Buyer Love letter BAN has been BANNED…and…. GOOD?........ 169

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Deerwood Realty and Friends Podcast

Judge has struck down a stupid law in Oregon that bans buyer love letters

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Thoughts/questions:

1. What is a buyer love letter? A buyer love letter is a letter the buyer writes to the seller that says something about them and what they like about the seller’s home. Similarly, a seller’s love letter is when a seller writes a letter telling prospective buyers about their home. You usually see them when you go to showings. This episode is not about seller love letters, but I did want you to know that they exist, and no one seems to say anything about them.

2. When is a buyer love letter used? A buyer love letter is used when you put in an offer to buy a house. You make the offer, and then include the buyer love letter.

3. Why use a buyer love letter? You use a buyer love letter because you want to try and explain to the seller that you actually do really like the house and that you understand that the seller can sell to anyone, but you are trying to convey that not everyone would care for the house like you would.

4. What are the downsides of using a buyer love letter? I think the main downside of a buyer love letter is this. Let’s say you really like a house and you tell the seller that in a letter. Then you get the house under contract and you have a home inspection that tears apart the seller’s home and you ask for tons of repairs. Do you think the seller is going to want to go easy on your demands, especially since you wrote that you loved the house? I don’t think so.

The National Association of Realtors position is that the love letter could to contribute to any sort of ism. Racism, sexism, etc.

5. Are buyer love letters effective? Many people are mistaken when they think that the seller is required to sell to the highest offer. They are not. They are to choose the offer that they think is the best offer for them. As an example, if one buyer offered 100,000 and another buyer offered 95,000 but wrote a buyer love letter that they would forever treat the home as well as the sellers did, that might sway the sellers into taking the lower offer. I’ve had buyers use love letters and I’ve never personally witnessed sellers taking a lower offer, but I know that it must happen from time to time.

6. Why did the state of Oregon enact a law to ban love letters? Pretty sure that some agent got upset that someone didn’t take their offer with a love letter included one time and now they want to take the option of everyone else.

7. What is your opinion of buyer love letters? My opinion is this. There are many things to be worried about in the world. A buyer love letter isn’t anywhere near the thing to be worried about. Here’s why. The fear that it might violate fair housing is absurd. If a seller is racist, if a seller is a homophobe, that’s who they are. Your offer is submitted with you or your partners name on it. The seller is probably going to Google your name, probably going to check you out on Facebook, etc. The seller wants the house to go to good hands…The letter isn’t going to be what stops racism or any other ism. It’s not like a seller is going to read a letter and say I can’t choose these people because of x or y. And if they did, that’s on them. They can choose to take a better offer…you don’t solve the inherent racism of the person by banning the letter.

Also, are buyers in the wrong when they see on the seller documents those names and search them as well? And should a buyer rescind their offer due to their own racism or sexism, why is that ok?

The very act of writing the letter and the buyer accepting the offer because of the letter isn’t inherently racist or anything else.

The most brilliant love letter I saw came from a family who wrote the buyer love letter in the voice of their dog. What if you hate dogs?

Say someone signs this form, does the mere act of signing the form stop bias if that person is a bad person? It’s like having laws against firearms and then being surprised that criminals use firearms with no regard for the law.

Sources: https://www.opb.org/article/2022/03/06/oregon-real-estate-love-letters-ban-blocked-preliminary-injunction/

https://www.bendbulletin.com/business/federal-judge-blocks-oregon-ban-on-real-estate-love-letters/article_aa3bb7fc-9d93-11ec-bb88-87b52a2dd38e.html

https://therealdeal.com/2022/03/12/judge-temporarily-halts-oregons-ban-on-real-estate-love-letters/

https://journalrecord.com/2022/03/10/judge-suspends-ban-on-homebuyer-love-letters/

https://ktvz.com/news/government-politics/2022/03/07/bend-real-estate-groups-lawsuit-causes-federal-judge-to-block-love-letter-ban/

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