Is there a polite way to say "I get paid to sell houses, not show houses"? Here lately I've had more than a few clients looking at really low end properties that seem to just drain my time. The scenario is: they call about a specific house, I show them, they really like it....and then they find the ezmls and it goes from the one house to about 20. I understand its part of my job, but at what point to do you use "firm but gentle pressure"?

Talk to your broker for guidance.

YOUR FAILURE IS YOU HAVE NOT SET PROPER EXPECTATIONS WITH YOUR BUYERS AND DEFINED THE KIND OF RELATIONSHIP YOU WANT FOR YOU BUSINESS.

Did you have a pre-meeting with them to find out if they are qualified,what sales price range they can afford,what there motivation for buying is,have they signed an eba with another buyers agent/broker,do they have any other outstanding offers on other properties currently.

I say generally to buyers you look at 5 properties and you put in an offer on one.If it goes to more properties you have a coming to jesus where you sit them down and go over again what they are looking for and clarifying issues before looking at more properties.

Even if they are qualified in a certain price range if you know there is very little inventory in that range you are wasting your time as a broker/agent.

For example in my market you might have a buyer looking for a 3/2 ranch for 110k,most in the market are 175k and up.So I know out of thousands of homes available only maybe a handful in a year will fall in that range and they will be under contract in 24 hours.

So do I want to work with a buyer that what they can afford hardly exists in the marketplace?NO

The reality is there are thousands of other qualfied buyers looking for the same thing but it's not there.

Now if you know a buyer is looking for a 4/2 on a split level in the 250k range I know I will have hundreds of properties to choose from for the buyer to show them and we have a good chance of closing on something.

If you ever get someone saying I want to see all properties and they want to look at more and more explain to them that houses go under contract every week and no house is perfect.If we look at 20 houses or more a good portion of those will be unavailable for purchase later and that's just how the market works.Avoid cosmetic issues with buyers focus on asking them if the layout works for them.Paint,cosmetics can be easily change and at little expense.If the layout doesn't work and you have to move walls and uncover problems then it gets expensive.

You need to learn your market by looking at your mls and know when working a lead if what they can afford is out there or not.

Buyers are Liars. It should be tatoo'd on every Realtor's arm or something.

Buyers seem really twitchy right now, and who could blame them. What do YOU say when they ask this:

"Mr. Rush, in your professional opinion, what will the economy and real estate market do in the next 5 years? Is is possible that this home will be worth a lot less in a year or two?"

Uh... what CAN you tell them? Yes, that's possible. Maybe even probably.

Sellers right now, in my area at least (which is level but still in the black or barely in the red) are asking buyers to cash them out at peak o' the boom prices. Buyers are leary of doing that. I would be too!

-jeff

Buyers seem really twitchy right now, and who could blame them. What do YOU say when they ask this:

"Mr. Rush, in your professional opinion, what will the economy and real estate market do in the next 5 years? Is is possible that this home will be worth a lot less in a year or two?"


When I get questions like that I alway laugh and say "Do you what the lottery #'s are for today and will I win?" They usually realize that that is a question I just can not answer. If they are renting, I usually say "what I would really hate, if I were you, would be to still be paying someone else's mortgarge in 5 years!" That normally will get them thinking and seems to calm them down too. That is if they really do want to buy and are not just kicking tires

If they buy a house after looking at 20 properties I don't see a problem. Welcome to the world of normal real estate.

Have you ever shopped for a home before? Don't you want to see all your options? Don't you change your mind mid-stream and want to look at something different from what you originally thought?

No, you don't get paid to show up at a house after a sign call and write an offer. You get paid to take care of your clients which sometimes means spending more time than you'd like. Sometimes deals do fall in your lap, but frankly - sometimes those are the toughest of all! I hate it when I show one property and the buyer wants to buy it without seeing anything else. Can you say BUYERS REMORSE?

TIP:If your buyers insist on seeing tons of properties do this.Ask them to first drive around and preview from the outside then the ones they want to go inside and see schedule an appointment.Often times agents take decieving pictures of there listings.When the buyer gets out there they see the house is on a steep decline,or an incline,the house looks rundown compare dot the picture and it has been photshopped,they don't like what the house is facing or next to,they don't like the area the house is in,etc.

You will find that it's beeter for you,them,and the sellers for the buyer to see the outside first.They will disqualify alot that way and it will save everyone time.It would be stupid to set up showings of houses only to get out there and see it's not even worth going inside.

