REMARKS
Council Member Brewer discusses predatory solicitations to buy houses
1:12:31
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101 sec
Council Member Gale A. Brewer shares her personal experiences with receiving predatory solicitations to buy her house. She expresses concern about the legitimacy of these offers and questions who is behind them.
- Brewer receives frequent letters in plain envelopes from people wanting to buy her house
- She asks if these solicitors are licensed and who they are (e.g., law firms, individuals)
- Brewer inquires about the possibility of making such solicitations illegal
Gale A. Brewer
1:12:31
Thank you very much.
1:12:31
I get one of those letters every day and it always comes in a plain envelope.
1:12:35
There's no name, so you don't know what it is.
1:12:37
So you open it up and then it's another one of these shady characters wanting to buy your house.
1:12:42
I rip it up.
1:12:43
But, they're scary because they sound like they're legitimate.
1:12:47
So my question is, maybe I should know this.
1:12:49
Those are I don't know who they're from.
1:12:51
They sign them.
1:12:52
I'm from, you know, and there's no real name on them often.
1:12:55
So my question is, are these licensed who are they?
1:12:58
I mean, who are the predators?
1:12:59
Are they law firms?
1:13:01
Are they licensed by anybody?
1:13:03
Who who are they?
1:13:05
I mean, I don't I'm I don't I should know, but I don't.
1:13:08
Right.
1:13:09
I I mean, because when you have a license, then consumer affairs can pull your license.
UNKNOWN
1:13:12
Yeah.
Gale A. Brewer
1:13:12
But if you don't have a license, I I I mean, are they law firms?
1:13:16
Or
Carlos Ortiz
1:13:16
I'm not necessarily sure.
1:13:17
I mean, I I think all of us have gone through the similar situation.
1:13:20
I remember when my grandfather passed, we had the same situation with letters coming in.
1:13:23
And I think part of the question perhaps to tackle and this is for the council too is how do we limit, offers of purchase per I mean, that's what's really happening here is people are making offers of purchase and how do we find a way to disseminate or dis distinguish between those offers of purchase that are are are a faithful offer, albeit perhaps one that is a negotiating position and an offer purchase that is a scam.
1:13:46
And I think that's that's the Can
Gale A. Brewer
1:13:47
it could it be I don't know.
1:13:48
Could it be illegal to send me or any other homeowner on a regular basis, stating that you are, I wanna buy your house right now and blah blah blah and scary things?
Crystal Hudson
1:13:58
I I'll just say I've looked into that and also to stopping the phone calls, the predatory phone calls.
1:14:03
I get It's all through through federal law.
1:14:05
So So it's FTC.
1:14:06
F FTC for the phone calls and then, postal service.
1:14:10
Oh,
Gale A. Brewer
1:14:10
so it's all the weekend
UNKNOWN
1:14:10
there.
1:14:11
Go
Crystal Hudson
1:14:11
ahead.
1:14:11
If I
Jenny Weyel
1:14:11
may add, HPD has also been and the administration has been supportive of, the state's efforts to, establish cease and desist zones as council member Osei mentioned.
