Help for NYTimes story: Writing Letters to Sellers

Elizabeth,
Maybe a little research before you pitch your story? Find out how many competitive bid situations actually happen, as a percentage of transactions. Wanna bet the number is less than 1%?
In 2003, I would imagine the number was significantly higher -- but in 2012? I don't think you're gonna get a big enough data pool to get your story.

You folks running out of stuff to write about?

lol is this serious? I think the letters go something like; I am offering more money, now accept and lets close this deal!!!

I never heard of or had a buyer try to write a letter pleading. 1st it would violate my agreement to not contact the seller and only deal with his rep, that could back fire and piss the seller off. 2nd, sellers only care about who is offering more money, they dont care who "loves" the place. The only exception would be in a co-op where it takes more than just a higher offer, you have to qualify to get past the board, so in those situations i can see the seller taking multiple bids and hearing peoples story so he knows who will end up getting approved...but any other bidding war is all about the money.

Now I have seen Brokers write letters to potential sellers, or apartment owners telling them they have clients who would buy their apartment even though its not on the market and pleading for them to sell. That I see all the time.

Actually, I've heard of this happening. But it looks like your colleague Fred Bernstein may have scooped you:

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/26/realestate/26habi.html?scp=290&sq=&st=nyt

fsbo88, I'd say it was more than 1%. E.g., of the last 150 UWS co-op sales recorded, these eight (5.3%) closed at a listing premium:

#44 102 West 75th Street in Upper West Side
#5F 285 Riverside Drive in Upper West Side
#10A 37 Riverside Drive in Upper West Side
#5A 150 West 87th Street in Upper West Side
#11B 300 West 108th Street in Upper West Side
#4C 252 West 85th Street in Upper West Side
#2D 170 West 89th Street in Upper West Side
#10AB Lincoln Towers at 180 West End Avenue in Lincoln Square
#116A 140 West 69th Street in Lincoln Square
#9C The Stanton at 250 West 94th Street in Upper West Side

There're another 15 (10%) that closed at asking. That number might be suspect, though, as a brokerage house could lower the asking to the contract price.

The median listing discount was 4%, so a lot at the other end of the range, too.

Elizabeth: a better article if you write about Keith B.
The Times has already covered w81st so that's good with us se regulars.

Elizabeth,

I have two comments:

1. This project is fraught with peril. How do you plan to verify the letters? Considering the NYT's reputation for honesty and accuracy, I hope you have methods to insure that you aren't passing on made-up stuff.

2. Why are you soliciting for input at Streeteasy instead of the NYT's real estate classified ad section?

Eric:
Because we here commenting on se discussion boards are now, as of the article about w81st, the go-to.

Dear seller.

Please sell me your unit for top dollar. If you need more topping, I will go get more money. My wife will sleep with your old ugly husband. All I ask is that I get to watch ala rush. If you could throw it up on YouTube that'd be great as i may have to watch our little ones while your fat bubble loving husband has his way with her. Please be gentle.

Signed,
A buyer who can barely afford to pay your bubble prices.

P.s. at least I didn't kill 16 women and children cause the bubble didn't keep going.

F u Elizabeth. Nytimes re is like the lawrence Yun of statistics textbooks.

You asked for it Elizabeth.

w67th is available for all of your article/interview needs.

>P.s. at least I didn't kill 16 women and children cause the bubble didn't keep going.

?

We received one of these letters in 2009 when selling our house in Summit, NJ. There were two buyers and one couple wrote a personal essay on themselves and how much they loved the house. We accepted the offer from the buyer who did not write the letter as they were a better fit for the neighborhood and were the quickest and most certain close.

I really can't imagine doing this -- offers now require disclosure of basic financials, so the seller and seller's broker know who is likely to get board approval -- and financing -- without a letter from the buyer touting credentials. You could also put a query out on HARO -- as a reporter, I'm sure you know what that is.

Does Summit N.J. count, Elizabeth?
There you go: klambbeit, formerly of Summit N.J.
Maybe klam will allow you to use the name and town name in the article.

NYTimes: So Mr. klambbeit, what did the letter say?

klambbeit:How much they loved the house.

NYTimes: Did the letter cause you to sell to the letter-writer?

klambbeit: No.

Elizabeth: Maybe your editor will give you double-truck for this interesting article.

P.S. to klambbeit: Grow some dapper facial hair for your photo.

