Time-Wasting Clients: How To Avoid Them As A Real Estate Professional

As a real estate agent, you might enjoy the rapport that comes with spending time with other real estate agents. However, one downside of having many friends who work in real estate is that you may find yourself comparing your successes with theirs. You may feel unhappy that you just do not seem to be closing enough deals. Part of the problem might be that you are not doing enough to weed out prospective home buyers who will never actually buy a home in the end.

Start In The Office

Your time with a potential home buyer should always be spent with him or her sitting down in your office so you can discuss his or her needs, before even considering a home showing. Early conversations will allow you to gauge whether or not the home buyer has done his or her homework, how much you need to educate the home buyer, and if he or she is even serious about buying a home. If the information that the home buyer tells you seems to not add up, be more skeptical about working with him or her. 

Charge A Fee

Charging a fee and being upfront about your fees is one of the most-effective ways to weed out buyers who are not serious. If someone is simply enjoying free tours of homes, they are not likely to do so if they are required to pay a fee in order to work with you.

Perform A Screening Early

Perform an early screening of your potential home buyers to verify that they have credit that is necessary to get a loan for a home. Perform the necessary background checks. Home buyers who are not qualified may not even submit to have their credit checked, so you can spend less time with them and more time with serious home buyers.

Watch Out For Low-Ball Offers

Pay attention to the offers that your client is making. If the offers are very low without a justification, you will need to determine whether the buyer is making low offers out of inexperience with home buying or whether your client is simply not serious about purchasing a home. An example of a good justification would be if the home is unnecessarily overpriced or if there is clearly something seriously wrong with it. 

If you are going to fire a client, it is recommended that you speak with an attorney. Early on in the process, it is easy to stop working with a client. However, if you have entered into a contract, there may be state laws that govern the cancelling of contracts.


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