Highlands County Talk

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For Sale By Owner - #3 Understanding Buyers

 

Buyers aren’t always buyers..

...that is one of the first things I learned as a Realtor®. Just because someone is interested in a house for sale doesn’t mean they are ready to buy. Buyers will take their time shopping around. After all, the purchase of a home is most likely the largest purchase they’ll ever make.

There are three categories of buyers:
1. Ready to buy NOW
2. Wanting to buy at some point
3. Just looking

 

 for sale by owner

Save yourself time and frustration by qualifying your buyers. Ask them if they are willing to make an offer if your home meets all their criteria. If they hesitate, don’t waste your time.You will likely not hear from them again after you have taken the time to let them tour your home.
Once you have a buyer ready to purchase, you should make sure that buyer can afford your home. Will the buyer pay cash or finance? What kind of financing are you willing to accept?
Are there contingencies?
for sale by owner

I work with local lenders that will run the buyers through a prequalification process and I will know within an hour or so how much home the buyer would qualify for. However, in today’s mortgage market it is best to have a buyer pre-approved as opposed to prequalified. A cash buyer, of course, beats any kind of financing.
Even then, you want to make sure your buyer actually has the cash
required to purchase your home.

 

Once you are certain your buyer is willing and financially able to purchase, make sure they fill out a registration form, such as the one I have included for your convenience. Keep in mind that you are letting complete strangers into your home—at least know their name and address. This will later on come in handy when you do your follow up calls.

Let the buyer explore the home themselves. They know that the kitchen is the kitchen. Point out improvements you have made insteadof telling them the obvious.

Have your home owner’s disclosure, legal description and any other required disclosures ready. Be prepared to answer questions about taxes, room sizes and the school
district description ready. I prefer to assemble all this information along with many color photographs in a professional looking folder for the buyers to take home. Also included should be a list with websites where your home can be viewed online.

Leave the buyers enough space to freely walk around. Answer all questions they might have and give them the opportunity to consult with each other in private.

Don’t take it personally if the buyers decide your home is not what they were looking for or if they require time to think it over. It is often hard to be objective when it comes to YOUR home. However, the last thing you want to do is scare buyers away.


Follow up

Give all buyers that have viewed your home a follow up call and if it is just to thank them for taking the time to stop by. This is a great way to build rapport.

I hope I could give you some tips on deal with buyers.

Copyright Darrin & Andrea Mills 2008 "For Sale By Owner - Understanding Buyers"
If you need help selling your property, we'll be more than happy to assist you.
andrea@millsrealestate.net

Also read:

#1 The Right Price
#2 Where are your buyers coming from?

Andrea Mills - "For Sale By Owner - #3 Understanding Buyers" Copyright 2008 *All Rights Reserved

This article was originally posted on http://sebring.activerain.com/

 

1 comment • Andrea & Darrin Mills YourHighlandsCountyRealtors 863-202-0729 • August 03 2008 04:44PM

Comments

Lots of good information. I like the 3 categories of buyers, too. You know what you're talking about!

Posted by Stacy Jones (West Little Rock Title Company) about 1 year ago

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