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Candice A. Donofrio, 928-201-4BHC (4242) call/text (Next Wave RE Investments LLC Bullhead City AZ Commercial RE Broker)

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Rainmaker
1,751,129
Mike Cooper, Broker VA,WV
Cornerstone Business Group Inc - Winchester, VA
Your Neighborhood Real Estate Sales Pro

Candice, my buyers meet me in my office before we ever look at a house. We view homes on a large screen TV until we whittle down the number to a handful. I had two clients back to back about 5-6 years ago that each looked at 60 before buying. I decided I couldn't stay in business if that became the norm. 

Jul 06, 2019 01:25 PM
Ambassador
6,393,609
Bob Crane
Woodland Management Service / Woodland Real Estate, KW Diversified - Stevens Point, WI
Forestland Experts! 715-204-9671

Important to do your homework before showing the first home.

  • What do they really want?
  • Are they ready to buy?
  • Have you sat down with them and prescreened them from your presentation screen at the office?
  • Have you discussed and set expectations?
  • It is the agents job to control the process, that is what they are being paid for.
Jul 06, 2019 03:27 PM
Rainmaker
5,104,931
Nina Hollander, Broker
Coldwell Banker Realty - Charlotte, NC
Your Greater Charlotte Realtor

It's been years since we had that many homes to show to a buyer. And once you've really focused in on neighborhood(s) and budget and condition, it really narrows the choices. It's all about "controlling" one's client and reminding them of what their priorities are.

Jul 06, 2019 02:55 PM
Ambassador
3,164,294
Tammy Lankford,
Lane Realty Eatonton, GA Lake Sinclair, Milledgeville, 706-485-9668 - Eatonton, GA
Broker GA Lake Sinclair/Eatonton/Milledgeville

On average I'd say 20 is the norm in my office.  However the difference here is that 85% of the time it's a second home, not someone moving so when people "want" and there is no "need" involved it's really different.  I mean I looked at 20 cars before I bought one this year. 

Jul 06, 2019 01:51 PM
Rainmaker
4,572,183
Michael Jacobs
Pasadena, CA
Pasadena And Southern California 818.516.4393

"If a home you see hits a majority of the buttons on your "have to have" list, what will you do? Listen and then ask: "what if it's the first home you see?". Listen. Very carefully.

Jul 06, 2019 01:26 PM
Rainmaker
1,844,301
Lyn Sims
Schaumburg, IL
Real Estate Broker Retired

There is no need to see them all with all the technology that we have. That is just an excuse & one that needs to be gotten rid of right away.

If you do you job correctly - show 4 homes - buy 1. If not, you're not doing it right & need another interview with the buyer. Asking the right amount of questions & getting good answers helps dial down on what the buyer wants.

There is no way I show 20 homes like Tammy gives as an example.

Jul 06, 2019 05:20 PM
Rainmaker
679,404
Diana Dahlberg
1 Month Realty - Pleasant Prairie, WI
Real Estate in Kenosha, WI since 1994 262-308-3563

"Let's go shopping!" I probably don't do things the same as anyone else, however I have always allowed my buyers to pick the houses and locations ... and then I scheduled the showings.  Sometimes we only looked at one here and one there (frustrating). Other time 5-6 and even sometimes 15-17 (that would be my max for a day of showings.)  But ultimately, we found the perfect house, wrote an offer and most of the time got accepted.  Note: I have sold thousands of homes over my 25 years in real estate and this has worked for me.  

Of course there were exceptions where due to unfamiliarity of location with a relocation I picked out the listings. 

Jul 06, 2019 01:21 PM
Rainmaker
711,852
Lynnea Miller
Bend Premier Real Estate - Bend, OR
Premier Real Estate Service in Central Oregon

One of the most successful agents in our brokerage will only show 3 homes a day; when you show more than that, it is hard to recall the features you like or do not like of each home. With the internet, most clients have already figured out their top few choices.  Once they are pre-qualified, and you know the features which are most important to them (i.e. schools, yard, number of bedrooms, location, etc), it should be fairly easy to whittle it down to just a few homes which may work.

