PENN HILLS, Pa.—Chuck Vukotich’s yellow-brick Cape Cod is one of five houses that crowd around a cul-de-sac not quite large enough to make a U-turn.
His parents bought the place in this working-class Pittsburgh suburb in 1961. He paid his mother $55,000 for it in 2016 to keep it in the family after she moved to a nursing home.
The house isn’t for sale, but that isn’t a problem for bargain-hunting real-estate speculators. They call Mr. Vukotich multiple times a week offering to buy it. They fill his mailbox with fliers teasing all-cash deals and quick closings. Mr. Vukotich guesses he has received more than 100 inquiries.
“I don’t mind somebody trying to make a buck, but it’s kind of a pain in the butt,” he said.
