I already know what’s going to happen.

After I author this blog post and Toronto buyers read it, we’re going to see the number of “buyer letters” increase by 20,000%.  Listing agents across the city will rue the day I wrote such a feel-good story and let other people think that it could happen to them too.

When we buy that lottery ticket for the supermax jumbo biggie jackpot extravaganza (that our government advertises to us to try and rake in revenue but I digress…), we don’t expect to win.  Many, many people buy tickets, but only one can win.

When a would-be real estate buyer writes a letter to the seller of a home, the same logic applies.

Every few years, we read some feel-good story about how a seller simply “loved the buyer’s letter,” and chose to sell their property to that particular buyer for less money than somebody else offered.

This was written in July of 2018:

“The Whip Cream On Top Of The Sundae: Homebuyers Writing Heartfelt Letters To Sway Sellers In Hot Housing Markets”

The sub-heading reads:

Some realtors say letters have become a ‘must’ because sellers often seriously consider sentiments relayed in a note when choosing what offer to accept

Maybe.

But maybe not.

Maybe these articles are just written to give buyers false hope, and to sell newspapers.  Er, I mean, result in ‘clicks.’

I tried to look back in my archives for other examples, but alas, I could not find anything before 2018.  I do, however, recall several articles from yesteryear touting how a personal letter “worked,” and citing unbelievable tales of sellers leaving hundreds of thousands of dollars on the table to work with buyers that they liked.

Every time I see one of these articles in the Toronto Star or the Globe & Mail, I shudder to think about how many more buyers will offer the list price, up against twenty offers, while including a personal letter, thinking, “Maybe the sellers will have a heart, and will just really fall in love with us!”

Last year, a crazy thing happened in one of the most progressive areas of North America; a state south of the order “banned” the practice of presenting love letters to sellers during real estate offer presentations.

If you didn’t read it last year, here’s the article and an excerpt:

“One More Step Before Controversial Oregon Bill Becomes Law, Banning ‘Love Letters’ During Home Sales”

SALEM, OR (KPTV) – There is just one more step before a controversial bill, that could change the way many people buy homes, becomes law.  If signed by Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, House Bill 2550 will ban the practice of ‘love letters’ during a home sale.  The measure is to help avoid buyer selection based on race, sex, or religion in violation of federal fair housing laws.

Perhaps now more than ever in this housing boom, with major investment firms looking to buy up entire neighborhoods, buyers are looking to influence sellers any way they can.  That influence usually comes in the form of a personalized letter, sometimes with family photos and desires to live in that community.  What this bill would do is give seller’s agents the ability to reject those letters.  While the bill has already passed the House and Senate, there are people who feel this is a major overreach by lawmakers.

Duke Hubbard told FOX 12 he bought the bigger home his family needed in Gresham in February.

“We explained that we were in the process of adopting two more kids. Brother and sister, one and three years old.  Wanted to keep them together. And without knowing [the seller’s] position, they had just got through adopting their son’s kids.  Their son had passed away in a car wreck.  So, there was a little bit of…pulling on the heartstrings there, which we had no idea at the time that that had happened to them,” he said.

Hubbard said his bid came in at least $15,000 less than others.

Naturally, I thought this was insane.

Not because I’m against discrimination, but because I’m against stupidty.

June 25th, 2021, I wrote: “The Friday Rant: Wrap Us All In Bubble Paper”

That might not be the best “Friday Rant” of 2021, but it sure was my favourite blog title!

I honestly thought that this would be the last time we discuss “buyer letters,” and then a couple of weeks ago, a reader forwarded me this link from a website called Toronto Storeys:

“Do Not Include A Stupid Letter: The Harsh Realities Of A Hot Sellers’ Market”

The article was in response to One Group’s broker of record, Nasma Ali, posting the following on Twitter:

This is real, folks.

An agent from Sage Real Estate sent me this too and I saved it in my “MLS Musings” folder, thinking perhaps I could include this in a future post.

I think the message is supposed to be tongue-and-cheek, but given the market out there today, it’s clearly tone-deaf.  Er, we can’t say that anymore, so insert University-approved, unoffensive substitute phrase…

I see no benefit to including this in the showing remarks, even if the listing agent were known for being a hilarious, fun-loving individual with a great sense of humour.  I just think it’s going to piss people off.  It’s honest, but it’s not necessary.

In any event, the Twitter post that Nasma Ali provided, plus the article in Toronto Storeys got me thinking.  But it wasn’t until last week that our team had a once-in-a-career experience, when I realized this is all part of the same blog post!

I mean, judging from the title of today’s post, “When A ‘Letter To The Seller’ Actually Works,” ya’ll figured I was going to tell you an unbelievable story, right?

This isn’t my story, however.  It happened to my colleague Chris Cansick.

Chris was working with clients who we’ll call “Brad & Jen.”

Brad and Jen are a young couple who have lived in a condo for the last five years, and they one child, a daughter named Emily.

Chris has been working with Brad and Jen for two months now to help them find a suitable house in which to continue to expand and then subsequently raise their family, and like all buyers in this market, Brad and Jen were finding things difficult.

I believe they had already lost two offers, maybe three, by the time they found this house out in Scarborough that was in a really nice residential neighbourhood, quietly tucked away, and not very well-known by the masses, but well-known by those who love the area.

Brad and Jen loved the area too!

The house needed a ton of work.  Let’s be honest: it was an estate sale.

And while not all estate sales automatically mean the house is in shambles, many do.  Again, honesty is the best policy.