Jul 06, 2019 04:50 PM
Rainmaker
5,772,575
Ron and Alexandra Seigel
Napa Consultants - Carpinteria, CA
Luxury Real Estate Branding, Marketing & Strategy

Candice,

What people do not understand is that HGTV has those ersatz (fake) buyers already settled in their home and they are paid for doing this.  Then the agent shows them 3 houses including theirs and voila they choose their own home...And many of the things like sheets or other accessories that they mention are paid for by the manufacturer.  This is a pretend  home buying episode which is largely fictional and has no resemblance to reality. 

That is enough to make you want to drink...go on go play and cheers to you!. A

Jul 06, 2019 02:13 PM
Rainmaker
7,836,164
Roy Kelley
Retired - Gaithersburg, MD

Narrow the search down on the internet and you only need to visit a few.

Jul 06, 2019 02:02 PM
Rainmaker
1,196,798
Doug Dawes
Keller Williams Evolution - 447 Boston Street, Suite #5, Topsfield, MA - Topsfield, MA
Your Personal Realtor®

HGTV is why people think being an agent is a piece of cake. They are good entertainment but do not delve in reality

Jul 07, 2019 05:01 AM
Rainmaker
758,035
Peter Testa
Nationwide Homes - Danbury, CT
PETER TESTA

I'd show them the best matches I find & the properties they asked to see 1st. I've had some very motivated buyers make offers on the house they called on at the 1st showing. Nice when that happens. Not so nice when you've exhausted the inventory looking & they are not moving forward with any of them. 

Jul 06, 2019 04:57 PM
Rainmaker
5,583,278
Barbara Todaro
RE/MAX Executive Realty - Happily Retired - Franklin, MA
Previously Affiliated with The Todaro Team

after reading the comments here, I'm thankful we're a "listing team" .... we work our sellers as buyers if they are buying locally.... those homes would be pending and they NEED to buy quickly.... 

Jul 06, 2019 03:31 PM
Rainmaker
4,882,355
Richard Weeks
Dallas, TX
REALTOR®, Broker

I say lucky.  Even with tight inventory that is a small number of homes to look at.

Jul 07, 2019 04:50 AM
Rainmaker
469,510
Dan & Laurie Pittsenbarger Team
Keller Williams Western Realty - Bellingham, WA
Lakeside & Coastal Single Family Homes

Then net is a blessing and a curse. Some folks just "have" to go see the 20 homes "they" found on line before they can make up their mind. Thankfully for the past 2 years or so our market has been hot enough that most of what they've seen on line is gone within 24 to 48 hours so the market conditions have shortened up the tours these days - even for the "gotta go see all these" type of buyers.

Jul 06, 2019 09:15 PM
Ambassador
5,049,450
Jeff Dowler, CRS
eXp Realty of California, Inc. - Carlsbad, CA
The Southern California Relocation Dude

I've found most buyers are pretty selective and I often include homes I believe they should see, based on budget, criteria and area. It's been a number of years since there was enough inventory to see a ton of homes...these days you have to move quickly and sometimes have to make several offers to be successful. HGTV House Hunters, while entertaining, is an un-reality show.

Jul 06, 2019 04:55 PM
Rainer
344,603
Kris Collis, Associate Broker
Smart Way America Realty - East Stroudsburg, PA
Professional Results you Expect 570-801-5525

Tips for Working with Buyers - Relo, Vacation and First-Time:  

1. Send sellers disclosures to buyers in advance of show.  Let them eliminate showings based on disclosed facts about the house, not because "agent said" house is not a fit for them.

2. As Mike Cooper said, when buyer flies or drives in for the day or weekend, you're showing buyer what they believe they need to see.  Make their time management, and their requests, your priority in those early days especially. It sets the foundation for the business relationship to get a foothold.  When you value their time and requests, buyer experiences first-hand your commitment to their best interests as they understand them.  Buyer will redefine their interests automatically from your showings and consultations.  You may know a certain neighborhood will not appeal but they expect to see it for themselves.  Ever get a txt from buyer minutes after following you thru the gate, "we can skip this community."  Now several shows cancelled and they are convinced, it was their decision.

