Posted by Henry B. Torn on September 5, 2009 at 1:48am
Oh the Illusions of Grandeur!!We have all heard it and deal with it everyday. "I'm looking for a STEAL or really good deal!!" "I want to buy the million dollar property for $400K!!" " Oh and it has to be move in condition"Perhaps I am wrong for being so candid with my clients and prospects by responding with, " NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!!"HELP!!! I NEED SELLING IDEAS AND SOLUTIONS FROM MY FELLOW REO AGENTS.........What selling techniques are working for you? How are you overcoming unrealistic expectations with your buyer clients?Is any one 'mixing' conventional sales with REO's in your search? As I have 'vented' in past blogs, the REO inventory at least here in the Chicago market is relatively thin and the conditions of these properties are not good for the most part.I feel like I am losing a lot of business by advising the buying public of the reality of the market versus their fantasy of great property, great location, great deal, and of course the proverbial "I'm the only buyer for this diamond in the rough""I'm such a shrewd dealmaker that there is no one else but me and the Bank/Asset Mgt. who owns this property needs me more then I need them!!"I genuinely believe many of these buyers convince themselves of this. I genuinely believe they pound their chests thinking they are going to have their cake and eat it too and that simply is not the 'reality' of this market at least here.Any ideas, solutions, effective selling techniques would be appreciated. Thanks for letting me once again VENT!
Hi Henry, it is a good idea to have "the talk" with them ahead of time regarding what the "best deal" is and where to find it. REO's are not always the bargain some hope they might be. Sometimes a probate, or traditional motivated seller may be a better deal. You have to qualify them to find out what their reality is, and then educate with comparable property stats. I always love the buyers who tell me "my friend got a great deal because they got $ 20,000. off the list price." I always ask "How do you know the house was priced right?" and "Is it a better deal to get a home worth $350,000 for $ 350,000 just because it was listed for $370,000?" At times it takes a long time to drive the point home. I like Beth's idea- pay to learn.
I have no problem with these types. I have them sign my Buyer's Agency, agree to pay me a sepcific amount of money over $ 100.00 per day for showing them listings, itemized as showing fees, then IF/WHEN the proeprty closes, the money they have paid me goes towards their earnest money. If the deal is not finalized within 6 months then I am paid the money as a fee. This keeps the lookie loos out, the low balls from happening too often and keeps the cream of the lookers at the top of the pile. I'm not out wasting my time!! usually after the 1st day, they come back to reality!
LOL, I thought I was the only one getting these, but on my listings. Agents also have this attitude sometimes!
The only thing you can do is take them out and give them a good dose of reality. And after they have lost a couple of deals due to their low-ball offers and un-realistic demands, maybe they will come around. If not......NEXT! Fire them and go on to the next buyer. No need to waste your time with buyers who will not come back to earth when there are plenty of "real" buyers out there.
But that is just my personal opinion and as I tell agents in my office, you have to develop a business model on how you want to conduct business and then stick to it. TIME is the most precious item to us, something we have little control of must learn to master it.
Comments
The only thing you can do is take them out and give them a good dose of reality. And after they have lost a couple of deals due to their low-ball offers and un-realistic demands, maybe they will come around. If not......NEXT! Fire them and go on to the next buyer. No need to waste your time with buyers who will not come back to earth when there are plenty of "real" buyers out there.
But that is just my personal opinion and as I tell agents in my office, you have to develop a business model on how you want to conduct business and then stick to it. TIME is the most precious item to us, something we have little control of must learn to master it.