It’s no secret that this is a tough market for home buyers.
Housing inventory is low, and the competition is fierce…
…even with interest rates being where they are.
But there’s a small group of buyers who have a huge advantage.
⚠️ Now, the critical question is…
…are you one of them?
Because I’m so active in representing local home sellers…
…I receive hundreds of purchase offers from hundreds of buyer agents each year.
Here’s the behind-the-scenes truth:
A select few of those buyer agents are FAR more likely to get their client’s offer accepted.
👍 That’s because those particular agents ask the right questions before they submit an offer.
Personally, when I’m representing a home buyer, (which I do for over 20 families per year)…
…I dig and prod for information from the listing agent.
At the same time, I work hard to build a strong rapport with them.
It’s a delicate balancing act.
But at the end of the day, I have around 25 questions I need answered…
…so I can write the strongest, most strategic offer possible.
💪 This is what allows me to give my home-buying clients the best chance of winning their dream house.
Here are just a few of the 25 questions I make sure to ask the listing agent:
-How many offers do you have in hand right now?
-Are any of them cash?
-How many are over the asking price?
-If we offered X-amount OVER the asking price, how would we look?
-What’s most important to your seller: price, terms, timing, or how much the buyer loves the house?
-If there was one thing the seller would want in the offer besides price, what would that be?
-Where do you expect the sale price will actually end up?
-Is there a price the seller would take right now without waiting to see other offers?
-How will you decide which offers you’ll respond to and which you’ll ignore?
❗ That was just 9 questions and I’m barely scratching the surface!
I still have 16 more pieces of information I need the listing agent to divulge…
…so I can write the best offer for my home buyers.
Frankly, it’s not easy getting all that information!
Sometimes, I really need to turn on the charm or ask the same question in different ways.
😇 And, in the process, I need to be careful not to annoy the agent.
When I’m on the other side of the table, representing the seller, here’s what I’ve observed over the years.
➡️ Less than 10% of buyer agents will take the time to have a conversation with me…
…wherein they ask ALL the right questions to help their buyer.
➡️ About 40% will ask just a handful of basic questions…
…but they’ll skip the more advanced, uncomfortable ones.
➡️ And over 50% of buyer agents will just submit their client’s offer blind…
…without so much as a phone call ahead of time!
Poof!
Their offer just appears in my inbox with no context about who their client is, why they’re interested in the house, etc.
Frankly, this approach doesn’t give me much confidence in their offer or their client’s sincere interest!
On the other hand, the 10% of agents who open strong lines of communication, ask smart questions, and try to do everything possible to make my sellers happy…
👏…THOSE are the agents who give their clients a HUGE advantage.
So, if you’re planning to buy a house, it’s critical that you have an agent in that 10% group.
You want an agent who knows what questions to ask and how to ask them the right way.
The more information your agent can strategically gather from the listing agent…
…the bigger the edge you’ll have in writing an offer that wins you the house!