Residential Real EstateIdentifying The Better Deal Buyer
You"ve met the type already, because the Better Deal Buyer is suddenly everywhere.
The Better Deal Buyer is just as the moniker implies - someone who is always looking for a better agent, a better loan, a better house. When it seems more important to your buyer to win than to buy a home, you know you are working with a Better Deal Buyer.
And that spells trouble for you, because Better Deal Buyers are usually rich with entitlement and self-importance - they think they"re smarter and more deserving than others. They won"t settle for less, no matter what it costs.
Better Deal Buyers are so focused on getting a better deal that they will risk great homebuying opportunities because they are so delusional with self-centeredness.
What they want is capitulation from everyone else so they can satisfy their need to win. If the lender doesn"t waive enough fees, or if the seller doesn"t drop prices down to the pain threshold, and you don"t kick in some of your commission, the Better Deal Buyer simply won"t be happy enough to do the deal.
And that"s what makes working with The Better Deal Buyer so maddening. They have no idea how not-worth-it their deals usually are.
The Better Deal Buyer isn"t typically the luxury home buyer who is spending millions. If buyers have that kind of money, they"ve already won the game, and have nothing to prove. No, the Better Deal Buyer is usually a young comer who wants everyone else to feel the pain over a starter home or entry-level move-up home. (adjust prices accordingly for your market area.)
Naturally it would be good to be able to spot this kind of buyer before s/he puts you through hell, but unfortunately the Better Deal Buyer can"t be stereotyped. However, you can definitely be on your guard if:
S/he"s under 35. The age demographic of first-time and move-up buyers assures that many Better Deal Buyers are in the Gen X age category. GenXers distrust institutions and anyone older than s/he is whom s/he"d prefer to just get out of the way. That includes you and anyone else from his/her boss to the old lady in line in front of him at Starbucks.
S/he"s ever worked for a dot-com. Did you ever meet anyone who ever worked for a dot-com who didn"t think s/he deserved to be Master of the Universe? It"s that technology-over-people thing. Heaven help you if you aren"t tech-savvy and try to show this buyer homes over the FAX machine.
S/he holds a post-graduate degree. All that extra work and student loans drive up the entitlement factor big time with the Better Deal Buyer, who now "deserves" the good life, even right out of school and before proving his/her worth in the workplace.
S/he leases the entry-level version of a Lexus, Jaguar or Mercedes. The car industry has nailed this self-important customer beautifully. This customer feels they deserve the brand even if they can"t afford the flagship car, so the industry has provided them with low-cost sport sedan or coupe versions. While the X-type is hardly a Vanden Plas, at least it has the leaping cat on the hood, and that"s good enough for the Better Deal Buyer.
Here"s what you can expect from the worst of The Better Deal Buyers:
They don"t respect "real estate agents." You, like loan officers, are a means to an end. The Better Deal Buyer sees no reason not to put several of you to work on his behalf, knowing full well that only one will get paid in the end. They aren"t loyal, so don"t think you will get him to sign a buyer"s representation agreement, or win him over with charm or experience. The Better Deal Buyer is smarter than you, or thinks s/he is.
They generally want to buy more home than they can really afford, hence the need for a deal. Expect lending problems with this buyer, someone who overconfidently refuses to become prequalified by a lender or who ignores the lender"s buying guidelines with the belief that rates will drop again or an interest-only or ARM loan will enable them to buy "where they belong."
They want to win. It isn"t about being cheap, it"s about using cheapness as a tool to win. That"s a fine distinction for you to know because the Better Deal Buyer can spend a lot of money on a home - if s/he ever actually buys one. And they can keep you dangling for months at the prospect simply because the closing would be so sweet.
Winning is an obsession that blinds the Better Deal Buyer to reason. If the Better Deal Buyer doesn"t win, his or her ego is shattered. To prevent a shattered ego, a Better Deal Buyer will simply blame you, never themselves. You"re not working hard enough, you charge too much, and at the first opportunity, you"ll be dumped for someone who is younger, hipper, older, wiser, more experienced, less experienced. Someone who"s just different from you.
The obsession to win compels the Better Deal Buyer to be ruthless and dishonest in behavior. This is the buyer who works multiple agents to death, visits new home builders without you, and contacts sellers behind your back to cut you out of offers.
Lenders aren"t spared, either. This is the buyer who will lock in an interest rate with one lender and continue to shop the loan with other lenders right up until closing. Then s/he expects everyone to move heaven and earth to get the home to close on time with a new loan.
The Better Deal Buyer lives on the Internet because s/he suspects that you aren"t showing him/her all the homes.
The spouses, significant others, and other interested parties of Mr. or Mrs. Better Deal Buyer will be no help to you. You may get a sympathetic ear, but if these folks could stop the obsession/compulsions of the Better Deal Buyer, they would.
In fact, they probably want to more than you do.
See the next edition of Agent News for tips on working with Better Deal Buyers.