buyers

How to Work with a Reluctant Home Buyer and Save a Faltering Deal!

Mar 31, 2022

One thing that hot and heavy real estate markets bring is anxiety for buyers. In slower markets, homebuyers have time to leisurely view homes for sale.

Today, they have to act so quickly they let common sense fall by the wayside. Remorse sets in and, can you blame them?

Buying a home is a huge financial commitment and feeling rushed or challenged in a bidding war can make even the strongest buyer develop lingering doubts.

Think about buying a car. Unless you walked onto the lot knowing exactly which make, model, and year you wanted, you may have had to do some comparison shopping. When you finally narrowed down the choices to one, did you hear that little voice in your head that questioned your choice?

The First Time Buyer Series is shown above. To send a one-time mailing, Click Here. To send a recurring campaign, Click Here.

“Am I making a huge mistake? Maybe I should choose the Nissan instead of the Honda.”

That, my friend, is known as “cold feet,” and it’s the first symptom of a full-blown attack of buyer’s remorse.

Knowing the signs puts you in a position to help your client and save the deal, so let’s unpack this.

Watch out for these warning signs

Not all buyers prone to remorse will exhibit the same symptoms, but do pay attention if any of the following occur:

The buyer is concentrating on the minutia when deciding whether to make an offer. “Asking about when the roof was replaced or how old is the water heater are good questions and the buyers are thinking straight,” suggests Conor MacEvilly at myseattlehomesearch.com.

“But when they start asking about the wine stain on the living room floor, the hairlike crack in the kitchen ceiling, and the dripping bathroom faucet before making an offer, you are probably going to end up with one extra picky buyer …,” he concludes.

The buyer complains of feeling “rushed” or pushed into making an offer. Whether this is because you are actually rushing them (please don’t) or market conditions are putting pressure on them, pay attention to this warning. This is the time to remind them that contingencies are their friends and that nothing is a done deal until those are removed.

Deal with it

Always insist on a buyers’ consultation session before viewing any homes for sale. This is your opportunity to learn more about them and to get a feel for their motivation. It’s an important factor when judging whether they will stick with a deal.

During the consultation, ask them their reasons for buying a home. Here is what you should hope to hear:

Their monthly housing payment will remain stable (at least with a fixed rate loan)
Build wealth
Tax advantages
Freedom to own a pet and make changes to the home
Starting a family or a growing family
Need a larger home to accommodate an aging parent
Just moved to the area and need to move quickly
Want to cut their commute time

While there are others, these are strong motivations for a homebuyer. When feet appear to be getting cold during the buying process, remind your client what motivated them to buy in the first place.

PLUS: When you have time…below are some marketing tools to help support your success.

1. Put Your Real Estate Business a Step Above with Your Own Branded Magazine

Homes & Life Magazine is a customizable magazine, with rich, full-color content, and a sharp, professional esthetic. It includes compelling, direct response-driven articles written by real estate industry experts, combined with engaging lifestyle content. Send out Homes & Life Magazine in Just Minutes – No Minimums Required. Or we’ll ship it to you.

Homes & Life Magazine is the ultimate “Coffee Table Lingerer”! …and, it costs less than sending a greeting card! – Click Here

2. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, niche Markets, geographic farming, sphere of influence, and past clients. – Click Here

3. The BusinessBase, SOI building system

The most effective thing you can do to build a real estate business is to become more visible, more likable, and remembered more often. The BusinessBASE™ not only checks all of these boxes, but it is a business building machine. In two easy steps, you can begin to build a robust sphere of influence that will provide you a lifetime of repeat business and referrals. – Click Here

4. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

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5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

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6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

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Need More Buyers? Consider Marketing to Veterans

Mar 30, 2021

There are an estimated 18 million U.S. military veterans, an undisclosed number of surviving spouses, and 1.4 million men and women currently serving on active duty.

This means that there are in excess of 20 million Americans who may be eligible to take advantage of the VA home loan program.

The good news for an agent who specializes in VA buyers is that millions of veterans feel that 2021 is a good time to buy a home.

Nearly 60% say they intend on buying in the next five years and 34% say they will definitely buy a home this year, according to research conducted by data and consulting company Kantar (for Veterans United Home Loans).

