Taking advantage of the elderly

[contender]

I got my mail yesterday evening, and in it, received a letter.

Now,, this letter was an offer to purchase an acre of my property.

I was insulted, angry, and also realizing the fact that it was an attempt to take advantage of the elderly all at the same time. (Since I turned 65, I'm considered elderly.)

The company,
"Countryside Properties, LLC
1883 W Royal Hunte Dr. STE. 200-A
Cedar City, Utah 84720"

They sent form, that says in big bold letters;

PURCHASE AGREEMENT- THIS IS AN OFFER FOR YOUR PROPERTY

They listed my property as it's listed in my County records, the acreage, and the County.

They offered to buy a (1) acre tract for $2200.00.

Under the terms, they want to get an agreement and CLOSE the sale by October 24th. Which is 3 weeks away.

Locally, my County currently has it listed at tax value of $5000.00. Yet,, we are undergoing a current County tax re-evaluation of property. I'm sure it will increase. Plus,, I have had adjoining property sell for over $13000.00 per acre. Almost 6 times the amount this company is offering.


In this "offer" I can sign it & mail it back or respond via email.

Upon studying this "offer" I realize it's a thinly veiled yet legal way for a company to get land cheaply. I immediately realized that many elderly people would possibly decide to accept it not realizing or understanding the financial loss or even what they were agreeing to. Yes,, I know intelligent people, or folks who have family who looks after such stuff would not accept such attempts to basically steal land from a person.
But to put forth such an "offer" that might get accepted by the unsuspecting, the gullible, the lonely widow/widower etc in my opinion is a blatant attempt to take advantage of elderly people.
Then my anger really got inflamed.

This morning,, I sent a very firm, and carefully worded letter to this company about what they were doing and what I felt. I specifically stated that they remove my contact information from their records.

But I'm still very angry.

I wonder what kind of people do this sort of stuff. I wonder how they would react if a member of their family got their property taken away by a different company. I'm sure they would feel the same way "If it happened to them." But obviously they do not care about others, have no conscience, or especially no morals. Just plain greedy, and MONEY is they only thing they care about.

I was raised to be respectful, and to try & take care of people. Especially the elderly. We've all seen it,, and even hear of scams & such on the internet & where elderly people have fallen prey to such things. To get this,, is just beyond my level of acceptance.

 

[Mobuck]

I get those nearly monthly. The latest 'offer' was for $3.5 million(and they 'd let me keep the 20 acres where my house is). With this sort of 'stuff' going on, it's imperative to keep close track of your 'elderly' relatives to prevent a serious issue. Grouch Attack's Mother went down one of these rabbit holes and the estate is still fighting to recover the ensuing cluster flap.

 

[Dave P.]

If I didn't just throw it away which is what always happens, but instead read it I might be inclined to scan it and move
the decimal place two points to the right, sign it and send it back just to see what happens.
Think of it as a counter offer.

 

[Fox Mike]

I get about two of them each week offering to purchase our houses on Cape Cod and here in Maryland. Circular file material.

 

[Johnnu2]

Contender, I know this hurts; it would hurt any caring individual. Unfortunately, this is the world as it has always been (this isn't "new"), the only "newness" is that, now, the communications are faster and more sophisticated, and WE are the "new" targets. I feel it's just as important to try and ignore/forget these attacks as it is to be vigilant. People like us will always be "do unto others" while THEY will always be ..............well, you know.
be at peace my friend....
J.

 

[Kevin]

You aren't wrong about the elderly being taken advantage of. My parent's phone is on my account and so I'm always telling her about some scam or another and what to do. I'm not sure if they are too trusting or just don't realize the complexity of the scammer's these days. So yeah, I can totally see some older person not understanding a letter like that. I've finally gotten her to realize she doesn't have to answer every call that comes in. And now Apple has a "Tele Marketing"or "Spam" screen name that pops up when a suspected spammer is calling. The potted meat industry should sue!

We get some about cars, and OMG, I have to really study them hard to see if the letter is a scam or from the government. They try VERY hard to make the letter look very official, like you HAVE to respond to them.

And we also get these letters, usually just after the property tax assessments come out in the spring. I think they want people to sell vs face a steep property tax bill due in December. And the amounts are just crazy, like yours. I don't ever reply to them.

I'm not sure if writing them to say remove my name from your list will do any good. Are they required to take your name off the list if you ask?

 

[Sacramento Johnson]

Got one of those letters just a few days ago for the first time; ridiculously low offer from a company in California.
Get the phone calls from foreign sounding people wanting to buy my house couple times a week, not including the ones I don't bother to answer. Just the way our world is now...

 

[bobsyouruncle]

There are companies selling lists of elderly property owners, with information gathered from public records. I get ten or more calls a week. I've noticed the callers all have heavy accents and some are almost unintelligible. I've tried being rude, blocking numbers, nothing works. They only need to find one in 5,000 to make it pay, one caller said she makes as many as 400 calls a day

 

[Watertender]

Sadly I am not surprised at this tactic. My 1st wife's mother is in her late 80's and my current wife's father is 92. They both get scam offers frequently but we keep an eye on things like this for them. We do have to caution them about being too trusting and not giving out any information over the phone especially if the call claims to be from a bank. So far we have been fortunate that they have not gotten stung but we try to stay on top of things like this.

