When we're working with the seller, hey, at least we know where they live. But, let's talk about the buyer for a minute. How many of us "know who our buyer is"? When I sold real estate in Texas, there wasn't really any hocus pocus that went down but when I moved to Naples, at least initially it was a different story...at least it was for me.
My first BS episode in Naples was with a colleague of mine who had been selling real estate a short while longer in Naples than I but who figured out that although I was new to the Naples market, I had been around the real estate game long enough so he called me in on what looked like a pretty big deal.
Keep in mind I'd been in Naples for all of 3 or so months so I really didn't have my feet wet yet. Anyway, the deal began with a call into the office which he took. She (the buyer) wanted to purchase a very expensive condo. He felt like he was out of his league so he called me. Although I felt out of my league I did feel better equipped to handle anything provided given the opportunity. 
Starry eyed...admittedly and hesitantly I took the ball running. I didn't know for sure if she was for real but since she wasn't in town and didn't want to actually see anything I didn't think there would be any harm done if I pushed her up the flag pole as fast as I could to see if anything could come of it. For those of you who don't know what I mean...what I mean is..without wasting alot of time I wanted to see if I could get enough info to her to encourage her to write a contract.
In my mind I thought if she was full of you know what, then I could push her to contract and see if she could perform. Without the insight from a broker who had experience in this type of situation it was really the blind leading the blind here.
We performed by providing the information she was interested in. Fortunately the property of interest was a vacant, gated and guarded condo so that left little to no unwanted drama from happening. Needless to say it took less than two weeks before she was required to sign on the dotted line which she of course did not and that mysterious possibility flaked out in less than no time without serious repercussion or backlash for the listing agent on the seller's behalf or us as the buyer's representative in regards to our reputation in the real estate market.
While I was at that company no less than 4 more experiences similar to that took place. Complete BS but interesting enough to consider to a point...without much direction of how to handle the scenarios. At least for me they were short diversions without any credibility destroying circumstances or worse yet consequences.
Interestingly enough two of those circumstances happened with the same property. The first was when the seller was a for sale by owner. Fortunately for me, the seller was a very savvy business person who was able to give me some great information to figure out the validity of the buyer. Granted, this would've been excellent information to receive from my broker considering the fact that I was supposed to be the expert...but this wasn't the first time I had to go elsewhere for education. By the time the second incident came, I was better versed and was able to alert the seller that someone without means was attempting to get into his home for some unforeseen reason which by the way under my watch never took place.
Today, I am fully equipped to determine whether or not to show or not show a house or condo. If you don't feel the same, get educated. PERIOD. If your broker doesn't know how to deal with scenarios like this then find out by other means. Fortunately for us REALTORS today we have more tools provided to us than I did when I first got started.
We should be responsible for what happens. Regardless of whether we are or whether we are not responsible or legally liable, we should take the necessary steps to know who we are dealing with at all costs and measures.
Protect your clients, Protect yourselves, Protect your industry.
By they way, if you are considering selling your personal real estate, this might be a question for you to ask your agent. Do you know how to screen buyers?
Best Regards,
Your Naples Smart Girl!
Serving my purpose through content rich informaton about Naples, Florida real estate!
Best Regards!
Shannon Lefevre, PA
Your Naples Smart Girl!
239-595-6223
www.ShannonLefevre.com
“The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of John R. Wood Realtors.”
Hi Shannon - I can sure relate to your experience. I can remember when I first started and really was a bit fearful to qualify a buyer. I just thought I needed any buyer. I've come a long way baby!
Shannon, hey, just wanted to stop by and thank you for the info the other day.
Great post Shannon. This is a business not a game, and you can't have unqualified buyers waste your time.
SHANNON - Screening buyers is an acquired skill that constantly needs to be worked on. It might as well be called having a good "BS Meter," because that is exactly what is needed at times. It's also being able to read body language and using psychology. If you sense that you are being lied to, most times, you will be right in your assesment. You need to know when to move on and let the next agent deal with them.
Shannon, I've never screened buyers all that carefully. I'm lucky because most are referrals, and I have them talk to my favorite lender sooner rahter than later, but I just haven't been burned by flakes. And even if you wind up showing a couple of places to someone who is a flake, you've had a chance to see some interesting properties that you might be able to sell to someone else.
The Florida beaches seem to be full of this type of buyer. Excellent information and we all need to learn the qualification game. I liked how you handled your first experience.
As one of my old mentor's said it's the Yes and No's the make you and the maybe's that break you!
Shannon, good point about screening buyers. Do you use a buyer's agreement?
Great point about screening buyers..it is an acquired skill! In the begininng, I just wanted someone to say they were a buyer..I didn't ask any other questions. Now they get a full on question session with me and a buyer/broker agreement to sign. This topic is important because I think most realtors may still be somewhat afraid of buyers!