If someone wants to go all over god's creation and show 50 houses to make a sale-great.That will NEVER be my business model or the clients I choose to work with.I don't think it makes you more or less of an agent on who you work with.I beleive it's just defining what type of business you want and within what time frames.

I guess it all goes back to the bpo syndrome.Everybody is willing to work for a certain amount.The markets only paying 2 percent I would just stick to my investing if that was the case.

Super, I agree with a lot of what you've written. In fact, I have started to implement it more forcefully of late. I sent a list of homes to a couple of buyers that were under contract with me after we'd already seen about eight to ten houses each. That was on a Friday. Suddenly, I became very busy on Saturday and Sunday (playing with my daughters as I had promised them I would do), so they went out on their own and eliminated several of them from the list, utlimately deciding on one that we'd already seen.

Sure, I show more houses than I would prefer to a single buyer. But I also think that this is a way to better manage the process.

Super, I would love to do that, however in my area most are second home buyers and there is just not the urgency. I love that "come to Jesus" moment, though, LOL.

I understand the world of normal real estate, and I don't mind showing 20 houses if that's what it takes; but after I show a client what is in their words "exactly what we're looking for" and then they get on the MLS and call me to see about 20 more houses that aren't even close to what they originally wanted....that's time draining and profit draining, especially when its on the low end of properties. Maybe I need to switch to abnormal real estate.

I am not married and have no kids etc. So NO TIME is wasted in Real Estate for me.

Abnormal Real Estate? Such As...
http://www.w-e-agency.com

???

I agree it can make you want to pull your hair out or better yet theirs, but it's just part of the business. I use to get very frustrated at buyers that wanted to see everything, just in case they might miss something better. But all getting upset did was make me unhappy and I am sure it came across to my clients. Then I thought how can I change my attitude so I can deal with this? I came up with every home I show makes me a more informed agent. That home might not work for this client, but there could be someone I talk to later that it would work for. I think potential clients are very impressed if you have a vast knowledge about the interior of mutiple homes. That was the turning point for me.

Good point. I understand it is part of the business and it probably happens more often than not; the day I started this post I was just having "one of those days". Don't want you to think I don't appreciate each client, but it helps to be able to come on here and spout off to someone who feels your pain. Thanks!

I didn't think that at all. It does help to blow off steam and beleive you me I have days when I feel the same way. Then I have to take a deep breath and adjust the attitude.

You can start asking some pointed questions, such as, "What did you say was your time frame for buying a house?" or "Maybe we need to re-evaluate what your needs are." I do think at some point you realize they just aren't gonna buy!

Unfortunatly, for some people like that I think the event that precipitates them doing the internal work to get ready to actually pull the trigger, comes from getting "fired" by their first agent! In other words, they drive one agent crazy looking at everything, then that agent starts to blow them off or outright fires them, and that makes the potential buyers focus and do a better job of looking, so to speak, with the next agent.

Like a relationship thing between men and women. You have a screw a few up before you are really ready to do it for real, sometimes.

I am chuckling at your "20 homes" thing. Man. Multiply that by 3 or 4 and you'd have the Clients From Hell that I had last summer... who finally bailed while we were IN CONTRACT on a home... "we're afraid the stress of this is going to ruin our marriage!"

Gag me. Like I care about your marriage. Just buy the damn house so I can get paid!

(Did I just say that in my real voice?)

-jeff

Something else to think about is making sure you sit down with your clients and have what I call "the talk". That is when you tell them that they should not be afraid to pick the first home they look at if it meets all their needs. I ask some very detailed questions about what they are looking for in a home and make sure I write it down. My next question is if I find you a home today that meets the requirements that you have given me, are you prepared to make an offer today. This will let you know how motivated they are. Some buyers are afraid they are going to make a mistake and look stupid. I also have them write down what they like/dislike about each home that we see and always ask them to make a choice between the last two homes they saw. This makes it clear that I am not a tour quide and I am expecting them to buy a home today.

I enjoy listings much more. I love taking the pictures, creating the marketing and advertising, knowing that the client is commited to me and there's a good chance I will get paid, etc. I've heard that in any market listings are the way to go if you can figure out a way to keep your costs down and get sellers to price them right. Not that I would ever turn down a buyer ready to go, but I've been burned quite a few times by buyers, although I think I've gotten better at qualifying.

I used to drive my buyers around in MY car, buy them drinks, lunch, etc. Not anymore.

I meet them at the 1st house and they follow me to see what they wanted to see. Allows them time to talk... and burn their own gas too. Around here, when I show 8-10 homes in an afternoon I typically drive 100-120 miles. One buyer had a 203 mile route for us (home-to-home) and I had to say "no" to that! He was all over town.

