Assuming they will be in town for a full week, which is what I strongly suggest to them, here is the time line I propose to them, by phone if possible, or if not, then in an email. They like to know that we have a structured plan for success during their short home hunting visit. They are flying in for a full week, and only for a week. They don’t want to make two home search trips unless absolutely necessary. They only have a limited amount of time to look, so I need to give them my full attention. I clear my schedule for that week as much as possible. They will have no reason or excuses to go driving around calling listing agents from signs, and no time to meet with anyone else while they are here. I am theirs, and they are mine!

The day before they arrive, I pull broker and public MLS listings sheets for all their saved properties. My copies of the broker showing sheets include a Yahoo map printed on the back, and I will use those to organize the showing drive plan for each day based on the property locations. I also wash my Jeep and make sure it is ready to carry the buyers in comfort. I always keep bottled water and “gator aid” type drinks in the rear storage area for everyone.

Day 1: The day they arrive in town. Schedules permitting, we have a one hour or 90 minute mid-afternoon meeting at the office to do the required agency and RESPA disclosures paperwork, review and copy their lender pre-approval letter, and go over the showing plan and schedule for the following days, including a detailed review of the MLS sheets for each property on their list. After reviewing the MLS sheets, and perhaps looking at photos and virtual tours online using the conference room projection system, we usually drop 4-5 homes off the list for various reasons, which gets them down to the ideal 20 property maximum. If we can’t do this the day we arrive, then we meet at 9 AM at the office on Day 2, everything else below drops back 1/2 day, and we start out in the afternoon of day 2 showing no more than 4 homes.

At the initial office meeting, I give them a blank copy of the Colorado Purchase and Sale agreement for their late night reading pleasure, and so they can formulate any questions they may have about that, which we can discuss in the car between showings. We talk a little bit about the overall buying process and time lines, from offer, through counter, acceptance, inspections, appraisal, lender approval, etc. I also give them some ideas on good area dining and shopping venues, and tell them to relax, get settled, and get a good night’s sleep so they will be ready to roll first thing in the morning. Between 4-5 PM that day, after our initial meeting, I make all showing appointments for the next day.

Day 2, Day 3 and Day 4, AM: Meet buyers at the office at 8:45 each morning. Show up to 20 homes at no more than 8 per day. First four 9-noon, then stop for lunch and review of morning’s four showings, then 1-4 PM for the final four showings. Make sure they keep good notes on their public MLS sheets for each home as they see them. Conduct daily end of day showing reviews at the office at 4 PM. Of the 7-8 we saw today, pick no more than one or two to keep, and put the rest in your reject pile. Make showing appointments for the next day.

Day 4 PM: At the day four early afternoon end of day review, of the 1-2 per day top candidates from each day’s showings, pick no more than 3-4 homes that we need to see a second time before making their final decision. They may need to take their final candidates back to the hotel and discuss their choices on their own, but I find that it is good to get the decision made while everything is fresh in everyone’s minds, and make the appointments that afternoon for the final showings starting at 9 AM on day 5.

Day 5: If they make their decision over night, they need to call you by 8 AM so you can make the final showing appointments, and your showings will probably go from 10 AM to 1 PM. Do final second showings in the morning, and plan to write two offers in the afternoon. Why two offers? They are going home in a couple of days. The first offer may not fly for various reasons. The second offer is a backup just in case the first offer doesn’t work out. They need to move on to another offer, and may not be in town. It is also great leverage on the sellers of offer #1. To seller agent #1: “My buyers have selected two properties to make offers on. Your listing happens to be the one they like a little bit better, so we are making that offer first. However, if we can’t come to terms with your sellers, they are ready to move on quickly to our 2nd offer.” I also request all seller disclosures at this time, and if they are emailed right away, I print them out for the buyers to review that evening.

Day 6: Relax. They can drive around and explore on their own now that they have selected a home and made an offer. If we get a quick acceptance, great. If not, we may need to meet at the office that afternoon to go over the seller’s counter and decide what to do. We may need to submit the second offer at this time, perhaps even before or instead of a counter on the first one. Hopefully, as long as it is a private seller and not a bank owned or short sale situation, we will have a final accepted offer by the end of the day.

Day 7: They leave for home, hopefully with accepted offer and copies of all seller disclosures in hand. But if not, they know that I already have another offer written, signed and ready to go for  their second choice.

If they have another couple of days in town, any last minute loose ends can be cleared up, possibly including the home inspection with buyers in attendance if the first sellers accept our offer quickly, and it can be scheduled with the inspector.

Ron Goodman, Broker-Associate
Prudential Colorado Real Estate

http://www.DenverHomeValue.com

1-800-381-8014