Real estate agents can not legally help their clients violate fair housing laws. A fair housing violation is where an offer is accepted or rejected based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, disability, or national origin of the persons making an offer.
Sellers are having it put in writing that they do not want to receive “love letters” from home buyers. Homeowners do not have to accept the letters, and it might be best if they don’t.
We have had a few listings that have gotten multiple offers. Some of the buyers making an offer send ‘love letters” along with the offer. The letters say how much the buyers loved the house and how they plan to fill it with children. Buyers include pictures of themselves and of their children.
They also include information about the buyer’s marital and familial status. Sometimes the letter will mention a local church or parish school that the family plans to attend. Sometimes the letters even suggest that God wants them to buy the house.
There isn’t any rule against buyers writing letters to the seller, but I always advise sellers to ignore the letter until after they have chosen an offer or to consult their attorney.
If the seller accepts the offer because they like the buyers the best, and it wasn’t the best offer, that could lead to a fair housing complaint. Sometimes the offers are similar, but one offer has a letter with it that includes pictures.
It is important to look at selling a home as a business transaction and to look at the terms in the offers and what kind of financing the buyers are using.
It is also possible to write a letter that is about the house and maybe about interests in common with the owners without including demographic information. Sometimes buyers will want to let the seller know that they will take good care of the garden or that they will also use the shop to work on old cars. It is not considered a fair housing violation to sell a house to someone who likes to garden.
We have seen instances where love letters have backfired, and the sellers rejected the offer because of what the letter said.
Sellers view love letters with caution
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