3. A buyer's agent enables Buyer to organically modify, revamp, change their priorities & requirements as needed.  Skilled guidance from buyers agent produces a-ha moments when buyer's expectations are confirmed or exploded.

4. Generally Do Not:
Try to whittle down their viewing list 
Treat their view requests as objections
Make talking them out of shows into a competition about who's right about their requirements -
= = = = Turn-offs, RED FLAGS. * 

5. Buyer spent potentially hours online viewing properties, photos, searching, researching and now you want to repeat basically the same thing over again from your office?  Your location which may not be convenient or adds another hour of drive time for them?  Buyer will move on in a New York minute.  Do you want to be perceived as 90's old-school when screenings of listings from the office were the norm?  RE info from buyers devices provides 99% of what's available in your office :)).  You will give them the remaining details at show, which buyers won't care about if property doesn't make their Top 3 list at the end of the day.

7. Buyer has already made their decision about what they want to see.  At end of the day, will buyer realize not every choice met expectations?  Yes!  Were those viewings a waste of time because "you could have told them that."  No.  You earned their respect because you created the environment for Buyer to make their own NEW decision.  It's all about the learning environment you create. *

8. Agent's expertise to overcome certain misconceived expectations is limited until trust is developed. This niche of buyer needs time & experience in some cases to "change their mind."  The price differential between your market and their homebase may have shocked their learning curve.  They may still operate from their market's indicators for some time no matter how many comps, portals and other data your provide.  You're creating an entirely new frame of reference for them but some still won't get it - when they ask you to list it a few years later at a price not of this world :))

9. Relo, vacation and 1st-time buyers need your time to:

acquire a local mindset
learn neighborhoods
get access to gated communities.  

They require a different way of working than locals who know neighborhoods.  While locals may cover their known desired locations in 5-6 shows, be aware that generalization may not fit other buyers.  Every buyer is different - no one-size fits all approach.  Much of this I learned by what turned me off about agents before I became one:)) It made me want to create a win-win buyer experience:))

*EXCEPTIONS:  Properties to exclude: those that do not qualify for buyer mortgage or ratio of taxes +HOA fees, etc.

Jul 07, 2019 11:46 AM
Ambassador
3,345,091
Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Specialist
KD Realty - 408.972.1822 - San Jose, CA
Probate Real Estate Services

Narrowing down, yes. 

Takes more than a few homes to find the ONE. 

Even then, in the hot seller market we've been in, it meant making offers on many homes before an offer finally gets accepted. 

Jul 07, 2019 08:22 AM
Rainer
1,465
Keisha Herron
Eastside Realty Group, LLC - Conyers, GA

My buyer was looking for a new community. I knew I could serve him best if he was preapproved. Once we got the numbers back, our search began. After utilizing FMLS and riding around to further narrow down his selections, he chose a new construction home within 2 weeks of our search. The preapproval was very beneficial in recognizing his budget, which helped in making the process for us smooth sailing. We close in November.

Jul 07, 2019 07:42 AM
Rainmaker
901,535
Carla Freund
Keller Williams Preferred Realty - Raleigh, NC
NC Real Estate Transition & Relocation 919-602-848

I think it depends on the market. We have a lot of smaller towns in the suburbs of Raleigh. People moving here often need to figure out which town/area they want to live in. If they're looking at homes in a hot area and the most popular price point, then it is possible because they don't have many choices. However, it isn't the norm.

Jul 07, 2019 06:38 AM
Ambassador
2,061,814
Alan May
Jameson Sotheby's International Realty - Evanston, IL
Home is where the hearth is.

I always laugh at those "HGTV" shows.... "okay, you've seen three properties... let's meet tomorrow to decide which one you're going to buy".

Sorry, that has not been my experience.

Just a couple of weekends ago, I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday showing a total of 27 properties to a relocating couple.  They didn't know the areas... we had spent quite a bit of time on the computer, vetting different properties, but since they wanted to see a variety of neighbourhoods, they needed/wanted to see and experience them in person.

