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Looking back I'm sure the reason for several purchases is because I had bought and "Restored" similar homes in the area...
I let the sellers know my offer was AS-IS and my plans and provided two addresses of homes I had done.
They were tied up and lost 45 days with first time buyers who as mentioned above turned out to be paralyzed with fear buying a 80 year old home...
Those magic words 'AS IS' would definitely get my attention too.
IF I was selling an older home that had been in the family and had an emotional attachment to it I would love to get a letter outlining your plans on rehabbing it and would seriously consider your offer as opposed to a builder who just wants to tear it down.
I think in cases like that a letter is a positive thing.
Before this thread, I hadn't realized that people used letters to try to get someone to accept a less than competitive offer. I had always assumed they were used to try to create some sort of personal connection and reason for a seller to pick YOUR offer vs. other people's offers, but that they would all be substantially similar in terms of the offer price and other major terms of the offer. I would not expect a letter to sway someone to choose me even if I wanted to pay 25K less or whatever.
Before this thread, I hadn't realized that people used letters to try to get someone to accept a less than competitive offer. I had always assumed they were used to try to create some sort of personal connection and reason for a seller to pick YOUR offer vs. other people's offers, but that they would all be substantially similar in terms of the offer price and other major terms of the offer. I would not expect a letter to sway someone to choose me even if I wanted to pay 25K less or whatever.
I don't think that people are saying that a letter should be used to try to get the seller to accept an offer that's not competitive. 'Competitive' is a relative term and when you are making an offer, you usually have very little knowledge of how competitive your offer is. Even if you have some indication of the other offer prices (which you often don't), you probably do not know how quickly other buyers can act, their financial strength, contingencies on the sale of their homes, etc.
At least for me, emotional connection is not the main reason for the letter but rather to put out the main points of your offer which essentially means your attractiveness to the seller. This includes your timeline to complete, confirmation of any significant contingencies (or better, lack thereof), etc. It might also include any reasons why your offer is solid (e.g. you live in the town already with kids in the schools, etc). This is only an example but if you are competing against a buyer moving from out of state, the seller might rightly believe that there is more that can go wrong in that scenario (it could be more of a pain to get things done, buyer could change their mind, job could fall through or transfer be delayed, etc, etc).
Choosing the right buyer can mean the difference between a smooth transaction and a nightmare scenario for a seller and sellers generally should take a greater interest in the quality and strength of their buyers before deciding on an offer. Obviously you can never be too sure of what you are getting but having the buyer's position laid out clearly and with brevity can help the seller to make their decision.
The kids have decided to submit an offer on a condo this afternoon. They did write short letter to go with it. The letter is not meant to sway them from accepting better offers, but rather to give the sellers an idea of what the process would look like if they chose their offer (assuming all offers were similar).
They can close whenever the seller wants, they can move fast or take 90 days, doesn't matter. They have the funding secured, down payment is in the bank. They are prepared to move quickly to get the paperwork all filled out and taken care of, etc. It is not a mushy letter at all. It does state that they are a young couple looking to buy their first piece of property, but nothing more than that.
Their offer is $5k over asking, which is probably not enough to get the place, but its all they can qualify for. So that's that!
I really thank you all for the insight, its been eye-opening! Everyone's point of view is totally understandable!
The kids have decided to submit an offer on a condo this afternoon. They did write short letter to go with it. The letter is not meant to sway them from accepting better offers, but rather to give the sellers an idea of what the process would look like if they chose their offer (assuming all offers were similar).
They can close whenever the seller wants, they can move fast or take 90 days, doesn't matter. They have the funding secured, down payment is in the bank. They are prepared to move quickly to get the paperwork all filled out and taken care of, etc. It is not a mushy letter at all. It does state that they are a young couple looking to buy their first piece of property, but nothing more than that.
Their offer is $5k over asking, which is probably not enough to get the place, but its all they can qualify for. So that's that!
I really thank you all for the insight, its been eye-opening! Everyone's point of view is totally understandable!
Thanks for sharing. Even if it does very little else, hopefully it at least showed the seller that they are organized, understand the process and clearly states how they intend to work through from here to closing. I don't think anyone is under the impression that this will cause the seller to ignore higher offers but at least their offer (in its totality) is clearly articulated to the seller.
You never know what the agent will tell the seller as he or she presents the offer and in this case, they could (intentionally or unintentionally) create the impression that these buyers are flakier/riskier/more naive than other buyers since they are young, first time buyers. This type of letter can counter that impression.
I'd view it as a manipulation tactic, especially if it said things like, "We love your house and our child would really love to grow up in that room...." or "We really hope our offer is competitive because we really believe this is the one...." No thanks. If it said something on the order of, "We just wanted to say that your home is lovely and we enjoyed seeing it," I'd appreciate it, but it would have no bearing on whether or not they got the house. It's a business transaction. I wouldn't suggest buyers do anything that could potentially backfire.
Superstition in paranoid sellers who might turn a nice letter into a rude threat to their well-being is one possible reason not to do it.
Buyers and agents do need to "read" the other side before providing a letter.
I have seen letters grease the deal nicely, and have seen them ignored.
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