Your Ultimate Guide to Crafting a Real Estate Offer Letter that Gets the House

Considerations in a modern world

In recent years, the possibility that offer letters may lead to violations of Fair Housing laws has made them all but banned in certain areas. In fact, Oregon was the first state to make buyer “love letters” illegal in 2021, although the ban was struck down by a federal court. You may find that your agent is reluctant to send such a letter along, or that the seller refuses any offers that come with a letter.

This is because it is illegal to discriminate on the basis of any protected class when selling a home, including race, color, religion, sex or gender, disability, national origin, or familial status. So, for example, if the seller learns your race or family status through your offer letter, even through something as innocuous as your signature, and then uses that in the decision-making process, this can put them in legal jeopardy. In fact, even if they didn’t use that information to make their decision, it can still be a problem if anyone perceives or thinks that they did.

Complaints related to perceived violations resulting from offer letters are rare, but as Morgan says, she has seen “a surge in the private remarks of Realtors,” that they will not accept any offers with these “love letters” attached. In her own practice, she no longer sends letters as a matter of course, but instead only offers a sentence or two if there is a simple connection that can be made.

The building blocks to a winning letter

Use actual paper and a pen. This is a letter, not an email — nice stationery might even win you some points. Anything that can add a personal touch will increase the possibility of emotional pull.

Be sure to greet the seller by name. Starting a letter with “Dear seller” simply does not give off a personable vibe. You should be able to get the name from your agent if you don’t have it already.

Introduce yourself in the letter, but be careful not to give away too many details. You want them to have a sense of who you are, but not so much information that they can start finding reasons to dislike you. Less is more — especially when it comes to any information that may hint at your status within any protected class, as mentioned above.

Find common ground and determine a way to make a personal connection. This can be tricky because many homes are staged to remove personal belongings. Stephanie Morgan mentions that she instructs her clients to stage their homes for exactly that reason. She says, “I don’t want people to be able to read my clients and understand where they’re coming from. It’s a bit of a poker game.”

But if you notice a beautiful garden outside, or an impeccable kitchen, you can mention the fact that you are an avid gardener or an accomplished cook. Is there a dog house in the backyard? Tell them about your plans for a new puppy.

Include details about why you love the house. For someone who has lived in the house a long time, those details are things they love, too! And besides, everyone likes to be complimented. You can make your offer letter shine by giving them details about what you love and why you want this house to be yours.

Your offer letter might also benefit if you include (a few) financial details, especially if you aren’t offering full asking price. You can explain (respectfully) why and also mention your mortgage preapproval.

It’s also good to point out where you can be flexible. If you can let the seller pick the closing date or otherwise have the ability to offer concessions here and there, tell the seller about that. Not only does it inform them of your flexibility, but it lets them know you are personable and approachable about it.

Finally, don’t forget to say thank you. Even if the seller doesn’t accept your offer, they took the time to read it, and you should show your appreciation for that.

Speaking of taking the time to read it — keep it short. Nobody wants to read an essay. A few paragraphs to one page is sufficient.

What to leave out of the offer letter

Now that you know what to include in the letter, it’s important to examine what not to include and why.

Don’t get too personal. Any information that identifies your status within a protected class is becoming more and more of a no-no. So be sure to leave that out and instead focus on commonalities and details about the house itself.

Don’t tell the seller what you want to change. Focus on the positives only, not what you don’t love. Sometimes too much information is bad.

Morgan adds that people “don’t want to hear what you’re going to do differently because it’s almost like a judgment that they were doing something wrong with their home.”

Don’t whine. An offer letter is not a place to complain, but a place to appeal. If you think the price is unfair, or you’re not happy about the seller’s timing needs, this is not a good opportunity to voice those thoughts.

Don’t go overboard with financial details. There is such a thing as giving away too much. You don’t want to leave them either afraid you won’t be able to secure a loan, or hint that you’re well enough off that you won’t want to negotiate the price.

Don’t contradict the purchase agreement. Try to leave the details vague in the offer letter (it’s more about emotion) and let the purchase agreement handle the specifics; if you do cite the price or another detail, make sure it corresponds with the legal document.

Don’t include a photo. You may see suggestions that you include a picture, but doing so can backfire. It’s usually safest to leave it out. This is another manifestation of the Fair Housing issue; the seller is open to a potential lawsuit if they consider an offer from a household or buyer with a photo attached and that buyer is part of a protected class.

Ready, set, write!

Let’s wrap it up! Remember: the offer letter is an appeal to emotion. It should be short, sweet, and personable without revealing information that sets anyone up for Fair Housing violation issues. In other words, focus on the property and universal topics. Highlight what you love about the place, mention common hobbies or pets, and leave out anything negative!

If you’re not sure what to put in your offer letter (or whether to write one at all), talk to your real estate agent and ask their advice.

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