Letter to a Dutch homeowner whose house is not for sale: a template in English and Dutch
A good letter to a Dutch homeowner is short, visibly from a real person, says honestly why this particular house, makes clear that you are not an investor or an agent, and asks for nothing more than a conversation if they ever consider selling. Below is that letter in English and in Dutch; use whichever the owner is more likely to read, or send the Dutch one with the English on the back.
Written by Jiri, estate agent in Maastricht and founder of DoorLetter.
Updated on 7 October 2026.
I am Jiri, an estate agent in Maastricht. At almost every sale I handle, the owners tell me that buyers once put letters through their door. The letters they kept had the same three things: they were short, they visibly came from an ordinary person, and they asked for nothing.
The letter below is built on that, for one house you want to live in yourself. As an expat you add one line the Dutch do not need: how long you have been here and that you are staying. Change what is in square brackets, leave the rest as bare as it is, and send it.
The letter in English
Dear resident(s) of [Brusselsestraat 41],
My name is [Sanne], I am [34], and I live with my partner [Daan] [three streets from you, on the Tongersestraat]. We moved to the Netherlands [four years ago] for work and we are staying. For two years we have cycled past your house almost every day, and every time one of us says the same thing: this is the one.
We have been searching in this neighbourhood all that time and have been outbid [four] times, which is why we are writing to you directly. We are not investors and not estate agents. We simply want to live here, for a long time.
If you ever consider selling, now or in a few years, we would be very glad to be the first to hear. No hurry, and no obligation on your side. A cup of coffee would be enough to see whether it fits.
You can reach us through the code in this letter at doorletter.nl/inbox. That can be done anonymously; you do not have to share anything about yourself.
Kind regards, [Sanne and Daan]
In square brackets: fill in your own details.
The same letter in Dutch
Line for line the same, so you know exactly what you are saying. Send this one to an older owner or outside the big cities, or print it on the back of the English page.
Beste bewoner(s) van de [Brusselsestraat 41],
Mijn naam is [Sanne], ik ben [34] en ik woon met mijn vriend [Daan] [drie straten verderop, aan de Tongersestraat]. We zijn [vier jaar geleden] voor ons werk naar Nederland gekomen en we blijven hier. Al twee jaar fietsen we bijna elke dag langs uw huis, en elke keer zegt een van ons hetzelfde: dit is het.
We zoeken al die tijd in deze buurt en zijn inmiddels [vier] keer overboden. Daarom schrijven we u rechtstreeks. We zijn geen belegger en geen makelaar. We willen hier gewoon wonen, voor lang.
Als u ooit, nu of over een paar jaar, zou overwegen om te verkopen, dan horen we dat heel graag als eersten. Zonder haast en zonder enige verplichting. Een kop koffie is genoeg om te kijken of het past.
U kunt ons bereiken via de code in deze brief op doorletter.nl/inbox. Dat kan anoniem; u hoeft niets van uzelf te delen.
Hartelijke groet, [Sanne en Daan]
Tussen vierkante haken: vul je eigen gegevens in. In square brackets: fill in your own details.
Why the letter is built this way
- The greeting
- "Dear resident(s)" with the address. You do not need the owner's name, and a letter that names the house number is visibly not bulk mail. In Dutch: "Beste bewoner(s) van" plus the street and number.
- Who you are, in one sentence
- Name, age, who you live with, where you live now. An owner reads a letter from a person; a letter from "a young international couple" is from nobody.
- Here for work, and staying
- The one line an expat adds. It answers the question an owner silently asks when he sees a foreign name: will these people be gone in two years?
- Why this house
- One concrete detail that is only true of this house: the route you cycle, the bay window, the garden facing south. This is the sentence that decides between kept and binned.
- Not an investor, not an agent
- Write it literally, in both languages. In many Dutch streets letters from quick-buy companies arrive every month, and that is precisely the doubt you have to remove.
- No offer, no pressure
- No figure and no deadline. You ask for a conversation if it ever comes to that. An owner who does not want to move now puts this letter in a drawer; an owner who feels pushed throws it away.
- A way back
- The code in the letter lets the owner reply anonymously, also a year from now. Without a way back, a kept letter is worthless.
What to change before you send it
- Replace everything in square brackets. Leave nothing in that is not about you.
- Choose the language the owner will read. In Amsterdam, Utrecht, The Hague and the university towns an English letter is normal; in a village, or for an older owner, send the Dutch version, or print English on one side and Dutch on the other.
- Keep it to one side of an A4. If you want to say more, save it for the coffee.
- In the Dutch version keep "u", the formal you. This is a letter to a stranger, in their home.
- If you do not know the house but love the street, write about the street and say so honestly.
- No photo of yourselves with a first letter. For many people that is too much.
Frequently asked questions
Should I write in English or in Dutch?
If you can, send both: English on one side, the Dutch version on the other. The Dutch version shows effort and is what an older owner will actually read. If you send one, choose Dutch in a village and English in the big cities. DoorLetter's writing aid can check your Dutch.
Should I mention my budget?
No. A figure turns the letter into an offer, and an offer to someone who was not selling feels like pressure. If the owner replies, price comes up naturally, and by then you will know enough to say something sensible.
Whom do I address it to if I do not know the owner?
To "the resident(s) of" plus the address; in Dutch "de bewoner(s) van". That is correct, polite and also works when the house is rented: a tenant often passes such a letter on. The owner's name is in the Kadaster, the public land registry, but for a first letter it adds nothing.
What if I get no reply?
That is the normal outcome, so count on it. Most owners are not moving right now. Many keep the letter anyway. After a few months you may send one short second letter, without pressure, for instance when your situation has changed. After that, let it rest.
Use this letter as a start.
The letter is already in the text box. Replace what is in square brackets, choose the address and send it. The first letter is free, printed and delivered by PostNL.
Open the English letter in the send form