Woodbury resident decries ‘aggressive’ home buying solicitation

The Woodbury Town Board heard from Highland Mills resident, Matthew Rapisarda at their most recent meeting. Rapisarda shared with them his concerns about “aggressive” door to door solicitation, something that he says has heated up around his home off Brigadoon Boulevard. When asked by The Photo News to describe the situation, Raspisarda said he and neighbors were being “called on their cell phones and house phones when they never gave out their phone numbers or had their house listed for sale. Solicitors also stopped by [our] neighbors’ houses in person, and solicitors drove around the neighborhood asking people on the street if their homes were for sale.”

During the most recent incident, Rapisarda called the Woodbury Village Police. Rapisarda told the Woodbury Town Board that the police arrived in what felt like less than a minute, because they were already responding to similar complaints in the area.

“The officer arrived and let me know he would handle the situation,” Rapisarda told The Photo News. “I was told by the officer that people should continue to call the non-emergency number for the police every time it [an unsolicited offer to buy your home] happens.” The Village of Woodbury Police can be reached at 845-928-7578.

A resident of Carriage Hill Estates off Pine Tree Road in Monroe told The Photo News that they were approached with an offer to purchase their home while helping their child off the school bus. They added that during the summer, they were approached about selling their home, “weekly.” Another resident in the Camp Monroe area off Lakes Road told The Photo News, “After I said no, more than once, they walked over to my 20-something year-old son and asked him about me selling.” A realtor in Monroe told The Photo News that they had been approached numerous times themselves, at the door and by phone, with offers for their home. The realtor wanted to stress to the community that “there is absolutely no rush or need to sell your home in this current market, despite the pressure to do so.”

The town of Woodbury repealed its Peddler’s Law in 2020. The village of Woodbury, however, still has one on the books, as does the town of Monroe, village of Monroe, and village of Harriman. The latter three legally prohibit this sort of solicitation from happening. The Woodbury Town Board said it will talk to village police about what more they can do to crack down on the solicitors.

Under the village of Woodbury’s Peddlers Law, solicitors could face up to $250 in fines and up to 15 days in jail, per offense. Rapisarda described the solicitation on Brigadoon Boulevard as “getting aggressive.” According to the New York State Association of Realtors, those holding a real estate license are currently only forbidden from cold calling during a state of emergency.

While the town board further investigates the issue, the New York Department of State has issued guidelines for people who are on the receiving end of unsolicited offers for their home. This includes always asking for an ID card of the person making the solicitation, and verifying (but not calling) the number they provide on that ID. This is done through conducting a web search for the number they provide you. Those solicitors who are licensed, according to the Department of State, must identify themselves when requested. They are also forbidden from using high pressure sales tactics, such as following you into the garage, which happened to one Highland Mills resident who spoke to The Photo News. Under state law, New York’s secretary of state can prohibit any sort of door-to-door solicitation in an area if people there are “subject to intense and repeated solicitation by real estate brokers.” Monroe and Woodbury residents who are being harassed can file a complaint with the New York Department of State online or by phone at 518-474-8583.