How to spot and stop unsolicited mail after a move
Picture this: you've just purchased your dream home and you’re settling into your new abode. Life feels pretty good. But shortly after, you find yourself inundated with a flood of unsolicited letters, promotional materials, and other mail.
What in the world is going on? And why is it happening to you?
1. Your listing in public records
Property transactions are recorded in public records. So, when you close on a home, it creates a record that is freely available to anyone (often online) and includes things like your name, home address, loan amount, and more.
Additionally, realtors and other parties involved in the transaction often report the change of address to other databases.
Marketing companies access all these databases to create mailing lists.
2. Realtor partnerships
Real estate professionals often have partnerships with local businesses, such as moving companies, interior decorators, and home improvement stores. When you buy a home, your contact information might be shared with these partners, leading to a surge in promotional materials from a variety of local sources.
3. Former owner mail
After moving into your new home, you may find your mailbox filled with the previous owner’s mail, too. This happens when that person forgets to fill out a change of address form with the U.S. Post Office. If this occurs, you can write “return to sender” on the mail and drop it in a mailbox. The Post Office will return that mail to the sender who then should update their records.
Why is your data so valuable?
Buying a home is considered a major life event. Just like getting married, having a baby or graduating from college, it triggers marketing algorithms. Companies that specialize in predictive analytics use these life events to predict consumer behavior and tailor their marketing efforts accordingly.
Your recent home purchase signals to these companies that you are likely in need of various goods and services related to homeownership, from landscaping and home improvement to insurance and pest control.
This is why you suddenly find yourself flooded with offers relevant to your new homeowner status.
Safeguarding yourself
With all the promotional mail, you may receive a piece that looks like a notification or a bill from your mortgage lender. Be sure to look at it carefully. Some marketing companies will try to copy an official envelope from your lender in order to get you to open the letter so they can sell you their services. For example, they can make it sound like they are your lender, telling you that you qualify for a lower rate when in truth they are trying to sell you a refinance.
Worse yet, some will go even further in the letter, urging you to take immediate action to avoid everything from fines to foreclosure. They will then include a number for you to call where they will attempt to steal more of your information or urge you to make a payment to them.
All of this can be complicated by the fact that your lender may actually sell your loan to another company, like Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. By law, they must notify you of the sale. And, yep, that typically happens through the mail.
If you’re unsure of the legitimacy of a letter you receive, contact your lender through a number that you know to be real, which can be found in your loan closing documents or on the lender’s website.
How to opt-out
The deluge of junk mail may feel like an invasion of privacy, but the good news is that you have options to stop most of these offers.
- Opt-Out: You can opt out of receiving unsolicited mail by registering with the Direct Marketing Association's (DMA) Mail Preference Service. This can significantly reduce the volume of promotional material you receive.
- Contact Companies Directly: Reach out to the companies sending you junk mail and ask to be removed from their mailing lists.
- Go Paperless: Where possible, opt for digital communications over physical mail to reduce the mail glut as well as the environmental impact of all that printing.
Also, it’s a good idea to shred any junk mail that contains personal or sensitive information to protect yourself from identity theft. For more on stopping junk mail, check out this article from the Federal Trade Commission.
Of course, if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to our mortgage lending team for help.
At First Federal Bank, we’ve been helping our neighbors turn the dream of homeownership into a reality for over a century. Talk with one of our friendly, trusted, and knowledgeable mortgage advisors today.