But showing buyers 20-30 homes over a 30 day period before a buyer makes a decision is normal for us.

Unlike carealtor, I don't like listings right now. Too many of them for sale and sellers still think we're in 2004/2005. I've turned a few down lately.

On the first meeting you might want to drop a few hints/expectations like, "I know we'll find you a great home. On average, clients walk through 12 homes before they make a decision."

That gives them an idea that you expect them to find a home within a reasonable number of showings.

Good luck! We all feel your pain!

I think every agent has to decide when to cut people loose. I don't mind showing 30 homes IF I'm getting paid well for it (at the low end coop level that's a serious problem) and if I'm sure they will actually buy something. If I'm consistently seeing that people are way too picky or have expectations that are way out of range, I no longer try to push them towards reality. These aren't buyers, they're lookers. Bottom line: you can't be showing over 20 homes to each prospect - no matter how well qualified - with less than half of them actually buying and still make a living. Just can't be done. I find that if people are all over the place, with many different neighborhoods and municipalities, they are much more likely to be lookers. If they are sticking to one-three neighborhoods, they may be nervous, but more likely to actually buy something. I think that when they've narrowed things in like that - it shows that enough time and thought has gone into the process for them to be serious.

Lately my problem has been I FIND them the perfect home and they make an offer, and either the bid too low or what has happened twice is the homeowner decided not to sell! Now every house is compared to that perfect one.

Or they suddenly decide they want to build, and they find a lot they want to buy.... that's not even for sale!

Hmmmmm.... if only we could choose to do business with high-end buyers. Personally I dont think it should matter whether they are $50K or $500K buyers. Does it mean if it's a $500K buyer that they are entitled to say, It's just what I am looking for, then go back and start searching for more to compare it with? $50K buyers are just as important as the $500K ones. They all add up to your paycheck. Trust me, you would rather have a $50K buyer than not to have one at all. Ask many realtors, they can tell you that for a fact. So, be grateful for the opportunities you have.

Yes, it can sound draining but if you have this issue, if you could then cut them loose. What reason would you give this client then?

I don't mind dealing with low-end buyers, I do mind spending my time showing them 10-15 houses all over the county in the 40-50K range, submitting offers that are too low and then if I get an accepted offer, running through the hurdles of closing towards the finish line paycheck of maybe $600. If you divide the hours, I might make minimum wage.

Ditto StevenB--We've been turning down some listings since late 2005 with sellers who won't listen to reason and won't take the proof you put right under their noses.

Some sellers only understand FMV when they're buying but when selling their mental faculties go right out the window.

I don't feel sorry for sellers who waited and waited for tip-top prices in 2005 then, when it tanked, they lost out. A few sellers in our area got honest CMAs from us in 2004 then listed with the agents who "bought" their listings.

Now they're still on the market and can't sell for quite less than we told them in 2004. Too bad, so sad!

You didn't say if you had a written Buyer Agency Agreement with these clients or not. If you do, then "yes", it's your job to represent your client and show them as many houses as they want to see. If not, then I'm sure that there are other agents in your area who will gladly show the 20 houses, knowing there will probably be a paycheck at the end of that rainbow.

Yeah that too!

The trouble is that a lot of them don't buy. I've shown 25-30 homes to people who were "hot to buy" and they decided that the prices were too high and to continue renting. Happens all too often these days.

I have already started a thread about my theories on this subject.
Labeled
Do You Know How to Sell? ...In this Forum
pretty much explains my view.

Buyers are liars....

Ya THINK!?

:-)

-jeff

Last summer I had a client that I showed over 44 houses to. We started with $500K range but her taste was really in the $900K range. I really liked this client and wanted to really help her but she was draining me. The problem was she wouldn't look at the list that I was e-mailing her, instead she would go on Realtor.com and choose the homes she wanted to see. Finally, to save her from her self, I showed her all the homes she had picked for that day and one more she didn't know about. I told her I had a surprise for her and wanted to show her the dream home that she's been looking for. She was puzzled that I was acting out of the oridinary, but agreed to see this home. She loved the home and every now and then I get an e-mail from her thanking me on not giving up on her. Oh by the way, yes she did buy the home. Sometimes we just have to hold their hand tighter.

(:

If a buyer wants to look at a lot of different areas I will email them listings in those areas. I ask them to drive by those areas/cities and try to be quickly available to show them the houses in the areas that they pinpoint.