After months of house hunting — constant checking of MLS sites, evening neighborhood drive-bys and weekends filled with house touring — I believe I’ve found the secret sauce: personalizing your offer. 

My husband and I have placed offers on two different homes over the past few months, one of which had 10 other offers. The Dallas-area markets are brutal for buyers right now. Not only were we feeling dejected, but we were beginning to feel hopeless in our search. 

Then we went to visit a property last night that went up on Monday. We instantly loved it and decided to put in an offer. But this time, we tried something different. 

Using my impeccable writing skills, I conjured up an offer letter, describing our house-hunting woes and how much we loved the house. Then, we did what any desperate couple would do… we attached a photo of ourselves with our 6-week-old chocolate lab puppy.

Turns out the pooch, Nolan (pic below) is a real deal closer.

The sellers had multiple offers on the home within 24 hours of it going on the market. However, with all offers hovering around list price, our picture sold us, the sellers said. 

So at the end of the day, it looks like personality really does win. Putting a face to our offer really convinced the sellers that we would enjoy the house as much as they did. And I leave you with this: never underestimate the power of putting a puppy in a photo.