Ask Denise: Second-Guessing? | The Zebra Blog

Ask Denise: Second-Guessing?

Denise Lones

Q:  Denise, I have a buyer who is under contract and they keep asking about other properties that are coming on the market. What is worse is they are asking me how many days they have left to get out of their contract. I don’t think they are unhappy with the home they have a contract on; I think this is more a matter of wanting to have access to all the available options. How should I handle this?

A:  When you have a buyer who …

  • Had to make a quick decision due to a fast market
  • Could not get all the items on their want list in their budget
  • Had to pay more for the home than originally thought due to a fast market

… it is normal to second-guess one’s choice. In fact, many buyers experience some kind of buyer’s remorse when they settle on a home, not because that home isn’t a great solution to their needs, but by choosing that home, they have ruled out all the other possibilities and the freedom to make a choice.

What I would recommend is first having a discussion with your buyers to make sure there isn’t something truly wrong with the home they have a contract on. Once you have ruled that out, ask them about why they are on the lookout for other properties. If it is just a matter of curiosity, that isn’t something to be overly-concerned about. However, I would then reel them back in and focus on the home that is under contract.

Let them know about the steps involved between pending and closing and the documents they many need to gather up for their loan. Give them a Pending to Close Calendar with all of the important dates and deadlines highlighted. Ask them questions about furniture placement or move coordination. Get them excited about the property currently in front of them.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Tell Us What You Think!

Awesome, timely advice for real estate agents. Delivered weekly.
  • Fresh trends
  • Best practices
  • Research and statistics

Enter your email and stay on top of things,




Subscribe!