By now most people know are familiar with multiple offers and bidding wars in the GTA real estate market. If you’ve bought or sold anytime over the last 10-15 years there’s a good chance that you’ve been through one or ten.
In those kinds of markets, sellers hold all the leverage while buyers have to remove all their conditions, bid way over asking and cross their fingers.
But, is there anything else you can do to win a bidding war?
I wrote about it in detail in another post, but one thing I wanted to look more closely is writing a letter to win bidding wars.
What Kind of Letter?
I like to call this a “love letter”.
A love letter is a letter written by you, to the seller, and presented to them (by your agent) during the offer that shows them how much you love the home.
What Do I Write?
Be truthful. Be sincere. But most importantly, get specific.
During your walkthrough, keep a watchful eye on what the seller has in their home. Did you notice hockey gear or trophies and your son/daughter plays too? Was there an instrument proudly displayed that you also play? Were there vacation pictures where you’ve been or want to travel to?
Remember, this could be your 6th offer and you just want to finally buy a home, but every time you make an offer it’s an emotional decision. There’s a reason you’re trying to call this place home. For the seller, this could be the home they’ve raised their children in. They could want to see this home go to a young family or couple rather than an investor.
Does it actually work?
Yes!
Does it work all the time? No.
If you’re $40,000 under the best offer this won’t work. No matter how sentimental someone is about their home, it’s very unlikely that they will settle for $40,000 less. However, what if you’re $2K short and the other buyer is an investor that plans to just flip the home or turn it into a rental? Then it could very well make the difference.
Any other tricks to pass along?
First, you should follow these 5 tips to make sure your offer is as strong as possible.
The love letter is not an industry secret, so if you’re up against a couple of others who also write one, there is something you can do to stand out.
Make a VIDEO love letter instead.
It humanizes the multiple offer process much more and could be the difference between you and the other four families that wrote a letter.
But, yours will be better if you follow the tips above and hire a realtor who knows how to get you an advantage.
