The "We Buy Houses for Cash" people get slightly more clever

The flyer seems to be written with the implicit belief: "Longterm residents won't even talk to me, but they will talk to people who they know. Let's reward people they know for talking to me".

Regardless of the ethics, this is a valid belief and business plan.

The business listed at that Nostrand Avenue address is a law office. In theory, as officers of the Court, they're SUPPOSED to act ethically. I realize that it's naïve to ACTUALLY expect ethical behavior from many members of that profession, but still….

The random person appears to be legally allowed to receive a fee, and an attorney seems to be able to receive a fee for introducing them to the broker as long as they are not representing either the seller or the buyer.

http://dolgettalaw.com/pdf/2013-01-finders-fee.pdf

I wonder if anyone will take them up on their offer.

Correct English would be appropriate too as "bring them IN 1203 Nostrand Ave." doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Also, I figure the person that's putting up the sign would rather remain anonymous as there's no one to ask for or even some business hours.

I think it is clear that not a lot of time and effort was invested in the flyers.  I see un-laminated 8.5" x 11" paper, printed in black and white, and some tape.    Let's assume they posted a 100 of them, for a total cost of $5.

So, in theory, they could be successfully introduced to a less-than-savvy homeowner for a total cost of $5005.

...not bad.   

I don't think there are many property owners that don't know to the penny what their building is worth. I suspect it's more a matter of how quickly they want to sell before they lower their price.

Bidding wars sometimes determine the ultimate price.

This arrangement gives a bidder exclusive access to a seller, if only briefly.

...but that sure beats competing with the group that shows up to a Corcoran listing.