Some sellers still read buyer letters, and most agents now advise against them, with discrimination risk as the reason. A letter often reveals a buyer's race, religion, family status, age, or other protected characteristics. If a seller then chooses among offers, that opens the door to a fair-housing problem, even an unintentional one. As listing agents, we handle it by asking the seller up front whether they want to receive buyer letters at all. If the seller says no, we simply don't forward any that come in, which keeps everyone clear of the risk. If you're a buyer trying to stand out, there's a lower-risk way to make a human connection. Skip the written letter and connect with the seller in person when the chance comes up, at an open house or around the neighborhood, and speak genuinely to what you love about the home and the care they've put into it. That kind of face-to-face goodwill can leave an impression without the legal exposure a written letter carries. And the offer itself, the price, the terms, and how clean and reliable you look as a buyer, still carries the most weight in the end.