This hand-written note came through the mail to my address here in Carroll Gardens yesterday from someone called Jason. There is no indication if Jason is a realtor or just someone looking to buy a house in the neighborhood.
It certainly is not the most polished approach to buying real estate, but who knows, maybe it works for him.
Did anyone else get Jason's letter? I would love to know.
Share
.JPG)
58 comments:
my wife and I got one in the mail on Monday... it was a photo copy.
Return address on the envelope was 1220 7th avenue, 10001 (I think).
We got one too. It went directly in the paper recycle bin...
The address was 1220 broadway 7th floor. A quick search leads to http://www.dolphinequities.com
( the contact page has an email address jason@dolph.... )
They claim having a new approach:
"The Dolphin Tank
Dolphin Equities has taken a very aggressive approach to identifying and acquiring properties that will add value to our growing portfolio of prime real estate."
So much for real estate being less desirable in nabes around the Superfunded Gowanus!
This guy Jason is trying to lowball people for there homes.
Be careful
I got one too - did anybody call? There is another real estate entity in that building as well....
i got one!
I'm a CG renter, so I can't comment on the note, but as a professional paralegal, I can surely say that I have never seen anyone redact confidential information by using squares of paper towels. Truly ingenious!
Does the 3M Corporation know about this, because you may be onto something big?
;)
Hi r-neg,
That's funny. I could have used white out, but thought that paper towels were ever so much classier.....
Seems that Jason has sent out a new round of letters with the same style and format as in April, only now he has been joined by a David. Again they can be reached at their aol address.
Could they looking to put together tracks of housing to demolish for large developments? The approach seems to point in that direction.
Could you shoot me a photo of the new flier to pardonmeinbrooklyn at gmail dot com ? Would love to post it.
I got one from David today about my home in Windsor Terrace. Does that mean we've now elevated to Carroll Gardens' status?
We received a letter today from David asking about our home here in Kensington.
I think these are ubiquitous. We get them at my work in Manhattan (Soho) also. I guess you are supposed to think it's just some individual and be more likely to respond... when it's really just another ploy by an agent.
We get aggressive phone calls too, asking to speak to my boss, who owns the property, very evasive when you ask where they are calling from. I just hang up now. If they get rude I find their company on the internet and email their boss.
I got one in the mail today, 6/11/11, with a phone number asking me to call David.
Received the same type of solicitation. I will be referring this letter to the Better Business Bureau for their review. I assume this is probably legal, but the practice is certainly deceiving and at the minimal unethical. It's all fun and games until an elderly couple gets their house taken through misrepresentation and fraud.
We just got the same note from that David person with 2 phone numbers, but there may be other issues with dolphin, when going to the website our firewall displays a warning that the site is trying to run a trojan (to install bad software, sniff out passwords or ...?), the trojan is called: Trojan-Downloader.JS.Gumblar.a (firewall is Kaspersky), so i would run a several virus scans if you did go to the website, there are several online scanners that will do the job.
I got one addressed to me here in Washington DC, with a misspelled first name but otherwise correct. They wanted to buy my building on 5th Avenue in Brooklyn. I rented an apartment there years ago but never owned. Think I should fraudulently sell a building to match their fraudulent approach?
Hehe, I think you better not do that.
Apparently they are still at in March of 2012 so it must work. I got a similar letter from the same return address signed "Mark and David'. I think the child-like handwriting must be effective is eliciting responses.
I just received a handwritten letter from "Mark + David" with 1220 Broadway 7th Floor as the return address! I guess "Jason" must found a place and sold to Mark and David!
Funny that when I entered '1220 B' into Google, it automatically filled out '1220 Broadway 7th Floor'.
The letter refers to me by name and my property by its street, and the kicker, "We are not brokers" which, if I understand their strategy from their web site, is true. Still weird.
June 29 2012. I just received the same letter with the child-like writing, "interested in purchasing your property on xxxx Street", so our friends at Dolphin Equities are still at it.
Appreciate all the comments above as a very useful thread to give me peace of mind regarding this.
Do they call themselves Dolphin Equities as they are "flippers" of Brownstones???
Just received one also! trying to buy property in NYC. Thought this was a joke. Now I know it is!
I just received one as well. I called the guy and told him to take me off his list. Then he asked if I knew anyone who wanted to sell their property! Shady...
Maybe Jason was fired, got a new job, and poached Mark from Dolphin Equities. We got a similar letter today, Sept 6, 2012 (with a personalized salutation, no less) and it was signed "Mark & Jason." I googled the address and found "1220 Broadway, LLC" located at Shire Realty Corp., 425 Madison Ave, NYC.
Was it still hand-written?
I am amazed they are still doing this. They must be successful at getting people to sell them their property with this approach.
Hi Katia,
Yes, the letter I received yesterday was handwritten in a childish hand. Looks like a really professional outfit, doesn't it? It was also annoying to me that the letter was addressed to me personally (they obviously checked the public records for the house) and on a first-name basis, no less. As for the success of their approach, who knows; but I do know that I would certainly run the other way.
