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Seems like a regulatory overreach. And, I don't support love letters.
The question of whether ANY cover letter is not a "customary document" arises.
And, don't all buyers and sellers search for the other party on FB, Instagram, or other social media?
"Oregon will become the first state to require real estate agents to reject so-called “love letters” from homebuyers to sellers.
The new law, which will go into effect in January throughout Oregon, says a seller’s agent must reject “any communication other than customary documents” from a potential homebuyer, including photographs.
These letters often paint a personal picture meant to tug at the heartstrings of a seller. But critics say they can also reveal information about buyers that could be used to discriminate against them or others, consciously or otherwise, in violation of the Fair Housing Act. "
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Such a law will not really stop such discrimination. Let's face it, Google is your friend, and whether selling a house or hiring an employee, people use it to help make decisions. If one wants to discriminate they will, and unless they are stupid about it, cannot be caught. When we bought our second house, our offer was a bit less than another, but the sellers were very religious and chose us because we were married with 2 kids and the other offer was an unmarried couple. There was nothing in writing on this, however, just something that the selling agent mentioned to our agent.
Unenforceable, knee jerk legislation likely resulting from the influence of some faction with an axe to grind.
(7) In order to help a seller avoid selecting a buyer based on the buyer’s race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status or familial status as prohibited by the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), a seller’s agent shall reject any communication other than customary documents in a real estate transaction, including photographs,
provided by a buyer.
Do love letters even work? If I were selling my house, the buyer with the best terms as judged at my sole discretion gets the deal. If you want the house that badly, offer more money or better terms. What they do with the house after I've handed over the keys is their business - they can bulldoze it for all I care, it's no longer my house.
Albert yes they work. It appears the seller will pick a favorite party when offers are close. If there is a somewhat better offer the agent goes to the favored party and says that if he meets the dollars and conditions of the best offer then the seller will chose the favored party. And in the couple of cases I heard of the favored party, now knowing a firm price, ups the ante and gets the house.
When I receive an offer with such a letter, I ask the owner if they want it or if they want me to just keep it business and go through the terms of the offer. So far, every single owner has told me to keep it business and don't send the letter.
Such a law will not really stop such discrimination.
Exactly. I would hope most people wouldn't be discriminatory in their selection of a buyer. But for those who DO want to discriminate they're going to find the information they want one way or another.
For many a home is more than just a monetary investment so I can understand why some people like these letters. We received them when we sold and we also wrote one for a property one time.
For instance, if I received multiple offers close in price and one appeared to be a family that looked at my home as being a place where they wanted to create beautiful family memories versus an offer from an investment company, I would definitely pick the family that really loved my home. Does this mean that I am not a decent human being? I think it actually means the opposite in this situation. Now, if I just selected someone based upon race, religion or sexual orientation etc then yes that would make me a crappy person.
And I agree that there are other ways to find out more about people. I've definitely looked up online information before. I think a lot of us are just curious. Plus I don't know if I would want to buy a home from someone that I might find questionable or where something bad happened.
Do love letters even work? If I were selling my house, the buyer with the best terms as judged at my sole discretion gets the deal. If you want the house that badly, offer more money or better terms. What they do with the house after I've handed over the keys is their business - they can bulldoze it for all I care, it's no longer my house.
They do and they don't.
People all have different needs.
Many folks are emotionally attached to the homestead.
For some, selling is strictly business, but it is common when a house has been in a family for a couple of generations and the sellers were raised there, or sellers are original builders/owners, they want to pass it to someone who will love it as they do.
Unfortunately, whether operating from perspectives of business or emotion, neither will prevent some folks from discriminating and putting agents in a position of violating Fair Housing decency, not to mention Law.
Love Letters open that portal.
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