Some of my Flagstaff Realtor® colleagues use so-called “buyer letters” a lot. And, I’ve seen them recommended by industry commentators. I may have presented one or two in my 17-year career selling Flagstaff real estate, but generally I agree with blogger Christine Smith, who is an attorney as well as an exclusively buyers’ agent in Massachusetts: Don’t.
Whenever I’ve been on the receiving end on behalf of one of my seller clients, this letter is the last thing the client wants to see. My clients ask how much is the offer, how strong is the financing, and when is the closing date? Anything else is just noise.
And Christine demonstrates why that’s right. Buyer letters are risky business:
That letter that the buyer wrote that says that their family and kids would love living in that house? Well, if that buyer’s offer is chosen and another buyer (perhaps a single person without kids) does not have his/her offer chosen, well then that seller could be facing a fair housing complaint. Not only that, any real estate agent who facilitated that letter by encouraging or even forwarding the letter could be facing the same complaint, as could their broker.
“The fine for a first violation of the fair housing law is $10,000. The fines increase substantially after that, not to mention any further civil charges or action by your local real estate board.
So, just make your offer as strong as it can be and rely on your agent to do the negotiating for you. (Yet another reason to pick a strong, experienced agent. Try the Elite Team at RE/MAX Peak Properties.)
