“Commission Impossible”
From this week’s episode:
“Commission impossible.”
–What Realtors say about a particularly trying Buyer.
“Commission accomplished.”
–When such a Buyer actually buys.
At least, that’s what Phil Dunphy, of TV’s “Modern Family” sitcom, claims Realtors say.
Must be a Southern California — or Phil Dunphy — thing (personally, I’ve never heard either term).
How Many Showings?
Unlike Phil, I’ve also never had a mutual friend contact me to set up a fifth showing for a client who was too embarrassed to call me themselves (also from this week’s episode).
Trust me: the kind of clients who want to see a home 5 times are not shy about asking (two showings is standard, three is pushing it unless the home is big and/or needs lots of work — and five is way over the top).
The client ends up buying when they overhear Phil talking about an old chair the Dunphy’s need to throw out, and mistakenly think he’s talking about the house that’s for sale (“Don’t worry, if the Jones’ don’t want it, I know lots of people who’ll snap it up in a heartbeat”).
Dealing With Ambivalent Buyers
While real estate “love-at-first sight” is real, just like the human kind, it’s relatively rare; in a decade selling real estate, I’ve probably witnessed it in less than 10% of my Buyers.
What’s much more common is “strong-like-at-first-sight.”
As my client does a second and possibly even a third showing, their interest level deepens, and they naturally progress to an offer.
When it takes 3 (or more) showings to decide, my usual advice to Buyers is, “something’s obviously missing for you in this home. When you find the right one . . . you won’t feel so ambivalent.”
P.S.: And yes, some clients are more deliberative, (in)decisive, etc. than others.
However, once a deliberative-type arrives at a decision, they generally stick with it.
One of the pitfalls of so-called “snap judgments” is that sometimes they “un-snap.”
