How do I love thee, new house? Now I’m allowed to count the ways. I’m Amy E. Feldman.
According to Yahoo Finance, a 2019 study found that in a real estate bidding war, an offer to pay all cash more than tripled a buyer’s odds of having the winning bid. But the second most effective strategy to win a bidding war was to write a letter telling the seller why the buyer loved the house.
While there weren’t any fair housing complaints based on those so-called love letters, the state of Oregon nonetheless was the first state to pass a law banning the practice out of fear it could induce a seller to choose one buyer over another because of race, religion, or other discriminatory factor. But a lawsuit filed last November called that law a blatant violation of the First Amendment rights of real estate agents and their clients—and this past week, a federal judge agreed and blocked the law. So go ahead, let the seller know why you’d make a great buyer. Probably also show them the money.
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