You Shoulda Put a Ring On It! Or, Getting the Home Buyer to Commit © 2013 by Wayne D. Lewis, Sr.

 You Shoulda Put a Ring on It![1] Or,

Getting the Home Buyer to Commit © 2013

 

Inspired by Beyonce's big hit: Single Ladies (Put Ring on It):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY [2]

One of the many challenges Realtors face is the indecisive buyer.  It is that buyer who provides the Realtor with almost a grocery list of amenities and must have’s and who, when that list is fulfilled, meaning the property is but the perfect property, the buyer is not willing to pull the trigger.

http://www.ehow.com/info_8123732_happens-put-offer-house.html

The question is, is the buyer really ready, or are they just trying to see how far they can go to test the patience of even the most service-oriented agent?  I’ll go with the former, and presume that the buyer is not ready.  For many a Realtor, the challenge remains whether to push the buyer to make a decision; wait until hell freezes over, or leave the buyer until they make up their mind as to when they are going to make that call to buy the house that was practically made to order.

http://homebuying.about.com/cs/titleescrow/a/items_remaining.htm

Let us, by process of elimination, remove the first option.  We will never force, twist the arm of, or threaten a buyer within an inch of their life, to make so valuable decision.  Besides, it is either unethical, illegal, and possibly, immoral. So, we will not force a buyer to make a decision.

http://lifehacker.com/134737/getting-to-done-tips-for-putting-an-offer-on-a-home

Waiting for hell to freeze over may actually occur.  I witnessed things in my life time that I never thought would happen, in my life time, or, as I believed, would require Hell to freeze over.  It is possible too that Hell may have frozen over several times, and we may have not gotten the memo.  So, that leaves the last option:  Leave the client alone until they are ready to make that move.

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070524123233AA2mOQf

Leaving a buyer alone for an undetermined amount of time to weigh their next decision should only be done with care.  By that I mean, as agents, we need to make sure that an indecisive home buyer should not be left to their own devices without pertinent and valuable information.  As agents we should avail ourselves of our fullest arsenal of information to ensure that the indecisive buyer is not weighing their options with worthless and unsubstantiated information.  Here is what we as agents must be prepared to do:

1. On the properties that a buyer has trouble making their decision on, provide them with a Comparative Market Analysis for each property (no more than 3 properties should be in contention);
2. Discuss the amenities and features of each of the properties that the buyer has indicated that was important to them;
3. Be sure to ask the buyer what issues make it difficult for them as a buyer to move forward on a piece of property;
4. Advise the buyer(s) to only involve those who have a stake in the property that they will eventually buy.  Too often, too many people are involved in the decision-making who will not be living in, or paying for the investment;
5. Then, leave the buyer alone.  Leave them alone so that the next that you meet with them all you have to do is show them where to sign.  Why they chose the final home is not necessarily important to us as Realtors ®[3], but it would help us to have an understanding of what went into our client’s decision-making for future reference.

http://www.trulia.com/voices/Home_Buying/when_putting_in_an_offer_to_purchase_a_house_how_-51669

 Or—

What could happen, as has happened in the past, and no doubt, will continue to happen, is that a buyer will take their time making up their minds.  They make take one day too long or, 2 weeks too long before they decide on a home that they wanted all of the time.  And, at the point that they finally make up their minds, it is too late.

As agents, we try to stress to buyers, especially during the home buying season, that the market is alive and robust with eager buyers, just like them.  And that that home, the home, that they first fell inlove with, while seemingly untouched by any other interested party, has also caught the eye of another.  As agents, we try not to be pushy, or seem to force the hand of a buyer on a potential home.  But we know the look of a buyer who has literally found the perfect home.  Yet, for reasons that are never clear, that buyer will not make that move to write that offer.  For reasons that are never clear, we can’t convince that home buyer to put a ring on that house, or to seal the deal, with just an offer.  And eventually, which could be one day, or one month later, it becomes the moment where the perfect home is already under contract.

http://realestate.findlaw.com/buying-a-home/making-an-offer-on-a-house.html

No, we would not tell our clients, you should have put a ring on it.  That would be insulting.  But, certainly, as agents, we can’t say anything sufficient in advance to move someone to do something that they are either afraid to do, or unwilling to do.  And on the back end, we can’t say anything of significance that would undo the loss of the perfect home.  But, we can try to use the buyer’s inaction to their advantage.  But, when they are ready. 

http://www.hud.gov/buying/comq.cfm

Many times, after a buyer finds out that the perfect home is under contract, they are hardly in the mood to even put in a back up offer, or to entertain the prospect of another home, because that was the perfect home.  In this business, there are no perfect response to those who choose to think about it, or over think the process.  Even if we let the buyer know that it is just an offer, subject to inspection, or terms and conditions that the seller may not agree to, getting that commitment to writing a contract on a home is one short of getting someone to say “I do”.  

 

Disclaimer-No part of this blog post should be considered as legal or professional advice outside the scope of real estate for the State of Louisiana.  This is not an intent to solicit the clients or agents of any broker. Licensed in the State of Louisiana.  Your results may vary.

 

 

 

Other Real Estate posts by Wayne Lewis can be found at:

http://makeyourbestoffer.blogspot.com/

[1] Inspired by Beyonce’s big hit: Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)

[2] Single Ladies (Put a Ring On It)-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4m1EFMoRFvY 

[3] REALTOR®, realtor.com®, the spherical icon of a house within a circular map, the “WHERE HOME HAPPENS” tagline and stylized logo treatments including any one or more of the foregoing are trademarks of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and are used with its permission. These and all other trademarks used in this work are the property of their respective owners.