Identifying Abuja Real Estate Window Shoppers?

goldandlandsadmin October 18, 2022 No Comments

As a real estate broker, you need to embrace the truth that you are in a service-oriented industry; you should always serve interested clients.

Brokers need the ability to distinguish people that are just out to get information without the willingness to buy and those that are not serious buyers.

How would you identify window shoppers and those who are truly out there to engage you to buy landed properties?

A change in perspective is the solution. When clients approach you, whether they are genuine or not, it is because there are too much information and options out in the market and they need to narrow down their choices.

Identifying Window shopper’s Request Tactics

When window shoppers contact you they usually place tall request briefs. What are tall request briefs?

A tall request or tall order simply means a request that is difficult to fulfill! It doesn’t sound like the reality of what is available in the market. Examples of such tall requests are below for 

• I need 1000sqm of land at Maitama main, and my budget is 100m. Maitama or nothing else. Your guess is as good as mine!
• A client calls you up, I need a certain property in a certain street. As a hardworking realtor, you have gone through that Particular Street 10 times in one-day scouting for his specification only to realize nothing like that is up for sale and none of his specifications is available. But fortunately for you, on the next street in the same location you found exactly his/her specification, when you contacted him and table your findings and what’s available; his/her response to you is: If my request is not in that street then no deal! Your guess is as good as mine.

So the big question to discuss is:

How To Manage Tall Property Requests?

There is no better way to manage window shoppers’ orders and requests, rather than to learn how to manage disappointment from window shoppers who may tend to engage you and leave you in a messy state. 

Read Also: How to Easily Buy A House or Land in Abuja?

Disappointment is the negative emotion you would feel after an encounter with a window shopper when an outcome doesn’t match up to your expectations. In trying to please such a request you are broken emotionally and feel sad. My counsel to you is to give yourself time to get healed and adjust your expectations.

There is nothing as bad as heartbroken encountering a window shopper who could be a broker or a buyer but imposing to be serious in making your time un-resourceful. This is because they tend to come up with a land purpose that is not possible to get; the budget is not acceptable, and property demand is not in the market. 

“They are open budget crew!” Who doesn’t have a fixed budget to buy a property but has high taste even when you peradventure get one within their budget

If you are into the realtor business in the city of Abuja Nigeria, you may have encountered audio buyers, they are window shoppers. Now those curious to know what window shopping is all about could best define these individuals who spend time looking at the goods in the windows of shops without intending to buy anything.

They put your expectations to flight and at the landing process, they back out with fickle excuses like; “My client would have preferred if it is mix use (multipurpose) and not mixed-use (comprehensive development). We wanted “mass housing” but what you have is mix use (comprehensive mass housing) When we know they both are the same purpose.

First Sad Experience With Window Shopper?

An anonymous (name not disclosed) called me he needs land that serves different use for the commercial purpose along Abuja airport road, F.C.D.A (C of O) with a budget of 1.2b above, wow…. This person must be very rich was what ignited my thoughts. 

While I was being naïve, I quickly put calls across different contacts, chat some other agents, and was able to get one within a few hours that meet their specifications.

While I did my search, the land is 14hectare mix use (cinema) and according to F.C.D.A C of O, this very land goes with most commercial specifications like office, plaza, golf court, 6 housing units, supermarket, etc. With the exciting thoughts of sealing a big deal, I reverted to the mandate of the buyer. The land is available. 

I requested he fixes a time convenient to the buyer for an inspection of the land. 

His response was, to fix a time more convenient to you guys, we have no problem with time and the buyer, but first, send me the land T.D.P and front page document to be sure it meets what his client want.

I did it with the speed of light. I believed my first million must enter my account in a few days while I was doing that, I would remember yes, another business budget. Just this high expectation of doing something you want a large budget for.

In a short while, my phone rang. Mr. Desmond, you amaze me! I almost gave up just to regain hope by contacting Abuja Home from your Facebook page. Let’s meet tomorrow by 11 am as agreed by you.

