Educate the Buyer


Use your local MLS system to create market comps and analyze price trends. You can then produce a summary of this information for your buyer, customized for her home-buying goals and parameters. Today's MLS systems usually can generate market comps and report sales prices based on criteria such as neighborhood, number of bedrooms, amenities such as pools, and so on.

Take the insight you've gleaned from the MLS and your everyday experience in the market and use it to educate your client using appropriate technology tools: an e-mail summary, a printed or PDF document, or a spreadsheet.

With the initial market education handled, use automatic property screening tools in your local MLS to be notified of new listings that match your buyer's criteria, and have them sent directly via e-mail to either the buyer for consideration or just to you so you can screen the listings first. If you screen the properties (which I recommend, to deliver better service), consider posting the ones you think the buyer should consider to a client Web page as links to their own Web pages or to PDF flyers.

Because buyers often think agents try to sell them a more expensive house than they can afford, many buyers give you a lowball estimate, limiting what you'll find. Some buyers target a certain area and don't want you to look elsewhere. In both cases, buyers often use the Internet to check out alternative properties "just in case." Help them do their research by providing a link to the public section of your local MLS. If your MLS offers an IDX service that lets you integrate a search into your own Web site, use it, because this will keep your client coming back to your site and thus reinforce your role as the primary house hunting resource.

Provide other basic education via e-mail, paper document, or PDF file, for example, a checklist of steps the buyer must make (such as getting preapproved and ensuring the down payment funds are accessible), information on mortgage rates and costs, neighborhood resources, and so on. These educational materials should be based on a master template file that you then customize for each client rather than starting from scratch each time. In some cases, these resources will be Web-based that you provide as links copied into an e-mail or accessed through your Web site. For example, you could provide a link to your city's housing office for information on rent control rules, condo conversion procedures, permit history order forms, or first-time buyers programs.



The Tech-Savvy Real Estate Agent
The Tech-Savvy Real Estate Agent
ISBN: 0321413660
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 100
Authors: Galen Gruman

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