August 2018 - Kim Hughes

Your phone rings and you hear those magic words…”I want to buy a house”. What is the first thing you think of when this happens? How much commission will you make or helping the buyer find the right home and build a solid relationship with your new client?

I hope you are saying the later because in this week’s blog we are talking about taking care of your buyer, the client.

Are Your Buyers Prepared to Be A Homeowner

The biggest part of creating your Client Connection is providing them with service they will appreciate for many years to come. Having clients that value the service you provide will put more dollars in your pocket over the life of your career through repeat business and referrals than if you rush them through their buying experience and don’t educate them fully on the process.

The first chance you have to provide clients with exemplary service is when they are buying their house. You are the expert on houses, and it is your job to educate your clients on what they can expect both during the sale and even more so after the sale. Buying a house is a big responsibility but taking care of your house while you own it is the biggest responsibility. A buyer needs to be educated on everything that comes with taking care of a house. It’s important to understand what you might encounter while you own your home, so you aren’t surprised by the things that come up later.

What can you do to educate a buyer to be a great homeowner?

Impress upon your buyers the extreme importance of home maintenance and the role it can play in the value of their home. It is essential they understand how critical it is to take good care of their home. Owning a home goes well beyond paying a mortgage and utility bills, mowing the lawn and buying furniture. All homes require some maintenance, but you need to evaluate what has been done recently versus what will need to be done in the coming years. Putting together a handout for buyers with the average lifespan of the different systems in their home can be a great resource to share with them.

Buyers usually work with their lender to determine their housing budget but don’t be afraid to discuss this with them as well. While you can’t tell them the size of the mortgage they will be approved for, make sure they are building a household budget that leaves them enough money every month after all their expenses to set aside some for future needs. When their air conditioner goes out in July and can’t be fixed, they will want to have a savings to tap into so they can pay new one. If they are setting aside a portion of money each month for future repairs or upgrades they want to make, they will be better prepared to handle a new air conditioner unit or a busted water heater than someone that hasn’t planned for that.

Another thing to discuss with a buyer is a home warranty. Take the time to explain how a home warranty works and let them decide if it would be beneficial to them. It won’t cover everything and doesn’t cover routine maintenance but may cover many other items and save them some money without too much of an expense.

Are they used to calling a landlord for every little thing? Do they understand that from now on when the toilet is clogged or the roof leaks they will have to either fix it themselves or call a professional? Another way to help prepare them for the inevitable time they will need to call for help is to provide them with a list of your trusted experts that they can call when they need someone. They need the list from day one not just when an emergency presents itself.

While buying a house can be a short process, owning a home is a long-term commitment. Prepare your buyers for this and help them understand the obligations that come along with the American Dream.

When you help your buyers understand the responsibility of home ownership it prepares them for those “things that happen” so educate them, help them understand it is important to have an emergency fund set up for home expenses and maybe give them a vendor’s list of services you recommend in the area as part of the closing gift.

Another thing you can do for your buyer is to have them sit down with their mortgage lender to learn how the loan process works and what they need to focus on when it comes to buying a house. Being a pre-qualified buyer gives them more buying power and everyone can now start seriously looking for that perfect home.

I am constantly telling my coaching clients they must get comfortable with having the potential buyer sign the Buyer Representation Agreement before they step foot in your car. So, while you have them complete the Client Information Sheet, Wants and Needs Sheet have the Buyer Agreement together and tell them that you must have these two items before you can start showing them property.

If you take the time to educate your buyer clients for what to be prepared for in home ownership it will create a relationship that will be very rewarding in the future.

Don’t forget to download your TWO Freebies this week. Here is the link

*****

Thanks for watching this weeks video and don’t forget to download your freebies.

If you enjoyed this blog, please SHARE IT, watch it on YouTube and let me know your thoughts, LIKE IT and don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to my Channel.

One of my most popular blogs to date is What Does Your Voicemail and Texting Habits Say About You. Read it here

Here we are heading into the last quarter of 2018. This blog will help you get your finances in order. Check it out by clicking here.

You can read my other real estate business blogs and get free downloads by visiting https://www.kimhughes.com/resources/real-estate-blog/

COMING SOON!

