Earlier in my career, I had a friend who became a client. Well, a quasi client would be a better descriptive. My friend LOVED looking at houses. She spent time in each listing admiring the decor and gathering decorating tips. She even drove around town searching for more homes for us to preview!
But it was what she didn't do that determined that she was not a home buyer at all, in fact she was simply taking a sight seeing tour. Being a brand new REALTOR at the time, it took me a bit of time to recognize the difference. After all, she was excited about seeing the homes and definitely relished the time spent with me gleaning as much information as possible about how to enhance a property and pertinent details about the community.
What she didn't do was:
1. Contact a lender to obtain a pre-approval letter. EXCUSE: The looming divorce settlement was not finalized
2. Create a realistic buget and goal for what she wanted in a home. EXCUSE: Looking at houses was fun!
3. Work on saving money for a down payment or get a real job. EXCUSE: That would come later...
As a new REALTOR, I really wanted to help my friend. I did not want to appear rude. And, I was hoping that things would fall together so she could finally purchase a home for her family. But, one day after another round of 'house viewing' that was not really 'house shopping' she remarked that she just 'loved looking at houses with me.' That's when it dawned on my that this is ALL we were doing. Looking at houses that is!
Turning to her, I said 'You know what, I am not in the Chauffeur business, I sell houses for a LIVING! I realized that I had inadvertently become an 'accidental tourist'! That was the end of our house viewing expeditions.
I still have to remind myself at times of the importance of focus with regards to my real estate practise. The fact that I genuinely enjoy being with people must be tempered with the restraints of extended conversations & time with every caller or client. To remain focused, I must use time wisely and determine fairly accurately if a client is 'coachable' or bent on ignoring my counsel.
I must continually monitor my investment gleaned from my hundreds of hours of study and practise and determine if this expertise will be appropriately utilized to the benefit of the party requesting assistance. I've learned that failing to do this can lead to burn-out and a lack of availability for those who really need my help and are actually house hunting...not simply house viewing.
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