Buyer's "Love Letters" - Should you read them when selling your home?

by Jenny Barthel

Selling a home can be an emotional experience. As a seller, it's naturaly to want to make sure that the buyer loves the home just as much as you do and will take care of it. In other words, you're looking for the perfect buyer with the perfect offer. Home buyers understand this, and in recent seller's markets, some buyers have written heartfelt letters to the sellers about how much they love the home, hoping it will tip the scales in their direction. But as a seller, making decisions based on these "love letters" could cause problems later down the road. This leaves us with the question, "should you read them?".

Buyer love letters can provide valuable information to the seller. With properties receiveingmultiple offers, it can be difficult to choose the best one. By reading these love letters, you can get a sense of who the buyer is and their connection to the home. A well written letter can ease the concern that a buyer will change their mind and can occasionally overcome a slightly lower or higher offer.

However, simply reading the letter can introduce bias into the decision-making process and cause serious issues. The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on factors such as race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation or gender identity), national origin, age, disability and familial status. If a love letter reveals personal information that falls into any of these categories, just knowing the information may open up the seller to potential issues. In some states, "love letters" are even illegal. However, in Minnesota they are certainly fair game.

It's normal to want your home to go to a "nice family" who will love the property as much as you do. It's just as natural to want to ensure the new owner will fit into the neighborhood. Yet, it's just this goal that might also cause headaches (or even a lawsuit). So, if you do choose to read the love letters, focus on the practical and financial aspexts of the story and make the best choice for you and your goals.

Example of a "good" home buying love letter

CLICK HERE for a fully editable template or copy the editable text below.

"Dear Sellers of 123 Main Street,

Hello!

I'm Susan Jones, a first time home buyer on the hunt for my very first home here in Minnesota.

Like you, I also work in the entertainment industry in the art department for TV shows and absolutely love where my career has taken me thus far.

I've spent the past 5 years working extremely hard to save for the right place to call home in the {neighborhood, general location} for me and my Springer Spaniel, Paisley. For many years, it has been my dream to buy a home here, and yours is the perfect place for me to call home.

I love the {things} that have the character and charm of a different time and all of the details of a classic home that yours provides.

Plus, my extended family lives out of town, so the second bedroom would make an excellent guest room for visiting friends and family. The small garage space would also make a great creative studio for me to work and Paisley would love laying out in the grass and playing in the fenced yard.

I plan to preserve and respect the charm of the house and the soul of the neighborhood and hope I get the opportunity to do so.

Thank you for your consideration.

Best Regards,

The Jones Family"

GET MORE INFORMATION

Jenny Barthel

Agent | License ID: 40696030

+1(612) 990-3863 | jennifer@mnpropertyjam.com