Anyone sold their house and chosen buyer on basis of a personal note?!

[Napqueen1234]

Hello

Waiting to hear back about a house we have put an offer in. Absolutely adore it but loads of interest and multiple offers. Have just put our best foot forward and hoped for the best.

Our estate agent suggested sending a small note to the vendors just outlining our situation which we have done via email to sellers estate agent to pass on. A short message (not too desperate or emotional) saying we love the house, our house isn’t on market yet as we would only put it up in order to buy theirs if we had offer accepted, like them we have two daughters and would Love it to be our family home.)

They have a chain free buyer with a solid offer so I’m sure it’s all for nothing but the process of it made me wonder- has anyone ever been swayed by a note like that? Anyone received something similar? Has anyone taken a worse offer or more of a chain because they liked that buyer? Really interested to know!

@Napqueen1234 I'd love to see what you have written

Dear Vendors,

We’ve been looking for a house in this area for a long time, we loved it when it came on the market back in February but weren’t in a position to buy having just had our second daughter. Now that it’s back we still love it and feel it would be a perfect family home. Like yourselves we have two small girls, Napchild and Napbaby (who have friends on the street, Thing 1 & Thing 2) and can see it’s been a great family home for you and likewise could be for us.

Our position is - having anticipated being in this situation we have already instructed Estate Agent Name earlier this week to put our house on the market if our offer is accepted. The house can be on the market within 2hours. Pictures have been taken, floor plans drawn up and a reasonable, realistic asking price set to achieve a quick sale. We live in central Nice Area and the agent is confident the house will sell fast, they have buyers in mind.

Secondly we are not applying for a mortgage, we will be porting our current mortgage and topping the rest of the balance up with cash. This equates to approx. 35% cash deposit. We don’t anticipate any issues with the mortgage having spoken to our provider.

Finally, we’re very flexible. We understand the vendors haven’t yet found another property so we are happy to go as fast or as slow as necessary but still within the stamp duty holiday period.

On this basis we would like to offer £50 million (just kidding obvs...£8K over asking price). This is over asking price and is offered based on our position but also because we really like this house.

We’d also just like to stress that we’re not the kind to mess around on the back of surveys and try and haggle the price back down unreasonably. It’s a beautiful house that we can see our family growing in and we’re prepared to come in with a strong offer.

Thanks so much for considering us, we wish you all the best whatever you choose to do.

Nap King & Nap Queen

What do you think?

Next door to us took a lower priced offer to sell to a young couple rather than a developer. They did viewings in person so no note- but it does happen that money isn't everything.

Best of luck with this OP. We have been successful with such a letter twice! In our current home, we wrote to the grown up children who were selling the family home and said that having done all the sums the maximum we could offer was 10% below their asking price and they accepted it.

I think it's a good letter. Good luck

I wouldn't give it a minutes thought unless you had sold your house. I'm not going to lose a house or money because of some letter!

My mate sold her house the other month to the "nice couple" who wrote a note! I thought she was bonkers tbh as another other couple offered £10k more.

But looks like it's another learning day here at Mnet. Two in one week!!

So good luck to you OP!!

You say they’ve got a solid chain free buyer - does this mean they’ve accepted an offer made by this person?

@AcrobaticCardigan my understanding is they’ve had a few offers the best one being a chain free buyer who’s offered just over asking. We have offered slightly more but obviously our position isn’t as good so they will likely go with the other guy.

They are considering offers deciding Friday! No one chosen yet.

I would not accept your offer in present circumstances. You don't have a buyer, don't expect them to take you seriously. Sorry.

@Honeyandapple no that’s completely fair and what I’m sure will happen. But hey worth a try! Rather try and not get it than always wonder if only we had.....

I may just be stressed and tired and overworked but that letter is both eloquent and heartwarming. We sold our flat to a family who emailed us directly with something similar to your letter. We did have a higher offer but it took so long for us to buy the flat in the first place. The process was, understandably, beyond formal.

We had over 30 viewings (2015) and the majority put in an offer. We conducted the viewings ourselves and couldn't help but remember the family who came to view it one evening.

The couple throughout said to their children "your bed could be here!", "wouldn't it be nice if we hung (artwork) here!", "It would be fantastic living so close to so and so!"

They were one of the few who didn't come in and criticise everything. The flat was entirely up to standard and those who criticised it still put in an offer over asking price.

We received a letter through the door a week later complimenting our home and stating why they wanted to live there. Thanking us for our time (short notice viewing).

We accepted their offer the next day. It was only a flat but it was the flat we bought a few weeks before I gave birth to our first son. It was our family home. We have very fond memories there. We wanted it to go to somebody who would love it as we did.

There's absolutely no harm in sending a letter. Especially if you are purchasing a house that was a home to somebody for many years.

I hope it comes through for you. Good luck 🤞

Very sweet but I think you’re wasting your time. I would want a firm buyer (under offer) before accepting your offer, sorry 😐

@Napqueen1234 , it's absolutely worth a shot. If I was in a financial position to sell to someone I liked then I certainly would.
Good luck, you have inspired me to do something similar.