Listed for $899,000, Chris told Brad and Jen, “The floor here has to be $1,150,000.”

It was tough to swallow, considering another house down the street had sold In December for $1,300,000, renovated, but December was a long time ago!  In this market, December was like 10% ago!

As is usually the case, offer day came, and while Chris, Brad, and Jen were hoping to only compete against four, five, or six offers, there were double-digit offers.

And then another set of double-digit offers.

And then more.

In the end, a whopping twenty-seven offers materialized, which was amazing, considering this was an estate sale and that the house needed a lot of work!  Imagine twenty-seven buyers in this market all willing to take on this renovation?

Brad was an engineer by trade so he wasn’t averse to the renovation.

Chris made it clear that this house was going to sell for over $1,200,000, and thus they papered an initial offer for $1,212,000.

Why an “initial offer?”

Chris figured that with twenty-seven offers, it was likely that there would be further conversations about changes and/or improvements to offers.

But Chris read more into the situation: the people reviewing the offers would be the daughters of the deceased seller.

Chris realized that this wasn’t just any property sale, but rather an emotional sale.  The daughters had grown up in this house and visited their mother in the home for many years later.

Not only that, this was a property that was likely going to be targeted by developers.  Brad and Jen wanted to buy the house, renovate, and move in, but developers would likely bulldoze the home and build a McMansion.

Chris had been speaking to the listing agent off-and-on for a week now, creating a relationship, building rapport, and getting some inside information where possible.  During one such phone call, the listing agent let it slip that the daughters really did not want to sell this house to a developer who would tear it down.

So Chris, armed with the knowledge that this was an emotional sale for the two daughters of the deceased, and that they did not want to see the house torn down, did that thing that we all do, even though we know it won’t help, but we do it anyway: he drafted a letter from the buyer to the seller!

Complete with their names, occupations, a mention of their daughter, and how they planned to love and cherish the home, Brad and Jen also added a family photo.

It took three hours to sort through twenty-seven offers, but when the listing agent called Chris, he wasn’t prepared for what she was about to say.

“Your clients’ letter made the sellers cry,” she told Chris.  “They’re still emotional.  Still a little shook.”

It wasn’t so much that the letter was nice, heartwarming, and added a personal touch.  There was a huge connection here, one that you might call a coincidence, but one that wasn’t lost on the sellers.

“The buyers’ daughter’s name is Emily?” the listing asked Chris.

He confirmed that it was.

“The sellers’ late mother was also named Emily,” she told Chris.  “And the girls are just really torn up about this.”

The fact that Brad was an engineer and the daughters’ late father was also an engineer, was another coincidence.

So did the sellers take Brad and Jen’s offer?

No.

That’s not the story.  Not yet, anyways.  And while you might be disappointed that this “heart-warming story” doesn’t end now, you’ll be even more pleased with the ending, I assure you.

The listing agent told Chris, “There were twenty-seven offers, and we’re working with five.  You are not in the lead but you are not last.  So let us know if you want to improve and we’ll be standing by.”

Easy, right?

And nice.  I have to say that’s nice.

Considering I was on an offer last night and I was “one of the top six” but given zero indication of where I was in that group of six, I always want to point out when a listing agent provides a buyer agent with some direction.

Chris spoke to Brad and Jen and they really wanted this house, so they wanted to improve significantly.

They increased their offer from $1,212,000 to $1,260,000.  They resubmitted, and waited.

An hour later, Chris’ phone rang and it was the listing agent.

“My sellers really don’t like your offer,” she said.

Chris’ heart sank.

He had actually lost another offer with a different client earlier that evening, so losing twice in one night hurt even more.

“They didn’t like your offer,” the listing agent continued.

But then she added something that he couldn’t absorb and digest on the spot.

“It was too high,” she said.

Chris had to stop and think about this for a moment.

Was it a joke?  Did she mis-speak?

He literally did not know what to say.

Thankfully, he didn’t have to say anything.  The listing agent added, “My clients loved your buyers.  They would love to sell to them.”

Chris started to listen, but still had no idea where this was going.

“If you could revised your offer and resubmit lower at $1,240,000, they would be absolutely honoured to accept.”

Chris didn’t know what to think.  How could he?

“My sellers don’t ‘need’ the extra money,” she said, perhaps inferring that they were okay if Brad and Jen tied the next highest offer.  “They want your clients to put that extra $20,000 in a college fund for little Emily, as they feel it would honour the memory of their mother, Emily, to know that your Emily can afford to go to college because of the money saved here.”

Chris was blown away.  But he didn’t stop to make small-talk.  When you get the answer you’re looking for, you move on.

“Give me five minutes,” he said, before he rushed off to send a revised offer for Brad and Jen to sign.

Ten minutes later, the deal was signed up at $1,240,000.

Brad and Jen cried, of course.  That made four buyers/sellers who cried that night, and eventually, the listing agent cried too.

I asked Chris if he cried, but I think he was too busy eating glass and nails to shed a tear.

It’s very, very rare that you get to purchase a home for less than another buyer has offered, or even the same.  Chris knows this, and there’s no question that Brad and Jen know this as well too.

As I said at the onset, stories like this are exceptionally rare, and upon reading them, buyers will often start to hope and dream that they can be the next powerball winner.

I’m not saying personal letters work, and I’m not saying they don’t.

I’m just saying that in a crazy world, in crazy and difficult times, this experience restored all our faith in humanity, even if only for a night…