NYC Buyer Agent Tips

Working as a buyer’s agent in NYC can be very a rewarding experience if you follow the tips below, keep a positive attitude and use common sense. Being self-reliant and showing a constant willingness to learn are pre-requisites for a successful career in NYC real estate.

Confirm that a listing is available before sending it to buyers
Verify your buyer’s qualifications before agreeing to a showing
Respond promptly to clients and keep leads active
Learn about your buyer and enable automatic search alerts
Prepare buyer offer documentation in advance
Call buyers and listing agents whenever possible
Use common sense and keep a positive attitude

New York City’s real estate market is notoriously competitive for buyers due to limited inventory and intense buyer demand. As you search for listings to send to clients, it’s common to find listings which have an accepted offer within a week or two of being placed on the market. The last thing you want to do as a buyer’s agent is to give your client a false alarm by sending them a listing which turns out to be unavailable.

Therefore, a major source of your value-add to buyers comes from actively screening out listings which are no longer available. Eliminating unavailable listings will protect your buyer from becoming fatigued and prevent them from losing confidence and potentially pausing their search.

Before sending listings, it’s critical that you contact the listing agent(s) to confirm whether the units are still available. When asking the listing agents for an update, you should try to ask as many questions as possible and ‘get them talking.’ Do not be satisfied with generic answers such as “yes, available” or “no, not available.” Sourcing intel from listing agents for your buyer is a key source of value add which also helps differentiate you from lazy (and unsuccessful) buyer agents.

Here is an example of a proactive and engaging status update you can send to your buyer:

Here is an example of a wasteful answer:

If your buyer asked whether a listing is available, you know that he/she will ask to see it once you confirm its availability. Why delay the purchase process by waiting for your buyer to ask to see it before checking on showing availability with the listing agent? This makes you appear lazy and ‘reactionary’ to buyers.

New York City’s real estate market is notoriously competitive for buyers due to limited inventory and intense buyer demand. As you search for listings to send to clients, it’s common to find listings which have an accepted offer within a week or two of being placed on the market. The last thing you want to do as a buyer’s agent is to give your client a false alarm by sending them a listing which turns out to be unavailable.

Therefore, a major source of your value-add to buyers comes from actively screening out listings which are no longer available. Eliminating unavailable listings will protect your buyer from becoming fatigued and prevent them from losing confidence and potentially pausing their search.

Before sending listings, it’s critical that you contact the listing agent(s) to confirm whether the units are still available. When asking the listing agents for an update, you should try to ask as many questions as possible and ‘get them talking.’ Do not be satisfied with generic answers such as “yes, available” or “no, not available.” Sourcing intel from listing agents for your buyer is a key source of value add which also helps differentiate you from lazy (and unsuccessful) buyer agents.

You may be asking, if a listing is not ‘in contract’ in RLS or MLSLI doesn’t it automatically mean that it’s available? The answer is NO. Although agents are required to promptly report status updates, the reality is that there is no way for this to be enforced consistently.

When searching for listings and speaking with listing agents, the key is to think proactively and be one step ahead of your buyer. For example, if your buyer asks if a unit is available then chances are he/she wants to view it. You should therefore ask the listing agent for their showing availability at the same time you inquire as to the status of the listing.

Here is an example of a proactive and engaging status update you can send to your buyer:

Here is an example of a wasteful answer:

If your buyer asked whether a listing is available, you know that he/she will ask to see it once you confirm its availability. Why delay the purchase process by waiting for your buyer to ask to see it before checking on showing availability with the listing agent? This makes you appear lazy and ‘reactionary’ to buyers.

Being a successful buyer’s agent in NYC is only possible if you learn to be smart with your time. Each private showing you attend with a buyer takes up a very precious resource: your time. Because many co-op buildings have specific rules for buyer finances and purchasing scenarios, it’s critical that you make sure your buyer qualifies for a unit before you commit to showing the apartment to them.

Taking a common-sense approach to protecting your time will make you a smarter, more successful buyer’s agent who ‘adds value’ to your clients. In many cases, the buyers themselves will fail to properly screen listings and accidentally ask to see listings which aren’t a fit.

Here are some examples of good questions to ask before you confirm showing appointments with your buyers so you can protect your time:

• Does your buyer have a pet? If so, does the building have any breed, type or weight restrictions which may impact your client?

• Is your buyer comfortable with the building’s minimum down payment requirement? Co-ops often have minimum down payment requirements of at least 20%.

• Does your buyer satisfy the co-ops financial requirements for debt-to-income and post-closing liquidity?

• Is your buyer only interested in elevator buildings? If so, have you confirmed that the building has an elevator?

• Is your buyer uncomfortable looking at properties where there are already live offers on the table? If so, have you called the listing agents to inquire on the status of the listing?

• Is your buyer receiving a gift from a family member? If so, does the building permit ‘gifting’?

• Does your buyer have any other unusual situations, such as co-purchasing, parents buying for children, or a guarantor? If so, have you asked the listing agent whether the building permits these type of scenarios?

• Is your buyer a student whose parents will be buying the apartment on his/her behalf? If so, does the building permit parents buying for children if the child is not gainfully employed?

• Is your buyer looking for a building with a flexible sublet policy? Have you asked the listing agent what the sublet policy is?

Here are some examples of thoughtful ways to confirm appointments and discuss listings with your clients:

Example One:

Example Two:

Example Three:

As you can see in the example client emails above, you should always try to provoke a response from your buyer by including a question or some other call to action in your emails.

