As a real estate agent, you know how amazing it is to watch your clients get their dream home. After months of searching, dozens of home tours, a lot of letter to seller drafts and perhaps a few disappointments when they got outbid, the excitement of finally getting a home can’t be beat. But with today’s real estate market skyrocketing (partially thanks to the lowest mortgage rates in decades) this exciting time is likely happening to you a lot less frequently.
But it doesn’t have to be this way! By helping your clients understand what they are looking for ahead of time, assisting them in keeping the details of each house straight and guiding them in putting the best offer forward you can help get them where they need to be. So how do you do it? If you are a real estate newbie or are just looking to mix up your routine, the team at Hippo has created a great guide (including printables) to create the perfect home tour and write a great letter to the seller. Check out their tips below.
Home Tour 101
Your clients will likely tour dozens of homes before putting in a few offers on the ones they like the most. But with so many home tours in such a short period of time, it can be hard to keep them all straight. This is especially true if you are conducting virtual home tours to keep everyone safe during the pandemic.
Luckily, remembering what your clients love about each home is as simple as taking notes. Print out the home tour questionnaire templates from Hippo and pass out a few to your clients before the tours begin. This way, they can write down the features they love about each home as well as identifying information like the address, square footage and number of bedrooms.
The Importance of a Letter to Seller
Once your client has found “the one,” they’ll no doubt want to put their best foot forward when making an offer. But if the competition is fierce, or your client can’t afford the asking price, adding a personalized letter to the seller can make all the difference.
A letter to the seller allows the seller of the home to learn more about the potential buyer, including what they do for a living, how many children they have and what they love about the home. This personal connection can be the difference between an accepted and rejected offer, if the sellers like the buyers enough.
How to Write A Letter to Seller
To create a perfect letter to seller, make sure to take the following into account:
- Personalization
- Making the letter personal by including family information and any similarities seen between the seller and the buyer can help seal the deal.
- Simplify
- The best letters are short and sweet. Tell your clients to get straight to the point with their letter, and avoid rambling on to keep from losing the interest of the reader.
- List your intentions
- If your clients plan to make this house their home for decades, feel free to add that into the letter. Letting the seller know what the buyers plan to do with the home can help answer any unasked questions.
- Be positive
- The home tour questionnaire will help here, as your clients have likely listed the top features they loved about the home. Include these in the letter to create a deeper connection to the seller.
- Edit
- Finally, give the letter a final check for grammar and spelling mistakes. If the letter seems too long, omit any unnecessary information before sending.
The team at Hippo has created two editable letter to seller templates, including a generic version and a family-focused version to cater to your clients needs.
