If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is a handwritten letter worth? It could mean the difference in a sale or not! 
I was reading a post on another forum about handwritten letters from the buyer to the seller that would accompany the offer and how it changed the seller's mind once reading the letter from the buyer.
The buyer had written a low offer that insulted the seller's. However, the buyer's had taken the time to select a nice card and hand write a letter to the seller explaining why the offer was low. Just to make the story short, they basically said that, that amount was all they could afford, but loved the seller's home and wanted to start a family and make their own memories there. It changed the seller's mind and they accepted the buyer's offer and the deal closed.
What would have happened if the buyer's hadn't taken the time to write that letter? The seller's from what I understood, would have just rejected the offer all together and the deal probably would not have gone anywhere. Just from taking less than 30 minutes to put a nice handwritten letter together to accompany their offer, they got the home they really wanted.
If you put yourself in the seller's shoes for a moment when they have an offer sitting in front of them, what is personal about that offer? Nothing. Nothing at all. It's a bunch of pages with thousands of words on it that only a lawyer could love. It simply states, this is what we are offering, how much we are financing and giving for escrow and when we want to close, more or less. Nothing personal about that at all. It doesn't say in there how much the buyer's love the seller's house, but since they are just starting out, they can't afford to offer full price. It doesn't say in there that they looked at 40 other homes and as soon as they walked in the front door, they fell in love with this home and knew they wanted to make it theirs. A personal letter reminds the seller that these are buyer's that will lovingly care for their home that they have enjoyed for so many years. It removes many of the cold hard feelings that come along with offers sometimes.
Now on the flip side, what if a seller was to do the same thing for any potential buyers?
On this same forum, Leesa Finley explained that her sellers did this for each potential buyer that looked at the home. The seller's had taken the time to write many copies so that each potential buyer would get their own. With Leesa's permission, this is what the letter stated....
____________________________________________________________________________________
Dear Prospective Buyer,
Welcome! We wanted to let you know we are in the process of making this house ready to be your home.
We have loved this neighborhood, this house and are confident you will too. We have been working hard at making this a comfortable, social and fun loving home. We doubled the size of the deck this year, so it will accommodate all the wonderful friends and family you will have here. We also just had 5 full trees removed from the yard (9 total since we've been here,) which is why the grass is so sparse right now. The drought hasn't helped!
We can appreciate your decorative taste may be different from ours; rest assured we will have all those nail holes filled, walls touched up and painted clean and carpets professionally cleaned, so this can be your home, ready to move into!
Sincerely,
____________________________________________________________________________________
She said each and every agent that showed the home called her back and said they thought it was a great idea!
I thought it was a great way to explain to the buyer's that they knew there were things that still needed to be done and they were going to get them done.
These hand written letters remind the buyer's that these are seller's that have enjoyed many memories and good times in their home and remind the seller's that these buyer's want to make this home theirs and create many new memories there. The letters remind each other that they are not just people. They are human beings that care.
Have any of your buyer's or seller's tried this before? What was the outcome?
Copyright © 2007 Becky Troutt. All rights reserved.
Comments(46)