Sounds like a lucrative niche market, right? Not so fast.

“Real estate agents who aren’t familiar with the details of the VA loan program could waste time showing you properties that have little chance of meeting VA and lender guidelines,” warn the pros at veteransunited.com.

If this is a niche you are considering in your real estate business, get up to speed on the VA loan now, because half of the veterans surveyed say they will definitely consider applying for one.

How to become a military-friendly real estate agent

No, you don’t need a background in military service to work effectively with military homebuyers. Sure, it helps when it comes to communication. The real knowledge you’ll need, however, is about the nuts and bolts of the VA loan program.

You’ll also want to get to know the needs of this group of people. Many, for instance, don’t know that they are offered a unique home loan program as part of their benefits. In other words, they are completely unaware of the VA loan program.

“If you have not used the VA home loan program, what was the main reason you did not?” was a question put forth to veterans for the VA’s 2010 National Survey of Veterans. Nearly 34% responded that “I didn’t know about the program.”

Your first job, then, is to create a direct mail piece letting these folks know about the VA mortgage guaranty and singing the praises of its benefits.

Learn what’s important to veterans

Nearly half of the aforementioned survey respondents who did use a VA loan in the past said they did so because there is no down payment required.

Another big handful of them chose the loan for its “favorable interest rate,” and, coming in third, one group said that they felt their loan was more likely to be approved if it was guaranteed by the VA.

Since these features of the program are of such high value to applicants, these are points you need to feature in your marketing pieces.

Especially when it comes to comparing the FHA-backed mortgage with that of the VA (which a substantial number of veterans do), the lack of private mortgage insurance is a biggie.

Although they didn’t mention closing costs (as is typical with most homebuyers), let your leads know that the VA puts limits on the amount that the lender can charge the borrower.

It’s not all rosy, however. The VA loan comes with a funding fee. The amount varies and you can learn more at va.gov.

There is a lot to learn about the VA loan, but it’s all well-worth knowing. The VA makes it easy for you to learn by devoting a section of va.gov to real estate professionals. You’ll find that information at benefits.va.gov.

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Launch an Absentee Owner Campaign by clicking the “GO NOW” button, below (from a desktop or laptop computer).

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Please reach out to our support team at 866.405.3638 with questions or if there is anything we can do to help you with your success.

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

The Real Estate Marketing Planner is a powerful 12-Month-Guide that strategically defines what marketing to do when. Four key market segments are included, Niche Marketing, Get More Listings, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence. –Click Here

2. The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan

3. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

4. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

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The Real Estate Mailing List Guide outlines the top tools for generating targeted prospecting lists including Baby Boomers, Empty Nesters, Investors, Lifestyle Interests, High-Income Renters, Move-Up Markets, and more. The Guide also defines done-for-you marketing campaigns to match these markets. –Click Here

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

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Consistency and automation are the keys to success. Discover how effective direct mail marketing can dramatically increase your bottom line. Enter your statistics in our Free online ROI Calculator and click the ‘CALCULATE MY ROI’ button to see your results instantly! –Click Here

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

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The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted prospect list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

Increase the Odds of Selling Your Next Listing to Your OWN BUYER

Dec 1, 2020

Become a market maker

Dean Jackson, Founder of GoGoAgent and Listing Agent Lifestyle, is an expert in educating agents on the importance of becoming a real estate Market-Maker.

Dean states, “Most agents begin focusing on finding a buyer after they get a new listing. Often agents are only focused on getting listings because their belief is they need these listings to be able to find buyers”.

“But what if you reversed this thinking?” Dean continues, “What if instead of matching buyers and sellers, listing by listing, you become a Market-Maker who’s truly controlling your market?”.

How incredible would it be to arrive at your listing appointment with a list of buyers, you’ve already been communicating with, from the surrounding area?

As Dean says, “There’s nothing more powerful than this position because you’ve got the very thing that the seller wants more than anything”.

“Regardless of who else is competing for this listing they can’t win when you already have buyers in hand”.

When you begin to see your listing appointments in this way you are changing the game completely and taking your first steps toward becoming a Market-Maker.

