Brandon Nelson

Does Your Story Matter?

In a perfect world, the forms we use to make an offer on a home would have a section — somewhere between the financing  and home inspection pages, where buyers would write a narrative featurette about why they are the right buyer for the home.

The buyer would share their story, include a portrait or two showing them standing dreamily on the subject home’s front porch — as if they already lived there — and, the seller would be just swept off her feet, tears streaming down her happy face as she cries out, “This buyer DESERVES my home!!! Where do I sign?”

This is how it could be, too, if…..

The seller actually CARED about the buyer’s story!

I’ve written before that including such a letter can indeed sway a seller into your corner. I’ve seen it happen. But more often than not…

What most sellers care about, and what they’ll ultimately choose an offer that meshes best with, is their OWN story. And their story is usually made better if, in the offer, they see:

• A high price tag.
• A strong financing contingency, preferably CASH!!! (This is HUGE for sellers. They love it, because it means no funky lender bylaws or appraisers or small print to throw a wrench in things at the last minute.)
• A closing date that either: A) gives them the time they need to make their move, or B) is out far enough to perhaps helps  them avoid paying capital gains.

And so on. And buyer, as for who YOU are and your story… that’s USUALLY just trivia to a seller. Though, go ahead and include the letter — it can’t hurt, and like I said I HAVE seen sellers choose story over price.

But if you’re committed to getting the house, have your agent dig in and find out the SELLER’s story, and play to that. You can get back to your own story when you close the sale and take up life in your dream house!

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 at 1:05 am and is filed under Buyer Info. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

1. Apryl wrote on March 9th, 2010 at 9:05 am

   Great Post! I would have never thought of including a letter. We did get lucky though with our house and the seller DID care about our story. We didn’t write a letter…though I wish I would have thought of that. We did look at our current house one time when the sellers were there. I told them in person how much I loved the house & wanted it so bad because I grew up in the neighborhood & wanted to have kids grow up in the same neighborhood & on & on about everything I loved about the house, yard etc…& admired all their hard work they had put into it. I’m hoping that’s what got us the house Along with our full price offer

2. Liz wrote on March 9th, 2010 at 4:43 pm

   As a buyer (4x over) I have often wished that I knew the SELLERS current story. Usually, I figure they want as much $$ with as little effort as possible but really what is their situation? are they looking to get out quick with a short escrow? or do they need time to find a new home for themselves? or are they going through a divorce and this hasn’t been a happy home for them or did they love the neighborhood and doi they hate to leave? I have always wanted more information while house shopping.

3. brandonnelson wrote on March 10th, 2010 at 5:11 am

   Hey Liz, I agree with your comment, and whenver possible I try to dig in on that seller’s story. Honestly, it’s usually just a matter of asking.
   “Can you sell for 80% of list, or would you have to bring money to the table or short sale? Are you willing to short sale? How attached are you to the pool table? Would you consider carrying the loan for a couple years? How are these neighbors? What’s that smell? Where’s your next home, and why there? Would you want to rent back? Really? For how long?” A lot of times, like any living, breathing person, sellers LOVE to be asked questions about their story. And of course, they love it even more if we are then good listeners. Thanks again for posting, Liz.

4. brandonnelson wrote on March 10th, 2010 at 5:13 am

   Great story, Apryl. Good for you for truly loving the house and respecting the seller enough to say, “Yeah, we’ll pay your price!” So many times in this market buyers want to “Win!” on price even if the house is already priced right. In fact, I think I’m going to blog about that today. Thanks for the idea… I owe you one!

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