Showing 27 properties is not the norm... that's waaaaay more than I usually show.  But 3 or 4 properties is not my norm either.

Jul 07, 2019 06:28 AM
Ambassador
5,230,113
Debe Maxwell, CRS
Savvy + Company (704) 491-3310 - Charlotte, NC
The RIGHT CHARLOTTE REALTOR!

Just like HGTV? What? I thought that was the norm! I have shown 1 and that been all they need to see.

If you listen to what they want, you can often only  show them 2-3 and one of them will be IT! 

Jul 07, 2019 01:23 PM
Rainmaker
1,502,998
Ryan Huggins - Thousand Oaks, CA
https://HugginsHomes.com - Thousand Oaks, CA
Residential Real Estate and Investment Properties

No, there are too many agents that are complete idiots who show dozens if not a hundred homes (I'm not kidding) over months and months or even a year.

 

I scour the MLS and find the 6 best.  I send them to the client and say "pick the 5 you want to go see."  We look at the five, compare as we go and eliminate homes as we go.  By the end we have a primary that we write on and a secondary we keep as a backup.  I go from meeting to accepted offer usually in one trip.  Sometimes two if we're looking at multiple areas.

 

It's the prep work, the eliminating homes that won't work for the client (per their specifications), the direction and all the work once the offer is written that makes it so much better to use an agent who knows what they're doing.

Jul 07, 2019 09:00 AM
Ambassador
3,383,334
Chris Ann Cleland
Long and Foster Real Estate - Gainesville, VA
Associate Broker, Bristow, VA

In my experience, the home buying process is only as complicated as the buyer.  Sometimes, buyersdon't know what they want.  They express one thing, and keep falling for another.  Or they are shopping for something they can't afford...expecting quality of a home $100K higher in price in their own budget.  Serious buyers know there are only so many choices.  Tell us what is most important, let's see the homes that meet that criteria and see if one of those works.  Rinse and repeat as necessary.

Jul 07, 2019 08:14 AM
Rainmaker
2,182,552
Michael J. Perry
KW Elite - Lancaster, PA
Lancaster, PA Relo Specialist

I do a Buyers Consultation and send them off with a list of 4-10 possiblitiys . I tell them to drive by as many as possible and let me know which 4 they want to see !

Jul 07, 2019 07:29 AM
Rainmaker
1,725,996
Sandy Padula & Norm Padula, JD, GRI
HomeSmart Realty West & Florida Realty Investments - , CA
Presence, Persistence & Perseverance

Years ago, I had buyer-clients in Florida who bought the first home I showed them. If we listen to the needs and wants of our prospects, then whittle down the inventory, it CAN happen. Rare though!

Jul 07, 2019 06:31 AM
Rainmaker
3,416,038
Scott Godzyk
Godzyk Real Estate Services - Manchester, NH
One of the Manchester NH's area Leading Agents

WIth 40 pictures of any one home in MLS and virtual tours, buyers can narrw down homes they want and dont want to see before seeing them. In a normal market i would show no more than 4 homes to a buyer and then evaluate what they liked or did not like. In MY market, there is often not 4 homes for sale, so if we get to see 2 we are lucky. Buyers do fall in love as they already drove by, they already saw pictures and are only seeing homes they really like. Most of my buyers will write an offer on a new listing they love right away as if they dont, someone else is. 

Jul 07, 2019 05:19 AM
Rainmaker
1,543,823
Thomas J. Nelson, REALTOR ® e-Pro CRS RCS-D Vets
Big Block Realty 858.232.8722 - La Jolla, CA
CEO of Vision Drive Realty - Coastal San Diego

I filter the properties and eliminate properties I know they won't like. Unless from out of town on a short visit, I only show locals six properies at a time (because human brains shut down after 6 choices, physcological fact). I have sold 3 homes on tour one in my career, often, it takes 3-4 tours, but somestimes it's only 1-2 homes per tour when inventory is low.

Jul 06, 2019 08:05 PM
Rainmaker
4,936,705
Will Hamm
Hamm Homes - Aurora, CO
"Where There's a Will, There's a Way!"

I have them fill out a questionnaire first and then I show them tree homes.

