Love letters

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No. Cash talks.

We got some for a house we sold. We went with the highest offer, but they also had a nice letter. It was a rental property, we had never barbequed on the deck and all the stuff they wanted to do.

[Anonymous]

Ugh, no. Our agent flat out said that she would not present them to us. People LIE.

[Anonymous]

Got our house in 2017 due to our love letter. Couple owned the NW DC home for 50 years and prioritized wanting to sell to non-developer. They had a passionate hatred of pop-ups. We were not highest offer, but we came in with the best terms and still over list price. They were already sitting on 1500%+ return with our offer, so $20-30K didn't matter to them.

Their agent was familiar with us - we talked extensively with him at both days of open house, was present while we pre-inspected, and he accepted our love letter. He definitely guided them to our offer, given that we were hitting the price and the other intangibles (no inspection contingency, quick close, not developers).

They really matter with long time home owners. I would consider one if I sold my home - would prefer to also see a non-investor buy my home.

[Anonymous]

Helped us get our house last year on the Hill. Long time homeowners, and we were picked over developers with cleaner offers

[Anonymous]

It did for us way back when we moved. They had several offers all about the same. We submitted a nice, simple and sincere letter about seeing our kids grow up in the house and got it. When we sell I will consider letters too. I like my neighbors and would rather nice people moving in if there is no big money difference.

[Anonymous]

It may have worked for us once. There was a bidding war, we wrote a letter. The seller chose a flipper who then jerked them around. It fell out of escrow and the seller apparently told the realtor to reach out to that "nice young couple." And the rest is history.

[Anonymous]

The love letter we received was also the highest bidder; didn’t matter.

[Anonymous]

Everyone is saying the same thing—the letters definitely can work if your offer is competitive and your seller has been there for a long time and is emotional about the property.

[Anonymous]

Our seller moved down the street so probably cared about who was moving in. We'll never know if it made a difference, but we wrote one and got the house before it listed.

[Anonymous]

I’m a real estate attorney. Where they work best is when you have 2 offers closing price and the lower offer moves you. Unlikely you will go with the lower offer but likely you will call them and see if they will match the other and if they do it is likely that you will take it.

[Anonymous]

They can get sellers in trouble for violating fair housing laws. Especially if they include photos. Better have a good reason for picking a lower offer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:They can get sellers in trouble for violating fair housing laws. Especially if they include photos. Better have a good reason for picking a lower offer.

Mom and pop Sellers are not subject to fair housing laws