Oh boy... I have a buyer right now that has seen a bunch of homes. A WHOLE bunch. I'm not going to venture a guess... maybe 35? They are serious and pre-approved, we just have not hit the one they want, though we've gotten very close a couple times. Luckily, I like them as people, and it's been very educational for me in this, my first year.

As far as deals i've closed, in each case we looked at around 8-10 homes in each case.

-jeff

This post has been cleaned up and all references to a "system" being developed by a Forum User that they are not able to talk about have been removed.

I encourage this poster to re-post details of their "system" when they can talk about it.

Allusions to a business model or system without providing details when asked direct questions by other posters is not informative and is not moving this or any other topic forward, but frustrating the users of this forum and thread.

These posts were off topic as well, which is another reason to remove them.

With regard to the original topic...

How many is too many? There is no such thing.

You are helping someone purchase their largest investment of their life. They want it to be perfect and you're there to help them get into that paerfect home.

There are some Customers that make an offer on the second or third house they see, and there are those that look at lots more.

Personally, when I moved to Baltimore, I had no idea which neighborhood I wanted to be in, and saw over 60 homes over a 2 month period before I decided what neighborhood and house I wanted to be in. This was a corporation relocation, and I had never been to Baltimore before. How could I possibly have only gone out to see 8 or 10 homes and made an educated decision?

If you have a customer like me that you show 60 homes to, and one you show 3 homes to, what's the average... Every Customer is different and if you try to say that you have some type of limit of how many you will show before you require them to make an offer, then you're not giving good Customer Service.

If you say that you have a limit to the number that you can show in a day, I can agree with that. I don't take anyone out for more than 4 hours without a 2 hour break, but I DO have Customers that I take out for entire days at a time.

Thanks for saying this, Troy. It needed to be said.

I unintentionally used a form of Reverse Psychology in these situations. I sincerely told my buyers "We have all the time in the world and I'll show you as many homes as you need to look at to make the right decision for you. Even if it takes us six months to find your home, I want you to be thrilled with the home you choose." Almost always, the buyer came back with "Oh, no, I need to find a home soon!"

Troy will do that, being a moderator and all, but in general you the only person- the ONLY ONE- in the 7 months I've been on this forum, to show up, start telling us how stupid and backwards we are, and then allude to a magical "system" that oh by the way, I can't tell you about or else I'd have to kill you.

It's really pretty comical, but I applaud the moderators for putting the brakes on it. Come back when you can talk about your system on a factual, informative basis, not just by putting the rest of us down and telling us how stupid we are, and we'll take a look at it and evaluate it on it's merits.

-jeff

[quote=Jeff Olsen]Troy will do that, being a moderator and all, but in general you the only person- the ONLY ONE- in the 7 months I've been on this forum, to show up, start telling us how stupid and backwards we are, and then allude to a magical "system" that oh by the way, I can't tell you about or else I'd have to kill you.

Jeff,

Did u take your medications today?
Where did the above words come from?

Calm down.. This is only a website forum and we are not curing cancer or saving the world.

Sit down and relaxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Jeff,
Did u know Troy has a woppppping 4 months of real estate experience...

4 BIG Months in real estate....

Jeff,
Why don't u apply to be a moderator and then u could clean my posts up BEFORE I even think of a post.

LOLOLOL

As the OP, my posts should affirm that I agree with you 100% (except maybe my sacarstic post that I wrote in reference to a special way to work with buyers (or not as the case was) that someone else mentioned; in all fairness I immediately explained that I was kidding). You have expressed my sentiments exactly but I want those who disagree to openly do so, as what works for one doesn't work for all.

I've gone out for 4 hours with a buyer, but only a couple times and only if they are in my car with me so that I have the ability to monitor the general mood. Because yeah, for a buyer to imagine themselves in a home takes a lot of work, it's exhausting, and after a while it's counterproductive.

As far as a limit on total showings, no way! Not if I feel they are a serious buyer. I guess if it got to the point I felt they were yanking my chain, or it "wasn't about bear hunting anymore" (anyone heard that joke?) then I'd shut it down but that's not happened to me yet. I agree, this is a HUGE life decision, I am being very well paid for my services, and it's my job to help them look for the perfect home.

-jeff

Because you attacked me in public, I'm going to let this post stand.

However, your information is incorrect. Can you please tell me where you got your information that I only have 4 months of real estate experience? To set the record straight, I have over 10 years of experience. Please feel free to cut and paste directly from my website.

Further attacks on members of this forum will result in your posts being deleted.

Sounds like somebody might be on there way out. but what do you expect when you claim to be the next best thing and that anyone who opposes your yet revealed marketing plan to change the real estate industry are just ignorant and do not have the ability to comprehend your great intellect.

Jeff, here is off your own site. Is it not?

"In February 2007, I completed the required course of study for the New York State real estate salesperson exam, and was licensed as a New York State Salesperson."

Attacks...
I am being bombarded on this site no matter if it is the weather report...LOLOL

I luv it!

First, my name is Troy - Your attention to detail is a great asset I'm sure.

You found me out, I admit that it is true that I was licensed in New York state in February 2007.

However, your assumption that this is how long I've been in real estate is incorrect. If you'd taken the time to read more than my bio looking for a way to discredit me, you'd see that you were on a VERMONT real estate website. I sell in VERMONT, and I only recently got my NEW YORK license.

How long have I been licensed in Vermont? I'll let you go figure that one out.

And once you figure that out, how will you be able to determine if before that I wasn't licensed in another state?

As I said, I have over 10 years experience in this business.

Thanx for the clarification

The most sensible answer to the question is provided by our moderator Troy.
There's no such thing as too many. There's only how many it takes to find your client "the one right house." It may be only a couple or even just a single one. It may also run into dozens or get up to a hundred or so. It all depends on what "the one right house" is going to be, how long it's going to take to find it, and perhaps whether it's even on the market at the time you and your people are looking.
The problem is that when someone says they want to buy a house, do they mean a house, a house, or a house? Or maybe they mean a house? Your job -- and I'm assuming you're acting as a buyer agent -- is to understand exactly what it is they want (and perhaps, for everyone's sake, the sooner the better).
In the process, though, you're almost certainly going to have to show them the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (as one of my clients has so well described it). Or, as I'm given to saying, you have to look at enough wrong ones in order to determine what a right one is going to be.
Nevertheless, if you show a sincere interest in helping a client find it and put no limit on the number of showings or the time that could be involved, you'll retain their loyalty and end up with a sale.
One of the tragedies of our industry is that not enough agnets are willing to work this hard, but the ones that do are successful.

Duncan