-
I should add that when we bought our house I know our realtor stuck in a couple comments about us wanting to raise a family in the house and have it be a forever home which I think did help us get it for way less than asking...house was at least $30k overpriced and had sat there for months, extremely dated but well maintained. So we didn't write a letter, but our realtor had a very personable way of doing business that I think was likely helpful.
-
When we sold our NYC coop apartment we got 3 offers and letters from all 3. It was a really hot market though and the apartment was in a great location. Believe it or not the letter from the highest offer actually hurt them because we learned they had 3 kids who planned on living in it full time. Well our neighbors below us complained constantly about noise and he was on the coop board who would ultimately approve the sale. So we went with the childless middle offer! Still got asking price so I wasn't upset.
-
For the first house we bought, we did a letter and a photo and I think it made a difference! For the second house we bought, we did the same....don't know if it made a difference or not....the house had fallen out of escrow twice already and we made an offer bc selling agent contacted our agent personally and gave us first dibs.
For the first house we sold we got personal letters but I did not look at any of them/let it sway me. We went with highest/best and that was that.
-
We recently sold our house, and we had four offers within 24 hours. The offer we ended up choosing didn't submit a letter but knowing that it was a couple expecting a baby this fall is part of what helped us to select them. Knowing it was going to serve as the starter home to a new little family made it easier to sell somehow.
-
Our realtor told us to once, and we didn't get the house (the other person made an offer above asking, full cash -- and the house was already way overpriced!). We didn't write a letter when we put in an offer on the next house, and we got it.
When we sold that house, we received 2 letters but they didn't make a difference. Both sounded lovely and we chose based on $$$.
We sent letters a year ago (with a picture) when we were buying a tear-down house, and so we could build on the lot. They are ALL being snatched up by developers, and to compete we needed a personal story. I grew up in the neighborhood and was able to talk about my fond memories of neighborhood traditions and wanting to raise my family there too. It worked - in part because people here don't love selling to developers to build spec houses. If its going to get torn down, and prices are similar, they prefer to sell to a family who loves the area. I live in Texas.
-
Over a period of 2 weeks, we put in 5 offers but never any letters. Our realtor never suggested it. Interesting idea.
-
It is not common in my area so we did not. Honestly as a seller I would have found it a little off-putting. But I know that we received and shared through realtors, so maybe that had some impact.
-
We didn't and while I uunderstand why many people in this thread did, this practice makes me really uncomfortable bc of how easily this could be used in a discriminatory way.
-
We wrote letters for both houses when we put down the offer, because our realtor suggested it for the first house since there were multiple offers. I even wrote a letter to SELL that first house, mainly because the house was vacant (we had already moved) and I wanted to paint a picture for the buyers about how we had used the various spaces. Since you often don't have the chance to meet the seller/buyer, I think the letters help personalize the experience.
-
We didn't, but two of my good friends did recently (it's pretty common in this area) and they both got the houses they were putting offers on despite the fact that neither one had the highest offer. They both included a picture of their family with their letter. The feedback they got back from the sellers was the same: they were emotionally attached to their homes and chose my friends because they were young families whose kids would be growing up there.
-
We did not - I actually avoided contact with the sellers because I was pregnant and didn't want them to know because we thought they'd be less willing to negotiate on price (because they'd know we really needed things to move on our time frame).
-
No we didn't. We were the only people negotiating for the house. I'm sure if the seller was entertaining multiple offers, that might be an added touch and a way to personalize the offer.
-
We bought when the market in our area wasn't hot, so we didn't do a letter, and I'd never even heard of people doing that. But the market in our area is really moving now, and I know someone who got her house that way. The owners specifically said they chose them because of their letter. Their offer was competitive, but the letter is what put them over the edge.
-
My in-laws received a letter when they were selling their house and it made a difference. It was from a young couple expecting their first child and it totally tugged on the heart strings, talking about how they could envision their baby crawling around the house, making memories, etc. They had 8 offers on the house and ultimately sold it to this young couple, even though theirs was not the highest offer.
-
@petitenoisette: You're completely correct, they should probably be illegal. But then, I also think it should be illegal to waive contingencies like inspection and financing, and those waivers are becoming standard in my area.
In our market, there is a huge influx of international real estate developers buying up chunks of property with cash-only offers and then either letting them sit vacant, or reselling or renting at high prices. So that makes it incredibly hard for families to buy, and it's completely standard to have to waive contingencies and bid 20% above asking. Most desirable houses have 10+ offers.
As I mentioned, our offer for our current house beat out three higher offers, one of which was all-cash and was 15% above list. We did it with a killer personal letter, in addition to waiving almost all contingencies, and throwing in a three week rent-back at no charge to the sellers.
-
When we bought our first house around 6 years ago, no. At that time, I did not even cross my mind and was never mentioned by our agent.
For our current home purchased this year, yes. It was recommended by our agent and we included some personal info like how we grew up in the area and wanted to move back to the neighborhood, and a family photo. We were told by the seller's agent it made a difference because our competition was an investor who offered full asking (we went slightly under). The sellers in particular had lived there 30+ years and preferred a young family for sentimental reasons and were already making a LOT in equity.
When we were selling this past winter, out of 6 offers, they all had some sort of letter, either composed by the agent or the potential buyer. One family even wrote us a handwritten card and left it during their initial viewing, before the formal offer was made.
-
@petitenoisette: good point!
-
We received a letter the last time we sold a house. The market was hot but cooling and our house had been on the market for 2 months already. We had not had any other offers (but I don't think the buyers knew that). They didn't have a strong offer but the letter definitely helped. They made it clear why they could only afford the amount they offered, and explained a couple of their other issues, which I understood because we are in the same profession. They sounded like nice people who really wanted the house. I think we would have accepted it anyway because we needed to sell but the letter did help.
As has been mentioned, in a hot market with several similar offers I can definitely see it helping. The financial aspect is important but even at the risk of a small loss I would preferentially take an offer from someone I had a connection with who I believed would take good care of my former home, or go to them with a counter offer.
-
We just had an offer accepted so we are 2 for 2 on houses with letters
-
We put in a letter on both houses we've bought. It made a difference on the first one and not the second. The market is super competative here & the first house we bought was in a popular area. We connected with the sellers on the fact that we had the same breed dog and ended out beating out a similar offer for that reason. Our second house was in less popular area so we weren't competing with other offers.
-
We did not. We did meet the sellers and they really liked that we were a starter family. I have not sold a house yet, but would care less if I got a personal letter. Someone could make up a bunch of BS. I know that if my experience was super competitive I would do it.
-
Thank you all for your advice, experience and feedback.
I especially appreciated the perspectives of how letters might allow sellers to discriminate among buyers - this didn't seem to play into our situation, but it is certainly a real problem.
I didn't want to provide an update too soon because I didn't want to jinx us - but - we saw the house the day it was listed, made an offer immediately after, and our realtor (encouraged by the seller's realtor) had us write a letter. And we got the house! We didn't make anything up - we live in the neighborhood and described what we like about the neighborhood and like about the house. Anyway just wanted to say thanks to all!
-
@Oliviapope: Congratulations!!
- Google Plus
- Stumbleupon
- Twitter
- Facebook
- Pinterest
- Favorite0
62 comments