Why do we need the Verified Home Buyer I.D. System?  It’s simple.  To improve the Residential Real Estate Sales process for Agents, Brokers, Lenders Buyers and Sellers.

So, let us explain a little more of “the why” for you.  We’re sure most of you can relate to these points.

Everyday across North America, literally thousands of hours are wasted by Agents and Lenders who, while well-intentioned, spend a lot of time working with people who want to buy homes. As we all know, many people, while willing, are not quite ready or able to purchase a home. Yet, they want to go out and see homes even when they are not in a position to write an offer.  What’s the point?  Can we all agree…there isn’t one, right?  

What if you never had to waste another minute of your time showing unqualified buyers a home?  What if you could know exactly who is coming into your Open House?  Is it just a nosey neighbor, potential Buyer or perhaps some ill-intentioned individual who is there to scope out the place for later, or worse?  

Over the past few years I have collected numerous posts, etc. from agents that had some crazy circumstance they found themselves in.  The reason I kept them for all of this time was because I realized when I read them I though, perhaps The Verified Home Buyer I.D. System could have solved that problem.  Below is my collection. Do any of these situations resonate with you?  I removed names of original person posting for privacy reasons.

How would you handle a client who is preapproved contingent upon them selling their current home, but they insist on continuously looking at homes prior to putting their home on the market? I gave her 2 freebies, but told her we really need to focus on her current home. Sweet lady, but it's her insistence that's getting under my skin. Plus, the homes she wants to see are a good distance away. It’s fun to walk around homes that she can’t purchase yet, but it feels like a complete waste of time. I even suggested we go ahead and list her home and make it contingent upon finding another home. This way she wouldn’t feel pressured to sell until she comfortably found something to move to, but at least we’d start getting exposure and buyer traffic. I strongly detest wasteful activities and burning time.
Tomorrow morning at 8:30, I’ll be in court standing up for a local homebuyer who’s being sued by a realtor for $20,000 — even though that realtor had absolutely nothing to do with the sale. Here’s the truth: My client signed a standard buyer-broker agreement — the kind that pays a realtor when they actually show or help buy a home. That type of agreement does not apply when someone purchases a for-sale-by-owner property directly from the seller. She found the house herself. She negotiated the deal herself. She closed it through a law firm. There was no realtor involved. Now, a realtor is trying to cash in anyway — demanding a $20,000 commission on a deal they never touched. That’s greed, plain and simple. We’ve filed a Motion to Dismiss and we’ll be in court tomorrow morning to defend this homeowner — and to send a message that we won’t let opportunists exploit the system. We’ve redacted the names for now. But depending on what happens in court tomorrow, we may release both the brokerage and the agent so the public can see exactly who’s trying to take advantage of people in Hampton Roads. I’ll always stand up for the little guy — especially when someone tries to take what they didn’t earn.
So how are you handling unrepresented buyers now? Those who want to see a home by going directly to the LA become demanding about getting into see house on THEIR schedule, expecting you to do all the buyer side duties, don’t want to sign anything. I know it is my job to sell the house and I have no problem with showing, but just trying to figure out the dialogue to have. Especially when you have a great listing that has multiple agent co-op offers first day. Thanks for your help.
I was reminded today why I stopped Zillow in the first place and had my first pushback for buyer representation to be signed. Buyer called me 45 minutes before the showing to let me know she was canceling because she forgot she has a family member who is a realtor, and that family member wasn’t going to make her sign an agreement — she was just going to take her to see homes. Mind you, the showing was an hour from me and I was already halfway there. We had chatted about the buyer representation form, she was fine with signing it, then all of a sudden she had a family member who said it didn’t need to be signed and that I was wrong.
How do you handle prospective buyers who refuse to get a pre-qualification letter?
What do you think should happen to a realtor that gives the buyer a lockbox code and tells the buyer to go to the property without them? Here is the story. I was not involved in the transaction. A family member was, and I was contacted to consult with them. It was in a state far from me that I don't do business in. Buyer’s agent and buyer view a property at an open house together. Buyer makes a great all-cash offer. It’s accepted, closing in 10 days. Seller does not live there but the place has lots of stuff in it. Buyer is told seller will not clean the place out, but buyer has to deal with it. Buyer tells agent they want to go there to get an estimate and get rid of those things. BUYER’S AGENT GAVE THE BUYER THE CODE BECAUSE THE BUYER’S AGENT COULD NOT GO OR DID NOT WANT TO GO. QUESTION: What penalty should this agent receive? If it matters: Buyer got rid of everything that day prior to closing. Buyer swears he was under the impression he has to get rid of it and felt he got the green light to deal with it. Seller’s family said there are sentimental things of value there. Buyer retrieved every item from the trash and put it back. Get ready for this: Buyer’s agent called the buyer and said because he did this, he is not going to get any commission on the deal and wants the buyer to pay. Buyer signed a buyer’s agreement, but in the offer it states seller is paying his fee. He has about 4 text messages that state seller is paying his fee. BONUS QUESTION: Should buyer pay the buyer’s agent any money?
Question: I just had a group of 4 adults come to an open house that is not vacant and want to view the home but refused to give me any of their information, including an ID. I said I at least needed a name for security and they refused. Would you still let them view? This is also on a $700K home.
I had a buyer call on a listing and he told me upfront that he had an agent and he would have his agent write an offer for him, but then proceeded to ask a plethora of questions including seller flexibility on price and terms. He also asked if I can show him the home on Sunday because he can’t come to Saturday’s open house and didn’t want to bother his agent on Sunday. I explained that I have a different open house on Sunday, so he’d have to go through his agent. I also explained upcoming changes in touring homes, etc., and then he said, “Look, we’re regulated enough in California. You shouldn’t contribute to the regime that exists here.” Then he threw in some expletives and hung up. I just don’t understand buyers that don’t want to bother their agent.
Just had a realtor meet a buyer at my listing. The agent tried to get the buyer to sign a buyer’s agreement in the driveway. The buyer said nope and just got in the car and left. One hour later, another buyer called me directly and said a Zillow agent tried to get them to sign an agreement. They refused. Since this has not been the norm here in Florida, I see this being an issue for some time.