February is the month of romance and while many write love letters to
their significant others, buyers may want to consider writing a love letter to
help woo the sellers of their dream home. While the team at Regal Homes may not
be able to speak into your love life, we can share a few tips for your real
estate relationship.
Let them know who you are: Often times sellers are emotionally tied to their
homes, this means that there is a good chance they will want to sell to someone
they like and believe will take as much care of their home as they have. When
writing a letter, buyers will want to attempt to make common ground by sharing
about their children, hobbies, where they are from, what they do for a living
and anything else that could work in their favor. It may also be wise for
buyers to share with the sellers their home buying journey. Things like why
they are moving and why the house in question would be perfect can help to
paint a good picture to truly understand who the buyers are. With this in mind
buyers should remember not to get too personal by steering clear of politics,
religion and any other hot button topics.
Only the good stuff: Remember, this is a love letter not a love novel. Buyers should try to
keep it under 200 words if possible. They can briefly introduce themselves, and
mostly compliment the home and explain why it is the perfect home for them.
AVOID mentioning any renovations or changes buyer want to do to the property is
a must; the last things a nostalgic seller will want is to drop their keys into
the hands of a bulldozer fanatic.
Vision
sharing: This is where buyers can pain the picture of life in their
new dream home. Phrases like “we can picture reading to our daughter by the
beautiful brick fireplace” or “summers would be perfect in the backyard with
the pool and barbeque” can go a lot further than you think. Sellers who have
spent the majority of their lives as a family in their home will enjoy knowing
that the home will continue to be used and loved for generations to come.
Everyone
loves a genuine compliment: Sellers will be able to tell when buyers are faking
it. Buyers should only partake in writing a love letter if they actually love
the home. This letter will be an attempt to emotionally connect with sellers to
set an offer apart from the other names on the other contracts. Buyers will want sellers to like them at the end of the
letter, so much that they want to sell them their home. Buyers can lay the
compliments on thick, if they are sincere.
PS…
We would be doing you a disservice without reminding buyers
of a few key points:
1. Grammar check, spell check, double check, triple check.
2. Format,
address, and copy edit, same as any other business correspondence.
3. Be humble (“we would be overjoyed to raise our family in
your home”).
4. Probably the most important factor to consider is to make
sure that the seller has a personal tie to the home. Just like singing love
songs to the Mona Lisa will not get her to love you, writing this letter to a
bank or large construction project will not help buyers appeal to the sellers.
Happy
Valentine’s Day, Love the team at Regal Homes XO
Read More:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/27/nyregion/securing-an-apartment-with-help-from-a-love-letter.html.
