The Four Questions to Ask Before You Book a Showing

A showing costs more than the half hour it occupies. There is the drive, the wait, the follow-up, and the Saturday afternoon you did not get back.

Most agents ask their qualifying questions at the door, because that is when they meet the person. By then the cost has already been paid.

Ask before you commit

The four questions below take a buyer thirty seconds to answer by text and tell you almost everything about whether the viewing is worth booking.

They are not gatekeeping. A serious buyer answers them without blinking — they have answered them before and they expect to. The ones who go quiet were rarely going to show up.

The four

• What is your budget range? Not to negotiate — to know whether this property is even in it.
• When are you hoping to move? "This month" and "sometime next year" are different conversations.
• Are you pre-approved? A buyer who is has done the hardest part already.
• Are you working with another agent? Better to know now than at the door.

How to ask without sounding like a form

Asked one after another, these read as an interrogation. Asked as part of answering their question, they read as a conversation.

"Yes, it's still available — it's a 3 bed, 3 bath at $939,998. Are you hoping to move soon?" is one message doing both jobs. It answers what they asked and moves the conversation forward without making them feel processed.

The order matters. Answer first, ask second. A buyer who has just been given the price will answer almost anything; a buyer who has been asked their budget before getting an answer often just stops replying.

What to do with the answers

Not every no is a no. A buyer who is six months out is not a wasted lead — they are a lead to keep warm rather than a Saturday to spend. A buyer who is not pre-approved is a referral to a broker you trust, and a reason for them to remember you.

The point is not to filter people out. It is to know which conversation you are in before you give up an afternoon to it.