"NO -- NOT CLAMPETT, it's klambbeit!"

fsbo88/NWT - Not all "competitive bidding situations" involve bids at or above ask, so the sample might extend beyond deals that hit or exceed the asking price. Also, EHarrisNYT's space isn't exactly a real estate column; it's more of a human-interest column with a real estate theme. Statistical significance takes a back seat to entertaining anecdotes; see Tuesday's piece about Huguette Clark's apartment collection, or the March 13 column on a condo next a prison. I don't think "The Appraisal" is even connected to the Times's Real Estate Department. (It runs in the New York section.)

angeloz - You seem to be assuming that...
a) The property is listed with a broker, not FSBO; and
b) The letter is sent directly to the seller, not submitted via the listing agent.

It's standard practice to accompany any offer with some statement of the buyer's qualifications. Certain buyers (and/or their brokers) might see framing that statement as a personal appeal to the seller as a way to distinguish oneself from the competition. I doubt it's a very effective technique, and it certainly isn't a market-mover, but that's sort of beside the point for "The Appraisal".

On a loosely-related note: I know many buyers who have attempted to reach out directly to owners whose listings have expired. The surprise, to me, is that the owners generally haven't been interested in a direct deal. Maybe they feel some tie of loyalty to the former listing agent. Maybe they feel constrained by the terms of the expired listing agreement. Maybe they distrust the motives of a stranger contacting them out of the blue. Maybe it's because, if they had wanted to deal directly with buyers, they would have gone FSBO in the first place. Whatever the reason or combination of reasons, the answer - when there is one - usually amounts to "Call my broker".

Elizabeth,

Many on this board have noted that the NYT real estate section often seems tilted toward being a cheerleader for a bullish real estate market, even when the facts on the ground on otherwise. The type of article you're suggesting seems to fit within that theme (buyers going the extra mile to try to convince sellers to let them have their apartment; one could imagine other "human-interest" stories that would paint a very different picture of the market - e.g., sellers who can't afford apartments anymore because of reduced wall street comp, properties languishing on the market when sellers ask for something too close to pre-market prices). I'd be curious to get your perspective on (1) whether you think the real estate market in NY actually is, in general, bullish right now, and (2) whether you think the NYT coverage generally reflects the actual state of the market.

Thanks,
JD

Thanks,
JD

I'm formulating a bargining strategy for the purpose of purchasing a primary residence.
As part of my written offer I would include an acurate snap-shot of my finances. In the case of a coop I would also offer a personal snap-shot (profession, family members that would also occupy the residence) to insure the seller that I would make a board approvalbe candidate. Anything beyond that would prove to be a disadvantage wrt deal making.
This seems more like an attempt at the amateurization of the process of re transaction.

NYT.."All the news that's fit to print to please our dwindling advertisers"

Bet Elizabeth is pretty psyched she asked the SE community!

How about another article about rents going up? My landlord seemed to love that one :-)

I think that an article about KeithB would be interesting for that very reason, w81st.:
human interest quality combined with NY RE info and Keith is blazing a new trail.

Another idiotic comment from falcogold.

KeithB: It's not aboutready, that's for sure.

Hi Elizabeth,

Is there any way I can get in touch with you.

Thanks!

elharris(at)nytimes.com

its the funniest thing... tonight on the Good Wife on CBS Alicia Florrik is writing said letter to ask a couple to reconsider the offer she made after she was turned down. It was a tactic suggested by her broker ;)

the article published on Monday, 26 March. As of 6:45 it was featured above the fold on the NYT homepage

Securing an Apartment With Help From a Love Letter

James Estrin/The New York Times
David Motta and his wife, Michele Pagnotta, wrote a letter to the previous owner of their West 89th Street apartment to accompany their bid.
By ELIZABETH A. HARRIS
Published: March 26, 2012
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David Motta and Michele Pagnotta met on 87th Street between Amsterdam and Columbus Avenues six years ago while they were out walking their dogs, Jake and Pancho. Slowly, after many walks, they started dating. A few years later, they were married.
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“So through the dogs, the romance began,” Mr. Motta said.

It’s a cute story. And earlier this year, when they were one of several couples bidding on an apartment on West 89th Street, just two blocks away, they made sure the sellers knew a bit about it. They wrote the apartment and the neighborhood a love letter, and with the blessings of their brokers, Christopher Kromer and Nora Ariffin of Halstead Property, they sent the letter to the sellers.

“We said we met on 87th Street and we’re expecting our first child, we love your space and the way you’ve created it,” Mr. Motta said of their letter. “And it’s true; we loved it.”

They got the apartment.