 

[bigbillyboy]

I get these offers several times a year for my mountain tract of land . And as the Op stayed they are a ripoff . I am sure they get some purchases that way .

 

[DeletedMember275]

At one point, I heard that it takes one million spam emails to get one response. I'm certain that the ratio of phone calls and letters are similar. It's really s shame that all some people have to do is try to STEAL from others, especially the elderly. I hope that their parents are victimized frequently!

 

[contender]

The phone calls,, I can easily handle.

But the written letter,, with contact information,, allowed me to respond directly and maybe, maybe get my info off their records.

But it's horrible how they try & basically steal from others.

Technology, combined with age, reduced mental faculties, worries about money & what to do with property etc, can cause good people to lose everything.

I get letters from timber companies wanting to buy my timber as well. Each & every one gets a firm reply to stop harassing me. At least those types of solicitations have almost been stopped.

There used to be a "curse" I'd utter to such folks;
"May the fleas of a thousand camels infest your armpits." Well, I think I'm going to create a new curse for these types.
"May you & your entire family become prey of the very same types of thefts you have done to others a thousand times over!"

 

[Johnnu2]

I just throw unsolicited/unrecognized"paper" mailings in the garbage; never answer the phone unless I recognize the phone number.
When I bought my most recent house, I called the mortgage company because I never received the mortgage "payment ticket book". They told me that they were about to call me for missing the first six months of mortgage payments. Turned out that they "no longer" utilize the old fashioned "payment ticket" books. They said each month they sent a mortgage payment statement which is a regular letter-sized document in a legal envelop. Well, I never opened them because I thought it was a solicitation from some big company; just threw it in the trash. Had to send them a big check ASAP .......

Like most things in life........ i just IGNORE almost everything.......... hope I don't wind-up in the pokey !!!

J.

 

[bobsyouruncle]

For awhile, when they would call, I'd ask them if they had thought about extending the warranty on their car and then go into a rant about how much money they could save blah, blah, blah

 

[bobsyouruncle]

https://www.cnbc.com/id/48462508

 

[bigbillyboy]

For awhile, when they would call, I'd ask them if they had thought about extending the warranty on their car and then go into a rant about how much money they could save blah, blah, blah

I have neighbor who loves the car warranty calls. He owns an early 50s Ford sedan in mint condition . He plays them along asking "do you warrant Ford's " of course they say yes . After they start asking year make and model he gets hung up on........ . You can have a chuckle at the Tele marketers expense of you have nothing better to do.

 

[Jeepnik]

Ever wonder why with today’s technology phone call scammers stay in business? It’s simple. Every time a spam call is made a phone company makes money. Shutting them down isn’t in their interest.

Why doesn’t the post office stop delivering snail mail ads and scams. Because they make money on every piece of mail delivered.

Remember the do not call list. It was never enforced because the phone companies would have to loose large customers.

 

[Fox Mike]

I have neighbor who loves the car warranty calls. He owns an early 50s Ford sedan in mint condition . He plays them along asking "do you warrant Ford's " of course they say yes . After they start asking year make and model he gets hung up on........ . You can have a chuckle at the Tele marketers expense of you have nothing better to do.

Received one yesterday telling me that my factory warranty would soon expire. Strange since I have 10 year/ 100,000 mile warranty and neither are close to being reached

 

[Mobuck]

I get one call that is particularly aggravating. It begins with a perky female voice that says "Hy, I'm XYZ. You asked me to call you back. Do you remember that?" I don't know what the rest of the spiel is cause I either hang up or tell the voice I DID NOT ASK FOR A CALL BACK and then hang up.
Since we dropped caller ID, I don't get the memo noting who/where the call originates. Prior to that, I often answered "You've reached the business phone of a Federal Fraud Investigator. Do you wish to continue?" That ALWAYS worked.

 

[bobsyouruncle]

https://www.shootingillustrated.com...t-a-specific-age-group/?utm_source=newsletter

 

[Dave P.]

https://www.shootingillustrated.com...t-a-specific-age-group/?utm_source=newsletter

Wow, I hope the author of that article didn't waste a lot of time on it, talk about stating the obvious......

 

[3manfan]

They don't know you from Adam. These mailings are an easy way for them to attempt to drum up business, nothing else.
Sometimes they get lucky & the property owner is down on his or her luck & they bite. Usually they don't.
Why let let some faceless entity get your goat? As soon as you realize what it is, toss it in the circular file.
That's what I do with the occasional ones I receive & I don't give it another thought.

 

[wproct]

I got one of these letters for the first time a few weeks ago. I just laughed and tossed it in the waste basket.

