(Updated: July 18, 2022)
When you find your dream home, you need to get the seller to accept your offer letter and sell you the house. There’s an art to writing a compelling offer letter. This guide can help you craft an offer letter that gets accepted.
Why Send an Offer Letter for a House?
There can be multiple bidders on a single home in a tough market. When this happens, you might consider sending a real estate offer letter to the seller to connect with them and entice them to sell their home to you. In a bidding war, you have the chance to convince the seller that you’re the right person to sell their home to via an offer letter.
How to Write an Offer Letter for a House
If you’ve never written an offer letter for a house before, you might feel a little anxiety. With a bit of guidance, you can write a winning one. There are five things that an excellent offer letter includes.
Be complimentary
When writing your offer letter, it’s a good idea to compliment something special in the home that made you realize it was right for you. It could be the Jacuzzi tub in the master or a window seat in the study. These compliments show the sellers why you’ve fallen in love with their home, making you the best option to buy it.
Get personal and appeal to their emotions
It’s time to take your chance to make an emotional connection with the homeowner. If you noticed pictures of children or grandchildren while you toured the home, you might mention your own family. You might say a shared love of an activity. For example, if there’s a garden, you might mention how much you enjoy gardening. You want the homeowner to picture your family living there.
Let them know how serious you are
In addition to a few compliments and personal connections, you need to convey how serious you are about purchasing the home. You might speak of moving to the area for a new job or how your lease is ending, and you’re ready to buy a home. You might include a photograph of you and your family to help the homeowner “see” you in their space.
Brevity
Your real estate offer letter needs to be short and effective. You can make an emotional connection and let the seller know how serious you are without writing an essay. It’s good to keep your offer letter to a single page or less. You don’t want the seller to skip your letter or skim it because it’s too long. Use short sentences and provide enough information without going too in-depth.
Any financial “extras”
If you can provide a higher down payment or an all-cash offer, it’s good to mention it in your offer letter. You don’t want to hint that you can offer more money because that’s one way to get the seller to refuse your offer, but there are other financial perks you can mention.
What to Avoid in an Offer Letter
When writing an offer letter, there are some hot-topic issues you need to avoid. These items can make the seller wary of selling to you, including:
- Don’t complain about anything, including the price or time to closing.
- If you need to mention information in your formal offer, make sure you don’t contradict it.
- Don’t talk about any changes that you’d make to the home.
- Once again, don’t mention the ability to pay more than you’ve already offered.