I have been a Realtor for 19 years, and through those years I have learned now more than ever, how important a Buyer’s Counseling Session is to set the tone for the experience.
There are many different buyers out there, from investors, to upsizing/downsizing buyers, to first-time homebuyers – they each are of a different purchasing mindset. What I mean by that is, each buyer has different real estate wants/needs and goals, and it is important as a Realtor to know what their ultimate real estate goals are so they can be given the guidance needed to achieve them.
For example, I have found in my career that for investors, it is all about the bottom-line dollar. On the other hand, sellers who are looking to upsize may have bought within the last 5-7 years and know fairly well the process. But for seniors (my favorites) who have lived in their home for 25+ years for example – have no idea what to do first … they start to feel overwhelmed by the idea of moving and then find themselves doing nothing. For the first time home buyers (my second favorite) they have never bought a home before, so they don’t know the first thing about purchasing a home. It can be stressful enough to sell and/or buy a home, having the guidance through a Buyers Counseling Session eliminates some of the stress, by just knowing what to expect, along with the guidance of your Realtor. Seniors and First Time Home Buyers especially need a lot more guidance for sure, and that is why the Buyers Counseling Session is so critical. It walks the buyers through the process step by step, so they have a pretty good sense of what to expect. At the same time, any and all questions are asked and answered so that at the end of the session they are very comfortable moving forward. Providing the buyer with a home buyer’s informational packet including a timeline of the process from when the buyers offer is accepted by seller to closing. It gives the buyer a good sense of what to expect, and they can always reference back on this information anytime during the process. All Realtors should provide this as part of their service prior to the buyers beginning their home search.
I have to admit that due to COVID the way many of us do business has changed dramatically, and that would include buying and selling real estate. Restrictions have certainly eased a bit, which is great news, but over the past year – Buyers Counseling Sessions have taken a back seat to the process and some Realtor’s would “counsel as they go” … I am here to tell you there is no short cut to a buyers counseling session. It is valuable information for the buyer which ultimately makes the buying process go much smoother along the way.
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