If you’re a real estate agent, you’re already familiar with an offer letter. If not, you’ll learn what an offer letter is in real estate in this post.
When a buyer wants to buy a house or another property, the buyer’s agent sends a formal offer, typically via email, to the seller’s agent. An offer letter from the buyer may be included with the formal offer.
Definition of a Real Estate Offer Letter
As mentioned above, an offer letter differs from a formal offer.
While a formal purchase offer contains how much the buyer is offering for the property, a real estate offer letter is a personal letter from an interested buyer. It is written with the goal of persuading the seller to accept the buyer’s offer over other offers they may have received.
Typically, an offer letter contains the following sections:
Property Details
First, thank the owner for the opportunity to view the house or the property. Then reiterate your terms, such as how much you are offering, how you plan to pay for the purchase, and your ideal closing time frame. Include information on your payment preferences, whether cash or through financing.
If you’re offering an amount lower than the asking price, include your reasons for doing so, such as the need for renovations on the property or current market conditions. The owner will appreciate the explanation, and it will help justify your lower offer.
Including these details demonstrate that you’re a serious buyer ready to close the deal. You’re showing that you’ve already worked out the payment details, and you’re just waiting for the seller to accept your offer.
Introduce Yourself
Next, include a short introduction of yourself. You can mention your family, if any, and if you think this will help the buyer choose you. You can also tell them about your job, your career path, and the industry you work in. Some people even mention the university they attended when explaining their career background.
The goal here is to make the seller see you as a person who they want to sell their home to. Don’t share too much information about yourself, such as your religion or race, and don’t include your photo. Including such details and having the seller choose you because of them will violate the Fair Housing Law.
Compliment the Seller and the Property
Explain what you like about their property and why you want to make it your own. Share the specific details that caught your attention. Was it the property’s scenic view, curb appeal, or modern design? This section aims to show the seller that you appreciate the property.
Don’t go overboard with the offer letter. You want to keep it short and straight to the point. Include just the right amount of information and avoid oversharing. Tell the seller what you want them to know, then leave it at that.
If you include too much information and go on and on about why you “absolutely must have the house”, you are likely to turn off the seller instead of convincing them that you are the right buyer for their property. In an offer letter, balance is key.
Benefits of a Real Estate Offer Letter
A well-written and correctly formatted letter can convince the seller to choose you over other buyers. For example, if a seller receives several offers of the same amount, who will they choose to sell the property to? It might come down to the offer letter.
The seller might resonate with a couple with young children because they bought the house when their own children were the same age. They might also accept an offer from someone who attended the same university as they did. Maybe they’ll choose someone who works in the same industry as they do over someone who doesn’t.
A seller will learn all this information from the offer letter, so ensure you include all the necessary details. When buyer competition is tough, a good offer letter might make the difference between accepting your offer and losing out on your dream house.
Keep in mind that some sellers will choose the buyers who offer them the most money, period. They won’t even look at offer letters and will choose the buyer who offers the highest price. There’s no changing this, but it’s important to know that there are still buyers out there who can be convinced by an offer letter.
Sellers who are open to negotiation will consider the offer letters they receive and how much they resonate with the information included in the letter. Your offer letter will hopefully convince them to choose you as the buyer.
Go the Extra Mile and Create an Offer Letter with Highnote
While most people are familiar with offer letters that are typed up and sent to the buyer, you can also create digital offer letters with Highnote. The online presentation platform includes hundreds of templates and assets you can seamlessly arrange into an offer letter.
You can include a photo of the property, your contact information, and the details mentioned above in a Highnote presentation and send it to the seller. They can open it as many times as they want, and you’ll receive a notification when they do. Because of this, you’ll have a better idea if the seller is considering you as their buyer.
After all, if they only open it once, they might not be interested in your offer. However, if they’ve opened it twice, three, or four times, it tells you they are seriously considering your offer.
