Member-only story
I won 2 homes thanks to my real estate ‘love letters,’ but now I think they’re unfair — and they need to die
The real estate “love letter” tells a seller why you want to buy their home, but they’re becoming illegal in states all over the country.
The advice I always used to give friends buying houses was to write a “love letter” to the owners telling them how much you love their house and how you promise to take care of it. It worked for me, after all. Twice.
For my first house, in 2013, my letter helped the owners agree to sell the house to my husband and me instead of a developer who would have torn it down and built two houses on the lot.
The second home, purchased a year ago during my pandemic divorce, had six offers, and mine was not the highest. My letter apparently won them over.
The real estate ‘love letter’ needs to die
Even though I’ve benefited from it, I know the real estate “love letter” has to go.
I’m in Oregon, the first state where they are going to outlaw the “love letter to the owner.” Other states will likely follow suit.
Put simply, the love letter is unfair. Khari Washington, owner and broker of 1st United Realty and…