NAR statistics show home buyers, on average, move within 15 miles of their last location. This means there’s a good chance your listings home buyers are renters located in the same area.

Based on this fact, it only makes sense to create a Renter Prospect List in the area that you are currently prospecting/farming and begin marketing to this list.

This will allow you to show up at your listing appointments already armed with a list of prospective buyers.

*Renter Prospect List* pinpointed on map

In fact, you can demonstrate this by printing out your Renter Prospect List in map form on ProspectsPLUS!. Use the List Management Tool under your account options to do this.

Then, take your map with you on your listing appointments.

Show this map to homeowners and tell them you’ve been looking for their home’s buyer for months.

State you have a pool of potential buyers you’ve been communicating with that live in the surrounding area. Then, discuss the high probability that their home buyer is on your list (based on statistics).

Imagine the feeling you’ll have selling this listing to your own buyer – that’s a true Market-Maker!

Watch this video (below) to see how to build a list of High-Income Renters and then map your list and print it out.

How to turbo-charge the buyer pool for your current listings

If you already have a listing and are getting ready to send out your Just Listed postcards, here’s how to increase your buyer pool and the odds of selling this listing to your own buyer.

FIRST: Choose your Just Listed postcard on ProspectsPLUS! and complete any edits that you may need.

NEXT: Once you get to the “proof screen”, you’ll see a blue box in the right vertical column (See photo on right).

Click the yellow “add renters list” button inside the blue box.

BAM! you just added a list of renters, in the same area, to your Just Listed campaign.

It doesn’t get any easier than that to increase your buyer pool, and the odds of selling to your buyer, for that listing.

Bottom line

Whether adding a renter list to your existing just listed campaign or marketing to renters in your farm area, the most essential item you can have in your arsenal is a large pool of buyers within 15 miles of your listings.

While other agents are discussing (with fingers crossed) what they’ll do to find a buyer once the listing agreement is signed you stand alone because you’ve already done the work.

Send a Just Listed postcard from the Multi-Photo Series to a radius surrounding your listing.

Don’t forget to add a list of renters to your just listed campaign to increase the odds of selling to your own buyer.

Need help targeting a specific niche of buyers or sellers? Use our prospect list tools to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

By The Way, Happy Giving Tuesday Everyone!

PLUS: When you have time…here are some helpful resources we’ve made available to support your success.

1. Become a Neighborhood Brand

Become branded in a specific neighborhood with a 12X15 marketing piece sent automatically each month to an exclusive carrier route. Watch this video to learn more or Click Here.

2. The Free Real Estate Mailing List Guide

3. The Free 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan

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4. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan

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Treat your business like a business it is vital to long-term success in this industry. Some agents may put together elaborate business plans, yet there’s something powerful about keeping it simple. Check out our one page Online Real Estate Business Plan. – Click Here

5. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

6. The Free Online ROI Calculator

7. The Free Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

Meet your 2020 homebuying clients

Dec 11, 2019

It may seem like buyers are buyers, from one year to the next. Buyers’ agents understand, however, that no two clients are alike, and that “buyers,” as a group, hold certain commonalities.

We’ve already officially entered the decade of the first-time buyers, as millennials aged into the housing market. Classifying “buyers” became immensely easier. We know a whole lot about the largest group of them in the market.

Of course, whether buying or selling real estate, who reaches out to you for help depends on the types of consumers you’ve been stuffing into your pipeline this year and last.

And, how consistently you’ve kept in touch with these real estate leads.

In a perfect world, your CRM is impeccably organized, your leads segmented, your follow-up spot on and you perform multiple touches throughout the year.

The Ready to Own postcard from the First Time Buyer Series is available in the postcard section.

Since the world isn’t perfect (nor are most agents’ CRMs), 2020 may be feast or famine time (as usual, right?).

Here’s what the “experts” are saying

Don’t you love reading the year-end prognostications about next year’s real estate market? While in late 2018 the experts were far more committed to their guesstimates of the 2019 market, this year, they are all hedging their bets.

Nobody is really sure what the real estate market will be like in 2020. Except for Nobel-prize winning economist Robert Shiller.

