The time-honored tradition of buyers hoping to sway sellers with a personal introductory letter came to an abrupt halt this month with the new FHDA form (see snip above).

Not only has it been customary to submit a letter of introduction with your offer, but if you don’t, the listing agent usually asks about the buyers. I had one last week say, “Tell me their story” which probably wasn’t meant to gather information to use against them, but who knows?

Paragraph 8A mentions ‘actual or unconscious bias’.  Agents who are stuck in their ways may not realize how this information is being digested.

It’s not just for agents either. Paragraph 7 specifically includes sellers and landlords too.

Nobody reads these forms so the practice will probably continue for a while, which means that those who DON’T include a love letter could be hurting their chances if other agents keep doing it.

(hat tip Annabama)