That is what I would advise as well. Just tear it up and recycle paper.
I received the sam letter--from Mark & Jason; addressed to me by name. It also states that they are not brokers. It comes from the same Broadway address
I got a letter from the same bunch of guys but only this guys name is Ben.
Hey Ben, call me when you have 3 Million in cash, that`s what it will cost to live on Cheever Place.
I have also received one from a BEN.. How do they get our address?? this is kinda creepy! especially since im in the process of selling my house, but it was going through a realtor and i do not live at the house.
Why is everyone so up in arms about this? Imagine, you have thought about selling your property or are in a bit of financial distress and a note appears on your doorstep that someone wants to buy your place. Better business bureau? Come on. How different is this than all the other BS we get in the mail. This can probably help someoneone out that is having financial distress very quickly or allow you to sell your home without dealing with real estate brokers who are the lowest value add professionals I know. Another way to think about this...you are looking for a new job, yet 85% of jobs aren't advertised. Do you follow the trodden path like every other lemming or do you find out who hiring managers are at firms you want to work for and send them a letter with your resume. It's the same thing for real estate and any other corporate merger you hear about...most worthwile properties/companies/jobs aren't advertised...you find them yourself. Stop being naive and take it as a compliment that someone finds your property desireable enough to want to buy it when it's not listed. I've gotten these in the mail too and it makes me feel good that I have an asset others want.
They get your info from public tax records. All counties have a webpage where you can type in the property address to find your tax info and assessment...anyone can see this.
I just got the same photocopied letter from Mark and David at 1220 Broadway, 7th Floor about our house on 4th Avenue.
My landlord recently sold my building to them. Anyone have any experience with this?
We are in the same situation. They just brought our building and asking every tenets (rent stablized..) to agree to a buyout or else they will sent out their lawyers.
We received one as well form a Kyle Ostroff, hand written with the exact same address on the return envelope. So is this a scam? Asking to purchase our property and if we would be willing to consider an offer...
I just got one today from Dolphin Equities, 1220 Broadway 7th Fl. NY NY 10001. signed by Jason Silver and David Shore..its a photocopied letter. I'm going to call and let your know what its about.
Oh, yes, please do.
I also received a curious handwritten chicken-scratched note from "Ben," no last name, two phone numbers, and "1220 Broadway 7th Floor" (no company name) on the envelope. He was interested in buying our property (which has already sold). But I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread. I was beginning to wonder whether I'd have traces of anthrax on my fingers from having handled it.
I'm glad I stumbled upon this thread. I received a "handwritten" chicken-scratched letter from "Ben" as well -- with no last name, two phone numbers, and "1220 Broadway 7th Floor" on the envelope -- no company name. He wanted to buy our property (which has just sold). Relieved to know it's not just me. I was kind of wondering whether I had anthrax residue on my fingers after handling the note...
So glad I found this site to know they've been doing this for a while. I just got a personalized hand written note from Kyle Ostroff offering to buy my property as well. It just seemed so unprofessional and weird.
They must be successful with their hand written notes, otherwise they would have stopped.
This absolutely normal approach in real estate investment when dealing with residential or small commercial properties. Same as yellow cards and post cards. This letters same as you get with advertisements from local business. But more personalized and unique. This way you will read it before it goes to garbage. When people do not know something they just start screaming SCAM and FRAUD.
Your Name, address, tax due amount is public information and available from county office or nyc.gov (http://nycserv.nyc.gov/NYCServWeb/NYCSERVMain
It is not more than advertisement of service. And of cause they will give you lowest offer first as any buyer. But do your homework and you can use your real estate agent to make deal.
Well, yeah.. It's handwritten and looks like a personal letter, so people will open it. Unfortunately it's also creepy and unprofessional-looking, like it was written by an illiterate with some dark personal issues; my first thought was "stalker." Maybe this qualifies as skillful targeting in your book but not in mine. And not identifying a company or giving a full last name just adds to the ick factor.
Just got one of these today. Looks like it was written by a kid. Signed by "Mark and David--We are not brokers". But that address has several brokers in it. Will throw it away, just letting everyone know the scam is still happening.
It obviously still works with some home owners.
What's with all the defensive comments suggesting this is a scam? The hand written note is sort of a ham fisted approach, but where is the con? They're an equity investor that buys up property in undervalued markets. You do that by going door to door or doing mass mailings on blocks that are good investments. It's not rocket science, but it's also hardly a scam.
"Lowballing" someone for property only matters if that person is willing to sell at that price. So don't sell. BFD.
And, no, they're not brokers. That's in the letter because they want you to know they're not advertising a service to represent you. They simply want to make an offer. Again, where is the con?
@1:29. Oh come on, where is the con? The con is that the effort is slick, and tries to look homey and innocent. To try to catch someone who is unaware of the value of their property. Wander what they sound like when you contact them. Probably like they are doing you a favor when they try to offer peanuts. And I imagine that this tactic might work in some areas - but they had better move on, because I think people know what they have in this area, and what it's worth to speculators.
And if you're stupid enough to be "conned" by this guy, someone else won't get you?
