Buying or selling property is a huge life event for anyone – it’s part of why we love what we do! The journey is full of exciting highs, but there can also be some nerve-wracking uncertainties and other hurdles along the way.
These challenges are often referred to as pain points, which are specific problems that a client experiences. Minor inconveniences and major issues both qualify as pain points and can originate from a variety of sources. Let’s highlight today’s top five general pain points in real estate and explain ways to combat them, whether you’re a REALTOR®, loan officer or a title professional like us.
● Lack of transparency:The most prominent issue customers often encounter is the lack of clarity in the real estate market. This ambiguity often relates to understanding fair home prices or deciphering contract terms.
● Unresponsiveness:Many customers voice frustration when real estate professionals are not prompt in their responses, especially when customers face a deadline to make critical decisions.
● Hasty decision making:Even if something seems straightforward to us, remember our clients don’t live in our world. Instead, they rely on our collective knowledge and experience for guidance, especially when feeling pressured to make decisions out of their comfort zone. If we’re not leading our clients, it could lead to unnecessary stress during the process.
● Unrealistic expectations:Our customers may enter into real estate transactions with expectations that don’t align with their actual market situation. Thanks, Zillow, Netflix, etc. When these expectations aren’t met – realistic or not – they may feel disappointed or frustrated.
● Insufficient knowledge:Without previous experience, many customers find the real estate process complicated to navigate. This can lead to potential errors, delays in the process or just general confusion – a trio of things no one wants to experience in real estate or any other business.
So, what can we do to smooth over these issues and more? Here are three ways to cover these five pain points.
● Commit to clear communication:We’re all friendly people who want to do the best for our customers, however, let this serve as a reminder to stay on the ball. Follow up as soon as possible, acknowledge when there’s a delay and explain why (when applicable). It will help improve your transparency and your responsiveness.
● Be honest and open:This is another way to address multiple pain points. Talk about the realities of your specific market and ask questions to ensure you and your client are on the same page when it comes to shared expectations and how the process should work. By grasping a client’s goals and objectives, REALTORS® and others can tailor the real estate process to their specific needs, making the process more comfortable and personalized.
● Be an educational resource:No matter who we are in the transaction, we should do everything we can to help our clients understand how the process works. Cover the steps of the journey and rely on handouts, videos, FAQs and more from various sources to help you. If you don’t specifically have an answer, one of your transactional partners will. (Feel free to defer to us for title and closing questions or concerns even before we get a file.)
Thank you for trusting our teams to be your title and closing partner. It’s always our goal to provide you and your buyers and sellers with a smooth and pain-free experience. Let us know if you have specific pain points you need help addressing. We love working together to solve problems for our customers and partners.
