Posted on: August 26, 2016 by

In order for real estate agents to find quality prospective buyers, they often soft through leads by providing a buyer questionnaire. This can help determine how serious the buyer is and identify what they are looking for to give the agent a head start. With that said, there are some common errors that agents make in creating these questionnaires that could turn off potential buyers. Therefore, in addition to securing your Real Estate Professional Liability insurance policy, heed the following advice.

Keep it short.

No one wants to get home after a long day of work and answer an exhaustive series of questions from their real estate agent. According to RIS Media, skip unnecessary details like job location, current living conditions, lease expiration date, and convenient times to view a house. Those may be nice to know, but they feel invasive, and make the cost of asking far outweigh the benefit.

Make it friendly.

Don’t forget to include a short introduction that establishes your objective and rapport with your client. Otherwise, it may come off as a cold test rather than a personable survey intended to help both parties find what they’re looking for.

Avoid open-ended questions.

Don’t ask questions like “What size house are you interested in?” Rather, ask “How many bedrooms and bathrooms are you looking for?” These will provide more concrete answers and make your search easier.

Don’t ask for too much contact information.

While it may be tempting to ask for a contact address, phone number, email, employment address, and the like, stick to two forms of communication. Preferably, email and a phone number are the best to obtain. Refrain from bombarding them over too many channels!

At NewMark Insurance Services LLC, we provide comprehensive insurance coverage for real estate agents. In addition to real estate agent coverage, we provide professional liability coverage for a number of industries. Please contact us today for more information at (855) 777-6549.

Posted in: blog Real Estate E&O

Tagged: avoiding questionnaire mistakes questionnaire mistakes a Real Estate E&O Real Estate Professional Liability