Anonymous wrote:we sold to a letter writer over a higher offer though the higher offer was for less than 2%. Similar background so we sympathized. Prob would not have taken 10% less but we even countered and told them what they needed to meet to be acceptably under the higher offer. They'd lost two houses before. Sometimes it's really great to be able to look beyond just money if you can...so, yeah, give it a shot!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

In all my sales, I have never once allowed the letter to play a part. In fact, most sellers I know do not read them at all.

We sold last year and we definitely appreciated the letter we received from the buyer. The house was a bit dated so we were fearful of teardowns. In the letter, the buyer said they loved the house and the yard and wanted to raise their family there. It sealed the deal for us. And we have heard from our former neighbors that the new family fit right in, so we are happy we sold to them. The house meant a lot to us, and we were glad to see it go to a nice family. Didn't want it to become a mcmansion.

Anonymous wrote:

In all my sales, I have never once allowed the letter to play a part. In fact, most sellers I know do not read them at all.

Anonymous wrote:We did this years ago -- wrote a letter about how we were a young family looking to raise our kids in a great neighborhood, wanted to renovate, but wouldn't do a tear-down, loved their restored Steinway grand (which realtor had said would be for sale in a separate transaction) and would give it a good home, yadda, yadda, yadda. They took a lower offer from another couple who wrote a similar letter, but who also mentioned that the husband was a psychiatrist as was the seller. That clinched their deal.

But . . . they sold us the piano, we bought another house in the neighborhood, and -- here's the kicker -- the couple who bought the house divorced after 3 years and sold it to someone who is now tearing it down. We do love the piano, though, and hope someday to pass it on to our youngest, a dedicated pianist. And, having lived in our house for 15 years, with kids now in HS and college, we're starting to think of downsizing (maybe in 5 years, when DD graduates from college). You better believe we're selling to the highest bidder -- we've had many happy years in this house, but I'm hoping to buy a small, mid-century modern gem for our retirement years. Of course, it will have to have enough room for the grand piano.

Anonymous wrote:We did this years ago -- wrote a letter about how we were a young family looking to raise our kids in a great neighborhood, wanted to renovate, but wouldn't do a tear-down, loved their restored Steinway grand (which realtor had said would be for sale in a separate transaction) and would give it a good home, yadda, yadda, yadda. They took a lower offer from another couple who wrote a similar letter, but who also mentioned that the husband was a psychiatrist as was the seller. That clinched their deal.

But . . . they sold us the piano, we bought another house in the neighborhood, and -- here's the kicker -- the couple who bought the house divorced after 3 years and sold it to someone who is now tearing it down. We do love the piano, though, and hope someday to pass it on to our youngest, a dedicated pianist. And, having lived in our house for 15 years, with kids now in HS and college, we're starting to think of downsizing (maybe in 5 years, when DD graduates from college). You better believe we're selling to the highest bidder -- we've had many happy years in this house, but I'm hoping to buy a small, mid-century modern gem for our retirement years. Of course, it will have to have enough room for the grand piano.