| Do you tend to ask a lot of questions? When you | | | | moments to talk with potential buyers, but don't |
| are selling your home there are some things that you | | | | start to bully your way into personal details. |
| should ask a buyer, and some things that you should | | | | If you find that your buyer is starting to look slightly |
| refrain from asking. | | | | uncomfortable, stop with your line of questioning and |
| There is nothing more annoying, or more frustrating, | | | | leave the buyer alone. So many FSBOs attempt to |
| than an owner who attempts to show off obvious | | | | bombard a buyer with an array of questions that |
| aspects of a home to a potential buyer. Some | | | | only lead to embarrassment in the end. You merely |
| owners have a tendency to point out things such as | | | | need to know basic information regarding each |
| large bay windows, but this sort of information isn't | | | | buyer, and once you learn this information walk |
| necessary (and it may insult the buyer's intelligence as | | | | away. Also, it is a good idea to keep valuable |
| well). Likewise, asking about a buyer's current | | | | information inside of a guest book next to each |
| occupation or yearly salary is crossing the line. | | | | person's name, and contact those motivated buyers |
| However, there are some questions that every | | | | shortly after your open house. |
| owner should ask a buyer before any offer is made. | | | | You can lay out all the refreshments in the world, but |
| One of the first things that you should ask a buyer | | | | if your buyer feels intimidated, they will leave your |
| (with a great deal of tact) is, "when do you plan to | | | | home without a second thought. The entire point of |
| buy a home?" Narrowing down some sort of buying | | | | showing your house is to help a buyer see just how |
| time can be a great deal of help when you talk to | | | | "liveable" your home is, and if you think about it, you |
| prospective buyers. The other question that you will | | | | might not enjoy a hard line of questioning either. Try |
| want to ask is, "have you applied for a mortgage | | | | to be a gracious host, but do not go overboard. |
| yet?" If a buyer has not applied for a mortgage yet, | | | | Hosting an open house is a sure fire way to get |
| gently explain that they will have to do so before | | | | buyers into your home, but you can just as easily |
| placing any sort of a deal on a home (some buyers | | | | chase them away if you are not careful. Remember |
| simply do not know this!). Also, make sure that every | | | | to ask only the essential questions, and skip those |
| buyer you spend your time on has some sort of a | | | | small details that you really have no business knowing |
| feasible plan for buying a home. Take a few | | | | about. |