Real estate agent Beth Kimmick had a home buying client who wrote a letter to the seller admiring their tea pot collection and sharing that she also collects tea pots.
She ended up winning the house. But was it the letter that made the bid stand out or was it the offer?
In today’s red-hot seller’s market buyers are doing whatever they can to gain an advantage over multiple offers. But some real estate agents caution against writing personal letters to sellers because they could prejudice the seller against the buyer.
“If you include a picture they might not pick you because of the way you look or they might not like the way the letter was written,” said Annamarie Clementi of West of Hudson Real Estate Academy Square in Montclair.
The National Association of Realtors recently warned its members that “love letters,” as their known, could open real estate agents and their clients to fair housing violations “because they often contain personal information and reveal characteristics of the buyer, such as race, religion, or familial status, which could then be used, knowingly or through unconscious bias, as an unlawful basis for a seller’s decision to accept or reject an offer.”
For example, if a buyer writes in a letter that they can envision their children running down the stairs on Christmas morning, the buyer has disclosed their familial and religious statuses.
James Hughes, broker-sales person at Compass in Montclair, says he doesn’t show the letters to his clients.
“I don’t want to open the door for someone to say to me, they didn’t take our offer because of this or that,” he said.
Kimmick, a broker with ERA Central Realty Group in Cream Ridge, recently worked with a seller in Lawrenceville who received seven offers. She presented them blind, numbering them and not including the buyers’ names.
“There were 2 letters that I sent her over to review,” Kimmick said. “But I did not associate them with any of the offers.”
After the seller accepted an offer, Kimmick revealed to the buyer that one of the letters was associated with the winning bid.
“She thought it was nice because it let her know a little bit more about the people buying her home,” Kimmick said. “But it clearly didn’t sway it.”
For her clients that do insist on writing love letters, Kimmick tells them to focus on the house and not make the letter about their family.
“Tell them how well cared for the home is,” she said. “Or when you come and tour the house and love something about it, sellers like to hear that.”
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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.
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A home buyer’s love letter might seal the deal. But it’s also risky. - NJ.com
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