A few days ago, I was talking with one of my team members and she said something that stuck with me, and that’s important for all agents to hear. She’s a Senior Product Manager who’s leading the work on the Flyhomes Cash Offer program.
This program is innovative—we turn our qualified homebuying clients’ offers from financed offers to cash offers, helping them win in the competition thanks to the certainty that cash brings to sellers. As with any new approach, the program has come with the challenge of explaining what we do and how we do it, and the challenge of questioning the way the industry has always worked.
Here’s what stuck with me. This PM, who is fresh to the role and the industry, told me the most powerful thing she’s learned in working with lenders and even our internal team to improve the program. When she runs up against a “no,” she comes back with a “why not?”
Why not? Why can’t we iterate on a process to give homebuyers a better experience? Why not make it easier to buy a home?
The question tends to stop people in their tracks.
And it opens doors. It allows for a fresh perspective as two “sides” work together toward a mutually beneficial solution with clients at the center. It helps people realize that “this is how it’s done” isn’t always the right answer, or even an acceptable one.
As a startup, Flyhomes empowers this type of conversation. We ask questions and challenge norms in many ways. You can, too.
In March, I was part of an Inman ConnectNow panel. The other panelists and I got on the subject of pre-underwriting, which we at Flyhomes recognize as a tool that helps homebuyers gain certainty in their budgets so they can shop more confidently—and waive the financing contingency when the time comes, making their offer stronger.
Flyhomes operates both a brokerage and a mortgage company, and we use Flyhomes Mortgage to pre-underwrite clients in 24 hours. We do that because we prioritize this step as a crucial one, so we staff and train to make it happen.
In case you’re not in one of our markets or you simply want your clients to work with another preferred lender, I want you to hear this: you don’t have to take a lender’s “no” on pre-underwriting.
During that panel, a question came from an audience member who said she runs into lenders who can’t do it, especially with the market as competitive as it is right now.
My answer was that you tell those lenders it’s your responsibility to do everything for your client and that you need to do this for them. Now I’m suggesting that you also ask, “why not?” Your challenge may help them make the necessary changes to be able to help you next time.
Before you start asking other people “why not,” you might want to ask yourself if you’ve become too comfortable with the status quo. What are the areas of your job and your clients’ experiences that you wish you could change? Because you can change them. You should change them.
Making changes to give homebuyers incredible experiences is why Flyhomes started. And we keep the startup mentality with us as we go. Here’s the secret: you can have your own startup mindset. Question what doesn’t work. Find solutions. You might be surprised how quickly you start enabling improvements that your clients benefit from immensely. And that’s what this job is all about.
Flyhomes is the real estate startup that uses financial innovation to add speed and certainty to the homebuying process. With $40 million in venture funding, more than 2,200 homebuyers and sellers helped, and more than $2 billion in real estate transactions, Flyhomes is creating a homebuying experience people love.
