Selling a real estate property takes a lot of hard work. One aspect of this job that’s indeed a pain in the neck is dealing with buyers who are not really interested in buying the property or who are only there to waste your time.
You need to tell the difference between a potential buyer who asks intelligent questions and one who is just wasting your time. It’s also important to be able to spot a buyer who is for real versus one that is planning on low-balling you.
Pre-qualifying your potential buyer and being able to weed out problem buyers is a key aspect of selling your property for a good price.
Tire Kickers
Tire kickers are pretty common to property sellers. This type of “buyers” asks a lot of questions, but, in reality, they aren’t interested in buying. They also waste time by picking at minor issues and finding whatever is wrong with the property. They always sound like there’s nothing in the property that satisfies their expectations or needs.
Of course, if you’re a buyer, you have to make sure that your purchase is right for you. However, there’s already something wrong if you take so much time being fussy about the property, but you don’t have the interest or capacity to buy it.
The difference between real buyers and tire kickers is that the latter know nothing about compromise. People who have an interest in the property will compromise on one point or another because they want to buy the property. Tire kickers sit on the fence and don’t make a move.
Low Ballers
Low ballers take advantage of a seller by offering much less than the price of the property. It’s important to recognize the difference between someone who has the means to purchase the property for a decent price and want to negotiate vs someone who has no intension of paying even close to your asking price.
People who make low ball offers will look at every listing in the hopes that they find a seller who’s desperate enough to accept their dirt-cheap offers. These low ballers are like playing a numbers game even if there’s only 1 in 100 chances of winning.
Although low ballers are so obvious in their ways, there are still who fall prey to them. So, you have to avoid them if you want to seal a good deal.
Buyers with Unrealistic Plans for Property Use
Aside from purchasing a property as an investment, people buy a property for a particular use. But sometimes you’ll come across a buyer who has plans for a property that’s just unrealistic or completely unobtainable.
For instance, a residential area may be not ideal for building a commercial or industrial building, and you have to tell that to the buyer. But there are some buyers – most of them first-time buyers – whose plans for property use don’t align with the type of property they’re buying.
As a seller, you have to educate a potential buyer about the size, location, and type of property you’re selling. This aspect is vital as it clears up the mind of the buyer and helps him/her make a favorable decision according to his/her priorities.
People Looking at Properties They Can’t Afford
Some buyers don’t have enough available cash to purchase a property that they want. Most of the time, these people look at expensive properties that don’t fit their budget, and that’s the reason why they can’t afford it.
If you’re a seller, you have to do a reality check on the buyer to see if he/she has the capacity to buy the property. That’s to avoid wasting your time and to lessen the complicated process of property selling.
Schedule Stretcher
Schedule stretchers are buyers who often ask for extensions to the escrow period to put themselves at an advantage. This type of buyer has three common reasons to demand an extension to the escrow period.
Keeping the property off the market for a long time so that prospective buyers will go on to look at other listings. By then, the schedule stretcher will ask the seller to lower the price by reasoning out that the market has cooled off since the price was offered.
Assert that the market has undergone a downtrend, and the bank has reduced the amount of money they’re going to lend.
Lengthen the time of the escrow period until the seller makes concessions just to seal the deal.
Takeaway
When selling a real estate property, it’s crucial that you know the different types of buyers to make sure that you get an excellent deal. Be aware of buyers who want to take advantage of you, and those that are only out to waste your time.
It’s advisable that you qualify a potential buyer to ensure that they are for real before jumping through a bunch of hoops. You also need to get plenty of exposure to your listing so that you can choose from an extensive list of offers.
