Have you ever been working with a client, trying to find them the perfect home, but they just had no clue what they wanted? You are a pro, after all, so we’re sure it all worked out in the end but let’s be honest: It makes your job a heck of a lot more difficult when you don’t know exactly what you’re looking for.

It really helps if everyone involved in the searching and buying process is on the same page – literally. We recommend starting the buying process by having your client fill out this buyer questionnaire.

What is a homebuyer questionnaire?

It may sound complicated, but it’s actually very simple. Think of it as “Step 1” in the homebuying process. Try to get your clients to start here before moving any further into the process. 

The questionnaire begins by asking some of the more general, but still very important questions: Are you looking to own or rent? What’s your price range? Will anyone else be living with you? You know, the basics, just to get those out of the way and help narrow down the search results. 

Then, once they’ve completed those easy, must-have-answered questions, it moves on to asking more about luxuries: What features must you have in your kitchen? What kind of style do you want in your home? What are your likes and dislikes for each room? Those are the items they’d love to have once they’ve found homes with, perhaps, the right number of bedrooms and bathrooms in their ideal location, but may not necessarily need to have in order for them to consider it the right house for them.

Why do I need one?

Well, because no one likes wasting time. And we all know every minute counts when you’re looking for your next place to live. Again, the questionnaire helps you get familiar with all the details – minor and major – that your client is looking for in their next home, and in a timely fashion. Knowing that information from the start is going to help you both save time by skipping showings that just aren’t the right fit for them because you’ll already be familiar with their wants and needs.

Not only does having them fill out the questionnaire right off the bat get you all that important information right away, it offers you one convenient place to keep it, that way you always have that very same page to reference when you’re wondering if a home you’ve found checks any or all of their boxes, or if you should skip showing them that one.

Other steps to take

We know that the buyer questionnaire is Step 1, which is why ERA Grizzard put together this downloadable questionnaire for our agents to keep handy and quickly get the ball rolling for their clients. But to help keep you on track further down the line, we’ve also included a checklist at the end of the questionnaire, complete with next steps in the home-buying process. Those include pre-approval, a buyer/brokerage agreement, an MLS search set up, a social media request and the addition to CRM/kvCORE.

Try implementing the questionnaire and checklist into your workflow and see if you notice you’re saving time and helping your clients close on the perfect home, sooner.

Please click here to access the questionnaire.