In September, he stated “that the U.S. housing market could start to see a fall,” according to Harsh Chauhan at CCN.com. Chauhan bases his predictions largely on the fact that existing home sales fell 2.2 percent in September.

Hey, isn’t that the time the market slows every year?

The Six Move-Up Mistakes Homebuyers Make Report is available in the Free REport section.

The truth is, Americans, by and large, are optimistic about the economy. NAR’s latest quarterly survey finds that 63 percent of buyers “feel optimistic” and 52 percent are happy with the way the economy is humming along.

So, will 2020 be a buyers’ market or a sellers’ market?

I really wish that the media would survey the country’s real estate agents when putting together their year-end roundup of expert opinions.

What are the chances that an economist or other “expert” sitting behind a desk, set in front of a wall of framed college degrees, has actually worked with real estate clients? Day in, day out, over the past year?

It’s agents who are closest to the market’s pulse, who feel the changes as they happen. It often takes a month or more for the media to catch on.

Agents across the country have told us they agree with Freddie Mac’s forecast of “a projected upward tick in housing supply” next year. While it may not be upward enough to balance the market, it will bring relief to many buyers.

Speaking of which, look for demand to remain high for homes in the lower price ranges. In Chicago, for instance, this includes anything priced lower than $325,000

Who are these buyers and what do they want?

“If you’re selling a house next year, expect to see a lot of young couples walking through your doors during open houses,” claims an unnamed writer at AZBigMedia.com.

Oops. Millennials, by and large, don’t like open houses. Members of Generation X, on the other hand, love them. According to NAR studies, 63 percent of Gen X homebuyers claim to have visited open houses before buying.

Which is great news for open-house holders

Unlike Millennials, Gen Z clients are more likely to have a home to sell before buying, giving their lucky agents a twofer.

They’re buying more expensive homes as well. They require less hand-holding. Hopefully, you’ve been pursuing this cohort because they and baby boomers will be the clients who bring you the best commission checks.

Yes, Millennial first-time buyers are expected to still loom large in the 2020 real estate market, so if the cohort is among your target clientele, relax.

If, on the other hand, you’re pursuing the more-bang-for-the-buck type of Gen X transaction, get to know the master-planned communities in your market. Specifically, those that offer homes with:

Three to four bedrooms in a minimum of 2,300 square feet
Single-story homes for the older members of the cohort (many hope to age in place)
Plenty of nearby amenities, such as parks and good schools
Quick commutes to the nearest city

Baby boomer homebuyers, on the other hand, are typically looking to downsize, so they’re competing with Millennials for those low-priced smaller homes.

Many in the cohort have decided to rent while others are aging out of the housing market entirely.

Boomers’ hot buttons?

Efficient floorplans with lots of storage options
A laundry room is a must
Energy-efficient appliances and windows
Homes that offer smart-home technology
Home office
Lots of natural light
Single-story homes with no stairway access
Homes in walkable neighborhoods near shops and eateries

The cohort’s cold buttons are just as important, so don’t show them:

Homes in golf course communities (unless they voice a preference for them)
Homes with an elevator or wine cellar
Anything with more than one story

The Perfect Timing postcard from the First Time Buyer Series is available in the postcard section.

Fortunate is the agent who steadfastly targeted the older demographics this year and last. Next year may just be your most prosperous yet.

Send the Perfect Timing postcard from the First Time Buyer Series to a targeted list of renters.

Need help targeting the perfect list of renters? Use our mailing list too l to create the ideal list (it’s easy) or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

PLUS: When you have time…here are Free killer tools to help your success this year!

1. The 12 Month Done-For-You Strategic Marketing Plan – NEW 2020!

2. The Free One-Page Real Estate Business Plan – NEW 2020!

3. Get the ALL-NEW “Insider Secret “Real Estate Marketing Guide “CRUSH IT”

The “Crush It” Guide includes easy steps to launching an effective direct mail marketing campaign, how to create a targeted mailing list, the perfect way to layout marketing materials for success, seven opportunities available to target in your area right now. –Click Here

4. Become a Listing Legend Free eBook

5. The Free Online ROI Calculator

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