Buyer Consultation Script — Qualify Buyers Before You Show Homes

Setting the meeting

The consultation is the appointment. Showing homes is what happens after it.

When they call about a house: Happy to get you into that one. Before we go, I do a short sit-down with every buyer — about forty minutes, coffee's on me. It's how I keep you from losing a house to somebody who prepared better. When are you free?
If they resist: Totally fair. Then let's do it by phone tonight. I just need fifteen minutes so I'm not wasting your Saturday on homes that won't work.
What to send before: A one-page agenda and the document list their lender will want. Buyers who receive homework show up committed.

Money, honestly and early

Ask the uncomfortable questions in the first ten minutes.

The permission line: I'm going to ask about money now, and it's the least fun part. Everything you say stays with me, and I'm not the one deciding anything — the lender is.
Pre-approval: Have you talked to a lender yet, or is this still the research phase? Not judging either answer — it just changes what we do this week.
Cash to close: Separate from a down payment, how much do you have set aside for closing costs and the first repairs? Most buyers are surprised by that second number.
The comfort number: What's the monthly payment where you'd stop sleeping well? That number matters more than the loan approval ceiling.
Credit or timing issues: Anything in your credit or your job history a lender is going to want an explanation for? If yes, we deal with it now instead of on day thirty of a contract.

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Motivation and timeline

You are looking for the reason behind the reason.

The opener: Why are you moving? Not the logistics — the actual reason. That's what we're really shopping for.
Deadline: Is there a date that's fixed? Lease ending, school starting, job start, a closing on your current home?
The decision makers: Who else has a vote? Spouse, parent, a friend who's 'good at real estate'? I'd rather meet them now than get their opinion on day two of a contract.
Must-have vs nice-to-have: Give me three things the house has to have and three you'd trade away. Everything else we treat as flexible.
The failure question: If we look for six months and buy nothing, what would have gone wrong? Their answer tells you what to protect against.

The working agreement

State how you work, then ask for the commitment plainly.

How you work: Here's my end: I'll get you in anything on the market, I'll tell you when a house is a bad buy even though I don't get paid for that, and I answer within two hours during the day.
What you ask for: What I need from you is simple. If you see a home anywhere — open house, sign, a builder, the internet — you tell them you're working with me before you sign in. That one habit protects you.
Explaining why: The moment you sign in without me, that agent represents the seller and you've just given up your own representation on that house. Nobody at the open house is going to warn you about that.
Asking for it: So — are you comfortable working with me exclusively? If yes, I'll go all in starting tonight.
Expectation setting: Last thing. When we find it, we're going to move fast and I'm going to sound urgent. That's not pressure — that's the market. I'll never tell you to buy something you shouldn't.

Free through September

Studying alone is the hard way. Sit in on a live Deal Clinic — free.

Reserve with your email and we'll send the link each week. Unsubscribe anytime.

More playbooks

FSBO Scripts: What to Say to a For Sale By OwnerThe first call, the door knock, the commission objection, and the six-week follow-up.Expired Listing Scripts That Do Not Sound Like Every Other CallThe first call, the price conversation, and the listings you should refuse.The Price Reduction Conversation, Word for WordSet the trigger on day one so the reduction is a plan, not a fight.The Low Appraisal Playbook: What to Do in the First 24 HoursBoth phone calls, the five ways out, and a rebuttal that gets read.

Buyer representation agreements, compensation disclosure, and agency timing requirements vary by state and brokerage. Follow your local rules and your broker's forms.