My HN username is also my gmail. I've got most of the stuff you mentioned, including unencrypted copies of US tax returns (with SSN) and house buying paperwork.
> I used to reach out and tell them I didn't sign up for their service. But honestly, after doing it for a few years I gave up.
Same here. It's surprising that most of the services don't use double-opt in before sending emails.
Some day, I want to use an LLM to identify those emails and label them.
The deal isn’t always about the price. For example, a $1M house bought with $100K down and $900K mortgage is a worse deal for the seller as compared to $500K down and $500K financed. Assumption here is that it is more likely to get a $500K loan irrespective of the appraised value of the house.
A lower all cash offer (say $975K) is likely a better offer for the seller because it reduces the risk for them and closes the transaction much quicker than a mortgage transaction.
I have been a buyer in two transactions where my offer was slightly lower than the highest bidder, but with better terms.