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Thursday, May 16, 2024

first time home buyers

    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

    The Free Interactive Real Estate Business Plan allows you to enter your business goals for this year and get a breakdown of how many prospects, listings, closing, and so on are needed to reach your goals.  – Click Here

    5. The Become a Listing Legend Free eBook 

    This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Become-A-Listing-Legend-3D-Book-White-274x300.jpg

    Ready to take a vertical leap in your real estate career? If you’re looking for inspiration…and the tools and methods to dominate a market and go to the top in real estate…you’ll find them in this free book. – Click Here

    6. The Take a Listing Today Podcast

    Watch the ProspectsPLUS!, Take a Listing Today Podcast for actionable content to help you get more listings. – Click Here

    Real Estate Door Hangers That Work

    Door Hangers are the perfect tool for branding yourself as the neighborhood expert. They catch attention, provide the perfect reason for canvassing, and are an easy and effective leave behind.

    Here are seven ways to SCORE BIG using Door Hangers.

    1.  Content is key

    The right door hanger for the right situation is key. Who are you trying to attract? Our Listing Inventory Series of Door Hangers are designed specifically to help agents find more sellers.

    We also offer FSBO’s Door Hangers and Expireds Door Hangers, which are handy to have in the car when you come across a FSBO that just popped up or see an expired come off the market that’s close by.

    In addition, you can use door hangers to brand yourself, spotlight a new listing, or advertise an open house.  The possibilities are endless.

     

    2.  Include a call to action

    Often agents will put time and energy into getting their message right, then forget to tell their prospects what they want them to do next.  Always make sure there is a call to action that’s simple and direct on your marketing pieces. For a memorable call to action select our Free Competitive Market Analysis Door Hanger.

    3.  Know your neighborhood

    Know how many homes are in the neighborhood you are canvassing. Then, based on the number of homes, come up with a strategic plan for conquering the whole area over time. An easy way to confirm how many homes are in a neighborhood is to use a tool available on our EDDM page (HERE). Once there click the “Get Started” link. On the next screen, there is a link to “choose your carrier route” this tool will allow you to find out how many homes are in a given area so you’re sure to order enough door hangers.

    4.  Keep them readily available 

    Keep a variety of door hangers available to address different niche markets so you are prepared for any opportunity that might cross your path. Many agents stock their trunks with various materials including, objection handling brochures, extra business cards, listing agreements, presentation folders, and door hangers.  As the saying goes, “To be prepared is half the victory”.

    5.  Timing is everything

    If you want to just get the hangers on the door without actually talking to many people, mornings (after people leave for work) are good.  If shaking hands and making connections with potential sellers and buyers is what you are after, then early evening after people have made their way home, is a smart choice.

    6.  Blitz an Area

    Take your team along and create a plan of attack that includes breaking up the canvassing in sections. Then blitz the neighborhood from all sides and begin the process of branding the area and officially introducing everyone to the new area experts.

    7.  The layered approach

    Prior to delivering door hangers to a specific neighborhood or in conjunction with this effort, make a few phone calls, send some agent introduction postcards or a community newsletter.  That way when you are meeting face-to-face, your prospects will be more likely to recognize you as the ‘neighborhood expert.’  If you’re using the listing inventory door hangers, we have Listing Inventory Postcards that compliment them nicely. You can find them here.

    Get prepared for your next FSBO sighting by ordering 100 FSBO Door Hangers today to have available to leave on the door of the next home you see with a FSBO sign.

    Need help targeting the perfect niche of sellers? Use our mailing list tool to create the ideal list or call our support team for assistance at 866.405.3638!

    PLUS: Get Instant Access below to 3 FREE tools that will help you CONQUER Your Market this year!

    1. An Easy & Effective Agent Business Plan – Treating your business like a business it is crucial to your success. Our one-page simple, yet powerful agent business plan is the answer! – Click Here

    2. Marketing Dollars Success Tool – Enter your numbers into our Free online calculator to find out how to get the best ROI from your marketing dollar, instantly! – Click Here

    3. Get a 12 Month Expert Marketing Plan – Get a free 12-month plan for What marketing to do when. Four key target markets included, Niche Marketing, Listing Inventory, Geographic Farming, and Sphere of Influence – Click Here

    Also…check out these cool tools created to make YOUR life easier 🙂

    Turn One Listing Into Many – All From Your Mobile Phone, Click Here

    Automatically Send Your Just Listed/Just Sold Postcards – Work Smarter Not Harder, Click Here

    Become a Neighborhood Brand – With the Market Dominator System, Click Here

     

    Working the Renter Niche

    Most top agents focus their business marketing in three important areas:  their sphere of influence, their geographic farm, and a niche market.

    One niche that gets a lot of attention is the renter market. With rents on the rise across the nation, interest rates still historically low, and housing prices not yet scaling too quickly –it’s the perfect opportunity for renters to kiss their landlord goodbye – as it says in one of our most popular postcards for agents working this market.

    Consistency is Key

    As with any marketing campaign, consistency is key. Our First Time Buyer/Renter series has eight postcards, which is perfect for a 6-8 month campaign. Here’s what you do:

    • Choose some higher end rental properties or apartment complexes in your area and capture a mailing list.
    • On the reverse side of the postcard, make an offer for an item of value such as one of our free reports.
    • After each mailing has hit, be sure to follow up either by phone call or get out in the community and start meeting the people. Is there a Starbucks or coffee shop near the rental community? Let people know you’ll be there to answer questions one morning at a specific time. You can even use the back of the postcards as an invitation!
    • Repeat this process once a month for the next six months.

    Another great idea from the Master Marketing Schedule is to send the Kiss Your Landlord Goodbye postcard to 100 renters in your market.

    Related: Attracting First Time Home Buyers

     Need help? Were here for you. Contact our support team at 866.405.3638 today. 

     

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