The latest on “love letters” is that the Oregon law preventing a buyer agent from providing the seller or its agent with one has been blocked by the courts. The provision that “a seller’s agent shall reject any communication other than customary documents in a real estate transaction, including photographs, provided by a buyer” has been found to be over broad. That is because there it is a potential free speech (First Amendment) violation. The court’s ruling is not final as it is a preliminary injunction, but my guess is that it could stick. If so, the statute will have to be withdrawn or rewritten. But the Arizona Assoc. of Realtors position is still that love letters raise Fair Housing Act concerns. So they remain a potential liability generator and my recommendation that love letters should be avoided is unchanged.
