A real estate client questionnaire is a set of questions to ask a potential buyer regarding their wants and needs when looking for a new property. A well-written questionnaire helps real estate agents establish the rapport they need to forge relationships with their buyers and helps them find the right home at the right price. While you may be tempted to 'make it easier' and just call your clients to get all these details, a phone call may or may not give you the opportunity to influence your buyer's initial conversation in the desired direction.
Additionally, sending your clients a questionnaire before you set up an initial meeting will allow you to cover the essentials and prepare more in-depth questions for when you actually meet. It also creates a great opportunity for the buyer to consider what they actually want in the early stages of the buying process, helping you deliver a better service.
But what are the right questions to ask in your client questionnaire? Read on to find out.
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What Questions Should Real Estate Agents Ask Potential Buyers?
The goal of your client questionnaire should be to cover all the bases and gather all the vital information while maintaining it reasonably short. You don't want to scare potential clients away with endless and uncomfortable questions. While the specific questions you decide to include in your questionnaire might vary depending on your niche and client, there's some basic information you must make sure to cover regardless.
Let's go over the main aspects you'll want to keep in mind when creating your own real estate buyer questionnaire.
Current Situation
You must assess your client's current situation, and how far along they are in the hunt for their ideal home. This is a great way to determine how serious they are about buying and can help you understand more about the reasons why they are looking to move. The motivations behind a prospective buyer's purchase, such as starting a family or welcoming a new member, will help you comprehend their demands and focus your search to satisfy them.
Here are some example questions to help you dig deeper.
- How long have you been looking for a property so far?
- What features of your current area are most significant to you?
- When must you relocate?
- Do you have to sell your current property in order to buy a new one?
- Are you currently working with any other brokers or agents in the real estate industry?
- Do you currently rent a place?
- Why are you looking to purchase a new property? (you want to rent out your own, use it as a vacation home, or it will be an investment property)
- What aspect of this move excites you the most?
Financial Situation
Inquiring about the buyer's financial situation will help clarify what they can afford, and how prepared they are to make an offer on a home. You don't want to put in all the work to find their perfect home only to realize it was all wasted time because they're not even pre-qualified for a loan yet. For this reason, you must gather this information as soon as you can.
Make sure to include the following questions in your buyer questionnaire.
- Please specify your price range.
- Do you have a set budget for your monthly payments?
- Have you already been pre-approved for a loan? If so, what amount are they prepared to loan?
- How much cash do you have available to put down on your new home?
- Do you have a budget set aside for renovations if the house needs them?
- Do you require help finding financing?
- Do you need down payment assistance?
Needs and Preferences
Here is where you will inquire about your client's wants and needs. You want to fully understand what are the important features and amenities, as well as the ideal location for their home and the lifestyle they hope to have in it. This will help you establish some structure for the home search by narrowing your focus to provide them with the most relevant listings.
Try including some of these questions to get into their needs in more detail.
- How many people, including you, will be relocating to the new home?
- Do you or any members of your family have any physical or medical issues that may necessitate special features in your home? If so, please specify the features needed.
- What size house do you think is ideal for you? (sq. ft)
- How many bedrooms and bathrooms are you looking for?
- Do you have children and/or pets? If so, how many?
- Do you need or want to live close to a certain school district? If so, which?
- What aspects of a home are most essential to you? (location, luxury details, open layout, charm, large-scale property, etc...)
- Are there any interior design styles you prefer?
- Has any house caught your eye so far? What did you like about it/them?
- Is it important to have an environmentally friendly or energy-efficient home?
- Please elaborate on the ideal neighborhood, town, or city in which you would like to live.
Expectations
When clients are prompted to be honest about their expectations and pain points, you can also be open and honest as their real estate agent regarding what services you can provide. By learning about how your clients envision the home buying process you will be better prepared to fulfill their special requirements and help them find the right property.
Use the following questions to find out more about
- How did you find out about us?
- What qualities do you seek in a real estate agent?
- Have you ever purchased a property? What did you like and dislike about the experience?
- What type of house would you purchase if price wasn't an issue?
- At what time of the day/week are you typically available?
- If you can't find what you're looking for, what is plan "B"?
- Do you have anything to add, such as particular requirements?
Create the Perfect Real Estate Buyer Questionnaire With Bonsai
Now that you're ready to create your own real estate questionnaire, make it simple by using Bonsai's custom form builder. We help you easily draft a professional questionnaire that you can send as an online form via email, URL link, or even have it embedded into your business website to get more leads. Our forms are fully customizable, allowing you to add as many questions as you need, select your preferred answer format and even add your branding elements to make it unique and recognizable for your clients.
But why stop there? Bonsai's all-in-one product suite has everything you need to take your business to the next level. From client onboarding features such as intake questionnaires, proposals and contracts, to invoicing, payments, accounting and a complete tax software, we help streamline your processes end-to-end. Start your 7-day free trial today and see for yourself!
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