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Wondering how to communicate value in your presentations to buyers and brokers? Team Leader Andrew Undem has the answer with his “Eight Pillars of Value” buyer presentation, which succinctly communicates the value you provide to your customers throughout the buying process.
“To win business, you need either reputation or preparation — ideally both — but you need to be prepared to clearly articulate the value you bring to the table ahead of the opportunity,” said Andrew Andem, managing partner and team leader of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Homesales Realty’s SURE Group, which serves the Baltimore metropolitan area.
Andem continues, “We all know that connection and trust and making others feel safe is important, but you can’t make others feel safe if you don’t feel safe yourself. You have to be competent unconsciously, and that only happens through preparation.”
Andem communicates its value by explaining the “eight pillars” of the buying process. the explanatory framework for each and how each adds value.
1. Loan Pre-Approval
The home buying process begins with loan pre-approval, and Undem provided the following script as an example of value communication when explaining this part of the process:
“When buying a home, it’s important to understand all of the loan options and different programs available to you. Here in Baltimore, buyers often don’t know that they can qualify for grants, down payment assistance and even tax credits through certain loan programs. There are many options out there that can help you unlock value in the loan process, and I’m here to help you find them.”
“One of the values we provide in this process is helping you understand what programs you qualify for and not only get pre-approved, but also reviewing your property. This is the hard work we do before you even begin the process of touring homes. That way, we can work with lenders and communicate your strengths to sellers.”
“So from the beginning, we work to help you save money by finding a loan program or specific loan that fits your needs. We also help you find a loan partner that can help you make an offer that’s attractive to sellers.”
2. House hunting
Andem then moved on to the second pillar of the process: finding a home. He skipped over the familiar parts of building rapport and identifying the client’s wants and needs, and explained it in terms he uses to communicate the value he provides.
“Ask yourself, ‘How am I currently looking for a home?'”“Most people will answer with Zillow, Realtor.com or other search portals online, and that’s great, but that’s exactly what everyone is doing. The problem is, it doesn’t include a lot of upcoming listings or off-market inventory,” Andem says.
Here’s what you should tell your buyer:
“It’s absolutely necessary to keep looking that way, but you’re only looking at homes that these websites pull from the MLS and that agents have listed on the MLS. And that’s only a portion of the overall market and homes available for purchase. Most agents wait for a home to be listed on the MLS before they show it and collect their commission.”
“We provide value by sharing all homes that may be for sale with you and working behind the scenes to give you information about homes before other buyers who are competing to find the best deal for you and your family. Did you know we can see all the homes that someone wanted to sell but didn’t sell? Those are called expired or canceled listings. We want to look at those.”
“Pocket listings are homes that are ready to hit the market. We network with other agents and know about them. New construction listings are usually a subset of the homes and floor plans that a builder has available. We strive to find such opportunities for our buyers as well. So, during the search process, knowing what you are looking for is important so that I can give you a complete picture of all the homes available.”
3. Market Trends
The next pillar is market trends, which he explains to buyers:
“When you’re looking for a home, you need to understand market trends – what’s currently for sale, what’s under contract, and what’s sold. If you’ve narrowed it down to a particular town, neighborhood, or school district, it’s helpful to know a few things about that particular area.
What is your average list-to-sales ratio?
“This helps us understand whether the average buyer is paying a little less than list price, paying list price, or paying a little more than list price. Historical data is invaluable because it helps us create a compelling offer when we find the perfect home for you.”
Are there any closing costs that sellers in this area are paying for buyers?
“You can see that by looking at historical sales data. National news will tell you what’s going on nationwide, but it’s more important to understand exactly what’s going on in your desired micro-area. We want you to understand micro-market trends better than most real estate agents so we can get you the best deal possible.”
4. Provide a survey
Andem continued.
“Once we find a home, my job is to shift focus to offer research. My job is to gather as much information as possible to create a compelling offer that represents the best terms for my client.”
The research I want you to understand includes, but is not limited to:
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- How long has this home been on the market?
- How many screenings has it had so far?
- Why are sellers selling?
- Are there any important dependencies for sellers regarding sale duration or sale price?
- How much did they pay when they bought their home?
- What type of financing did they get to purchase their home?
“This is all information we can use to help get our customers the best deal possible.”
5. Components of the offer
As Andem moved onto the next pillar, components of the offer, he said this is one of the most compelling parts for agents to communicate value.
Here’s what to tell your buyer:
“For example, when you find a home for sale for $400,000, most people say, ‘Could I sell it for $380,000?’ That’s a good question, but price is only one of five elements of an offer, which also include purchase price, closing costs, terms, earnest money and closing date.
“The purchase price is clear to you. Using all the survey information I just mentioned, we will propose an asking price to help you purchase your home at the lowest possible price. Settlement costs are the costs associated with purchasing a home, including mortgage fees, title fees, deed fees and any other costs associated with the purchase.
“The volume of transactions we handle allows us to introduce you to the lowest cost providers and, because of our size, we can pass these costs on to you at the lowest possible discount.
“Conditions are especially important. My job is to protect you through the process, and conditions are one way to do that. There are almost always conditions in place for home inspections, appraisals, mortgages, and anything else that is necessary to protect you.
“Remember, when we come to an agreement to purchase a home, we have the right, but we are not obligated to purchase that home. A seller only has one home to sell, but we can buy any home we decide to purchase. So, we’re not giving up our authority, and the terms we use in our offer protect you throughout the process.”
“The fourth element is the earnest money deposit. 1 percent is common in our market, but we may adjust it based on whether we can make your offer more attractive. The final element is the settlement date. Understanding whether the seller needs to act on a deadline or if they would prefer a little more time to settle allows us to tailor our offer to meet the seller’s desires in this area and get what we want with one of the additional elements.
“Once an offer is put together, an offer presentation is another way to make your offer stand out from the rest. We submit all offers in an organized format and coach real estate agents on how to present their offer in the best way possible. The email contains one clean PDF with a clear summary of your offer and your verified acceptance. This makes the agent’s job easier and shows them that we’re easy to work with.”
6. Term of Agreement
As for the length of the contract, Undem tells buyers:
“Once you sign the contract, all the dates are valid. You have a certain amount of time to apply for the loan. You have a certain amount of time to get the home inspection done. Every step of the way, our entire home services ecosystem is involved.”
“This includes lenders, inspectors, valuers, registrars and everyone else involved in the transaction. This is where my team’s management skills will move this transaction towards settlement while maintaining our clients’ protection throughout the entire process.”
7. Reconciliation
Andem explained the settlement:
“One of the elements of value we bring to settlement is the relationships we have with our settlement attorneys, who will ensure we settle at the lowest possible rates, settle wherever and whenever is convenient for you, and work hard to obtain replacement rates where possible.”
“A replacement fee occurs most often because the home seller has had title insurance in place since purchasing the home. By requesting a copy of that insurance, which most agents won’t do, your settlement attorney may be able to leverage that insurance to offer a significantly lower replacement fee than purchasing an entirely new policy.”
“I can effectively manage the entire real estate ecosystem and strive to reduce closing costs for my clients in every way possible.”
8. After Settlement
Andem concluded his summary of the buyer presentation:
“The handover of your home is just the beginning of my services – I’m here to help you if you ever need anything. If you need contractors, painters, movers, anything, you can access our clients’ exclusive home services guide to help you with anything you need going forward. Do you have any questions about this process or anything I’ve explained?”
For more information about Andrew Wundem, please see his Website.