These guys are just taking a shot in the dark. Who knows, someone may need cash quick and need to sell their property, and will be glad to engage these guys.
No need to go off the deep end about this. I just thought it was weird and a little creepy looking. A business proposal scrawled in bad handwriting with no last name and no return address. I thought it was either a shut-in or somebody's misguided attempt at cutting through the cyber clutter by mimicking the look of "personal" snail mail. I didn't think "scam" and much as "sub-rate attempt."
My husband got one today (from Mark & Ben, in child-like handwriting, from 1220 Broadway 7th floor) addressed to his correct name at our correct home address, but the letter said they were interested in buying his property on a street we'd never heard of. So this is either a scam, or else someone has stolen my husband's identity to purchase some property in Brooklyn and "Mark & Ben" have just done us a huge favor in pointing this out. Anyone else gotten a solicitation to buy property you don't actually own?
Must say, as someone who has worked at Dolphin in the past, all of these comments made me LOL. Very funny seeing all this outside perspective about what I used to do.
one of these amazing letters was dropped in my box this week. I thought nothing of it. When I opened the letter it was also handwritten most probably by a female it was neat and looked like a teen wrote it. It was not much different from everyone elses; also from Mark amd David which seemed like a coincedence to me having known two people with the same names. Shouldn't be surprised they are common names.
It said my name not even "dear" followed by I am interested in purchasing your property. We are not brokers; signed Mark + David plus cell numbers. I too checked out the address and that is how I came upon this blogger. Although having said all that I have; I was explicitly told that when real estate offers come to my address where no one is interested or has made attempts to sell; to just disregard the letter and throw it away. I will be investigating further on this subject because as many on this blog have said in not so many words; I feel they're just cutting the middle man and attempting to purchase at cost and not value of land and neighborhood. IMO I believe someone like these characters did this type of transaction with my neighbor who sold at a meeger amount and the buyer wants to flip it and sell for 2.2 million if not more without even renovation. I'm sure that is customary in real estate in order to sell while the market's hot, but it just doesn't sit well with most people. It's just a matter of consumer beware.
David Shorenstein and Jason Silverstein met when they were brokers at Marcus & Millichap in the mid-2000s. Shorenstein had already brokered $250 million in sales at the firm by the time Silverstein came on board in 2006. They struck out on their own in 2008, launching the investment firm Silvershore Properties.
Silvershore has since amassed a $175 million portfolio of 40 residential and commercial buildings and is one of the most active mid-market investors in both Manhattan and Brooklyn. While they often buy, reposition and then sell properties, they hold on to those that have a significant upside, Shorenstein said. If there are existing retail leases in a building, for example, the partners “might wait them out” before selling.
Their first buy was a $90,000 retail property in Jamaica, Queens that Silverstein described as “the smallest building in New York.” They sold that building for $200,000 during the same year they launched.
Starting out, Manhattan deals were beyond their reach, and so the firm stuck mostly to Brooklyn, where in June 2010 it purchased a Clinton Hill building for $290,000. Silvershore was recently offered $2.3 million for the property, the partners said.
They’ve since upped both the volume and price of their purchases. In 2013, the company bought 20 buildings, worth about $41 million, including 63 Spring Street in Soho for $6.4 million and a 25-unit building at 219 13th Street in Park Slope for $5.25 million. Their capital comes from a small pool of investors, including high-net-worth individuals and at least one group of foreign buyers, a source familiar with their operations said.
“We have a good base of people that we work with,” Silverstein said. “They get more comfortable with every deal that we do.”
“We’re kind of teaching ourselves as we go,” Shorenstein added.
Silvershore recently put a Lower East Side rental and retail building at 101 Delancey Street on the market for $20.5 million. They paid just $7 million for the property in 2012. Besides carrying out an extensive renovation of the building, Silverstein said, “the retail play was where we saw the upside,” referring to the fact that leases for the building’s five ground-floor retail spaces are set to expire in the coming months.
The firm hopes to get into ground-up development as well as acquire commercial towers. “Our goal,” Silverstein said, “[is] to look at the New York skyline and say, ‘That’s one of our buildings.’”
Many commercial real estate professionals have stopped working with them on leasing operations because they try to avoid paying even standard commissions.
I just received a letter from Jason and David today that was typed and now included their attorneys name,Seymour Hurwitz and his address.
I may have heard from them before. I do recall getting a handwritten note from someone in the mail before but I've been approached by phone and mail so many times regarding my house that I can't keep track.
My house is in one of the priciest areas of Brooklyn and I may have actually talked to one of them. As I said, too many people have contacted me to keep track.
I've been on the fence about selling but am very very aware of what my house is worth so whether they're legit or shady, I'll know...if I ever call them.
My advice to anyone who owns a house in Brooklyn is to hold in as long as possible and not sell.
I got one from them at the end of January, typed photocopy. I get them all the time too. So they and other are still at it in full force but I'm not selling. Likely they hold for a while and flip or try to amass a few properties and then sell to developers. Most people know to just ignore them. I would start to be concerned about the neighborhood when the letters stop coming.
Post a Comment