A highly debated topic in the real estate industry is Buyer "Love" Letters.

If you're unfamiliar with the practice, it's letter from the Buyer to the Sellers to be submitted along with and as part of their offer.

We've personally seen buyers "win" due to these personal appeals to the seller. We've also seen them go unread or discarded by the seller.

At face value, buyers and sellers like the idea of Buyers including a personal letter with their offer to purchase a property. It can give the Buyers an edge in getting an offer accepted, and Sellers often want to choose a buyer who loves their home as much as they do.

However, a valid concern is it very often discloses protected classes of the buyer, which can lead to accusations of discrimination in the seller's choice.

For example, one of these letters may say: "My wife and I would love to buy your house, we can just see spending Christmas morning with our two kids in that living room."

Just so you know, the housing protected Classes (Federal and New Jersey) Include:

• Race or Color

• National origin / Nationality / Ancestry

• Religion / Creed

• Sex

• Familial status (married/single, kids/no kids)

• Marital/Domestic Partnership or Civil Union

• Gender Identity or Expression

• Sexual Orientation

• Disability

• Source of lawful income
  

If you're a buyer, the choice to include a letter is yours. Best case, the seller will fall in love with you and choose your offer. Worst case, they won't read or will disregard your letter. Worst-worst case, you may say something in their letter that offends them or makes them not like you. If you do write a letter, be aware of the Fair Housing protections that impact the seller. As much as possible, keep your letter about the house, house features, neighborhood, area - and less about you.

If you're a seller, we'll review this concept in more detail, specifically when we review the New Jersey Attorney General's Memorandum to Sellers that discusses discrimination in housing. Reading these letters is not illegal, but the choices you may consciously or subconsciously make as a result could open you up to liability. We will inform you of the pros and cons, and let you decide if you want to receive these letters from potential buyers.

For More Information:

How to Write a Homebuyer's Letter to a Seller

Federal Court Blocks 'Love Letter' Ban

Love Letters or Liability Letters?