Inspection With A Window Shopper

With that high expectation, I woke up at midnight to iron my trouser and applied a gator to ensure the sharpness is something noticeable. Well, hope is still very high!

Was waking up and sleeping just to keep on time for inspection so we can further the next phase of the business. By 9:55 am I left my home straight to the location we could convey from to site. Well, I was, even more, amazed to see the seller mandate showed up before me. This man must be accurate to the time. Well, I love people who are time conscious like me. 

I don’t like to keep people waiting. 

That was how we waited for more than 2 hours waiting for the man to arrive and his consistent response was “I am on my way coming, with the client. They delayed me.”

Finally, he showed up past 1 pm. Then I was beginning to understand the importance of keeping time in business is mandatory. A serious buyer won’t play with time.

And when he came, he came alone. Oga, where is the buyer now? I asked

They are on their way coming, they want me to see the land to know if it is something they like then I will quickly put call a cross for them to start coming. The seller’s mandate had already sensed the un -seriousness. But I persist he shouldn’t go away since we have waited this long for him to arrive. Let’s just go and see the land so I can know the place too at Kyami, airport road Abuja.

He said the client was okay with what he saw with a promise they will come for an inspection by the next day (Tuesday) again. 

As we were about to leave, a call came into his phone. He walked away a few distances to answer it. And said the mandate wants us to wait so they can come to the site location. We waited for about an hour and they called and they couldn’t make it. I felt very exhausted! I didn’t take breakfast before I left for the site inspection.

A few days later I put a call across to him, and his feedback was they don’t want mix use (commercial). They wanted to mix and use multipurpose. I got furious and replied, but I sent you the document before you fix the inspection. Didn’t you communicate this to the buyer? He was rumbling his mouth and I cut off the call.

Simple Steps In Avoiding Abuja Window Shoppers?

Just as there are several good reasons you won’t put your investment in what is not profitable, so is why you should not do business with window shoppers. They would always commend the property but wouldn’t take the necessary step. This is mainly because they don’t have any buyers, or they are not ready to buy if they are the assumed buyers.

7 Realtor Ethics In Avoiding Window Shoppers?

1. When next time you meet window shopper’s Agents coming for an inspection without their client, immediately call off the inspection. They are time wasters.

2. When clients start asking for something not available, treat their request as disdain and don’t act rudely. You could simply say: “Sir/ma the property you request presently is not available, but we look forward to doing a better deal with you some other time if they declined other available options.”

3. Avoid mandate who accompany such window shoppers, and buyers, when you spot one insists they present you a letter of intent stating when they want to come for an inspection. If possible let them do the inspection themselves with the guide of description.

4. When you have a request, not in the buyer’s location, and you find something else better at a different location and the buyer insists it must be in that very location, forget about them. They are time wasters and window shoppers.

5. They are not specific about their budget. They always come up with the idea of an “Open budget.” And when you get them something with their specification the cost of property value, they would say it is beyond the budget. So always work with the budget and use your discretion when the client or mandate says open budget. 

For instant a client asks for 5hectare of land for an open budget, your reply should be: “I can get you the 5hectare for 5 billion would that suit your open budget.” Then they would give you a price to work with.

6. Window shoppers coming in real estate are not coming to buy property! They are either coming to view or know the direct seller of the property to easily circumvent you most times. So, avoid anyone who said he wants to meet the seller directly without observing the protocol of doing business.

7. Window shoppers would always insist you fix the time for inspection. This is because when they default to time, their blame would always be their time was not convenient for my today’s activities why I didn’t come early. So, when a buyer or buyer mandate is coming for any properties under your listing as a realtor, insist they fix inspection time and pay for inspection fee also. Not at your convenience time to avoid naughty excuses. 

Conclusion

Don’t be rude to window shoppers. Just politely avoid them so you can spend your resource for something useful, invest your time wisely and use your energy for a productive task.