Morrow County, Ohio Real Estate

Mount Gilead Buyer Says "But I Just Wanna See The House!"

This one comes up a lot.  I get a call from a potential buyer and they've called on one of my listings and they want to go see the house.  My standard response is then to ask them; if they're working with anybody to help them find a house, and if they have talked with a lender and are they already preapproved.  Often the answer is "No, we're not working with anyone and Yes, we are preapproved."  What a pleasure it is to meet and work with these folks because they've learned the value of getting that loan approval letter in hand before looking at homes.

Every so often though, I get a response something like; "Well no, we haven't talked with a lender, we just wanna see the house."  I get real nervous when I get this response. 

As professionals, we understand the value of qualifying our prospects, both buyers and sellers.  Are these "lurkers" just nosey neighbors?  Are they burglars wanting to case the joint?  Are they drug addicts just wanting to use the bathroom so they can go through the medicine cabinet?

You see for many (selfish) reasons, I want to meet my potential clients before I just run out and show them a home.  I want all of us to be safe rather than sorry.  (Would you want your Mother or your young daughter running out at the last minute and meeting a total stranger in an empty house?)

But this is only 50% of the rationale.  It's really imperitive for the buyer's benefit that they meet with the agent prior to visiting the first home.  The buyer/agent relationship is going to last for some time, through the viewing and buying process and then hopefully for years to come.  By meeting and finding out about each other, they can begin to develop a relationship of mutual respect for each other.

The Realtor can: explain how they run their business (hours and days they work, use of email and v/mail for communications, etc.  The agent can go through the entire home buying process, explaining financing options and benefits, talk about the home inspection process along with the repair remedy process.  We can talk about multiple offers and how we'll handle that should it come up.

They buyer can; verbalize what they want in a home and why that's important to them, they can have the opportunity to see and understand the MLS property reports that their agent will send them, they can go through a sample Settlement Statement so that they can understand what their transaction costs might really be and when they'll be expected to have these monies, (earnest money, inspection fees, etc.)

For me this whole process, what I call the "Buyer Interview" typically lasts about an hour and it's pretty straightforward and natural for me.  But for the buyer it's a new experience that I think allows them to leave the appointment with more knowledge.  And with more knowledge comes less anxiety and increased confidence in the decisions that they are about to make.

If you've been thinking about buying a home, call Herb now at 419-947-4004 to set up your own "Buyer Interview". 

To see what's available in Morrow County, visit www.herbsells.com