When I first got into the real estate business I heard this term way too often. Agent after agent told me stories of how they took buyers out for months looking for the 3 BR, 2 Bath, non-compromise ranch with a finished basement on the West side of town. Hundreds of houses later (if the agent was lucky enough to keep the buyers long enough to get paid), the buyers purchased a 2 bedroom, 2 story Colonial with an unfinished basement in the country. Hence the phrase, "Buyer's are liars".
I'm sorry, but I'm not buying it. I don't believe any buyer intentionally drags an agent around looking at the exact opposite home they really want to purchase... at least not consciously.
So, the question is, whose fault is it when this happens? Is it the buyer's fault, or, dare I say, the agent's? I'll probably make some enemies here, but my opinion is it's the agent's job to do their "homework" before tossing the buyer into a vehicle and heading out to look at houses. Punching the buyer's criteria into the MLS system, pulling up 20-30 houses based mostly upon sq feet, bedrooms, and baths, then hitting the pavement to find a house is comparable to driving in a blizzard. No one can see where they are headed, and the final destination will be a long, unenjoyable journey.
I work with a lot of people relocating from out of town. I think the key to finding a buyer the "perfect" home is that I don't find it, they do. I try to get inside their heads to visualize what they want prior to their arrival. I ask them a lot of questions about their "dream" home; I set them up on a search and tell them to "save" any homes of interest into their virtual folder. I look at the homes in their folder to get a feel for similarities they may not even realize (they all have front porches, brick, big windows, similar architecture, are Colonial style, etc.).
Then, I ask them to choose their favorite "Top 10" homes from the list they've compiled. I've had clients with 75 properties saved in their folder (and I'll admit I was a bit nervous...), but not even they argued with my logic. I simply explain, "Let's look at the 10 BEST possibilities first, the ones that most closely match your "dream house". I of course reassure them if we don't find "the" house within our first 10; we'll by all means fall back on the other homes saved on their list.
I've also come to discover I'm just the "director", so to speak. Today's buyers are internet savvy, educated consumers who want to make their own choices; I just guide and help them tailor their list based upon clues, information, and observations. My job is not to choose their home, but instead to help them narrow it down. Here are some tips I offer my buyers to help them narrow their "Favorites List" to their "Top 10" Homes:
1. If you don't like the outside appearance delete it, you have to look at it every day!
2. Take another look at the interior photos. Pay close attention to things inside that would be costly or too time consuming to update or amend to your liking (i.e. kitchen, flooring, wallpaper, paint, etc.)
3. If particular rooms must be a certain size to fit furniture (i.e. bedroom sizes, living room, etc.) eliminate those that do not have the preferred minimum sq footage
4. Is the yard or location important? If so, check lot size, surrounding areas (http://www.googleearth.com/), proximity to schools, work, or shopping.
5. Look back over the amenities for each home - choose the homes that most closely match your "perfect house" criteria (I.e. fireplace, deck, sprinkler system, garage, cul-de-sac, etc.)
I sometimes feel like I'm playing the game of "Clue"; carefully analyzing, assisting with eliminations, processing every comment, like, dislike, and emotional response working towards unlocking the "mystery" of their ideal home. Between compiling clues, and putting the buyers in the "driver's seat", 98% of the time we do find the house they write on within their chosen Top 10 on the first day. Why? I believe it's because the process was a two-way street and we both did our "homework" before we hopped in the car. "Studying" prior to a test always pays off in the end!
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I agree with what you are saying, however, I think there are buyers, who do change their mind, and drag me for a very long time. I am hoping to end with the offer with one such buyer. We have been working with them for nearly a year, they want a condo, then wife says that she does not want a condo, so we are looking at homes, then again go to condos, then it is a different area, then it is the price, then there is an article in the paper, and he is scared, etc. The husband is a vet doctor. He has never been on time, if he comes, turns out he is without his wife, then you have to hunt his wife...
I know that there are many people who think that we should have said: "Thank you, but no, thanks". I know, I know. It is just difficult to do it after you have invested so much time, energy.
Thanks
Hi Jon,
Thanks for the comment. It sounds like you've invested alot of time with them. I've had a few buyers like that and I hung in there too for the same reasons. I sat one couple down and told them I felt like I'd "failed" them because I had been unsuccesful in finding them a home, and asked them for their assistance in re-evaluating so I could do a better job. It worked well because I put the blame on myself which enabled them to give me "ideas" on how to "help" them. It was also helpful because they hashed out some some issues they were bucking heads on too, we ended up finding them a home not long after. Best of luck to you, I'm sure you're hard work will pay off! Angela
I've had clients who had a vivid idea of their dream home, but they eventually realized they couldn't live in the dream. Pictures didn't teach them this. They had to go to houses and stand in the rooms.
I like your points. The way I think about it is that buying a home is really a self-discovery process. Even with the best informational interview, buyers may not have the "right" answer until they walk the path themselves. I can't count the number of times a buy has told me, "Thank you, I didn't know that about myself."
So if you look at it cynically, yes, they're lying. They just don't know it ;-)
There are also other times, though, when buyers will tell you what they think will motivate you to work harder. In that case, there might not be an agent-client match.
Great post, Angela, and good luck to you,
Steve
A good question to keep asking in the initial conversation:
The decision making process is not as clear as it seems. We choose something, and then we rationalize our choice. SOrt of working backwards. So, we pick only what supports this choice and forget the rest, while in reality it is very difficult for us to tell why we made this choice or the other. That's the reason that advertising uses a lot of subtle things, which we do not note as decision factors, but which play a role in the way we choose. That's how advertisers gear their campaigns towards different age groups (use of background music).
This could be the reason, that the initial description of the property, that people give us and their final choice may differ greatly, and they may be surprised by it themselves.
Asking all these questions helps, but, basically, we get to the same point. They really may not have a clear vision of what their next home or condo should look like, especially taking into consideration that this is more than just a home, it is also the neighborhood, schools, traffic considerations, prestige, pride, prejudice, and many other things that play a role here. Of course, I am generalizing, but basically a house is a house, whether in Florida, or in Oregon. It is a structure with walls, roof windows, etc. The combination of the structure with all these other elements mentioned above plus the human factor - people in the house, - makes it a HOME.
Maybe all that confusion we have is because people are looking for a HOME, while we can show them only a house. If they can see it as a home, they would buy, if not, they would pass on it. Hence the success stories with staging. TO make the House be more a HOME.
Angela, excellent post! You hit that one out of the park!