I am in a high end and second home area. I recently had a second home customer who called on an house I advertised in a Home magazine. Showed him that and a few other homes which he loved. That night he dined with his friend, the maven ("expert" for those not in NY) and informed me the village that the houses I showed him were in was totally unacceptable to him and he had to live in a nearby town where a lot of city people are buying. Which is fine, similar homes there are $200,000 more. I had his criteria, over an acre, 4 BR, privacy...and selected 5 homes. I had a pretty good idea what he liked since I had had them out already. The night before they came out, he emailed me about 20 listings from the MLS of MORE homes he was interested in seeing. These homes were about the same price as the ones I selected but were very small old cottages on tiny lots on or near the water (in other words the opposite of what he told me they were interested in). Over the weekend we saw about 15 homes, his wife totally 86'd all the additional selections, but loved one house I picked out. Being that there are literally at least 300 of homes for sale just in this area between 600 and 800,000, they said they wanted to come out again and keep looking because they didn't want to miss the "perfect" house. Long story short, the house they liked the best is now in contract with another buyer, and now he's starting again with the emailed house lists. How do I avoid showing every single house in this guy's price range? This is a problem I'm increasingly having with the glut of houses on the market now. And in the second home market there is no urgency.

Well the easiest solution is to forward the most recent selection to the wife's e-mail if you have it. If not then get it. Ask her if she has a particular preference for any of the new selection.
It sounds like what he is looking for and what she is looking for are not the samething. Use the one they both liked as your guide.

Here is another alternative. Go out with your video camera and preview every house that is close to the one they liked. Then send them the tape and see which ones they want to see. It will take you far less time to video the homes than to spend the day with them showing all the houses.

Thanks Paul, I have photographed properties and eliminated many of them that way. As for the wife's email, when I have them out she's told me to call her, however, when I do, she does not return my calls. It is obvious to me at this point that HE is the one making the decision. I have to learn to be firmer, I think, with him as to narrowing down what they want to see.

I have a question for paceryder or Paul. I have heard of "listing agent offering to buy listed house if it dosent sell in x days on the market".

What about a home garantee "if you buy it and dont like it in x days agent will list it for a reduced fee" with the assumtion that you find them another house. Could this work in a buyers market where there is just so much to see that they cant decide? It could lessen their feer of buying the wrong house.

Its just a question Paul take it easy.

Cheers

Those ploys seem to target the listing agent as the reason the house hasn't sold instead of the fact that the market is slow or the house is over priced.

Having said that I will address your suggestions: 1. LISTING AGENT offering to buy the house??!?!?!?! ::THUD:: Why should I buy the overpriced turkey if no one else will, LOL!

2. If they don't like it I'll list it for a reduced fee? Even if we did that I can't see how it would work. How many people would want to move twice and come up with closing costs and down payments, etc, not to mention things like (around here) we have a 2% tax to preserve farmland they'd have to pay again.

I guess I could think of some incentives, maybe if it doesn't sell at x and we have to reduce it I'll take less commission, but again, it isn't my fault the house doesn't sell! And if we reduce it, it's been on the market longer and cost me more to advertise.

How about this incentive: The SELLER pays the LISTING AGENT 10% and lists exclusively for a year?
Well, it's just as realistic as your proposals.

The thing is in a bull market there is a urgency to buy because of a shortage of listings, prices going up and if they dont get in they will miss the boat

The thing is in a bull market the market is working in the agents favor.

Now in a bear market everthing is in reverse and its against the agents.

I have been reading books writen in the early 80 to try and figure out a stratagy that works to counter this bear market or makes it easier for the agent. Some kind of way to create an ergency or a demand for a special place.

Like I said Iam just trying to work on a stratagy.

Cheers

I like the idea of a video tape. I was sending JPEGS - beyond MLS shots.

One thing I tell people is that if they want the perfect house, they need to consider new construction because anything else is bound to leave them disappointed. If they want the charm of an older home, they need to deal with layouts that are less desirable and less "open" unless they are willing to spend a ton of money.

I would use the house that went under contract as an example of what can happen when you wait. Not making a decision IS making a decision. I know you are on Long Island, it is probably a similar market. In my immediate area, the most desirable homes still sell very quickly. People miss out becuase they think they have all the time in the world. They don't.

Also, ask each to draw up a Needs/Wants list: Gotta Have, Really want to have, would like to have, can live without. Have them give you the lists and compare them. See if you can't hammer out some priorities. That should eliminate quite a few homes. If they can't/won't do this, they probably aren't serious about buying.

I agree with Sib. Winter with having a list of needs for buyers. I am a new agent in a market similar to the both Sib. and PaceRyder. I serve the north/western end of Fairfield County,ct. I'm going to be making a 1-2 page checklist of things in a home that they want or not that I would like to have them fill out at the same time of prequalifs.

That seems like a good idea, except they will write ABSOLUTELY NO RANCH HOUSES WE HATE RANCH HOUSES and then 3 months later you will run into them and they will have bought a house from someone else and it will be a ranch.

I'm getting a lot closer with understanding these folks. He hemmed and hawed about the house that eventually went under contract because it was on a PAVED ROAD and in his mind the "country" does not have paved roads. It seems he wants to live like on Green Acres but in a nicer house. Actually I did show them a house I think meets his needs this past Friday, it is the second house from a dead end, 2 acres, with a long dirt driveway, the paved road ends before you get to this house and at the end of the road is a creek where you can put a kayak or sunfish in. Let's keep our collective virtual fingers crossed.

I'm getting a lot closer with understanding these folks. He hemmed and hawed about the house that eventually went under contract because it was on a PAVED ROAD and in his mind the "country" does not have paved roads. It seems he wants to live like on Green Acres but in a nicer house. Actually I did show them a house I think meets his needs this past Friday, it is the second house from a dead end, 2 acres, with a long dirt driveway, the paved road ends before you get to this house and at the end of the road is a creek where you can put a kayak or sunfish in. Let's keep our collective virtual fingers crossed. [/QB][/QUOTE]


Sounds like you might be getting closer to what they can both live with. I've had too many of these guys who just can't agree on ANYTHING. Or there is one feature that they don't like and that kills the entire deal. I'm a bit jaded these days. Too many people a ton of my time AND gasoline last year. One couple in particular - had me running literally everywhere but there was always SOMETHING they didn't like. I finally told them I couldn't help them. In retrospect, they were looking for a big bargain with all the ammenities intact and were, as a result, about $500k off in what they were willing to pay. People like that are pure poison. You have to know when to cut your losses.

I've only been out with them a few times and every time they drove, which was a good thing. At least I didn't spend the gas.

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That's the only way to drive!

I would actually PREFER to do the driving, because sometimes the customer will take too many side trips "let's see what's down this street", or "oh there's an open house, do you mind if we stop." Well if the house was what you were looking for, in your price range, I would have SHOWN it to you?! The worst, hasn't happened to me, but has happened to others, is "do you mind if we stop at that farm stand and pick something up?"

I was just being silly. I prefer to drive as well. But when gas was $3.50 a gallon, and I was going from Yorktown to Yonkers, with someone who turned out not to be as serious as I thought they were - the money really started to add up.