Wrote a letter - cold calling experience

Ok, I've jumped back on the REI wagon, and am picking up steam.  In my post "You Snooze You Lose" I described how one of the properties on my watchlist went off the market and new people were living there.  According to the adult son of the couple, they had bought the house and moved in. 

Well, looking at the county records, the house hadn't been sold.  So, my guess is that the owner was able to find some new renters, and just took the house off the market.  With a little investigative work, I found the address of the actual owner of the property, and send a nice simple letter.  I just stated that I had observed the chain of events - FSBO and then the property off the market and new people living there, but no sale.  I asked if he was still interested in selling the property, and that I would honor the current contract with the renters.  

It's the equivalent of a cold call, and not a sure thing at all, as I truly don't know the situation.  But it's better than just sitting on my tail and feeling sorry that I missed the opportunity!  

Also, I was able to ascertain that the 5th property on my You Snooze You Lose post did in fact get sold.  Good for them.