Point - Counterpoint - Pre-Qualifying a Buyer's Agent Pre-Appointment
Endre Barath, Jr. recently wrote a great post, spawning off of a heavily debated question in the Q&A section. I totally respect Endre and his devotion to spend countless hours. vetting all buyers and their agents who are showing his properties but, I do have a counterpoint to this approach. Okay, a few counterpoints!
As for pre-qualifying a buyer or their agent, here is what I discuss with my sellers and 99% of them opt for NOT vetting them before they tour the home:
1. If, as a buyer's agent, you are on a tight schedule with your buyers, it is incredibly annoying to be phoned by the listing agent prior to the showing (unless they have something of relevance to share regarding the property that I did not previously know). If I'm in my car with relo buyers and receive a call from a listing agent, asking me questions about my buyer, chances are, it's not only going to upset me that they've interrupted our day but, it is quite insulting to buyers who are in town on a buying trip. They would NEVER have traveled this far as Looky-Lous!
I personally absolutely love showing homes and looking at them but, I would never travel to Seattle from Charlotte for the weekend, just to kick a few tires!
2. I have had numerous past clients in my car who actually didn't know if they were quite ready to buy - they just wanted to see a couple of homes that were on the market in the communities that they 'think' they may want to reside. "Maybe we'll sell now, maybe we won't." I KNOW these folks, I've worked with them in the past; I've watched hubby climb the corporate ladder or the wife open a thriving business and I know how they live their lives. NO, I don't know all of their finanaces but, rest assured, they wouldn't even be 'thinking' about selling their home and buying a new one, if they couldn't afford to do so. I've shown many buyers homes that they fall in love with and we have to scramble to get those pre-approvals. However, most often, it's a simple phone call to their asset manager...and it's done. Had a listing agent 'vetted' them prior to their touring the home, chances are, they wouldn't even have taken the time to tour the home and would not have been able to bring that seller a TRULY qualified Offer!
3. Is the buyer's agent the major factor in this equation? Absolutely! However, starting the showing off on a negative note (yes, this is implied), is not in the best interest of our Sellers. Allow them to show and then, when they do present an Offer (if they do), then, and only then, is the buyer is vetted extensively.
4. As an active agent in our area, there are fewer than 50 agents (out of our 10,000) that I KNOW often have high networth buyers in their car that don't require pre-approvals until they are prepared to buy. These local buyers typically take over a year to make a decision. No pre-approval is written for a one-year+ period and I can tell you that these buyers would not jump through hoops to get an updated pre-approvel every month, just so they can tour one or two properties.
5. I have had agents phone me in the past - they will ask if we have the pre-approval, then continue the conversation by asking other questions that I would never answer (protecting my buyer, of course). I have never perceived these calls as truly representing their sellers' best interest; it almost screams of desperation...in fact, it's quite insulting.
Please don't phone me to vet me or my buyers - it really is insulting to us both!
All this said, if I don't know my buyers well or have been working with them for a relatively short period of time, YES, they will have to have a pre-approval prior to searching for homes, especially if their home purchase is imminent. I understand a listing agent trying to do the right thing for their sellers but, in my sellers' opinions, getting more buyers through their home is more important to them than being sure they've got a piece of paper that may or may not mean they're truly qualified to buy. Perhaps their home is THE one that makes a buyer decide to make a move.
My advice to my sellers: Get as many buyers through your home as possible - the right buyer is out there and may not even think they're going to buy a house today!
Buyers coming through without their pre-approval in-hand may just be tire kickers that actually just kicked their perfect tire - your sellers' home!
© Debe Maxwell | The Maxwell House Group | CharlotteBroker@icloud.com | Point - Counterpoint - Pre-Qualifying a Buyer's Agent Pre-Appointment
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