Jul 10, 2019 11:40 AM
Rainmaker
2,071,025
Evelina Tsigelnitskaya
SIB Realty - Sunny Isles Beach, FL

Buyer, seller, tenant - we invite them to office most of the time to meet and narrow the search.

Jul 07, 2019 11:07 PM
Rainmaker
1,598,452
Valeria Mola
SIB Realty - Miami, Sunny Isles Beach - Sunny Isles Beach, FL
305-607-0709 SIB Realty Condos for Sale and Rent

Yes, right. 

1, 2 and 3rd they buy. 

For sure, once in the blue moon - yes.

Jul 07, 2019 10:11 PM
Rainmaker
2,390,620
Bob "RealMan" Timm
Ward County Notary Services - Minot, ND
Owner of Ward Co Notary Services retired RE Broker

On average it was about 6 for me as well Candice A. Donofrio . If you listen to their needs before you show them homes it just doesn't take that long.

Jul 07, 2019 07:34 PM
Ambassador
3,125,842
Wanda Kubat-Nerdin - Wanda Can!
Red Rock Real Estate (435) 632-9374 - St. George, UT
St. George Utah Area Residential Sales Agent

Starting an email campaign prior to clients showing up helps to get to the heart of their wants and needs. Less than 20 properties is the norm for me, though I did show 30+ homes to a couple years ago and they purchased the first one viewed! We just sold that home and they are building another with my help.

Jul 07, 2019 07:09 PM
Ambassador
3,587,960
Anna "Banana" Kruchten
HomeSmart Real Estate - Phoenix, AZ
602-380-4886

Candice this has happened many times with my clients over the years. I know exactly what they're looking for - exactly.  When we look at homes it's typically about 4 to 6 and I'm pretty sure they could buy 2 or 3 of them and be excited. This especially happens with relocation folks who are short on time - that's how I learned to narrow it done so well all those years ago as my office in Flagstaff handled a lot of relo's. And that's a long, long time ago - geez - where does the time go!!!

Jul 07, 2019 02:22 PM
Rainmaker
1,239,901
Sam Shueh
(408) 425-1601 - San Jose, CA
mba, cdpe, reopro, pe

Those who show multiple properties are less likely to get a home for their client than those who looked at a few. They are tract homes all look the same. We realtors have more urgent issues and often will show to those more ready. After showing ~50 homes make 5 offers all rejected being low. The buyers jumped into conclusion the showing agent is not good and go with another agent or look on their own. They approach listing agent mostly.

Jul 07, 2019 07:06 AM
Rainmaker
5,216,409
Wayne Martin
Wayne M Martin - Chicago, IL
Real Estate Broker - Retired

Learn their needs and separate them from the wants. Pick a few in their price range and discuss. Pick three and the tour begins. No go, discussion time, new selection, start again. And most times, you start again!

Jul 07, 2019 05:36 AM
Rainmaker
556,536
Greg Cremia
Shore Realty of the Outer Banks - Nags Head, NC

In this resort area if you only show them 3-4 homes they end up working with another agent. we have so many location variables with 3 different types of waterfrontage and the views they might offer. We have about 8 different versions of ocean view, depending on agent interpretation, from full frontal to lean over the deck railing on a clear days for a peek a boo view. And agents misrepresent all of them.

Jul 07, 2019 05:27 AM
Rainmaker
102,485
Ray Stockwell
ZipperAgent - Boston, MA
Director of Marketing

I would agree with many here.  th As I became a more experienced agent, I asked better questions, narrowed down the list of potential homes, showed 3 or 4 and the buyer would generally make an offer on one of those.  With buying wars being what they are in my area, that sometimes meant going out again with the same buyers another time or two.

Jul 11, 2019 09:17 PM
Rainmaker
5,868,554
Joan Cox
House to Home, Inc. - Denver Real Estate - 720-231-6373 - Denver, CO
Denver Real Estate - Selling One Home at a Time

Many of our young buyers want to see as many homes as they can in their price range, but usually narrow it down if they don't fit their criteria.

Jul 26, 2019 09:17 AM