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The real estate escalation pushes buyers to use ingenuity to distinguish themselves and try to win the jackpot in a context of multiple offers. As for a job interview, more and more of them are selling themselves, by writing cover letters, in the hope of winning the keys to the coveted property.

“I just made a transaction on which there were eleven offers and there were eight that were accompanied by letters from buyers, explains Judith Bouthillier, real estate broker at Remax in Montreal. It had been around for a while, it's not new, but I had never seen so many. It's really getting bigger. »

In these letters, the buyers introduce themselves, talk about their work, their interests, their background, their crush on the property and the projects they wish to carry out there.

They also underline the points in common they have with the owner, notes Mme Bouthilier. "One buyer even attached a photo of her couch to the letter, which was the same as the seller's, telling her she noticed it right away. In another letter, a cabinetmaker had offered the seller to offer him one of his works. Another lady offered, for her part, to make a home exchange, says the broker.

“Often the letters are accompanied by pictures of the couple or family, their pet, and so on,” she adds. This personifies the process, in the context where buyers cannot meet sellers.

Building bonds on paper

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Mélanie Bail and Elliot Gonzalez had to submit three purchase offers before obtaining their property on the South Shore. Each time, on the advice of their broker, they accompanied their purchase proposals with a cover letter to convince the owners that they would be the best occupants to succeed them.

“Usually, we bet a lot on our capital of sympathy to exchange and create a link with the owners, explains Elliot Gonzalez. We were tenants until now, and it was always going very well. We showed that we were trustworthy people and that we really wanted to live in the accommodation to obtain it. There, it was difficult because of the current context, because the visits were very fast and we did not see the owners, only their broker. »

With no possible interaction with the sellers, the young couple therefore decided to accompany their offers with letters. “It was the only way to show up a little more than with numbers,” says Mr. Gonzalez, very aware that the financial offer would weigh heavily, but that a letter could tip the balance between two equal offers.

Detail your projects

Buying a property is also and above all a “life project”, explains Mélanie Bail. And it is on this aspect that the young couple insisted. “In the letters to the sellers, we explained that we were teleworking, that we wanted to change our lives, to flourish in a house with a courtyard and to enjoy the nature around,” she explains.

“We addressed them by their names and referred to details about them,” adds her partner, Mr. Gonzalez. In the case of the first purchase offer, for example, he immediately noticed that one of the two owners was a fan of video games, because there was a room dedicated to them in the house. He also learned that the two were entrepreneurs and that one of them worked in the data sector — which is also the case for Mr. Gonzalez. “So we highlighted in the letter that I was a data analyst and a video game player, which meant that I was able to project myself into the room they had created for this purpose”, he explains.

For another property, the young couple had noticed the enthusiasm of the sellers for hiking and skiing, common passions on which they insisted again in their letter, hoping that the owners would identify with them. “Obviously, we did not invent things. We just put our common points forward, “said Mr. Gonzalez.

After two months of searching, the young couple finally managed to land a house. “We had to outbid, not in relation to the displayed price, but in relation to the real value, to have it. Result: his offer, 45% higher than the starting price, was accepted. The letter may have played a role, but if the offer was accepted, it is also and above all because the young couple was forced to outbid and abandon the inspection, he admits.

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