How to Humanize your Purchase Offer
We’ll be frank with you, buying a home mostly comes down to numbers, but sometimes… Not completely. There’s value in giving the seller a little insight into the person behind the offer… Especially in a market where there are more buyers than sellers and your competition is fierce. It’s times like these where writing a personal letter to the seller just might pay off. Here are 5 tips to keep in mind the next time you submit an offer and want to give it an extra boost.
Keep it Short & Sweet
A letter to the seller should be no more than one page in length. Three paragraphs is plenty of space to let the seller know who you are, what the home means to you and show them all the reasons why they should select you as the next owner of the house.
Write with Sincerity
Start off by addressing the seller(s) by their first name(s). Right away they will see you’ve taken the time to do a little research and you are seriously pursuing their home. If you for some reason cannot find their name(s), use the property address. Dear Samantha and Rob or To the seller’s of 123 Main Street sounds much better than blandly opening with Dear Seller. Be genuine, specific and mindful of your tone throughout. You want to ensure that when you are describing what you love about their home, that you don’t sound insincere or so vague that this letter could apply to any home on the market.
Highlight the Financing
Since you’re working with Cambria Mortgage (right?) you should have all of your home financing ducks in a row. Bring that to the seller’s attention, reminding them how strong your financing is. You can even copy and paste this into your letter: “Cambria Mortgage has provided me with a fully underwritten pre-approval. My income, debt, assets and credit have all been fully evaluated up-front by a local, in-house underwriter; they’ve communicated with me exactly how much I can afford. Cambria Mortgage has a great track record and I feel secure in saying there will be no surprises. You can count on my financing.”
Form a Healthy Connection
Connect with the seller, but don’t get too personal. It’s important that you leave out details about race and origin, religion, status and disability. These are all factors that could interfere with the federal Fair Housing Act and could keep the seller’s Realtor from passing along your letter. Without giving away any of those details, help the seller visualize how you will use their home. Who will live there with you – kids, dog, fiance? Are you newly married or starting a family? Is this your first home, or dream home? Really hone in on what exactly it is that you love so much about their home in particular. How do you imagine yourself using the living room? Is the kitchen perfect for hosting? Is the backyard the perfect place for your kids to play while you grill up some dinner? Use specific, descriptive examples of how you will put their home to good use. Paint a picture, help them envision their beloved home in good hands.
It’s Perfect Just the Way it is
Remember, this is their HOME… Leave out any renovation plans. The last thing you want to do is offend the seller. You might plan on tearing out the floors, renovating the kitchen or knocking down a wall… But remember, those spaces might hold a lot of memories for them. We get it, it’s likely that no home is actually perfect but we need you to pretend for just a second that this one is.
If you’re ready to put your best home buying foot forward, we’re ready to help; call us today at 952-942-0110 or visit our www.CambriaMortgage.com. There’s a home out there waiting for you to put an offer on it!