T14:32:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/1 "2010-07-22T14:32:38Z")
I shouldn’t, right? 😃 You’ve seen these signs, haven’t you? Hand-written, often with a Sharpie or something, along the lines of “Must sell house! Cash only! Call 123-555-4321 OMG House For Sale!!!” or whatever. There’s \*never \*an address, so you can’t do a drive-by and see if the house is falling apart. I see these signs at almost every major intersection now. So … it’s a scam, right? Has anyone here actually bought a house this way? Known someone who did? What’s the angle? Since it’s always specified as being a cash-only thing, there’s no cashier’s check b.s. so what’s the scam? Is it a way to get your contact information to sell off? A way to lure you to some house so they can do horror-movie things to you? Squatters who broke into an empty house while the owners were on vacation? Why is there never an address? \ Whaaaat’s the deal? \ ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/2 "2010-07-22T17:40:05Z")
You’re going to an address to meet with people you don’t know, and you’re carrying a large sum of cash. Gee, what could go wrong? My first thought is it’s a robbery setup, or the house isn’t really theirs to sell. Maybe they’re house sitting, maybe they broke into a vacant house, maybe they have all sorts of liens and they hope that you’ll be too eager for a bargain to do a detailed search, or maybe they have other legal problems and need cash NOW and they can’t wait even long enough to cash a check. But I almost certainly wouldn’t buy anything that was posted on a utility pole, let alone a house. I might go to a garage sale that was advertised this way, but that’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Dana\_Scully](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/5daacb/32.png) [@Dana\_Scully](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dana_Scully)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/3 "2010-07-22T17:59:53Z")
What the previous poster said. I wouldn’t do it. ---
**Author:** ![robcaro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@robcaro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robcaro)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/4 "2010-07-22T18:25:56Z")
Buying a house should only be through a legitimate broker. Or at least hire an attorney to broker the deal. ---
**Author:** ![DogRatCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/8e8cbc/32.png) [@DogRatCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DogRatCat)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/5 "2010-07-22T18:49:36Z")
There are better methods to acquire real estate, but no matter how you locate it you must perform due diligence before investing. Start with wikipedia on title insurance and title searches if nothing else if you want some starting information. ---
**Author:** ![Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@Attack\_from\_the\_3rd\_dimension](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Attack_from_the_3rd_dimension)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/6 "2010-07-22T19:02:19Z")
Now I feel much better about my recent ‘how do I buy a house’ thread. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/7 "2010-07-22T19:09:04Z")
Well, obviously you shouldn’t do it, but what do they expect someone to do? Surely not to look over the house for sale with cash in your pocket. There are other signs around here saying that someone will buy your house for cash, fast. They also show up on utility poles, so maybe there is a utility pole market we don’t know much about. ---
**Author:** ![Keeve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f07891/32.png) [@Keeve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Keeve)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 8:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/8 "2010-07-22T20:13:01Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > You’ve seen these signs, haven’t you? Hand-written, often with a Sharpie or something, along the lines of “Must sell house! Cash only! Call 123-555-4321 OMG House For Sale!!!” No, I haven’t. Ever. I do see plenty of utility-pole signs from people who want to buy houses, but none that are trying to sell one. I’m in the New York - New Jersey area. Where are you? ---
**Author:** ![UncleFred](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f0a364/32.png) [@UncleFred](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleFred)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/9 "2010-07-22T21:46:06Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > There are other signs around here saying that someone will buy your house for cash, fast. They also show up on utility poles, so maybe there is a utility pole market we don’t know much about. We have something like that around here (Boston MA area), but minus the utility pole. There is a brokerage that advertises widely they will offer to buy your house from you if they can’t sell it within a week. They did that with a house in my neighborhood and true to their word after a week of no action they bought the house, Then a week later they somehow had a buyer at about $15K more than they paid. I suspect they have some way of having a buyer lined up before they buy it, but I’m not sure how they would work that. (Why wouldn’t the buyer just buy from the original seller?) ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2010, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/10 "2010-07-22T21:47:37Z")
I’m in Dallas, TX. This can’t be a one-time scam to rob you of your cash, though, because I see these signs everywhere, and have been since at least the time of the initial housing crash. Obviously, I know it’s a bad idea to buy something like a house off a sign like that, but I have to wonder: **somebody** buys houses this way, or I wouldn’t be seeing signs all around town. Not the same sign, either - different handwriting, different phone number, etc. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/11 "2010-07-23T03:40:55Z")
I responded to one of those ads… Called the number… Showed up with cash… And, for LESS THAN HALF THE ORIGINAL ASKING PRICE… …bought a utility pole. ---
**Author:** ![Lanzy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/74df32/32.png) [@Lanzy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lanzy)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/12 "2010-07-23T04:10:20Z")
I have seen several in Orlando. I always thought it was a scam of some kind but never thought to check it out. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Slant](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mr.Slant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Slant)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/13 "2010-07-23T04:23:36Z")
Regardless of what anyone says, you’re going to need to get a company that offers this: > **[Title insurance](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Title_insurance_in_the_United_States)** > > Title insurance is a form of indemnity insurance predominantly found in the United States and Canada which insures against financial loss from defects in title to real property and from the invalidity or unenforceability of mortgage loans. Unlike some land registration systems in countries outside the United States, US states' recorders of deeds generally do not guarantee indefeasible title to those recorded titles. Title insurance will defend against a lawsuit attacking the title or reimburse t... to check it out, or you’re looking at a very expensive mistake. ---
**Author:** ![qazwart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/5fc32e/32.png) [@qazwart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/qazwart)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2010, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/buying-a-house-off-a-hand-lettered-sign-on-a-utility-pole-should-i/547597/14 "2010-07-23T05:56:04Z")
> [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > I shouldn’t, right? 😃 > > You’ve seen these signs, haven’t you? Hand-written, often with a Sharpie or something, along the lines of “Must sell house! Cash only! Call 123-555-4321 OMG House For Sale!!!” or whatever. There’s \*never \*an address, so you can’t do a drive-by and see if the house is falling apart. I see these signs at almost every major intersection now. > > So … it’s a scam, right? Unless they’re trying to sell you the house sight unseen, I can’t imagine this being much of a dangerous scam. When you buy real estate, you need an attorney, you need title insurance, you need proof of ownership, you need an appraisal. By then, it should be pretty obvious whether or not the offer is legit. Unless they tell you to take a few hundred grand and wire transfer it somewhere, the transaction has to be somewhat lawful. Just the same, it could be a broker who has a bunch of houses they’re trying to dump which is why no address and the exclamation marks. You should always pay for your own inspector and appraiser. You should always do a bit of research. You can easily at the country find what people are currently paying for homes in that area and if there are any leans on the property.