Qualify Your Buyer

 You get a message or a phone call and on the other side of the line is someone that is looking for a new property to buy.

This is Great News because You have properties to sell.

Or You get an email from an investor that wants to buy one of your listings and He/She is Offering full price. Quick Close.

That sounds WONDERFUL for You and Your seller Client. And You enter into a contract with this new buyer.

And You do all the paperwork...

and the emails...

and the phone calls...

and the text messages...

and You start thinking about what You will do with Your commission check.

And then inspections comes, and it gets negotiated You do more emails

and more phone calls...

and more text messages...

And closing time comes and everyone is excited about this day.

So much work was put in from so many parties so We can get to this point.

Seller, Buyer, YOU, lender, title company, insurance company, attorneys, inspection company, moving company, etc… So, we can get to THE CLOSING TABLE

And then…

Buyer is not able to perform.

Either because final approval was denied from the lender, or because the Buyer could not get the funding needed. 

And then You realize that the buyer wasted 30, 60, 90 days of everyone’s time and You are back to square 1

You need to explain to a very angry and disappointed seller what happened. And start marketing the property once again and start the process all over.

You did not get paid so maybe You need to tell your kids that they will have to wait for that new bike...

or maybe You need to tell Your spouse that the family cant go on that summer vacation…

YES.A lot of things can happen from when the contract is signed to the closing table, but the biggest one is this:

YOU DID NOT QUALIFY YOUR BUYER.

Look for these signs:

1. Lack of Funds for down payment or cash purchase
2. Not pre-approved by lender. Note on this. I have seen pre-approval letters that hold NO VALUE whatsoever. These letters are based ONLY on what the buyer states to be true, NOT ACTUAL VERIFIED INFORMATION. And We all know that people LIE. Especially if they are trying to get something.
3. Buyer is very indecisive. Show lack of confidence, therefore lack of experience.

Here is what You can do:

1. Ask for POF. And by that, I mean an extract from a bank account that shows that they have the money.
2. Look for a history of performance. Ask for a list of properties bought recently or in the past. Do a little research on the business by going online and looking at the website and social media activity. Ask around. People in the business know who the players are.
3. Step number 2 will take care of this

Here is how to spot a QUALIFIED AND EXPERIENCED INVESTOR BUYER.

• Buyer sends offer with all the terms
• Buyer shows you a copy of bank statement.
• Offer has a very quick inspection period.
• Buyer offers references from other brokers.
• Buyer offers list of properties previously acquired.

And don’t be afraid of picking up the phone and ask other questions.

Remember: Doing the due diligence on a new Buyer can save You months and hundreds of messages on a deal that You are working so hard on to close.

Protect Your time. It is your most valuable asset.