A real estate agent has divided the internet after sending a hopeful homeowner a scratchie ticket along with a rejection letter.
The anonymous wannabe buyer shared a photo of the letter they received from their agent with the scratchie card alongside it on Reddit, explaining how they had missed out on their dream home.
The letter begins in capital letters, reading “Really sorry you missed out”.
“I wanted to personally thank you for your interest in my recent listing and say how sorry we are that you missed out.”
“I know how keen you were to make it yours, and as much as we love our work, there are parts that are difficult.”
“Telling someone the bad news that they have missed out on a property they are very keen on, is certainly the worst part of our role.”
“I wish we had more properties like this one for those who have missed out on this home.”
“I enclose a scratchie to try and soften the disappointment.”
“The agent said they hoped the wannabe homeowner would win some cash so ‘next time you can extend your offer just that little bit more’.”
The $1 scratch card gave the unsuccessful applicant the chance to win $100,000 in a game of Tic Tac Toad.
The gesture prompted a mixed response from commenters, with most readers calling out the agent for being “condescending”.
One comment read, “Might just be poorly worded, but this comes across very condescending and patronising. ‘Lol sorry you’re too poor. Maybe if you win some money we’ll be able to take it from you.’”
Another pointed out the agent’s potential grovelling to the buyer, saying “Absolutely no real estate agent is sending anything like this to mere tenants.”
Another frustrated renter wrote, “Great! Now if I could get a scratchie with every unsuccessful rental application, I wouldn’t need to rent.”
A few commenters praised the real estate agent’s actions, believing they had good intentions by including the scratchie.
One person wrote, “They didn’t have to give anything but still did. The wording could’ve been better but still, something for nothing.”
One other person was shocked by the support for the agent in the comments of the post, putting it blatantly, “They said ‘so next time you can extend your offer just that little bit more’.”
“Their intention is clear. They’re saying to offer more money. I genuinely am surprised by the comments on this post thinking this is a nice gesture and not blatant manipulation.”
Image credits: Reddit
This article first appeared on Over60