Letter to home seller tips and samples NYC

[aslan]

Does anyone think this is an acceptable or heartfelt enough letter to send to a seller? Any tips? Do you think it'll be too long for the seller to bother reading? Any other samples we can reference off of?

To the owners of this lovely apartment,

This year, my wife Dora and I are moving to New York after living in Houston for the past five years. We both grew up just outside New York, and it has been our dream to move back to the area and into the city. After getting to see your home, we knew that it would be the perfect place to make this dream into a reality.

We were first drawn to Morningside Heights by the peaceful, neighborhood atmosphere, beautiful green spaces, and convenient access. The area seemed like a hidden gem. But it was when we walked into your home that we could truly picture our life in the city. Stepping into the apartment felt like entering a sanctuary, with the long, dramatic entryway offering separation from the hustle and bustle of the day behind you. We were immediately struck by the sophisticated feel of the apartment -- high ceilings, beautiful molding, elegant shaker cabinets and clean subway tiles in kitchen. The open layout of the main living area gives the apartment an airy feel, and the large windows on both sides of the apartment offer incredible sunlight. My wife and I also love to cook, bake, and entertain, and the open kitchen would make it possible to do these things together and with friends.

A bit more about us: Dora and I met in high school in Los Angeles. She went to college in the city NYU Stern, which is when we came to love the West Side. In 2013, we moved to Houston for my time in graduate school and Dora's job on a scientific expedition. But we promised ourselves that we would do everything possible to get back to New York. In the meantime, we made many trips down to visit our family -- much of which live in or near the city -- and got married just across the East River in Long Island City in 2017. Finally, after finishing my PhD in economics this spring, I'll be starting a new job as an Assistant Professor of Economics at NYU.

Looking forward, it is easy to picture our life in the apartment, from daily routines like making coffee in the beautiful kitchen in the morning, to special occasions, like the first time we host a holiday dinner for our extended families in the spacious living area. The extra bedroom offers space for friends and family to stay comfortably overnight and for us to work from home, and it will give us the needed flexibility if our own family begins to grow.

We hope that you’ll consider our offer, and we wanted to reach out to let you know a bit more about us and our feelings about your home on a personal level. We would truly appreciate the opportunity to make your home our next one.

Best regards and thanks,
Mike and Dora

[showtime]

Yes absolutely. This is one of the best examples I've seen. It was attached as a PDF apparently and even included a photo of the buyers' toddler. Names have been changed around of course:

Dear O’Toole Family,

Allow us to introduce ourselves—we are Bob and Brenda Malek, a creative couple looking for a beautiful home to raise our 11 month old son, Wes, and our sweet senior dog, Chase. Bob is a graphic designer who recently helped create a museum in Rio focused on human impact on the planet and Brenda is a youth culture researcher at Viacom. We have lived in Brooklyn for over ten years and there is so much we’ve loved about it—the culture, the museums, the food (oh god, the food!). But, there was always one thing missing from our time here: being close to nature.

When Wes came along we knew we wanted to give him a childhood like we had in growing up in Carmel, NY: climbing trees, hiking and sledding. Being able to walk outside your door onto grass and just explore. So our house hunting adventure began. After what seemed like endless drives in and out of the city viewing houses that just never quite fit, we were beginning to feel a bit deflated. Until we saw your home.

We were just stunned as soon as we entered. The details and charm of your home breathed new energy into us. Being able to look out of each window and see green. Imagining Bleecker lazily lying in the kitchen or out on the deck. Daydreaming about the places where Wes could play with afternoon sun streaming in the windows and quiet mornings taking in the view of Bear Mountain. We think this would be the perfect place for our family to grow.

In touring your home we were reminded of our experience finding our current apartment in Crown Heights four years ago. After a lengthy search we found an apartment that, while smaller than most we’d seen, just fit. It had been updated with meticulous care—the charming original details blended with modern updates were a perfect combination. The couple who owned the apartment wanted to rent to someone they knew would appreciate the care they had put into their home and treat it like their own. We had found our match.

We love Croton and are looking forward to exploring all the nature we’ve been missing in the city and building a community. We grew up in Putnam county and spent years going to the Clearwater Festival. Brenda’s sister lives in Peekskill and her fiancé is the new Croton middle school PE teacher! This is where we want to plant our roots to grow. We hope that you consider our offer and would be honored to continue to care for and love this home as you move on to the next steps in your journey.

