Dear Owner: I'm Not That Into Your Pad
By now you’ve probably read the Times article about negotiating for a home by sending a letter explaining a lowball offer; it’s been one of the top e-mailed stories on the paper’s web site for a couple days. In it, Rob Lieber drafts sample letters from both the buyer’s and seller’s sides. Apparently, epistolary haggling…
By now you’ve probably read the Times article about negotiating for a home by sending a letter explaining a lowball offer; it’s been one of the top e-mailed stories on the paper’s web site for a couple days. In it, Rob Lieber drafts sample letters from both the buyer’s and seller’s sides. Apparently, epistolary haggling is all the rage nowadays in places where the market’s tanked. Here’s part of the pretend buyer’s letter:
Dear Seller:
I’m writing to let you know that I would like to make a bid on your property. I love the area and am committed to buying a house nearby. And your home fits my needs. But given that my offer is well below your asking price, I also feel I owe you an explanation. First, consider the big picture. Nationwide, home prices in the first quarter of 2008 fell 14.1 percent compared with the same period a year earlier, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. That’s the biggest decline in the 20-year history of the data. And just in case you’re wondering, during the housing downturn of the early 1990s, the decline was never worse than 2.8 percent. Not only that, earlier this month, the National Association of Realtors pointed to the huge number of existing homes on the market. As of the end of April, the total number was 4.55 million. At the rate people are buying right now, that represents an 11.2-month supply. So buyers have options right now. A lot of them. I’m no different. Your home is great, but it isn’t unique…
Whoa! It’s a crazy letter-writing jungle out there. Anyone heard of this happening here?
Negotiating for a House? Start With ‘Dear Seller’ [NY Times]
Photo by The Fuzzy Squid.
That picture is hilarious. I love flokati rugs.
Meanwhile, this Times article was ridiculous. Both those letters were pompous and condescending, and there’s not a homeowner alive who would not respond to them with a resounding “F**k you.”
I think if you want to try doing this in writing, you need to write tighter, shorter, and simpler. Maybe you need to know more specifics about the house and the seller and appeal to their situation more directly? I dunno. There’s no boilerplate letter that is going to work for every situation.
But one thing’s for sure: I don’t need some self-serving amateur economist telling me why I’d be a fool not to settle for his lowball offer.
Biff…What’s that position called anyway?
circus porn
There are all the ingredients for a scrumptious one-liner given that picture and all the references to low-balling. Throw in something about having to a new admin position to fill and insert punchline here…
I know letters can sometimes work, but they don’t generally center on how blah the house is. Isn’t that like asking a girl out and telling her she should accept because, “let’s be honest, what other options do you have? with that face? and those clothes?”
Rather, I think you have to focus on what you CAN offer: “I realize the price I’m offering may be disappointing, but we are qualified buyers who can move swiftly and close quickly, without contingencies.” And then maybe add that you DO like the house and would love to raise your children there, etc.
I just don’t think these “Dear Seller: You suck. and Dear Buyer: Drop dead.” letters move the process along.
(and that picture! ow!)
That’s a nice picture of Ron Lieber.
No, I’m up here from Texas from the Yearning For Zion polygamist sect. We’re thinking of buying the Crown Heights Armory.
Should we write them a letter with a low-ball offer?
We don’t need ice cream parlours or trendy coffee shops. We do however push lots and lots of strollers.
Problem with this letter is that it won’t work in the New York market where prices are still rising. Would work in other part of the country, but buyers must understand that real estate is local and the national data is irrelavent where demand is still strong.
Better off buying where you can afford in a less desireable neighborhood than chasing after properties out of your reach and writing apology letters.
If anyone sends a letter like the one in the NYTimes to an owner, they dont deserve to get the house/apt because they are too stupid!