Some realtors say sentimental letters are a ‘must’ in offers
Donald Bergeron holds a letter he and his family received.
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Agents told The Canadian Press it is not unusual for clients to ask them to deliver notes sprinkled with mentions of single parents, millennials saving up for a first property or young couples looking for a place to raise a family. They often mention how much the prospective buyer loves features of the home, and frequently talk about the sender’s occupation, hobbies and hopes for the property.
While the letters could be viewed by some as desperate and having a negligible effect, some realtors describe them as a “must” because they say sellers often seriously consider sentiments relayed in a note when choosing what offer to accept, especially when a home has long been in the family.
Donald Bergeron, a lawyer, received a letter when he and his wife put their Etobicoke home — where they lived for about 23 years and raised their children — up for sale recently.
They received a handful of offers, but one came with a “very well-written” letter saying the senders loved the neighbourhood and admired the two renovations the Bergerons had done. He later found out the letter writers lived down the street and had often trick-ortreated at his home.
He and his wife ended up accepting the writers’ offer after some haggling over financing conditions, but he said the note wasn’t the deciding factor.
“It capped off our good feelings that we had chosen the right folks. Reading the letter was almost like the whip cream on top of the sundae.”
In the Martins’ case, they weren’t the only buyers to write a letter and didn’t have the highest bid, but they still landed the property. The sellers later told them their “impactful” note sealed the deal.
Toronto realtor Ben Ferguson, who represented the Martins and often includes cover letters about his clients along with their bids, said letters were used long before the city’s market heated up last year. While some sellers make money the deciding factor in which bid they choose, he said, most “care about who they sell the house to, not just the price.”
Montreal realtor Amy Assad said letters have been cropping up in the province in recent years and carry the most weight when they’re given to sellers who have long lived in a home.
“It is not always about dollars and cents.” ILYA BANARES Construction can begin at Toronto’s Lower Don Lands redevelopment before flood-protection infrastructure is completed, the province has announced.
“By reducing Ontario’s regulatory burden, we’re smoothing the way for the first of many projects in the Lower Don area,” Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark said in a statement announcing a change to the provincial building code.
The move is specific to the area near the mouth of the Don River, which is being redeveloped by Waterfront Toronto, an agency created by the governments of Canada and Ontario, and the City of Toronto.
The move is meant to speed development of the waterfront area east of downtown, which has long been a priority for the city.
Plans for the redevelopment include new urban neighbourhoods, parks, green infrastructure and an integrated GO/ SmartTrack station.