10 Best Practices for Working with Buyers (and Getting Referrals)

Have you been concerned at any point this year about how to express the value you bring when you represent a homebuyer in a real estate transaction? You know what you do, but how do you explain it so a buyer understands your value? Do you describe the required office forms, the possible pitfalls and everything involved in making it to the closing table?

Ultimately, every potential buyer, contract, and negotiation is unique, but the value you provide should be consistent across situations and customers. How you behave and present yourself to each potential buyer should not vary from situation to situation or transaction.

Follow these best practices consistently – for all prospects, in all situations – and you won’t have to worry about anything. In fact, you will become known as a true professional and receive repeat and referral business as a result of doing the best possible work for your clients. Here are our ten best practices for working with any copper client.

1. Understand their unique needs

Get the details using a detailed buyer prequalification questionnaire. You’ll discover exactly what your buyers are looking for, what they qualify for, where they need to move geographically, and what their other financial or lifestyle requirements might be. You can also learn other important criteria by asking the right questions. The more you know, the better prepared you will be to find your buyers and customers exactly what they are looking for.

2. Educate your buyer clients about financing

While many homebuyers can benefit from a conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, other borrowers may need access to other loan programs with more lenient guidelines.
Know the basics of each major home loan program and its financing terms and options. Then connect them with a trusted mortgage professional who can help them find the best mortgage solution for their specific needs.

Make sure your buyers understand the difference between pre-qualified, pre-approved, and loan committed. In today’s market, having pre-approval (at the very least) is a must. What steps must they take to fulfill the loan obligation?

3. Strategies for victory (in any situation)

Explore all possible scenarios and outcomes of a given transaction so you can serve buyers accordingly. Here are some important questions you need to learn the answers to:

• Are your buyer customers also customers?
• Do they move or invest? Are they moving from another city or state?
• Are they in a financial situation where they can compete for a home if necessary?
• Should they buy first or sell first?
• Do they have realistic expectations?
• Are they looking in an area that actually has the type of real estate they want?
• Should they consider new construction?

Knowing the answers to these questions for each buyer client will help determine the strategies you recommend and will go a long way toward helping your buyer clients achieve their homeownership goals.

4. Find the right home for your buyer

Supplies are in short supply, and will likely remain that way for a while. One of your most important value propositions is your ability to match it with the right real estate. To do that, you need more than just one Realtor.com, Homes.com And Zillow. Online and offline resources are at your fingertips as a real estate professional, giving you more ways to find inventory outside of your MLS. You can also be more creative in your MLS searches so you have more inventory to choose from for your buyer clients.

5. Advise your buyer clients based on market knowledge

Find out everything you can about the subject of real estate, the neighborhood, the owners association and rates, the market developments in the area, real estate taxes, the average days on the market, the list-to-sell price ratio and other relevant details that from could influence your customer’s offering. Knowledge is power, and having this data at your fingertips can help you level up your customer’s expectations about the homebuying process.

6. Help buyers write a winning offer

Understand what the seller wants beyond the asking price. Make sure you have the best, most detailed letter from the lender or proof of financing so your offer isn’t submitted because it’s too vague or too basic. Make your offer an obvious frontrunner based on facts, not just conjecture, and help your buyer put their best foot forward in the terms they’re offering.

7. Guide your buyer through escrow

Once you win the offer, help your clients through the contingencies, inspections, appraisal process, and final walkthrough. Home inspections have become a secondary negotiating point. This can be an important value you provide to your buyer customers. Managing the transaction between pending and closing transactions can be the most challenging part of the home buying process. Be the reason your customers make it to the closing table.

8. Communicate clearly and often

Every time a survey is distributed to recently closed real estate clients, their biggest complaint is always the same. It’s not the committee; it is communication. Always be one step ahead of your customers. They need to know what is happening now and what will happen in the future. Lack of information causes enormous stress, especially with one of the most important purchases your customers are likely to make in their lives. Be the leader in the transaction.

9. Ensure a smooth closing process

Work with all parties to permanently eliminate any financing and inspection risks and help your buyers navigate pre-closing. Finally, help them review the closing documents. Answer their questions and make sure everyone feels comfortable before signing.

10. Follow-up after closing

From a closing gift to answering questions about appliances or their new home, you are the point of contact. Don’t disappear after the deal is done. Instead, close the file, but not the relationship. Expand them into your CRM database and include them in your sphere of influence. This is how repeat and referral activities happen.

All of these action items are strategies that professional, experienced real estate agents are already using. Make sure you join them by following these best practices every time you work with a buyer. Word of mouth and customer testimonials are powerful marketing tools that can help you get referrals.