How to Write Letters (Formerly The Book of Letters) Part 31

340 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pa., Dec. 15, 1922.

Mr. Joseph Barlow, Haines Crossing, Delaware.

Dear Sir:

I have your letter of December 12th offering to sell to me the property that we have been discussing for $15,000 of which $3,000 is to be in cash, $5,000 to remain on three-year mortgage at six per cent., and the remaining $7,000 to be cared for by the present mortgage in that amount and which I understand has four years yet to run.

I accept your offer as stated by you, with the provision of course that I shall receive a clear and marketable t.i.tle, insurable by a real estate t.i.tle company, and that all taxes shall be adjusted as of the day of settlement, which settlement is to take place three months from to-day. If you will have a contract of sale drawn, I shall execute it and at the same time hand you my check for five hundred dollars as the consideration for the contract of purchase.

This letter is written in the a.s.sumption that the dimensions of the property are such as have been represented to me.

I am

Very truly yours, Martin Fields.

(Note--The above letter replying to an offer to sell would of itself close the contract and the formal contract of sale is unnecessary. A contract is, however, advisable because it includes all the terms within a single sheet of paper and therefore makes for security.)

_Letter inquiring as to what may be had_

534 Gramercy Park, February 8, 1923.

Home Development Co., Hastings, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

I am writing to learn what property you have listed in your vicinity that would seem to meet my particular requirements. I want a house of not less than ten rooms, with some ground around it and not more than fifteen minutes from the railroad station. The house must contain at least two bathrooms, have a good heating plant, and either be in first-cla.s.s condition or offered at a price that would permit me to put it in first-cla.s.s condition without running into a great deal of money. I am willing to pay between ten and fifteen thousand dollars.

Will you send me a list of properties that you can suggest as possibly being suitable?

Very truly yours, Julian Henderson.

_Renting apartments_

YOUNG & REYNOLDS 48 GREEN STREET BROOKLYN, N. Y.

May 15, 1923.

Mr. Robert Pardee, 29 Prentiss Place, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Dear Sir:

Your name has been handed to me as one who might be interested in leasing one of the extremely attractive apartments in the Iroquois at Number 20 East Third Street, which will be ready for occupancy on September 15th.

I enclose a descriptive folder which will give you an idea of the grounds that we have for basing our claim that this is the most convenient apartment house that has ever been erected.

The apartments vary in size, as you will see on the plan, and for long leases we can arrange any combination of rooms that may be desired. These features are common to all of the apartments. Every bedroom has a private bathroom. Every living and dining room contains an open fireplace, and every apartment, no matter what its size, is connected with a central kitchen so that service may be had equivalent to that of any hotel and at any hour from seven in the morning until midnight. There is a complete hotel service, all of which is entirely optional with the tenant.

We invite your inspection. A number of the apartments have already been leased, but many desirable ones still remain and an early selection will permit of decoration according to your own wishes in ample time for the opening of the building. The renting office is on the premises.

Very truly yours, Young & Reynolds.

BANK LETTERS

The qualities which make a bank popular in a community are, first, safety; second, intelligence; and third, courtesy. One bank has potentially nothing more to offer than has another bank, excepting that of course a very large bank has a greater capacity for making loans than has a small bank. The amount which by law a bank may lend is definitely fixed by the resources of the bank.

However, this is not a question of particular concern here, for very large and important accounts are never gained through letter writing.

The field that can be reached through letters comprises the substantial householder, the moderate-sized man in business, and the savings depositor. A bank has no bargains to offer. What a man or a woman princ.i.p.ally asks about a bank is: "Will my money be safe? Will my affairs be well looked after? Shall I be treated courteously when I go into the bank?" The answers to these questions should be found in the conduct of the bank itself.

A bank is not a frivolous inst.i.tution. Therefore its stationery and the manner of its correspondence should be eminently dignified. It must not draw comparisons between the service it offers and the service any other bank offers. It must not make flamboyant statements. Neither may it use slang, for slang connotes in the minds of many a certain carelessness that does not make for confidence. Above all, a bank cannot afford to be entertaining or funny in its soliciting letters. The best bank letter is usually a short one, and it has been found effective to enclose a well-designed, well-printed card or folder setting out some of the services of the bank, its resources, and its officers. Bank solicitation is very different from any other kind of solicitation.

_Soliciting savings accounts_

GUARDIAN TRUST CO.

BAYVILLE, N. J.

January 15, 1922.

Mr. George Dwight, Bayville, N. J.

Dear Sir:

Some time ago we delivered to you a little home safe for savings, and we are writing to learn how you are making out with it. Have you saved as much as you had expected? Are you waiting to get a certain sum before bringing it in to be credited in your pa.s.sbook?

We are often asked if it is necessary to fill a home safe before bringing it in to have the contents deposited, and we always recommend that the bank be brought in at regular intervals, regardless of the amount saved, for you know the money begins to earn interest only when it is deposited with us.

We give to small deposits the same careful attention we give to large deposits, so we suggest that you bring in and deposit whatever you have saved. That will make a start, and once started it is truly surprising how quickly a bank account rolls up.

I hope that we may have the benefit of your patronage.

Very truly yours, The Guardian Trust Company, (Handwritten) _J. D. Wallace_, Secretary.

_Where a savings account is inactive_

GUARDIAN TRUST CO.

BAYVILLE, N. J.

August 10, 1922.

Mr. George Dwight, Bayville, N. J.

Dear Sir:

A little home bank may be made a power for good.