Preventing time wasted on calls from tire-kicker buyers?

Question

Anyone got ANY TIPS AT ALL to minimize wasting time with UNQUALIFIED and/or UNSERIOUS tire-kicker buyers that call you? (This is when working with retail / market-price house-buyers who need to qualify for a bank loan.)  Like ways you can tell from that 1st phone call, from the way they answer your questions?

And if they object that, BEFORE they will apply for a loan, they FIRST want to meet with you in-person or see if they want a specific home, how do you answer that without sounding too abrupt or firm, thus becoming a Realtor they don’t want to work with, even if they DO end up qualifying for a loan?

(Is the trick with that to keep following up via a drip email campaign or automated texts or something, thus building and maintaining a relationship without investing time until they’re ready?) One idea of mine is to invite them to the next Open House, so they can tour the house with the competition, and meet me, without me making a separate appointment with each buyer lead???

ONLY IF YOU LIKE DETAILS:

I’m not used to all the calls from first-time homebuyers who either AREN’T serious, or ARE serious but don’t know if they qualify, and when I email them contact info for recommended lenders to apply through or call, then I never hear from them again.

I know wasting SOME time is unavoidable, but I was thinking there may be certain “homework assignments” I could give them to do (like gathering together and emailing their last 2 months of pay stubs), or “magic” questions to ask them, or ask them to pull their own credit report and let me know if the numbers are over a certain amount.

I also want to minimize wasting the time of my LENDERS, although I know that’s part of their job description, too.

Appreciate the advice, thanks!

Frank Wong · Answer

Hi Lara,

At first call, you will not know if they are a time waster or not.  You could, however, get them pre-approved is the first step like Jay mentioned. During my first call, I want to get to know every one of my clients and I dive right into my questions.

What is your budget?  How much down payment do you have? Are you looking for good schools?  What is your time table to get into a house?

My what is your budget question, I can narrow their search in like 60secs.  You can either buy in these areas that fit what you are looking for or not.  Then I will narrow to condos. Then I will narrow the probability of success.

After I give them an idea of what's available and is realistic based on their situation. I will give them a break down on how things work.  I will send you things I think fit and you can send me anything you find and we collaborate.  Once you see something you like and you have your pre-approval lets go look.  That's it.

If the buyers actively engaging with my email and call and ask to see the homes.  I am perfectly fine with that.  We have no set deadline to close a deal.  The more active you are with me the better.  The only tire kickers are the ones that you allow it by not screening them and taking control of the situation.

If they are looking for something that doesn't exist.  Tell them nothing is like that on the market I will contact you when the market changes.

Scott Anderson · Answer

If people talk in a hurry and have a strangely knowledgable vocab it's pretty obvious they are time wasters.  If they need to see one or even worse a list of properties same day it’s usually a sign that they were fired by their last realtor. I hand it off to somebody else with a warning.  This is 99.9% of the time so far a waste of time.

Prior to showing, I will mention needing to be prequalified and how important it is. It limits not only prices but also areas and types of homes. I stress this. It makes people think and actually act.  This way you immediately know if they are serious.  If they contact a lender move forward with them.

If not, then I offer to show them a home or 3 MAX and never same day. If hey haven’t called a lender by that day my confidence in them is already near zero. I've cut it short when they don't engage in me and it's obvious they were only looking for entry.  If we make it through all of them, I then have the lender convo again and stress it in person how important it is.  You should be able to very clearly read them and how they respond.  I know the ones that will follow up with the lender and the ones I'll never see again after this conversation.

It's really a learned feel you get.  Talking about the process and their engagement is important.  You have to feel them out.  If they seem interested in what you say and are willing to meet you and follow the very simple directions it's a strong lead.

If you don't have a good feeling why are you wasting time with a buyer anyway?  Hand them off for a referral fee.

Jay Hinrichs · Answer

I watch my wife do this..  she has a very specific method.

first basic conversation.  which leads to

Here Is my lender he is great we cant do anything until you have a pre approval..

what neighborhood OK I will put you on the daily hot sheet so you can see every new listing within hours of it going live.

Once we have that pre approval and you get an idea of what houses we will meet you there for walk throughs.

Scott Anderson · Answer

Fiduciary in AZ is to your client not the seller unless that’s your client too.

As far as how you’re dressed, nobody cares. A lot of buyers dress like humans.

And then for cutting me off, I’d skip the paycheck and let you be rude to someone else. I work with you not for you.