Being responsive to buyers will maximize your conversion rate on deals and give you the highest chance of receiving positive reviews and repeat business in the future. Here are some tips of how you should stay in touch with your buyer clients:

The answer above clearly sets timing expectations with your buyer. It also gives them confidence that you didn’t miss or otherwise forget about his or her request!

Do not allow more than 48 hours pass without contacting your buyers 

Failing to regularly stay in touch with your clients is the most common cause of a low buyer conversion rate. The reason for this is obvious: as a buyer’s agent, it’s quite possible that you aren’t the only agent speaking with a buyer. If you are not the most persistent in staying in touch with the buyer, the buyer may contact another buyer’s agent when the time comes to do a deal.

When working with buyers, do not allow more than 48 hours to go by without contacting them. Mixing things up by using calls, texts and emails will also increase the chances of your buyer responding. You should also get in the habit of consistently searching for and sending suitable listing ideas to buyers.

PRO TIP: When sending listing ideas, do not send more than 3-4 listing ideas at once. A common rookie mistake is sending every available listing idea to a buyer at the same time. Just think for a minute, why risk overwhelming your buyer with a dozen listing ideas when you can send 3 at a time and leverage that to build a long-term dialogue with your buyer?

Being responsive to buyers will maximize your conversion rate on deals and give you the highest chance of receiving positive reviews and repeat business in the future. Here are some tips of how you should stay in touch with your buyer clients:

Here is an example of how you can respond to a buyer:

The answer above clearly sets timing expectations with your buyer. It also gives them confidence that you didn’t miss or otherwise forget about his or her request!

Do not allow more than 48 hours pass without contacting your buyers 

Failing to regularly stay in touch with your clients is the most common cause of a low buyer conversion rate. The reason for this is obvious: as a buyer’s agent, it’s quite possible that you aren’t the only agent speaking with a buyer. If you are not the most persistent in staying in touch with the buyer, the buyer may contact another buyer’s agent when the time comes to do a deal.

When working with buyers, do not allow more than 48 hours to go by without contacting them. Mixing things up by using calls, texts and emails will also increase the chances of your buyer responding. You should also get in the habit of consistently searching for and sending suitable listing ideas to buyers.

PRO TIP: When sending listing ideas, do not send more than 3-4 listing ideas at once. A common rookie mistake is sending every available listing idea to a buyer at the same time. Just think for a minute, why risk overwhelming your buyer with a dozen listing ideas when you can send 3 at a time and leverage that to build a long-term dialogue with your buyer?

Once you’ve discovered your buyer’s search criteria, you should set-up automatic search alerts in Nestio. This will ensure that your buyer regularly receives automatic listing updates from you. Please note that using automated search alerts is not a replacement for hard work. As a buyer’s agent, you will be expected to consistently research listings and send your buyer the occasional manual listing idea.

Here is an example of how you can send a listing idea to your buyer:

Once you’ve discovered your buyer’s search criteria, you should set-up automatic search alerts in Nestio. This will ensure that your buyer regularly receives automatic listing updates from you. Please note that using automated search alerts is not a replacement for hard work. As a buyer’s agent, you will be expected to consistently research listings and send your buyer the occasional manual listing idea.

Here is an example of how you can send a listing idea to your buyer:

It is your responsibility to work with your buyer to prepare their offer documents in advance so that they are prepared to submit an offer quickly when the right apartment hits the market. Waiting until a buyer finds an apartment to prepare offer docs will result in your buyer losing out to more prepared buyers who are working with experienced buyer’s agents.

From the moment you begin working with a buyer, you should be thinking about ways to learn more about their financial profile and encouraging them to begin thinking about preparing offer docs and speaking with real estate lawyers.

Here are the things you should work on with your buyers before the time comes to submit an offer: 

• Pre-approval Letter – does your client have one? If not, are they in need of a mortgage banker or broker referral?

• Real Estate Attorney – has your buyer already interviewed some lawyers? If not, are they open to a recommendation?

• REBNY Financial Statement – this financial document is required when submitting an offer on a co-op. Is your buyer aware of how the co-op purchase process works?

• Proof of Funds – your buyers should prepare bank/brokerage statements or an online banking screenshot of their assets which support their down payment or entire purchase (if all cash).

• Purchaser Bio – it’s highly recommended for your buyer to prepare a brief bio to submit along with his or her offer. Including a bio helps your buyer stand out against other offers.

PRO TIP: As a buyer’s agent, you are legally required to present your client with a New York State Disclosure Form for Buyer and Seller at the time of “the first substantive contact.” Failing to present your buyer with a disclosure form can put our firm and your commission at risk of being clawed back after a deal is closed.

Being a successful buyer’s agent in NYC ultimately comes down to using common sense, keeping a positive attitude and being self-reliant. Our industry is not exactly rocket science, and anyone who puts in hard work will be successful.

As a buyer’s agent, you must always be thinking one step ahead. Here are some examples of how you can use common sense to be a better buyer’s agent.

Example One: How to communicate with a buyer after you’ve submitted an offer.

Lazy Answer:

Proactive Answer:

Example Two: How to schedule appointments.

Lazy Answer:

Proactive Answer:

Example Three: How to ask a buyer for feedback on listings. 

Lazy Answer:

Proactive Answer: