Understand clients finances before recommending homes
Client is a young couple 28 and 26 looking to purchase their first home and is confused looking at the various options available in the market. Client is highly educated and data driven, have done quite a bit of research on his own before I have met him.
Case Study:
Understand that they are both parents are staying in the north region, they are open to areas in north east, north west. They are looking to but new projects but wasn’t sure whether it makes sense given that some of them are selling at very high $psf. I suggested Piermont Grand EC as a viable option with good fundamentals and strong upcoming Government plans to grow the Punggol Digital Hub.
They are also worried about whether their finances will be able to manage in case of downturn in the economy. I work out solutions simulating that if both of them were to really become unemployed, what is the emergency funds that they have that can help tide them through, and also how long this emergency fund can last.
After making sure that both their finances are actually in pretty strong shape, they relook into different ECs options available then in the market. Parc Canberra, OLA and Piermont Grand were being discussed. After drawing out the pros and cons of each different EC and their planning by Government, they think that Piermont Grand is something that is most suitable for them.
Lastly, there are still many good options of 3 bedrooms in Piermont Grand available, they wanted to make sure they chose the best unit that is suitable for them to stay for 5 years till the MOP is over. They intend and have strong desire to take advantage of the EC affordable pricing to upgrade their property portfolio year down the road.
I was able to compare the different layouts in the project and the different facings between the units that they shortlisted. Also whether or not in the future, how easy is it to sell it to the next family who intends to buy from them. They chose something that is affordable enough for HDB upgraders to upsize and at the same time, something not too small for retirees to downsize into.
However, just when we are about to come to a conclusion after days of talking, we went into the circuit breaker period. The client was already sure of what they want and were convinced that Piermont Grand is something that is best for them. We did all the signing, transfer of funds, etc all through online communication, whatsapp and emails. It was the first time and a very interesting experience for myself, not being physically there with the client during the final step of concluding the case.
Learning points:
Being well prepared and able to digest complicated large amount of readily online information is key. The agent must be able to comprehend first before advising client what to do next.
There are too much information in the internet that are provided freely by experts, however, the advice may not be applicable to the client scenario.
Being able to provide a tailor made solution, with in depth understanding of the clients’ concern is important.
Having a ongoing two way communication is important to understand and anticipate valid concerns and needs.
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