It never ceases to amaze me that the majority of agents in any market still don't have the phone skills to qualify their buyers! While some have no problem getting to the bottom of a prospective purchaser's financial wherewithal, there are others that find the "qualifying process" too intrusive and personal. I have spent many hours training my agents to ask the questions in a professional, yet unobtrusive way. I always tell them that, "if you ask the question like you deserve to know the answer you will rarely run into any conflict". I have found that the only prospects that get offended are the ones that probably have not been "pre-qualified" yet they want you to make an appointment to show them the property. This can only lead to a bunch of wasted time and a seller that is left wondering why the prospect didn't take the next step.
Another frustration is the agent from a different company asking to view property and they either don't know if their prospect is qualified or is taking their word for granted. To show an unqualified prospect a home, then submit an offer and get an acceptance from the owner, write a contract for purchase which is subject to financing and then have the deal fall apart because the financing was not approved seems inconceivable, yet it continues to happen!
One of my favorite things about Active Rain is the generous advice that is shared amongst it's users! I would love to receive some comments and suggestions about the scenarios above so that I can continue to fine tune the way our industry does business.
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