Deals go POW all the time…. Most times deals go POW when they weren’t “a deal” in the first place. Landing good real estate deals depends upon discerning good deals from POW-destined deals right from the get-go.
What does that mean? Well, when you meet a client and conduct a new client interview, the prospective buyer or a seller provides you with available personal information. But at this point in your relationship with them, the information provided is all you have with which to assess them…. So what do you do next?
Often times, a client may often innocently omit information they could have provided you. Many times a prospective client could have been confused or simply forgot about other documents that would have been of appropriate interest to you. Other times a prospective client may intentionally omit providing information he or she well knows positions them to reap some personal gain, perhaps even at your expense.
Whether you are trying to prevent fraud or simply keep a deal from going POW, you should perform your due diligence at this crucial application stage. So what information is vital to confirm at the application stage? Here are some essentials:
Verifying a Seller’s worthiness
- Verify your client’s identification by asking to see it
- Verify that your client is the legal homeowner
- Verify that your client is the only legal homeowner and if they are not, insist on knowing who all other legal homeowners are
- Check registered mortgages to ensure that there is enough equity to pay for closing costs (including your commission)
- Check the sales history on the property to make sure that there is no funny-business or reason to suspect the property has issues
Verifying a Buyer’s worthiness
- Check the client’s identification
- Ensure that your client is able to finance a mortgage
- If a client tells you their purchase depends on the sale of their other property – check that the other property has enough equity to finance the purchase of another (including land transfer taxes and related closing costs)
Conducting an airtight interview is the first vital component to your landing a good real estate deal as a real estate sales professional. Utilize tools to validate information about your clients ahead of all other business to pave the way for a successful deal – and close. Some real estate sales professionals perform due diligence at various stages in the real estate process and for good reason. If something comes up the deal could go POW.
Even if the client provides you with documents like the deed or MPAC assessments – you should still independently verify all information provided by a client or prospective client. Tools like GeoWarehouse, Google and even the MLS are great ways to do this and can save you substantial money and headaches in the long run!
For more information about how you can validate the information your client provides to you please visit www.geowarehouse.ca.
