5 Tips for Nailing Your Next Buyer’s Tour

You've just received a call from anxious buyers. They've been looking at homes online for weeks and are now ready to work with a REALTOR® to get the buying process started. They have a good idea of what they can afford, and of course have a long list of criteria for the perfect home. After spending some time talking with them, you schedule time to show them the properties they are interested in.

Did you know that RPR has everything you need to complete a successful buyer's tour? Here are five tips that will help you impress your new buyers, while also keeping you prepared for those unexpected moments when you're out and about.

1. Prepare

Start your search in RPR. Sure you can enter your buyers' criteria: beds, baths, sqft, garage, price, etc. But you can also use the mapping tools to search by specific geographies, including Zip Code, MCD/Townships, Neighborhoods, School Districts (including attendance zones) and more. See exactly where the properties meeting their criteria are on the map. Are they looking to be within 15 minutes of their office? Use the Drive Time tool to search only for properties within this distance. Using these mapping tools, you can be sure that you're finding more than just the house itself: you're finding the desired neighborhood, school zone, and even distance to work.

2. Standout

You've narrowed down the tour to four properties. First, generate a Neighborhood Report for each of the areas you'll be showing. RPR's Neighborhood Report will give your buyers an idea of not only the market statistics of the neighborhood: average sales price, inventory, average list price over the last 12 months, etc., but it will also give your buyers an idea of who is in the area. Do your buyers have young children? Are they looking for a neighborhood full of prospective play dates? RPR's Neighborhood Report will give you the number of households with children. Or perhaps they are interested in knowing the water quality, or even how much rainfall. The Neighborhood Report will give them all of that.

3. Educate

Buyers always have questions as they walk thru a property. What are the annual taxes? Or, as you are visiting one property, they see the FSBO property down the street that wasn't on your tour list for the day. Rather than tell them you'll get them the information when you get back to the office, you can use RPR Mobile™ to search the RPR database and answer their questions. You can even take a picture of the home with your phone and upload it to RPR to be used on the report you generate and email them right then and there. They'll be impressed with your knowledge, and you'll be impressed by how easy it is to get the information you need.

4. Follow Up

After your buyers narrow down the properties they are interested in, create an RPR Property Report for each property, giving them additional layers of information on the property, including photos, property facts, your comp analysis, and even school information. Because RPR gives you the ability to select which sections of the report you want to include, and then showcases your photo and contact information, your buyers will know that you are not only the local market expert, but ready to help them buy their home.

5. Negotiate

Your buyers have now picked their favorite property and are ready to make an offer. Starting with refining the value of the subject property to account for any improvements that have been made, you can use RPR to get a clear idea of the property itself. Then, by using RPR's Comp Analysis tool, you can search for comps based on various criteria, rate each comp, make adjustments, and even override the result and either put in a price range, or a specific number of your choice.

With your knowledge, backed up by an RPR report full of information and facts, and RPR Mobile™ at your fingertips, your buyers will not only be impressed, the seller's agent will be hard pressed to disagree with your value.

To view the original article, visit the RPR blog.