Fake prospects - how to weed them out at an early stage

As soon as you have advertised your property, the phone and email inbox are ringing off the hook. But how do you know which of the countless potential buyers are really interested in your property? No seller wants to waste time on unnecessary viewings - with people who can't actually afford the property, or who don't want to buy it anyway, but just want to view it. Here are a few little tricks to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Not everyone who views a property has the intention of buying it. On the one hand, there are the so-called viewing tourists: people who like to view properties in their free time. On the other hand, there are also interested parties who have serious buying intentions but lack purchasing power or creditworthiness. A big nuisance for you as the seller, because all of this delays the sale of your property. The different types of bogus prospective buyers are difficult to recognize, even with a trained eye. However, there are a few tricks to filter the circle of interested parties in a sensible way.

Prospective buyers should know what to expect - an informative exposé ensures this

An excellent exposé is a great help in your search for qualified prospective buyers. The more questions the brochure answers, the easier it is for prospective buyers to decide whether the property meets their wishes and needs. If, on the other hand, the photos and descriptions in the exposé give a false - or only a very inaccurate - impression, you will often hear the following sentence during viewings: "I imagined it differently."

360-degree tours offer one way of finding out more about the prospective buyer. This is because the activities of the individual prospective buyer can already be recorded during such a virtual tour. For example, only one room, such as the living room, can initially be activated for all interested parties. Anyone wishing to experience a tour of the entire property must activate the other rooms by entering their e-mail address. Viewing tourists generally do not want this. The intensity with which a prospective buyer views the individual rooms also gives an indication of how interested they are in the property.

With a few questions and tricks, you can unmask bogus interested parties

With the help of the e-mail address, you can also gain an impression of how seriously a prospective buyer is interested in your property by asking clarifying questions. For example, ask them what their dream property looks like, how long they have been looking and whether the financing is already in place. The clearer the answers, the clearer the interest. Professional estate agents also get to the bottom of the prospective buyer in a telephone call and recognize whether they are a potential buyer.

And another little tip for a test balloon: As sightseeing tourists like to schedule their hobby on their day off, they prefer appointments at the weekend. They rarely make time during the week. It's different for serious prospective buyers. They also make time for a viewing appointment during the week. So if you don't offer appointments at the weekend, viewings are often turned down.

Through their many years of experience, professional estate agents have developed a feeling for who is seriously interested and who is not. But they also know that, in case of doubt, it is better to show the house to a tourist than to lose a buyer.

Don't want to waste your time with bogus prospective buyers? We help you to recognize real prospective buyers.

You need further information:

https://de.statista.com/themen/133/immobilien/

https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Expos%C3%A9_(Immobilien)

https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Wirtschaft/Preise/Baupreise-Immobilienpreisindex/_inhalt.html

Legal notice: This article does not constitute tax or legal advice in individual cases. Please consult a lawyer and/or tax advisor to clarify the facts of your specific individual case.

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