Picture the Situation
You spot a job advert that you’re interested in, you Google the company, write a cover letter, tweak your CV to reflect the position and company, and then you wait to hear whether you’re selected for interview.
You spot a house that you like the look of, you call for more information, go for a viewing (or two), put in an offer and wait to hear whether it’s accepted.
If you have all the skills and abilities required or you can offer full price and are a cash buyer then – HAPPY DAYS 🍾🎈
But what if you’re not a perfect fit?
What if you don’t have all the skills for the job or you do but in the wrong sector? What if you’re some way short of the asking price for your dream home or if you’re in a long chain?
Well if it was a job situation then you would likely have put together a cover letter to try and fill the gaps in other ways with transferable skills, related hobbies and interests, voluntary work, or just a track record in picking things up really quickly. You never know, the fact that you have a passion for 80’s pop music might just make you a wildcard interviewee where you’ll get another chance to sell yourself.
So why don’t we see this with property? Well we see it a lot in lettings with tenants with pets. They know that on paper they may not be the landlords first choice, and so they can get very creative with their cover letters – pet character references, cute photos, and even action videos.
In sales we see less of it and generally only when it’s a sellers market, and Winter 2024 can hardly be described as that!
So why would I talk about it now? Well, while we know that roughly 1/3 of all sales fall through before completion, we also know that more than twice as many properties are withdrawn from the market.
Maybe the sellers of one or two of the withdrawn homes would have accepted a lower offer if they’d known that the home they’d lovingly refurbished was exactly what you were looking for, and how you love the ‘child-friendly’ enhancements that they’ve made.
Or maybe the probate sellers who accepted an offer from someone with plans to modernize and flip their childhood home, might have accepted your lower offer if you’d introduced yourself and your family members, giving everyone a name and a personality, and reassuring them that you would love and care for their home and hopefully make it your home for many happy years.
Not Convinced?
Maybe you’re not convinced and realistically for many sellers it is about the bottom line. But as our tag line says ‘Property is Personal’ and there will be some buyers who view things differently.
If a job advert said a cover letter was optional, would you still send one? I know I would. I’d want to give that employer every reason possible to choose me.
So if you really want your offer to be accepted, why wouldn’t you put aside a little time to write a few lines that could make all the difference? Good luck.
