Since Mom died real estate agents are hounding us. Any suggestions?

Throw the letters out, hang up on the callers, and throw the trespassers off your property--tell them you're calling the police if you have to (and do it!).

Sorry for the loss of your mom. You deserve to grieve in peace.

Isn’t it sad? Why can’t people mind their own business? So ridiculous. If the house isn’t for sale, it isn’t for sale. That shouldn’t be difficult to understand for them. I hate pushy people! There is no privacy anymore. People aren’t always respectful either.

Give them an astronomical price and see what they say! LOL They deserve a crazy answer when they keep pestering you. Tell them you are putting the home on the market for $10 million! Hahaha 😂

It doesn't even have to be announced. No one has died here yet we get multiple of calls a day, constant things in the mail and someone stopping by a couple of times a week asking if we want to sell the house.

Reply *once* to each firm telling them that the house is not for sale, and that if they importune you again you will name and shame them on social media.

It isn't harassment for them to enquire. It is harassment if they persist once you have declined their services.

Scope out the house? Do you know (for certain) who it was? - I would complain to that company, I must admit. Don't see how they can justify such an intrusion on your privacy.

When I inherited some land several years ago, I had the same thing with a particular slimy realtor. He would call constantly. Even went so far as to tell me the neighbor, who also owned a large tract, was going to put in a development. That was a lie and I knew it. I finally gave him an outrageous price that I would sell for. After all, everything is for sale for the right price! That put a stop to it. He was probably calling the neighbor and telling them I was going to put in a development and trying to buy their land too. However, the timber people never stop calling. No matter what I tell them. They are all vultures, in my opinion. No offense to vultures.

When they call just tell them the house is not for sale and to please not call again. If they are on the property, this is trespassing. I would put signs up. I don't even think they are allowed to take pictures without permission.

If once you tell them not to call and they continue to, report them to the Real Estate Commission or the Department of Real Estate in your State.

Ah--please don't paint all realtors with the same dirty paintbrush.

Approaching you (professionally!!) ONCE about selling the home or property and then accepting your decision should be a one and done deal. They SHOULD NOT be haranguing you. That is tacky and NOT professional and you wouldn't want to work with them.

My Son in Law is a realtor and has built his business on HONESTY and that is his middle name. He will do NOTHING that will break any rules or laws and respects each and every client with complete respect. He had a neighbor of mine 'agree' to have him represent him in the sale of a home. This man used my SIL to death, having him find workers, painters, etc for 3 YEARS and when ANOTHER REALTOR'S sign appeared on the front lawn--after SIL had given this man over 100 hours of help---was a slap in the face. SIL said "It happens. I'm not mad".

The 'new' realtor told the man he could get almost $75K more out of the house than my SIL was saying it could go for. 4 months on the market and it still isn't sold, b/c it's overpriced.

SIL would still happily represent this man, if the 6 month contract expires and the house isn't sold.

A GOOD realtor will be respectful and honest. Like car mechanics, they sure do get a bad rap---sometimes it's totally deserved.

When/if you do go to sell, talk to someone who has had a GOOD experience with a realtor.

And BTW, my SIL has fired clients for trying to sneaky pete things in a sale. It's a two way street, for sure,

I've experienced this type of harassment as well, not only for my father's house, but mine.   This is what I'm doing now, and tried a version of it this morning on another would-be flipper.   Stopped him cold.

1.    Ask if they're a Veteran, former law enforcement officer, medical person, or teacher.   If not, I tell them those are the only people with whom I deal.   End of story.  

So far I haven't found anyone who falls in those categories.  If someone does, and claims to be a Veteran, I ask for services dates, MOS, deployments and more.   A fake Veteran will get annoyed and give up.

2.   Another option worked well.  I told a would-be flipper I needed to review a copy of his company's D&B reports.    Knowing he worked alone and hired someone who wasn't a native English speaker for cold calling,  his advance person had no idea what I was talking about.   When he called again the next week, I told him his failure to comply with a basic business requirement raised questions as to his reliability and I couldn't develop confidence in him.    

I then made it clear that I wouldn't consider him w/o his providing financial information, and he had one week to provide a D&B report.      That stopped those two.

