Offer to pay more. You sound picky (you've already said no to 2), and so if you want it without bidding wars, you'll have to offer to pay top dollar as if they had a bidding war.

Tricky because you don't want to be a stalker :) Could you go for a walk, preferably with a dog or a baby in a stroller, and talk casually to some people while there are working on their yard? Is there a playground, sports field nearby? Is there maybe a neighborhood association that has a listserv or forum?

I'm sure it would be nice for you if you can avoid a "bidding war" and get a lower price, but it's very unfair to the seller. I would advise a seller to avoid approaches such as yours and instead get presentations for at least three RE agents familiar with the area, list the house with an agent from a good office, and let them do the negotiations.

Ever deal has a buyer's side and a seller's side, and what you propose might not be best for the sellers.

Have your RE agent set you up on a listing search for just that street. You will be sent any listing that becomes Active on day one.

It sounds like the OP wants to hear about properties before they go on the market.

Smoker for 20 years and water in basement? Those both could be very easy fixes - scrub down and remove residue with dirtex and prime with BIN. Depending on the source of water - plumbing leak, missing downspouts or what? - that could be easy as well. Chances are if it's a highly desireable street for you, it's desireable for other people as well, and maybe for flippers who will be competing with you to get their hands on elderly people's houses - which generally are in pretty good condition except for the deferred maintenance last decade or two due to the owner's ill health or lack of income. So, if this area is as competitive as you say, it may be in your interest to get armed with more information and think thru what kind of condition you can deal with. You could wait till after the flipper does the work but it will cost more and the work may or may not be done to high standards.

We got our current house 20 years ago by selectively leaving letters in the mailboxes of the houses we were interested in. I think it helped that we lived in the next door neighborhood, were pre-approved for a mortgage without having to sell our old house, and gave them the longest time we could to closing (3 months was the longest we could get to lock in a mortgage rate) since they weren't really quite ready to sell or think about moving. The sellers got a good price with no commission and we got the house we wanted since it never went on the market. We did have a real estate lawyer deal with all the paperwork so some costs for that, but well worth it. This method is best for someone who is picky and not for someone who wants to save money since the sellers will only jump at or very near their asking price. We did dicker a very tiny bit (a few thousand) just so that they didn't feel like they should have asked more.

Hey that's good advice Scrappy and your strategy paid off. I think that will be applicable to my future search for a new place. How did you know how much to offer - if it's not on the market and the would-be sellers havent even started to put it on the market then who would do the appraisal or are you savvy enough to know market value and fair price. How much detail did you put in your letter?

thanks for the suggestions on how to approach people on the street! I like the idea of walking up and down street with my daughter. Some people seemed to have misread my post, as I am looking to approach people BEFORE the houses are listed. Someone indicated that this would not be in the sellers best interest..they would save 17k plus from not using a realtor and I offered to pay the appraisal and attorney fees. So, I think some people would find this very appealing. The water in the basement house is unfortuantely not an easy fix (or I would have made an offer) they have spent 40k trying to fix it with two diferent companies and the problem cannot be figured out. They think it might be sitting on a spring or something. NO THANKS. Ditto for the smoking house. NO THANKS. Toxins from third hand smoke are deadly and no amount of kills will rid a home of those. I would rather wait. Thanks again to those of you who made useful suggestions!

Kashkacat, we were fortunate that a similar model home a few doors down sold a month earlier for an excellent comparison (250k) . Our house did not have a finished basement but had a larger lot and flat yard, so the sellers asked for 265 and we settled at 260k. We did not put a price in our letter, just asked the sellers to contact us so that we could start talking. Like I said, the price advantage is all to the sellers, but we got the right house at the right price for us. Eventually we did finish the basement, paying an architect to maximize usage, and every inch of our basement is used well, so I am really glad that we did not buy a house with a finished basement.The larger, flat yard was wonderful for our eventual 3 boys and their friends.

I still remember driving up out street when we first started looking, and my husband pointed to this house, saying "Why does a house like that never come on the market?"

I would add that a personal letter might be more effective than a postcard, explaining your family situation and how much you love this neighborhood. People might respond to a personal plea.
Take extra steps to ensure it looks like a personal letter and not a form letter or junk mail that's supposed to look like a personal letter. If you have to type it (such as I do, as my handwriting is atrocious) then definitely don't put it in a white business envelope.
Good luck!

just wanted to follow-up..IT WORKED! I am in contract now, got a great deal on a house that would have easiy sold for 20k more if it were listed. (per appraisal). I knocked on a few doors and had 3 houses that I could have bought on my desired street. Finally found "the one".

Yay! Congratulations! (What did you do, in the end? Ask for neighbors for info, or ask owners directly?)

Very cool! Yes, please share details on how you went about it.

it was a mutlifaceted approach. I sent out postcards once that yielded one call. Then I just drove through the neighborhood every chance I got and when I saw someone out I parked my car and introduced myself and asked if they knew anyone who might be selling. People were super receptive to it. 3 of them let me into their houses right on the spot! :) The house I am buying was one that someone had just passed away and I saw an estate sale listed. I went and introduced myself to the daughter and told her I would be interested in the house. She had 4 others who were ahead of me, but it worked! We are in contract. I was able to get into 5 houses that were not listed/before they were oficially for sale on this street. And I got it for well under appraised value .

Congratulations and thanks for coming back to give us an update!