When you work in real estate, lending, insurance...retail....really any business working directly with the public...you have to be prepared to work with 
ALLLL kinds of people. There are the first time buyers and first time sellers...OR the "have not bought or sold for a long aPeople who are transferring...both buying and selling may have different experiences and procedures in buying and selling in a different state and need a little help explaining how things are done for the current transaction.
The diversity of backgrounds, experience, needs and desires of the people we serve is a part of what keeps real estate interesting...it is never the same for any two transactions.
How can a Buyer have "too much information" you ask ? A home is a BIG investment...shouldn't they know everything possible to make the best choices ? You would think that there is only one answer to that question....we don't think so...not necessarily.
Sometimes...egos and the very strong desire to appear "detail oriented"...leads a buyer to ask..."require" an Agent to ask lots and lots 
of questions prior to writing an offer. The questions can be things like...is the refrigerator 2 or 3 years old ? Did the Sellers move to the house in June or July ? The ever popular...Why are the Sellers selling ? The list continues...sometimes with the "demand" that the Selling agent continue to contact the listing agent several times with yet another list of questions to be answered...under the guise that this is necessary information to write an offer.
Are the questions necessary ? No. Will the answers to any of them make any difference in the value of the property ? No. Should the answers to any of these kinds of questions change anything in the offer ? No.
What kind of impression do the marathon lists of questions leave on the Seller who is of course the one deciding which Buyer will purchase the house ?
Having been on both sides of this kind of transaction..Seller receiving a million questions and Buyer suggesting that they ask them...we can tell you from our experience...this is not a good thing.
Sellers know for the next 30-45 days they will be "doing business" with the Endless Ms, Mr. Question. Their minds immediately go to...if this is the kind of behavior before an offer...what will an inspection, 
financing and closing be like ? Yikes !!!! For this very reason...we have had Sellers choose other offers to avoid what they saw as disaster in the future.
Agents...guide your Buyers to ask relevant questions rather than badger Sellers with questions that don't matter. Buyers...ask yourself ...What difference will the answer to this question make in an offer ? Chances are the answer is no difference at all. Be aware of the perceptions others have of you,..or your Buyer...it may well not be the same as your own.
This has been an informational real estate post brought to you by Sally K. & David L. Hanson, Broker Associates with EXP Realty, honored to be of service for all things real estate in southeastern Wisconsin.
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