How to Write a Realtor Letter to a Potential Home Seller

How to Write Letters



© Ugur Akinci

Imagine you’re a realtor and you’d like to know if the owner of a house would like to sell his or her home by listing it with you.

Don’t ignore the power of suggestion. Some home owners would take a moment or two to consider the possibility if they received a “letter of suggestion” from you.

If you send them a letter like the one below, who knows, you might have a listing and a sale commission in the thousands, all for the price of a paper, envelope, and a postage stamp.

LETTER TEMPLATE:

DATE [April 4, 2011]

Dear NAME [Mr. and Mrs. Smith, or, SUBDIVISION Home Owner]:

I have a client who may be interested in buying your home.

[NOTE 1: It is mportant to say “may” just to leave the door open for the possibility that, at the last moment, your buyer may change her behind and focus on another property instead.

NOTE 2: Always refer to a house as HOME and never as “house” since a house is always a warm home to its owner. If you say “house” it might come across as belittling the emotional value of an object of much love and attachment.]



Currently I have a client who is interested to submit an offer for a home just like yours in terms of location and general characteristics. Would you be interested in selling your home?

My client is in the market to buy a home like yours on a flexible time-table to accommodate your needs. In case your home needs minor or major repairs, my client has the financial profile to do that as well.

[NOTE 3: Saying “financial profile” or “financial arrangements” rather than “money” is necessary to draw the picture of a well-heeled upper-scale client.]

If you have currently listed your home with another real estate agent please disregard this letter since my aim is not to disrupt your existing marketing arrangement.

[NOTE 4: You have to mention this because in the United States it is illegal to solicit a listing that is signed up by another realtor. You cannot “steal” another agent’s existing listing knowingly. You should never attempt to persuade the home owner to cancel a current listing and sign up with you.]



However, if your home is currently not listed with anyone else, I’d suggest you consider selling it to my buyer for the following reasons:

[Here list some of the “positives” of listing the property with you. This could be the ready cash the client has in hand so that no lengthy financing procedures would be necessary; the discount you are offering from your sales commission; the client’s willingness to allow the owner to rent back her home until she finds a new place to live, etc.]

• Positive 1


• Positive 2


• Etc.

I’d be happy to talk this excellent opportunity further with you and answer all your questions about the possibility of placing your home on the market . Please don’t hesitate to call me at 123-555-1212.

[NOTE 5: It’s important to mention the word “possibility” in order to lower the psychic cost of placing a call on the part of the home owner. People would call more easily if they know that they are calling “just” to talk about the “possibility” of selling their homes rather than making a hard commitment to actually sell it.]

Yours sincerely,

NAME
Company
E-Mail address

[NOTE 6: It’s also important not to use any superlative adjectives like “your beautiful lovely home” or “gorgeous property” since the home owner may actually not share your enthusiasm. If you send such a letter to someone who actually hates his property you can lose the deal right there on the spot. Try to be objective and professional. As long as you don’t say “house” but refer to the property as a “home” you’d be safe. No further characterization or poetic license is needed.]

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