Adam's Buyer Feedback

Updated: Sep 7

My feedback to buyers prior to & within showings is within the top 1% of agents in my opinion in terms of informing buyers of pros & cons so that buyers can make the most informed decision.

Feedback Prior to Showing Based on Listing & Data Adam Knew About & Pulled from Outside of the Listing

Feedback Prior to Showing Based on Questions to Agents

Flood Zone Examples of Feedback Prior to Showings

There are many reasons why a buyer client of mine wouldn't want to see a property based on that which they either can't see, that which they don't know about, or that which they didn't notice. Examples include dozens of items highlighted in red & sometimes in orange that are factors I mention in my Master Spreadsheet for Prospective Home Purchase Considerations,

One of the columns in that spreadsheet is flood zones, & in SE VA, flood zone elements are some of the most common reasons why buyers opt not to see a property following my feedback following their request of me to see a property. Seeing this chart, you might begin to understand why if you're unfamiliar with the region but are familiar with the hundreds or thousands of dollars that flood insurance costs can incur annually and the >$100k cost of some flood zone remediation methods (i.e. lifting some homes or recurring replacement costs when homes aren't lifted):

There's extensive information out there on flood zones, and I find that most agents and most buyers don't know enough about them in SE VA.

Flood zone example from my research online:

For instance, on one occasion, a buyer I was working with informed me that she really liked a listing and at the same time that she was literally headed to the airport to catch a plane to see the property with me. She emailed me (please text if you're in this situation for my fastest responses), and I texted her starting less than 20 minutes later with 3 pictures from my screen from riskfactor.com specific to the property along with the simple question, "Hi ____, I hope that you are doing well. Are you sure that you are OK with the flood zone situation at ____?" That was it. She responded, "Hi Adam that's a game changer for me, I probably should wait and look at something else..." She never got on a plane because of that quick online research. With agents sometimes delaying responses for hours (& even days at times) & sometimes never responding at times to some questions, especially tough ones like regarding flood issues, being able to figure some things out online is critical for agents to effectively navigate flood issues.

Flood zone example from my questions to the agent:

When I encounter a flood zone, I have a series of questions that I like to ask agents depending on information about the property such as the foundation type. The more information the listing agent provides on the listing, the fewer questions that I ask. When I represent a seller, I ask the seller most of these questions in advance, while that's not part of many listing agents' standard operating procedure. One of the questions I like to ask listing agents is about flood history. It's not uncommon for flood history disclosure requirements to not be met. In one case, a buyer was ready to drive over an hour to see a property that was in a flood zone even though the buyer knew that flood insurance was required and knew the cost the seller was currently incurring because it was stated in the remarks of the listing. I asked the listing agent about the flood history, and they informed me that around 5 years prior the seller had spent tens of thousands of dollars on replacing items following flood waters going into the home. It was a multiple-offer situation, and it's unlikely that any of the buyers/buyer's agents who wrote offers on the home were aware of the prior flooding into the home so recently.

Feedback at Showing Enhanced by Honesty & Prioritizing Keeping Clients' Interests 1st