The Ultimate Expired Listing System Webinar

Are you ready to get serious about working the Expired’s in your market? Are you ready to start building your inventory and put more money in the bank? I bet you are! I have been asked many of times to do a webinar for agents who struggle with the Expired Listing process, so coming in August I will be hosting a Workshop to take you through my Expired Listing System that has been a huge success for many top agents. If you would like to be the first notified just click on the link below and you will

automatically go into my private list to receive the first announcement.

YES! I WANT TO BE THE FIRST TO KNOW – SIGN ME UP!

*****

Ready and motivated to organize your life? The 90 Day Real Estate Planner is a must for any agent,

broker, team leader to implement into their daily lives as it will help you become more productive, find more time and be better organized. Get it today by visiting the 90 Day Real Estate Action Planner – use the COUPON CODE: PLAN18 to get your discount. This special code is for a limited time only, so take advantage of this discount today and get excited about your life becoming more organized and structured.

Are you realizing you need to tighten up your business strategies? Here at Kim Hughes & Company we are the experts when it comes to working real estate agents with start-ups, re-organizing, marketing, transaction management and so much more. Visit us at Kim Hughes and Company to download our free Real Estate Checklist. We will show you how to become a powerhouse agent so schedule a 20 minute complimentary call with Kim today and let’s get you organized and create some amazing strategies for your business.

Are we connected?:

Instagram: @KimHughesCoaching | #KimHughesCoaching
http://www.Facebook.com/KimHughes
http://facebook.com/KimHughesRealEstateVirtualAssistant
http://www.Twitter.com/KimHughes
https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimhughescoaching
https://www.pinterest.com/kim_hughes/pins/

As a real estate agent just starting out, it can be hard to build your business to the point where you have a consistent inventory of listings for sale. While buyer clients are great to have, they can take up a lot of time and sometimes after all that time, they decide not to buy or never find the house they are looking for. Building your business so that you maintain a steady inventory of homes for sale can help you add some consistency to your income.

When you first start listing houses, it can be overwhelming to figure out what you need to do for each house and not overlook something. If you are listing homes without a listing checklist, that’s like baking cookies without a recipe. The results will likely be inconsistent and less than desirable. Having a plan when you start the process will improve the service you deliver and allow you to manage your time better so you can serve more clients at one time.

What Does Your Real Estate Listing Checklist Look Like?

When you start putting your checklist together, think of everything you do when you list a home and try to put it all together. Some items to include are

Putting the listing in MLS
Scheduling photo session
Creating brochures or fliers
Putting up the sign
Creating the Lockbox
Scheduling an open house
Preparing your Just Listed posts cards
eBlasting the listing to your database
Promoting the listing to your local and out of area agents
Promotion on Social Networks
Setting Feedback System
Scheduling Seller Reports

You can always choose to skip some items if they aren’t necessary for a certain listing, but you don’t want to forget them when you get multiple new listings in the same week and are trying to get everything done. Don’t forget the things you need to follow up on later in the listing. Everything won’t happen just in the first few days. Many other tasks that will need to be done throughout the listing so include those as well.

Download this sample listing checklist to get you started but make sure to spend a little time customizing it to meet your needs. When you have a thorough listing checklist put together, you need to decide how you are going to manage your checklist, so you can keep up with what’s been done on each listing and when it is time to work on the next one. A good real estate CRM will have a section for managing listings where you can add your checklist then apply it to each listing. As you work on different tasks throughout the listing, you will need to be able to track what you have completed and get reminders when it is time to complete the next task. The other nice thing about a CRM is it will keep track of the items you have done so you can share the information with your sellers to keep them informed.

My very popular Listing Coordination Spreadsheet is also a tool you can use within your team to stay up-to-date on how that listing is marketed.

Like anything, a little planning can make a big difference and listing homes is no different. Take a little time to create a checklist that will take your business to the next level, and before you know it, you will be a listing machine.

Not to mention organized, excited about how your business is moving forward and your sellers are referring you to other because you are on top of it.

Need help putting together your real estate listing checklist, not sure how to set up your CRM or just don’t have the time, but understand the importance? Reach out to me and let’s talk about how Kim Hughes & Company can help you put your business in order.