A home might be someone’s most personal possession, but the process of buying and selling real estate is incredibly remote. So in a competitive bidding situation, some brokers recommend that buyers write a letter — part mash note, part college application essay — to the seller. It makes buyers seem more human than does a sterile pile of financial documents, and it can set them apart from the rest of the pack. Sometimes, it can even tip the scale in their favor.

“There was an offer that was $8,000 higher,” said Ivana Tagliamonte, a broker at Halstead Property, speaking of an East Village apartment she recently sold. But the lower bid came with a letter. Her sellers, she said, were put off by the higher bidder, who had a lot of demands, but it was the letter that finally sealed the deal.

“And $8,000 is a lot of money," she said.

A letter will not bridge a $100,000 gap between bids, agents and brokers say, nor will it give you a leg up with developers selling new condominiums. (“Dear Mr. Trump: I love your buildings. I love your show. I love you.”) If the playing field is basically even, however, many brokers say letters can be very effective.

“We can see ourselves walking across the street on a snowy Sunday morning with little Joey and his sled,” said John Burger, a managing director at Brown Harris Stevens, spinning out an example. “It pulls at the heartstrings. And most sellers, even though they’re moving on, have some degree of attachment to the property.”

Those who advocate writing letters recommend a few key ingredients, the heartstrings being paramount (if you’re going to talk about children, mention their names), and anything the buyer and the seller might have in common (“You have twins? I have twins!”).

“It’s a love letter,” said James Crow, a broker at the Corcoran Group who has advised several clients to write them. “Go for the schmaltz.”

Another important element is specificity, which fosters more of a connection between the two parties.

“Wow, I love your green bathroom, or that you’re using your fireplace as a sanctuary when you do yoga,” suggested Jessica Buchman, a broker at the Corcoran Group, who recommends letters frequently. “I love that you have a birdbath in the toilet.”

The goal, she explained, is to have the seller think, “Oh, they belong to my club.”

Richard Grossman, executive director of downtown sales for Halstead Property, recommends this practice not only to buyers, but also to other brokers, in a seminar he gives on how to win bidding wars. He even suggests that buyers might want to augment the letters with a treat, like a batch of chocolate chip cookies or some nice muffins.

“Do you watch ‘Desperate Housewives’?” Mr. Grossman asked. “Isn’t that what Bree Van de Kamp shows up with when she wants something?”

Other brokers shy away from advising snacks, pointing out that peanut butter cookies could be received poorly in a house with peanut allergies.

But there are other, less dangerous ways a letter could go awry. Ms. Buchman said she once had a client, a potential buyer, who looked up a seller online and found out that both had been members of the same fraternity.

“He was referencing these college parties and talking about how hot the women were,” Ms. Buchman said of her client’s letter. “You’re trying to buy the guy’s apartment, and he’s married now.”

She suggested that letters stay more on topic.

Roslyn B. Huebener, a principal broker at Aguayo & Huebener Realty Group, said she once received a letter from potential buyers explaining that they could not bid any higher because of their virtuous professions.

“They wrote about how they chose modest careers and didn’t go into banking and this and that,” Ms. Huebener said. “And they sort of suggested they were better people because of it.” She mentioned the note to her sellers, she said, but did not pass it along.

In the end, what may ensure that a letter stays out of the reject pile is simply to have a way with words.

“There was one situation where I encouraged somebody to do it,” said Lindsay Barton Barrett, a broker at the Corcoran Group. Her client was a litigator. “When it was over, he said to me, ‘I write for a living in order to manipulate people and get what I want, so I knew it was going to work.’

“And my heart just sank. That isn’t how it’s supposed to be.”

Perhaps not. But he got the apartment.

read [“There was an offer that was $8,000 higher,” said Ivana Tagliamonte, a broker at Halstead Property, speaking of an East Village apartment she recently sold. But the lower bid came with a letter. Her sellers, she said, were put off by the higher bidder, who had a lot of demands, but it was the letter that finally sealed the deal.]

ROFLMAO ...

1) The $8K buyer didn't necessarily qualified for financing
2) It came with a LOT of demand.

Bottom line, this is complete load of BS! The transaction WILL CLEAR when buyer and seller get close to what they are expecting, NOT the DAMN STUPID LETTER. You are not applying for COLLEGE!

When did you switch back from Brooks2?

when you switch back to CC.

Yes, I'm columbiacounty.

Yes, again you have it all figured out.. I am caonima. No I am str33easier. No I am aboutready.

The first two.

Where did aboutready come in to play?

by the way this thread is total BS, or way out dated... a competitive bidding situation - what a Fkng joke..