Translating Realtor Questions

By Marc Rasmussen - Sarasota real estate

If you have ever worked with a Realtor then they probably asked you a series of questions in the beginning. Experienced real estate agents will typically ask potential home buyers a number of questions to decide if they want to take them on as clients. In the business they are called "pre-qualifying questions." Here are a few of them and their translations.

"When are you looking to purchase a home?" translation "Let's wait to look at homes until you are ready to buy."

The real estate market changes daily. Properties sell, new listings come on the market and other ones expire without selling.  Buyers who plan on purchasing 6+ months down the road don't need to kill themselves looking at a bunch of property today because the inventory will change. What they see today probably won't be around 6+ months away. This is especially true if the property is priced well.

"Have you arranged financing or are you paying cash?" translation "Do you have the ability to buy a home?"

Most people think looking at houses is fun and it can be. However, Realtors do it to put food on the table. The last thing an agent wants to do is show a bunch of property to someone who ultimately cannot buy.

"Have you been to (city) before?" translation "Are you definitely buying in the (city) area?"

Often times a buyer will schedule a trip to (city) and immediately want to start looking at homes for sale. They look at properties before making sure that (city) is the right area for them. Sometimes they will spend the first 2 or 3 days of their visit looking at homes and then the rest of their trip exploring the area only to decide that (city) is not where they want to be. The 2 or 3 days the Realtor spent with them turned out to be a total waste of time.  The most efficient way is to decide on a city/area and then find a house.

"Are you working with other Realtors?" translation "How loyal are you?"

Some people don't know how real estate works. Agents are not salaried and are only compensated upon a successful sale. If you are working with more than one Realtor then one of those agents is working for free and won't get paid. It is kind of like you going to work all week and not receiving a paycheck. Does not sound very fun does it?

"Do you need to sell a home prior to buying one?" translation "Let's work on getting your home sold before looking at a bunch of property."

This can be a tough one because many people don't want to sell their house until they have found another one they like. That is understandable. The problem is that it might take months for their home to sell. If they found a great house today chances are good that someone else will buy it by the time their house is sold.

"How long have you been looking for a home?" translation "How picky are you?"

If a buyer has been looking for a home for years then chances are good that they will never find the right home. They are looking for the perfect home that most likely does not exist.  This is usually a case where the budget does not match the tastes. Realtors like to know this ahead of time so they can decide if they want to invest the time and energy into the buyer.