Ray White agent Wendy Peoples said it was becoming increasingly common for buyers to present a letter when the house is sold via tender or by negotiation.
It often shows a point of difference and since the vendor usually doesn’t get to meet the buyer, a letter is the only way to communicate and establish a connection with them.
“Vendors do like to know who the people are and hear their story. Often it introduces everyone, including children and pets and sometimes has a photo that says, 'this is us, we love your house, hope you love us',” Peoples said.
“But don’t get me wrong, the best offer still wins.”
Heart-felt letters don’t really matter when the property is being pitched as investment or rental, but is appreciated by vendors who want to sell their home to a first-home buyer.
A first-home buyer, who wanted to stay anonymous, told OneRoof she attached a personalised letter for all seven offers she made.
“If there was a $80,000 difference or so, it may not do much, but if there are two offers that are the same – it could really make a difference,” she said.
The buyer secured a two-bedroom cross-lease home in Tawa, Wellington, after making an offer of $750,000 and negotiating to $780,000. She paired that offer up with a letter to the vendor.
“There’s no harm in putting it in and it might help. It did for us,” she said.
For each property she was interested in purchasing, the buyer used a template and tweaked it with personal touches for each house.
“If it had a veggie garden, I’d talk about how we love gardening and it helps make that connection. I might also say that the property had potential for starting a family and that I could see it being a happy family home," she said.
“It makes it a bit more personal and gives them a sense of who you are, especially if you’re a first home buyer as these people know how tough it's been."
Another young professional, who is settling in her first home in Wellington with a partner next week, said a letter to the owner gave them an extra edge and played a part in securing the home.
The couple started looking from February for a three-bedroom home under $1 million in Wellington and made offers on eight properties.
After missing out so many times, they attached a letter to the owners of the last two properties and despite not having the top offer, they secured a two-bedroom home due to the personalised touch.
A personalised letter to the owner will help build emotional connection and create an extra edge for you as a buyer, she said.
“It helps the owner build an emotional connection with the buyer and most people want their house to go to someone who genuinely loves it, especially when you can’t meet them, in our case one owner was in Fiordland and another in England,” she said.
In a letter to the vendor, the couple wrote about how they wanted to settle down, have a pet and a family and that the 90sqm freehold property on a 600sqm section in Tawa was perfect for that.
The letter might not secure you a winning spot if the gap between offers is too big but, in this case, it worked for the couple because they had offered $10,000 less than the top offer.
“If it doesn’t matter to them, they won’t read it but if it does, it may make a difference. You just have to try. If you don’t try you won’t know.”