 

[Ride1949]

 

[Watertender]

When I get a call about my car warranty I ask if they will cover a 1983 Yugo.... They always decline for some reason....

 

[powder smoke]

Got one of those Buy your land offers last night as a matter of fact!
Couldn't get the guy off the phone, had to hang up on him.
Offered me a measly 20,000. for some nice acreage Nope!

 

[dstegjas]

I use to enjoy giving these people a hard time but that got old after a while. First, if they were obviously from outside the country. I would respond to them in a very thick accent in broken English. Most of them would hang up eventually. I actually had one guy that called with a thick Asian accent. I just started into my normal “Sorry, no speakie English berry well”. After awhile he got tick off and in a very clear none Asian voice told me that this wasn’t very funny. I told him, buddy it is freaking hilarious and I can do it all day. Of course he hung up on me.

On another occasion I decided to pick up one of those pocket air horns you can get at a marina. I didn’t think this one through very well. Sure enough we got another call about something and I let them have it. What I didn’t know is our cat was close by. He jumped about 4 feet in the air and was gone. It took me the rest of the day to get him out from under the bed.

One thing that I think is interesting about these calls is I never get one on my cell phone. When I retired from a utility company 5 years ago. They let me keep my phone number. When I call someone, it shows up on their caller ID as the utility company. So it’s pretty clear that they screen the numbers they buy for these scams.

 

[Garth69]

I got my mail yesterday evening, and in it, received a letter.

Now,, this letter was an offer to purchase an acre of my property.

I was insulted, angry, and also realizing the fact that it was an attempt to take advantage of the elderly all at the same time. (Since I turned 65, I'm considered elderly.)

The company,
"Countryside Properties, LLC
1883 W Royal Hunte Dr. STE. 200-A
Cedar City, Utah 84720"

They sent form, that says in big bold letters;

PURCHASE AGREEMENT- THIS IS AN OFFER FOR YOUR PROPERTY

They listed my property as it's listed in my County records, the acreage, and the County.

They offered to buy a (1) acre tract for $2200.00.

Under the terms, they want to get an agreement and CLOSE the sale by October 24th. Which is 3 weeks away.

Locally, my County currently has it listed at tax value of $5000.00. Yet,, we are undergoing a current County tax re-evaluation of property. I'm sure it will increase. Plus,, I have had adjoining property sell for over $13000.00 per acre. Almost 6 times the amount this company is offering.


In this "offer" I can sign it & mail it back or respond via email.

Upon studying this "offer" I realize it's a thinly veiled yet legal way for a company to get land cheaply. I immediately realized that many elderly people would possibly decide to accept it not realizing or understanding the financial loss or even what they were agreeing to. Yes,, I know intelligent people, or folks who have family who looks after such stuff would not accept such attempts to basically steal land from a person.
But to put forth such an "offer" that might get accepted by the unsuspecting, the gullible, the lonely widow/widower etc in my opinion is a blatant attempt to take advantage of elderly people.
Then my anger really got inflamed.

This morning,, I sent a very firm, and carefully worded letter to this company about what they were doing and what I felt. I specifically stated that they remove my contact information from their records.

But I'm still very angry.

I wonder what kind of people do this sort of stuff. I wonder how they would react if a member of their family got their property taken away by a different company. I'm sure they would feel the same way "If it happened to them." But obviously they do not care about others, have no conscience, or especially no morals. Just plain greedy, and MONEY is they only thing they care about.

I was raised to be respectful, and to try & take care of people. Especially the elderly. We've all seen it,, and even hear of scams & such on the internet & where elderly people have fallen prey to such things. To get this,, is just beyond my level of acceptance.

phishing is the term for these attempts at theft. The BBB should be notified of these scum bags.

 

[beentheredone]

There are huge businesses, entire industries, aimed solely at defrauding old folks. Think AARP, and go from there...

 

[beentheredone]

I use to enjoy giving these people a hard time but that got old after a while. First, if they were obviously from outside the country. I would respond to them in a very thick accent in broken English. Most of them would hang up eventually. I actually had one guy that called with a thick Asian accent. I just started into my normal “Sorry, no speakie English berry well”. After awhile he got tick off and in a very clear none Asian voice told me that this wasn’t very funny. I told him, buddy it is freaking hilarious and I can do it all day. Of course he hung up on me.

On another occasion I decided to pick up one of those pocket air horns you can get at a marina. I didn’t think this one through very well. Sure enough we got another call about something and I let them have it. What I didn’t know is our cat was close by. He jumped about 4 feet in the air and was gone. It took me the rest of the day to get him out from under the bed.

One thing that I think is interesting about these calls is I never get one on my cell phone. When I retired from a utility company 5 years ago. They let me keep my phone number. When I call someone, it shows up on their caller ID as the utility company. So it’s pretty clear that they screen the numbers they buy for these scams.

I usually end my interview with people like this with, (if they are polite) "Does your mother know you earn your living by stealing from old people?", or, if they've gotten snarky, "Did your Mom's gonorrhea ever clear up?"...