You’ve set an appointment with a new potential buyer client – congrats! But, now what? Successful agents send a real estate buyer questionnaire to all buyer leads. This will not only save you time in the future, but it will also position you as a professional. Since you’ll be guiding them through the homebuying process, using a buyer questionnaire starts the client relationship off on the right foot.
We will guide you through what a buyer questionnaire is, why it’s important, when to send it, how to use it, and most importantly, which questions to include in your questionnaire.
What’s a real estate buyer questionnaire?
This is a tool used by top agents as a way to be more prepared going into a buyer consultation appointment. In its simplest form, it’s a paper or online form sent to the buyer(s) for them to fill out on their own. You can use any questionnaire platform for this: Google Forms, JotForm, TypeForm and Survey Monkey are the most popular. If you’re not very tech-savvy, a simple printed form will do the trick.
Pro Tip
No need to spend money on this; a free version will work just fine – use ours above!
Why a homebuyer questionnaire is important
You might be thinking, “I don’t need a buyer questionnaire,” and you’d be right, you don’t need one. But if you want to ensure a smooth transaction, get to know your buyers right from the start and be able to do your job more efficiently and easily, you definitely want one.
Using a buyer questionnaire is important for a few reasons:
You will save a lot of time at your consultation. Rather than asking each of the questions during your meeting, you’ll already have the answers ahead of time. This allows you to focus the consultation on going deeper, building the relationship with the buyer and securing them as a buyer client.
It takes the pressure off the buyer. Imagine sitting across the table from a couple looking to buy their first home and grilling them with dozens of questions while you scribble notes. That’s how many agents used to collect this information back in the day (myself included, unfortunately). It’s much more pleasant for all parties involved to give the buyer the flexibility to complete the questionnaire at their convenience and leisure.
It’s a prequalification and priorization tool. Let’s say you have too many buyer leads to set 1-2 hour appointments with each of them in the next week. Using a buyer questionnaire will help you prioritize who to meet with this week (the most motivated and qualified buyers) and who you can meet with later on.
It positions you as a professional. Since many real estate agents do not use buyer questionnaires, simply using this tool will set you apart and make you look like the professional real estate agent you are. It’s part of a process; you’re the expert, you know the steps, and this is the first step. Buyers will respond well to you taking control and guiding them, especially at the beginning when they do not know what to expect.
When to send a real estate buyer questionnaire
Send the questionnaire to your buyer leads as soon as they agree to meet with you. Here’s an example of what to say:
“Great! I look forward to meeting with you on Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. I’ll send you an email with a questionnaire link in it for you to fill out ahead of our meeting, if you don’t mind. This will give me more insight into what you’re looking for so I can better prepare for our meeting.”
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If there are multiple buyers, send the questionnaire to each buyer separately. You’ll most likely see different answers. This will provide you with intel on which items the buyers don’t agree on, and will give you valuable insight into how to be the mediator during the homebuying process.
What do you do with the answers?
Once you get the answers, be sure to review them before the meeting! An easy way to lose a buyer’s trust is to ask them to take time to fill out a homebuyer questionnaire and not bother to read their answers ahead of time. So, put this in your calendar as a reminder if you need to.
I’d recommend printing the answers so you have them right in front of you during the consultation. This also allows you to take notes and have everything in one place. No need to go through every answer with the buyers during the meeting, but do confirm the main points: timeline, budget and motivation.
Here’s what it could sound like: “Thank you so much for taking the time to fill out the questionnaire I sent. It sounds like you’re looking to be in your new home by the end of August, so your kids can start in their new school, and you’d like to spend $750,000 or less – is that right? Awesome! We can definitely make that happen.”
Don’t forget to ask further questions where needed to clarify any information that is essential to your search process.
Pro Tip
After the appointment, scan your notes and their answers and save them in a folder. Staying organized will be crucial if the buyers decide to pause their search and resume it months or years later. I’ve had that happen before, and I was so grateful I saved my notes.
Real estate questions to ask buyers
We’ve taken the most important questions you should be asking buyer client leads and broken them down into categories:
The Basics
Name
Email address
Phone number
Current address
Who will be living in the home?
How do you prefer to be communicated with? Text, phone, email?
What days/times are most convenient for you for showings?