Advise First-Time Buyers with These Top Tips

Buying a house for the first time is a significant life milestone for many people. Yet, that doesn’t take away from the fact that everything leading up to it can be daunting: from financial preparations to finding the best property, to eventually signing their name to a big contract.??

As an agent, you play a vital role in guiding first-time buyers through the process. Here are some tips to help you better work with this crowd.??

Bring Clarity to the Process??

First-time buyers are often unfamiliar with the real estate process. The good news is that you have the expertise to serve as their trusted advisor.

At the very start, give them a simplified overview of the real estate process, including key stages, timelines, and priorities. It can also be helpful to brief them on market trends, including local inventory levels and pricing trends, to set realistic expectations.

Outside of meetings, you can use a CRM like Raptor to create tailored email drip campaigns. These campaigns allow you to gradually send out information in a digestible way, via quick tips, checklists, or short explanations.

Raptor also enables you to save detailed notes on the profiles of each client, in the Contacts module, so you can align these campaigns with the specific concerns or questions gathered from conversations with them.

Help Them Understand Financials???

This is a big one. First-time homebuyers often have limited knowledge of the extensive financial preparations required. Additionally, given the steep price, they may need assistance in securing special financing.??

No matter their background, always bring in the discussion on financing options early. Explain the different types of mortgages and the importance of getting pre-approved for a loan (not just pre-qualified) as early as possible. Early pre-approval speeds up the process by giving you an accurate budget range to work with and ensures that sellers take them seriously.??

It also helps to give them a realistic sense of the short and long-term expenses of homeownership outside of loan payments – including taxes, insurance, and fees for utilities. This way, they can factor in these considerations before committing to their loan program.?????

Clearly Outline Needs Versus Wants

While your client may have their dream home in mind, the competitiveness of the market means they have to know what features they prioritise most – and what they are willing to be flexible about.

Before looking for listings, have buyers come up with a list of needs, wants, and dealbreakers. Make sure it is specific – and ideally, the factors should be ranked in order of importance. This can be anything from neighbourhoods to inventory, to preferences about views.

After this is done, with Raptor, you can conveniently input their criteria into the system in the Contacts Module, under Buy/Rent Profile.

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When they’re ready to start searching, our built-in property match features will leverage this information to automate the matching process.

The?Prospect Match feature will generate listing recommendations that match the exact criteria inputted. On the other hand, the Advanced Match feature uses AI to suggest properties that don't meet specified criteria but are still of high potential. This capability enables buyers to explore more options and uncover hidden gems.

By knowing their needs and wants, your clients can make more informed decisions while still exploring a diverse range of properties.

Remind Them of What’s Truly Important

While house hunting, first-time buyers often place much of their attention on the property’s aesthetics. Your job here is to help them think beyond the physical and consider whether the property in consideration is a good overall match.

Some key factors to highlight include location, access to transportation, and community or neighbourhood culture. These aspects play a crucial role in determining quality of life yet are often undervalued during the decision-making process.

In addition, it is good to remind them that while lifestyle factors are not easily changeable, many physical aspects of properties can be changed down the line.

Something helpful to do is to have buyers visualize their life in the home over the next 5-10 years. For example, do they have a growing family? Or maybe they are aiming to sell, and are focused on its resale value? Their answers will give you more insight into their true motivations.

Establish a Network of Trustworthy Service Providers

If you haven’t already, start building a reliable network of trusted professionals who can assist first-time buyers throughout the process. This can include home maintenance professionals, home inspectors, utility providers, credible lenders, etc.

Out of this list, having someone who can assist with the lending process and home inspection should be?a?top priority.

When it comes to lending, aim to find a network of lenders that cater to a variety of buyer profiles. Some of your buyers for example might require payment assistance programs, whereas others might just want the best deal. Having go-to contacts for different needs can speed up the mortgage preparation process.

A good home inspector is also important since many first-time buyers may not think to hire an inspector, let alone do a house inspection. By providing your recommendation, you can ensure any potential issues with the property are promptly highlighted by the expert, and if necessary, negotiate repairs with the seller.

By putting the tips we discussed into practice, you can ensure a much more positive experience for first-time buyers, helping them feel supported and instilling confidence in them every step of the way.

Want More?

Be sure to check out our latest article, where we go into more detail about how you can best support first-time buyers.

Until Next Time...

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