When a Seller Says, "Thanks, but I Already Have a Buyer for My Home"..
In recent years, I've heard these same words over and over again from some folks when I offered to list and market their home for sale. And in each and every instance, it turned out that the "buyer" they believed was ready to buy their house turned out to be either disinterested, insincere or incapable of doing the deal.
All those would-be sellers wound up listing their property with me and the job of listing and selling their home was accomplished to their satisfaction. And each one of them lamented to me that they had been one hundred per cent certain that they would not need the services of a listing agent, because they believed they had found a buyer on their own. They asked me, "why would a friend or acquaintance say, 'I'll buy your house' when they have no real intention of closing the deal"?
First off, I happen to believe that folks who compliment a homeowner by saying, "you have a great home, I'd buy it in a New York minute" aren't intending to decieve. They probably believe that such a statement is a compliment. Maybe what they're trying to say is that they'd buy your house if they actually had any money.
And when disappointed, disillusioned, eager-to-be-sellers find out that their bird in the hand buyer prospect suddenly changed their mind and flew away, do these sellers ever stop to ask themselves how they got duped in the first place?
Sellers,
- Did you ask your seemingly eager buyer prospect if they have financing lined up?
- Did you ask what the prospect's time frame for closing the sale might be?
- Did you propose that they sit down with an attorney or an agent and draft an offer?
If you're going to try and save yourself a few bucks by selling your house by owner, remember that licensed agents learn early in their career to ask these same questions. A successful agent isn't afraid to ask a prospect if they can afford the house, if they have money for a downpayment or if they have been prequaified for a mortgage. Agents know that success means asking the right questions and making certain that the process will actually move forward.
FSBOs, you have to think like a real estate agent if you're seriously hoping to achieve the success that successful agents do. There's an old and somewhat vulgar saying in business that "money talks and b.s. walks". A prospect who lacks the financial capacity to buy your home is never going to perform, are they?
What a real estate agent does during the transaction process may look simple to the public, at least until they have the opportunity to observe what it really takes for an agent to get the job done. But it's not easy. If sealing the deal was such a breeze, then more FSBOs would be getting their homes sold. And it's not enough to ask the right questions. The job of qualifying a prospective buyer and moving them forward in the transaction process also requires tact and discretion.
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