NOTES FROM THIS VIDEO:

Qualify your buyers early in the process. If you don't qualify your buyers then you run the risk of wasting a lot of your time.

If they're not really qualified – meaning that, for now, they're just kicking the tires – you can still decide to work with them.But at least you will know the situation up front, and you can guide your time and your actions accordingly.

Here are some qualifying questions you can ask.

I can prepare several homes to look at, but let me ask you this…

• What is your time frame on moving to a new home?
• Are you both in agreement on your home buying goals?
• Walk me through your process of deciding when and where to move.
• If you saw a home today that you absolutely loved, how prepared are you to make an offer?
• Are you considering other areas to move, or is this the area you have picked out?
• On a scale of 1 to 10, one being just curious to see a few homes and 10 being you need to move today – where are you at?
• How long have you been looking?
• Why haven't you already purchased?
• What are the factors that need to be in place before you would be ready to make an offer?
• Is the down payment available, or is the money tied up?

There's nothing wrong with asking these questions up front. Failure to qualify your buyers on their time frame and financial suitability will almost always come back to bite you later on.