Matthew Paul · Answer

@Lara Fobian A lot of those " tire kicker" buyers could be like me .  I am not going to get pre qualified by your lender . I am not going to tell you or show you what I make . ( its none of your business) . I am hiring you . I am going to tell you what area , what price range and other wants and see what you can do for me .

Agents fiduciary responsibility is to the seller , as a buyer I am not showing my cards  to the seller or any agent that is responsible to the seller .

I am a contractor , work boots , blue jeans , ball cap  by day . I was looking for a house in a upper middle class neighborhood with great schools . I went to talk some agents and they blew me off , because I wouldnt give them all the financial info they wanted ( and probably because of my appearance ) . I met a younger guy who was an agent , he started with the same lines , I stopped him in his tracks , asked him do you want to make a commission or not ?  If so , look up some houses under $550K in this area . Two months later we were sitting at the settlement table .

I sell jobs to homeowners . And yes I get some tire kickers . I only know that after I go out and talk to them , But you never know . But what i have found out over time , the ones who look the richest , aren't .

Chris Mason · Answer

Hi Lara,

Lender, not a Realtor. Obviously I work with a lot of Realtors, so I see what plays out in the "marketplace of" strategies.

So let's rewind 10 steps. You want homebuyers that are homeownership motivated, not specific property motivated. The "OMG THAT SPECIFIC HOUSE I NEED TO GET PREAPPROVED RIGHT DAMN NOW!" crowd has a success rate that's single digit. Old Marine saying: PPPPPP. Proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Applicable here. A question I would ask myself in your shoes is "what am I doing to attract the wrong clients?" And the answer might be that you're paying a garbage website such as zillow for garbage leads, in which case I think you know what to do if you want less of this in your life.

Other agents will show people one specific house in place of the old fashioned coffee meet. ONE house is not crazy. You already know they aren't going to buy that house since another offer will be accepted before they finish getting preapproved (or even finding their tax returns), but they don't know that, and that isn't the point even if the poorly planning FTHB doesn't know it... the point is to talk to them, point out EVERY SINGLE flaw in the house so they see that you're on their team, show your value, and make sure you mention to them that most of your business is based on word of mouth referrals, please keep you in mind when your friends are talking about buying/selling, here's a few business cards. THAT is the point - their poor planning means they aren't getting the house, so you're doing what you can with the cards you're dealt (& dealing out a few business cards of your own). You will of course also be giving them the next action steps to get preapproved ("talk to my LO Sally, here's her cell phone app where you can schedeule an appointment RIGHT NOW to meet with her!" -> example ), and of course going through the emotional motions of "oh shucks sorry someone else had the offer accepted, once again here's who you need to talk to in order to get preapproved so you don't also miss out on the next one" with them in your role as realtor-therapist-marriage-counselor. 1 in 1000 chance they actually buy that house, in which case great. I wouldn't suggest doing anything to get in the way of that happening and by all means if they get their ducks in a row submit the offer, but we both know it's very unlikely given current market conditions.

Scott Anderson · Answer

Definitely not less work, but less driving and time wasting.

Oscar Pinto · Answer

The first call is to determine timing and motivation. After that is determined YOU decide if you want to meet with them.

"are you moving in 2-4 months? Do you own or rent? Are you working with agents? Etc..."

Getting them to the office "would like me to email you homes that fit your needs INCLUDING off-market HOT deals?.. Great! When can we meet?"

Of course you will receive some objections, so learn how to handle them. Some people won't object to any of this and will meet with no problem.

After they agree to meet and set the appointment then ask about their price range and if they have been pre-approved.

Caleb Heimsoth · Answer

@Lara Fobian. I’m an investor, not an agent or lender so my perspective is probably a bit different.  That being said agents who deal with investors a lot have a lot of this same problem too.

From my perspective I always try to be as specific as possible to any agents I’m dealing with.  I’ll give them property types, estimated rents, areas I want to buy in and price range.  Then depending on the transaction type I’ll give them a proof of funds (bank statement) or pre-approval letter.

Getting pre-approved isn’t difficult so if a buyer is telling you, they don’t know if they qualify, then they likely don’t.  I would maybe prepare a simple document for how to get pre approved or steps to home buying.  This will probably save you a lot of time.

Finally, this is probably why a lot of agents prefer listings over buyers because it’s less work and you’re much more likely to get paid

Chris Mason · Answer

The ^above^ may be less true, or may come off as harsh, if you're not in the SF Bay Area. All of our have biases that come with our local markets.

Preventing time wasted on calls from tire-kicker buyers?

Most Popular Reply