3.   If they get past that (and no one has yet), I would ask for a list of all properties they've listed, sold, rehabbed, etc., within the last 5 years.  That includes purchase price, fix-up costs, sale cost, and profit.    If I got it, I would query them on each purchase, why it wasn't more, whether of not they acted as purchase scouts or rehabbers, whether or not they hired union laborers for some trades, what their positions are on union tradesmen, etc.

I would also tell them that I need to ensure they're going to maintain the house in accordance with the neighbors' standards (especially if the neighbors are nosy people).  

I might mention that he'd have to anticipate that the neighbors would be monitoring his work on a daily basis.

Realistically I don't have any interest once the house is sold, but this is just a diversion tactic.  

I did pull that with one who wanted to immediately buy Dad's house, demolish the house and build 2 rentals.  I first called the Township office to ask about setbacks, building 2 rentals on one lots, etc.   The official with whom I spoke raised the issue of how these flippers are building McMansions on tiny lots originally made small b/c the community was a summer, lake community.   

Then I asked two good neighbors their opinions of having rentals across from them, then told the flipper my good friend neighbors didn't approve of 2 rentals on one lot.   And since they helped my father during his last illness, their opinion was important.  The flipper didn't appreciate that advice. 

4.   Better yet, I tell them I need to be assured they don't have any criminal record, and suggest that they need to explore ways to prove this with law enforcement; obligation was on them to provide evidence they didn't have criminal records.    I did pull this with one; it stopped his interest immediately.  

5.    I like suggestions of others, including asking them to help find contractors.   That's usually a good test.   One realtor (a Veteran) actually did have someone he referred.    Another said he only provided contractors' names after a house was listed with him!   

Others said none of their contacts knew of contractors, a cop-out if ever I heard one.    And he was in fact a flipper, so if he had no list of contractors, he was probably more of a scout, who then flipped it to someone else. 


I think I'm also going to raise the potential sale price to something outlandish; that should stop their pestering immediately.

Something else I've discovered; at least a few I've had to shoo away are scouts for some outfit in Florida.   These scouts have local addresses, but the phone number bounces to a Florida outfit.   

I may start telling them I think there's a sinkhole developing on the property.

BTW, the only real realtors I've dealt with are those with whom I've initiated contact.

The flippers freely admit that they get names by going through lists at the county Register of Deeds, emphasizing that they are getting names and addresses legally.  

I suspect they target certain neighborhoods; in my father's case, it's the lake access.  In my case, it's because a neighboring community has become "funky" and attracts Millennials.

Thank you all for the good advice! I’ll give all these suggestions a try, and just hope eventually they get the message and give up. Or put up a sign in the front yard that says NOT FOR SALE.

Put your answering machine on with a message that says "We don't answer our phone unless we know you; at the tone tell us who you are and we will answer if we know you." Simple as that. Other option, don't try being nice; simply hang up as you would any robo call.

That's pretty classless. My BIL does this as a Realtor, but what he does is mailings to the decedent's address. He doesn't call people unsolicited.

I'd contact the broker the agents work for and tell them the house is not for sale and ask that none of their agents are to contact you about it unless they want to be put on your no-contact list if you do decide to sell someday. That might get all the agents from an office off your back at one time.

If they continue to call tell them that you will report them. They must pay a fine.
All the letters..mark Return to Sender.
If any dare to set foot on the property charge them with Trespassing.
If they are from specific Agencies I would contact the manager or owner of the agency and let them know that the agents have been harassing you. Tell them if it continues you will be forced to get your lawyer involved. You might also want to mention because of the actions of the agents you will NOT even consider them when and if it comes tome to sell.

Put a sign up not for sale and a no trespassing sign with a warning sign that violators will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

Just make sure you don't use any of these realtors when you decide to sell your house. Call the office and get it straightened out, as soon as possible. Hang up signs around saying no trespassing, will usually keep people away. Call the police when ever necessary.
Put up a For Sale sign..... $1,500,000 sounds good!
Good Luck....

Martha I am very sorry to learn of your Moms death, RIP. You are grieving and You have Estate Agents trespassing on Your Mothers property, and invading you and the Family's privacy. Surely there is a Law against this ? This would not be tolerated where I come from. Have your Husband, or Son fit security cameras at all the vantage points of your Moms Home covering the entrance, and the front and back of the house. This is quiet easy to do and You can view any trespassing of the property on Your Labtop or Computer. This should put a Stop to these guys as they definitely will not want to be caught on camera.