A letter of intent is a formal document that specifies the plans or intentions involved in any type of agreement or deal. The letter outlines the primary details and key points involved in the potential agreement. A letter of intent may also be viewed as a legal document in many cases. The primary purpose of the letter, as its name indicates, is to formally announce one party's official
. intentions to the corresponding party. Letters of Intent (LOI) are used in many different businesses and settings. A letter of intent, also referred to as a letter of interest, is used in real estate, grant making, financial investment, college applications, human resources, private investments such as joint-venture agreements, stock trading, a number of various business dealings and many other areas. A letter of intent outlines an intention or proposal by one party or an agreement between two parties. Once this letter is received, the receiving party can then act on the information the corresponding party provided in the letter of intent with confidence.The purpose(s) of a letter of intent may include: to outline key points of a proposed transaction, to declare officially that the negotiations are currently in progress, to put other monetary offers on hold until the first offer is either accepted or rejected, to announce intended projects planned and to propose actions by other parties in conjunction.Many online sites offer samples, templates and guidelines for writing letters of intent. Depending on the type of letter of intent that needs to be written and for what specific purpose, there are various samples online that people can use to go off of and base their letter on. You can also find samples for specific industries or particular areas of business. For more information please see: http://www.library.pima.gov/research/guides/grantsletterinquiry.php or http://www.docstoc.com/docs/2460198/Free-Letter-of-Intent or http://rfptemplates.technologyevaluation.com/how-to-write-a-letter-of-intent.html More reference links: http://www.buzzle.com/articles/letter-of-intent-template.html http://www.inc.com/tools/letter-of-intent-sample.html