First time home buyers can be your some of your most rewarding clients. They will also push you to be the best version of the type of agent you are. Investors who have done many transactions in their life tend to look over the minutiae of the process and simply ask where to sign once at the table. Even further, some may not even go to the table anymore, electing to do everything by a mailout. Because of this large gap in experience with the process of buying a home, first time buyers require more care. You should be willing and able to provide that whenever needed.
A first-time buyer may often have a fear of navigating the process. They do not know each of the steps and deadlines to keep track of, when you should conduct the inspection and order the appraisal. Some may not even know that they need to pay for those two items. You are there to be their guide, and to provide wisdom at each step of the way. If they misinterpreted the stakes of their local market, you can provide them color as to why they got beat on a certain offer, or why their low-ball offer was not even responded to. Always be available for consultation and when asked about certain details be sure to provide the best answers, that come from well-reasoned positions on items you know to be true.
Indecisiveness can be a first-time buyer’s Achilles heel. It is best to be understanding of that fact and to help them tackle it with real world experience. The first is to empathize with the thought that it can be scary to decide on the house you would like to live forever or at least for many years in the short term. The simple fact that you may need 15 minutes to make that choice, or possibly up to an hour can be a hard one to face. Doubt creeps in quick, and in some Denver markets you only have the weekend to deliberate on those facts. If your client is second guessing themselves, you can assist by letting them know the positives and the negatives as you see it. You should have their criteria down by this point and anything that works against what they are looking for can easily be examined. Have they always wanted a two-car garage, and the one house you are looking at happens to be one of the only ones in the neighborhood? Is it also the one house that doesn’t have AC yet? Which of those is more important when it comes to it? Is there a third choice in a different neighborhood that has both? Could you live with a one car garage so long as the AC is there as well? These are the sorts of questions that the buyers themselves must answer, but you can use your local knowledge to guide their hand. Everything can be weighed as a pro and a con and sometimes compromise is necessary. If there is a single fact that the home, they are looking for doesn’t exist either in their price range, neighborhood or school district they must be in, that can be an education moment as well. Between all of you, these sorts of conversations only get easier. They must be had in the beginning though, to preserve everyone’s time. You don’t want to spend too much time chasing a dream that doesn’t exist or is not realistic. Managing expectations up front is a skill in any endeavor and should be employed here.
Helping first-time buyers is a skill and one you should have in your repertoire. Your clients will always come from varied backgrounds and financial statuses. They are each equally important and deserve as much expertise as you can give. That is the only way to conduct oneself after all.
Blue Olive Properties, a Littleton property management and real estate group, can help in any way needed from first time buyers to seasoned investors alike. We’d love to chat with you today.
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