8 Questions to Ask Out of Town Buyers

If you work with prospects that come to you from out of town here are 8 questions that you might find useful. Usually, out of town buyers are made of people relocating and those looking for a 2^nd or vacation home. I work the Sarasota real estate market and have been using these questions on many of the vacation home prospects. 

•1.      Have you been to [city] before? 

If the prospect has never been to your town before chances are that they need to be sold on the town before they can be sold a property. I am much happier to work with someone that has been to Sarasota many times versus someone who has never been there. However, all is not lost with someone who has never been to your city before. It generally just means that they will require more time. They need to become educated on the town as well as neighborhoods and homes.

 •2.      Are you looking in areas other than [city]? 

A prospect looking in only your town is much better than one looking all over the state. People who look in Sarasota oftentimes look at competing cities such as Naples, Tampa, Ft. Myers, Clearwater and St. Petersburg. It would be good for you to have some general knowledge of those markets as well. For example, I know that Naples is more expensive than Sarasota and usually comment on that to any prospect looking in both towns. 

•3.      What are your needs and wants for any property you plan to purchase? 

I think it is important to ask this question near the beginning because this is one that most prospects like to answer. Questions 1, 2, 4, 5 and 6 are probably not as fun to answer by the prospect than this one because they are more for your qualification purposes. Even though buyers oftentimes deviate from their initial want/need list it is obviously a good idea to find out what the prospect is looking for. I always found it easier to find a property that a buyer wanted to purchase versus me trying to sell them on a property. People want to buy but they don't like being sold.

 •4.      Are you working with a Realtor in [city]? 

The last thing you want to do is spend a day or two showing the town and properties to someone who is already working with Realtor in your city. If they are working with more than one Realtor I tell the prospect how the process works. I also stress that they only need to hire one good Realtor as they can show them all available properties. If your prospect is from Europe be sure to have this conversation with them. In Europe it is customary for buyers to hire several Realtors as they don't use a database like the multiple listing service (MLS).

 •5.      Have you arranged financing or do you intend on paying cash? 

Obviously, the mortgage industry has been turned upside recently. People that could have obtained a mortgage before the meltdown may not be able to do so now. The last thing you want to do is spend countless hours with a prospect finding the perfect home only to find out that they cannot get financing. That is a quick way to burnout of the business. 

•6.      When are you looking to buy? 

I love this question. It puts a time frame in the prospects head that may not have been there before. It also tells you how hard you need to work with someone. If the prospect is coming to town this weekend and wants to see property on both Saturday and Sunday you need to figure out when they plan on purchasing. If their purchase date is a long time away do you really need to show them property on both days? This is another way to burnout. You have to take control of the situation because many prospects won't value your time so it is important that you do. Is it necessary to show a prospect 22 properties if they on buying a home 6 months from now? The market is going to change over the next 6 months and you will most likely have to start over again. 

•7.      If you see a property you like are you prepared to write an offer on it? 

This is a tough one. In all honesty I don't use this one every time. Some people can get turned off on this question as it seems a bit used-car-salesmanish.  Use your best judgment on this one. Feel you prospect out and decide if it is appropriate. 

•8.      Is this an exploratory trip or is a purchase likely? 

This one isn't too difficult to ask. This question usually catches them off guard and makes them think a bit. This question can do two things. It makes them think about their purchase time frame. It also gives the impression that you are a professional, this is not a hobby for you and that you treat it like a business. 

I usually ask more than these questions but they are tailored for my market. For example, a lot of people buy vacation homes in Sarasota, Florida. Some of my questions are market specific. For example, do you intend on renting out your condo, do you have pets, do you need to be on the water. I would add some questions to this list that is geared for your market. 

It is also easier to ask these questions via email. Much of my business comes from the internet so it allows me to ask them via email. It is a little more difficult to ask these over the telephone as it may sound like an interrogation. If they do call you make sure you get their email address so you can ask them a series of questions. The whole goal is weed out the non serious people so you can focus on the good ones.

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