3 Ways to Calm Home Buyer Anxiety in this "Crazy Market"

One of the most exciting times in a persons life is buying a home. The pride of getting approved for a mortgage, the fun of going out shopping, just like they do on HGTV, and the excitement when you hear that precious sentence, "YOU ARE CLEAR TO CLOSE!" The other side to this coin however can be some major stress and anxiety! We are in a highly competitive market right now and unfortunately the media often scares buyers out of buying before they even start the process and some others may get cold feet before they step up to the closing table. Let's go through 3 things you can do as their agent to calm those fears and help them go into the marketplace with confidence,  positivity and even make it a FUN time for them. 

 

 

1. Have them speak to a loan officer you know, like and trust! Buyers can sometimes come to you with a pre-qualification from a company they just clicked on randomly to see if they could get approved and when they saw that YES, they got super excited and called you the next day to get out there and buy their new home. While we are super excited for them, it is incredibly important for you their agent to speak to the loan officer that's signing off on their qualifications AND get them pre approved not just prequalified. Ask the loan officer lots of questions. Have you reviewed the clients income and assets? Have you pulled a full tri-merge credit report? Have you calculated their DTI? Have you run them through automated underwriting? What type of mortgage are they getting? What are the contingencies, if any, I need to write in the contract? How soon can you get them closed? If the answers they give aren't YES, YES, YES, in 30 days or less, then ask your clients if they'd be willing to chat with your loan officer and just get a second opinion which could save them points on their rate, money their monthly payment and cash out of their pocket for down payment and closing costs. You want to be sure they're getting the best deal possible and shopping with out an air tight preapproval could land them out of money on a home inspection and appraisal when the loan officer finally for the first time runs them through underwriting and finds out their DTI is too high and they actually can't buy.....sad and expensive ending for your clients and you who took them out, drove around spending your gas and time and now no one is getting to the closing table. Knowing they have already been run though automated underwriting and all their docs have been reviewed before shopping gives them more confidence, knowledge of down payment, payment and closing costs and helps you be able to write stronger, better offers with them. 

 

2. Communicate even when there is nothing "NEW" to say. The adage that no news is good news does not apply to the mind of a home buyer. Try to talk, text or email them at least 2-3 times per week. Give them the usual updates, "Title is in, everything looks good and is moving forward," and then give them extra love, "Just wanted to say Happy Friday! Everything is going great, just a reminder that the next step is x,y,z. Let me know if you have any new questions I can answer. I'm so super excited for you. Have a GREAT weekend!" Keep them excited. Keep them involved in the steps. Keep reminding them what's next even if you've already told them and given them a printed out "road map of the buying process." The constant contact and reassurance will make them feel excited about getting to the closing table, instead of being in the dark wondering what's next?

 

3. Do a buyers consult to set everyone up for success. The buyers consult is the most important step of your journey with your buyer and the ironic thing about this is many agents don't do them. A buyers consult should be done before you go out looking at homes. It is a time where you the agent sit down and intake the buyers criteria, goals, timelines and just all around get to know them. This is where you ask critical questions like, Who is going to be involved in this process with you? If you could wave your magic wand and move anytime you want when would you be in your new home? What are the must haves in your next home? Any deal breakers when it comes to homes like absolutely wont live on a main road or must be able to have a fence for my dogs? Where do you work? How long do you commute now? How long are you willing to commute? What about in the middle of winter when we have five feet of snow? Think of this time like you're on a first date and you'd like to really get to know all about them. The more you know the easier it will be to find them the home they want and need. Then you go through the data and graphs to show them what is going on in the market place and guide them step by step through what the buying process looks like, road blocks that could come up along the way and how to write strong offers that will win and get them into that home of their dreams. This is where you set expectations, calm fears and set the stage for a fun, smooth process. When you do buyers consults, with every client, and do them properly, not only will you calm home buyer anxiety, but you will also set yourself apart from other agents who don't do them and increase your conversion and decrease your frustrations as you will know exactly what your clients want. You will have had this time to build rapport and turn them from a lead into a client and you will have filled them with the knowledge they need to go confidently out into the market place, make strong offers and get to the closing table with you by their side!

 

I absolutely love working with home buyers and when you read through my Google and Facebook reviews you will see they love working with me too. This is because I follow these steps and we make it a great time together. If you want to learn how to do buyers consults, increase your conversion and have more confident, happy home buyers go check out our agent accelerator program. I have recorded a full buyers consult in detail so you can watch, learn and start to use them. I also added a buyer intake sheet and buyer must know list you can use in your daily business with your buyers. Check out these amazing tools below and let's take your career to the next level together with our Agent Accelerator Program!