With gratitude,
Bob and Brenda

[Benny]

This is a gem that I came across, very friendly and fun letter to the seller:

Dear Seller,

Thank you for the opportunity to make an offer on your lovely apartment. Although we lived in Manhattan for many years, when I became pregnant in 2016 my husband and I knew we wanted to move. We were sad to leave our previous co-op, where Jeremy was president of the co-op board and we were friendly with our neighbors; however, our tiny 1-bedroom just wasn’t big enough for another person, and anyway we thought we might enjoy living someplace a little quieter, with more parks and kid-friendly activities than our old neighborhood. We moved to an apartment in Brooklyn Heights and immediately started exploring everything Brooklyn has to offer.

Since our son George was a newborn, we’ve loved taking him out and about with us - enjoying the beautiful neighborhoods, great parks, and delicious (and family friendly!) restaurants. Now that he's older (almost 2 - where does the time go?!) it's even more fun - he has a blast exploring with us and playing in all the different playgrounds and parks that Brooklyn has to offer.

As we think about what we want for the longer term for our family, we know that we want to stay in Brooklyn and just need to find the perfect place for Oliver to grow up. When we saw your gorgeous apartment, we knew we had found it. Every detail has been thought through and beautifully designed, from the kitchen to the bathrooms to the bedrooms. It even has a washer/dryer - so important with a young child! The deck/outdoor space is an added bonus, giving Oliver an easy place to play on nice days and splash in a kiddie pool to cool off on hot days, and a lovely spot for us to relax after work and on weekends. And the location is ideal - close to Prospect Park, tons of restaurants and shops, and an easy subway ride for us to get to work.

If you choose our offer, we are prepared to move forward with the sale as quickly as you’d like and meet your desired closing date. We have been pre-approved for a mortgage, our finances are strong, and we are ready to move on to a new home where we can grow and create memories together. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,
Darren and Sara (& George)

[aslan]

Here's another nice example seller to a home seller that I saw, it was used for a recent best and final offer auction that went above asking:

Dear Seller,

Thank you for considering our offer on your lovely apartment. As fellow owners (of a much smaller apartment), we understand the attachment that comes from owning and putting your heart into a home, which is why we wanted to share a bit about ourselves and put a face behind the offer.

We are a newly married couple from Russia and Ukraine, in our mid-thirties, working in advertising and design. We are upgrading from our tiny one bedroom in Park Slope as we are trying to start a family. And, in the meantime, prefer to put our visiting friends and family in a spare room instead of our living room on an air mattress.

You’ve done such an amazing job with the apartment. We love the open layout between the kitchen and living room as it really allows for conversation when cooking and hanging out.We’re also in love with the wide plank floors, which are so rare and really bring the rooms together in a beautiful and modern way. And the views – the VIEWS – are just incredible! Should you accept our offer we assure you it would be going into very loving, caring hands.

All our best,
Igor and Olga

[Benny]

This is a particularly warmly written letter used by a buyer in a best and final offer process that I particularly liked:

Dear family of the lovely treehouse apartment,

We are Amanda and George, a young couple buying our first home together, and we ADORE your home! We’d like to extend our deepest interest in buying your beautiful home and introduce ourselves.

George is a native New Yorker, he moved back to NYC after graduating Harvard, and works as a controller in finance. He’s a video-game nerd and Marvel fan. Amanda is a Shanghai native, moved here to study at NYU, fell in love with the city and made it her adopted hometown; she’s worked in the affordable housing industry for 7 years until recently and is currently seeking new opportunities (things happen, but our finances are solid!). In our free time, we enjoy making/eating delicious food, exploring new places, going on hikes in the great outdoors, finding furniture and random objects in antique/thrift shops (or on street curbs), and taking care of an ever growing collection of plants.

After years of renting in midtown and saving up, we’re ready to put our roots down in a quieter neighborhood, own a place that allows pets and start a family together. We enjoy this neighborhood - it’s serene, close to the park, family friendly, has a laid-back, creative and easy-going vibe and vibrant restaurant scene!

We’ve been looking for a place on and off for two/three years now. The moment we saw the place, we fell in love with the home - the kids inside us scream “I want this one”. We love the pre-war charm - the high ceilings, the wood beams, and the exposed bricks; we admire the work that’s been put in - the renovated kitchen (Amanda is an amateur chef), the custom built library, the basement storage and of course the treehouse (perfect for new members of the family in the future). What you’ve done to make the apartment truly unique, fun and functional is inspiring! We are also super excited about the rest of the outdoor space where all our plants can continue to grow and be the oasis where our family can retreat to for Zen and fun.

I hope you will consider us as the next owners of the apartment - we know that if you accept our offer, we can close the deal quickly, we will be great neighbors and we will appreciate this apartment and show it the love and care as you did.

Thank you for considering our offer. We look forward to hearing your response!

Sincerely,
Amanda and George