Member Prospective

Working with out-of-town buyers

Simone Williams
RE/MAX Impact

My Best tips for working with Out-of-town Buyers: Organization and time management are key!

Have a copy of that lender letter before the Buyer arrives!

Make sure you have clearly communicated with your Buyers as to their needs and desires. Narrow down area (let Buyers choose area from information, web links, home searches etc. that you provide to them prior to their visit). Let Buyers preview homes you set up to show via Internet.

Make sure all paper work is together and in duplicates. If you have husband and wife (or more than one Buyer) provide an extra copy so all parties are acknowledged and have a copy of all documentation. Be prepared to write a contract at all times.

Start early in the day to utilize your time. If you need to go back for a second showing there is time available. This will also allow time to write a contract and possibly allow for a counter before Buyers leave town.

Provide water and maybe juice (small cooler in the car).

Break and evaluate. Schedule time for a short break for restroom and eat a quick lunch. Use this time to discuss the properties you have seen and evaluate weather you are on the right track. Make sure the Buyer is not overwhelmed. If you need to set up a second showing or stop and resume the next day. Modify the remainder of your schedule accordingly.

Kathy Chiero
RE/MAX Town Center

If you have the luxury of 3-4 days of looking take the first 1/2-day -- day to do a "familiarization" tour of the city. Drive the suburbs, give the client the high points of each suburb i.e., parks, recreation centers, town centers, traffic patterns, school location, etc. Give them a map and visually show them where you are at each spot. If the client has already narrowed the search to specific areas or school systems you can limit your tour to these areas.

If you have to "hit the ground running," get as much information from them prior to their arriving in the city. What do they want to accomplish? Do they want to see houses first? Meet with School Administrators? Locate their employer and see neighborhoods around the employment center? What is the "center" of their life? Work? School? Church? I recently showed a transferee who wanted to be within 2 miles of a natural food store as she did all of her grocery shopping organically.

Allow "breathing" time to regroup after each search. Meet at your office, go over other home choices and areas. Give the client time alone to discuss the areas, schools, and home choices.

JoAnne Schorsten
Schorsten LLC

Get them prepared BEFORE they arrive. I send the clients a CD-Rom about central Ohio to get them familiarized with Columbus and surrounding communities. Then, I email a list of about 10 questions, which help me understand their needs. Based on their answers, I send them a list of active listings, which meet their criteria. Then, they select as many from each area as they want. We make sure they get a chance to see them all! Then, we go back and look at their top 3 or 4 choices for a final decision.

Drew Fitzgerald
Schorsten LLC

Being a part of a team, we work together very closely to ensure the proper handling of our relocation clientele. Although we carry the understanding that making it easy for ALL clients to do business with us is paramount, we realize that this is especially important with our out of town clients. Our team works seamlessly with our clients by consistently discussing the progress and status of our client base. One thing that proves as a great tool to help accomplish this is with the use of a client management database, which is accessible by the entire team. As a result, this allows us to stay current on the status of the Buyer, with at least one of us on the team to always be available for the client, and to make the most of their time.

Linda Moulakis
Coldwell Banker King Thompson

Stay Calm! Plan, Plan, Plan --  it is 90% preparation with an out-of-town buyer, and 10% performance. And then, be flexible because everything changes once they get here! I try very hard to know what is most important to my relocating buyers. Then I overload them with information on schools, communities, local and neighborhood newspapers, maps-everything and I mail it to them as far in advance as possible. As we begin to choose the homes they want to see, I preview as many as possible and email pictures if there is something particularly wonderful about any of the homes. Once I have the homes mapped-out, I drive my "route" every night so that I am completely familiar with the drive and the homes I will be showing them each day. The days are long, especially if there are children with them, so you have to be very organized. But the good new is, I feel like I have a new "family" when the visit is over and they have a wonderful new home. It is exhausting but very rewarding!!

Marty Soller
Coldwell Banker King Thompson

Show your buyers where the listings are on Google Maps or use the new Tempo 5 mapping feature. When you are driving around, it's easy for buyers to get confused as to where homes are located in perspective to the other homes or landmarks they may be familiar with.

Rosalyn Miller
Real Living HER

"I provide them with a tour booklet, including MLS printouts and maps so they can become familiar with the area as we drive around. Also, bring lots of bottled water and/or coffee, depending on what they prefer to drink! A little hospitality goes a long way when you're a long ways away from home! If it's a daylong tour, I usually prefer to stop for lunch and sit down with them to eat. Even if it's a 30 minute break, it is a valuable chance to get to know them and clear our heads from the work at hand for just a few minutes."

Paula Koontz Gilmour
Coldwell Banker King Thompson

I think the key to working with out-of-town buyers is to LISTEN to what your buyers tell you and to do as much work as you can prior to their visit. If they have young children, find out where all of the schools in the area are and if their timing allows, schedule a tour for them. Find out where the local parks, libraries, rec centers, etc are. It seems like a lot of buyers are just as interested in the amenities of the particular areas/communities as they are in the houses themselves. It's also good to bring as much excitement as you can to future Columbus residents about our city and all of the great things it has to offer. Moving to a new city can be frightening for anyone so I try to be an "ambassador of the city" and to reflect my excitement about living here onto anyone I work with who is considering a move here.

Jan Jedlinsky, ABR
Metro II Realty

I start by asking many questions about the type of property they are looking for but also, information about their lifestyle. I have them complete a survey concerning features they are looking for that takes things a step further by making them prioritize the importance of each feature. If there are 2 people involved, they each need to complete it separately. I take great care to LISTEN and interpret all the information I have been given. When we actually meet I know exactly what they are looking for and am prepared to show the best properties for them.

Lastly, I provide a "Welcome to Columbus" package that includes among other things a book full of information about Columbus and area suburbs as well as a Franklin County map. Believe it or not in the day of the Internet, Buyers are very appreciative of these paper products.

Marty Evans Huestis
Coldwell Banker King Thompson

Do as much advance preparation as possible. It is important to both give and receive detailed information.

Ask the buyers questions about not only house preferences, but also about what is important in their lives. Do they have a child with special needs that might be met better by one community than another? Is it important that the school system offers a particular sport? Do they have friends or family here? They might, or might not, want to be near them.

Send copious amounts of information about central Ohio and the various communities they are considering. Discuss the content with them. Of course, email listings to them. They love to receive them, and their responses are beneficial in understanding their style preferences.

No matter how much information you send them, remember that things will change. Be prepared to shift gears. It is helpful to have someone available in your office so you can call them to pull up listings and schedule showings while you are with the buyers.

Sheila Straub
Coldwell Banker King Thompson

Out of town buyers need lots of guidance for their specific needs.

Do they need a good school system? Access to downtown? Access to the airport? Amenities for recreation? Old house vs. New house? Community vs. a subdivision? Travel time to work? Spouse's interest? Sports? Country club? Athletic club? Church affiliation?

All these items help make you as an agent better prepared to meet your client and their specific needs. Send information ahead of their scheduled arrival time so you can talk with them to get a feel for their desired needs. Don't forget to smile, laugh and make it fun for their discovery!