Weeding out Homes For Buyers

When I first meet a buyer I like to take them out for a 'Get Your Feet Wet' day. I really don't expect the buyer to find the perfect home on the day they take their first ride in my car. I can't remember ever having that happen....really, ever.

We will have talked on the phone to discuss their want list. What areas, what price range and what amenities.  I believe I have slightly touched on this topic before but this is more about what I do than what changes of their minds they make.

I do my Realtor research, schedule several showings and in the car we go! And, on that first day, sometimes the second, I keep fairly quiet. Offering not much in the way of opinions, just listening. Watching and gathering their emotions and thoughts.

Things they have said on the phone, don't always match what they see when we are sprinkling their toes with the first water drops of a home search excursion. 

That first day tells me a lot about what type of people I am going to find a house for. What is important to them to make their family happy in a home. And, it's not always how big the family room is, or how many trees are in the backyard.

That day tells me how an open floor plan feels to them. How claustrophobic they get with the neighbors house looming over them while looking at the backyard of the house with the fabulous pool. How sensitive their hearing is to white noise vs. no noise of the neighborhood up on the hill.

Wet toes tell me if they truly are do-it-yourselfers, like they said they were, or if they really need a 'model home' house.

And, once that first or second trip out with my clients is done, their feet are wet up to their ankles and we are rocking! And, I have a much better understanding of who they are and what will make them happy.

So, I weed out homes. Search, network, view. All for the sole purpose of finding the right house for them.  I weed out the ones that are too noisy, the ones that the neighbors can see right into their backyard. I remove the ones that don't have a big enough kitchen. Ones that need too much work.

Almost all of my clients I communicate with just about every day or so. And, most of my buyers I give them complete free reign to our MLS. We send notes back and forth to each other. When they say, "What about this one?" I know there just aren't enough trees on the block. I know that the dining room won't fit their lifestyle. And, I know that the one that has the door that opens up to the deck that they say "What about this one?" is already on our list to see on our next ride in my Lexus.......and that just may be the one that soaks them all the way up to the top of their head!!

Honk, wave, and see if there are wet foot prints by the passenger side of my car the next time you see me with a client! You'll know it's been a good day!