Mortgage Sales Training?
Q: As a numbers person I see where you are going. This is a great concept for
car dealers and sellers of other high ticket items that are trained to think
in terms of "low monthly payment." This is usually a part of what most
folks call "sales training." Real estate agents are not considered sales
people by most of the selling community, and for good reason, they lack
sales skills and sales training. Besides that they lack the people skills
to get that intimate with a customer regarding their finances.
Last year at this time I had a mobil home for sale listed at 65K. Another
agent brought an offer of 60K, buyer was to put down 15K and finance 45K at
8% over 15 years. The sellers needed to buy another home and needed full
price. The other agent was with the local board since the year of the flood
and had all sorts of letters behind her name - GRI (Graduate realty
institute), CRS (Certified Residential Specialist), etc. I also conferred on
her an honorary DAS designation (Dumb as Sand). I told her that the sellers
had a 15 year assumable mortgage for about 49K with 10 years remaining at a
rate of 4.25% - a rare bird in these times, and if her buyers could come up
with an extra $1,000, and be willing to pay about $20 per month over the
mortgage they had applied for, they could own the home outright in about 10
years instead of 15 - a savings of about 15,000 over the life of the
mortgage which would more than make up for the additional $1,000 they would
pay up front. The other agent said "I don't want to discuss terms, just
give me a bottom line price your buyers will take." I told her 65K. She
got her buyers to pay it. Go figure.
The bottom line is for most agents they don't want to get involved in
finaning, because they don't want to crunch mumbers, unless it is a
commercial deal, and even then most agents don't know how. You would not
believe how many contracts I have received from other agents that have sales
price, dowm payment, financing, and come up to the wrong due at close
amount. Or even worse yet indicate application for 80% financing in the
contingency section, calculate the wrong amount under amount financed. If
the average agent is that lame, how can they possibly explain a mortgage buy
down?
Here is a question - if the average agent lacks sales skills, people skills,
and numbers skills, what can they do? I guess the average agent working for
a full service company is offering limited service anyway.
A:-I guess I was being influenced by the subject of your post. Sounds to me
like this might be something that could be offered right from the start if
handled properly. The idea is to make it beneficial to the one who's doing
the showings too or the buyer is never going to know about the incentives.
The fact that it's beneficial to their client isn't enough. Even though I
only do listings IMO the showing agents are the one's who are in the
trenches. Also they are hopefully the one who has the buyer's trust. Also
keep in mind the stats show that it's highly unlikely that the listing agent
is going to be the buyer's agent so I try to see things through the eye's of
the buyer's agent. Is there a was to make it directly financially beneficial
(cash in pocket) to the one showing the house?
-This is great concept for real estate as well; it has been
successfully deployed in the custom home, FSBO and now, the MLS
markets. I am not going to comment on the qualifications and abilities
of my audience (RE agents), and I understand that my approach will only
appeal to the enlightened few.
Your aptitude for finance is apparent; just the type of
partner I am seeking to assist me in this marketing endeavor. I think
most would agree that it is not only what you say, but how you say it.
To someone like you, the choice in your example is obvious, but to
someone that doesn't know (they can be taught) or doesn't care (they
can be persuaded), your "pich" is different. What are the possible
unique selling propositions/hot buttons to the buyer's agent with an
assumable mortgage? 1) Do you want to get paid next week or in 30-45
days? Assumable mortgages allow for immediate closings; no need to
wait for processing, underwriting, funding, etc. 2) Does you client
want a true no closing cost loan? Assumable mortgages don't come with
the expense of lending fees, per diem, escrow, settlement costs, etc.;
that is an average savings of 5,000. But it is not enough to tell
"them", "they" must be "showed" and it proved in your example, that the
extra effort was not appreciated or required.
I address the "don't want too's" and the