Buyer Consultation

Most new agents will begin by working with home buyers instead of sellers. It is typically easier to find and work with buyers than with sellers. Remember when you are working with sellers as a listing agent all your marketing of the home is done on a contingency basis. That means you have to pay for the marketing you do and you don't get paid until the sale closes.

Many new agents are kind of pressed for cash and working with buyers only costs you time and a little gas money. However, with gas prices the way they are you don't want to spend a lot of wasted time driving folks around. The wasted time can be avoided by conducting a thorough buyer consultation with your clients right at the beginning of your relationship.

To begin you must know what they are looking for in a home. Some of the questions are pretty obvious like how many bedrooms and baths, and what price range are you looking for.

Let's talk about price for a second. Your clients may not have been in touch with anyone for their financing yet. They may have looked online at amortgage calculator to see how much they can afford. If that's the case they may not truly qualify for what they think they do. Try to get them in front of a qualified mortgage professional as soon as possible to avoid wasting a lot of time. It is essential that you have a solid idea of what they can afford and are willing to spend before you start showing them homes. If you show $150,000 homes and they like them and then find out they can only afford $120,000 they will not be happy with the difference that $30,000 makes in the homes.

Okay back to the questions:
1. Price Range?
2. What is your time frame?
3. What do you like about your current Home?
4. What do you dislike?
5. Do you have any special needs in your new home?
6. What do you consider a reasonable commute?
7. Which rooms do you consider most important?
8. Do you have a certain part of town in mind? Be careful not to steer your clients to any particular area(a violation of fair housing laws).
9. What style of homes are you interested in?

This is just the beginning. My buyer consultation book is 54 pages long and goes into great depth to discover the buyers wants and needs.

If you are interested in more information about buyer consultations then send your questions to click here