About 12 months ago, a group of designers and I were talking about some of the biggest stressors in life, and the conversation quickly shifted to home-buying. So we started to ask ourselves – how should home-buying work in an ideal world?
Or, to put it another way, what does a best case scenario buyer look like? Act like? Think like?
What if we could design a tool for real estate professionals that would turn every buyer into their best case scenario buyer? So we talked to hundreds of agents, and asked them to paint us a picture of how that kind of buyer would behave.
Here are the top 5 most repeated sentiments (and some of our favorite quotes):
#1. Educated
“Someone who understands some of the basics, so we spend our time together focused on optimizing decisions, not simply getting comfortable with the process (or if they should buy).”
#2. Organized
“I’ve had buyers not show up to closings because they thought it was the next day, or forget to buy homeowner’s insurance, in spite of my multiple reminders. I would love to help them get and stay organized without having that become my full-time job.”
#3. Empowered
“I love it when my buyers join their inspection and really ask questions about what the inspector is looking for and why. Or when they call out a lender for putting a junk fee on their GFE. Buyers who insist on being an active part of the process, not just going along for the ride.”
#4. Savvy
“I once had a buyer point out to me that if I asked the seller for a copy of his title insurance, she could get a discount on hers. It was embarrassing that she knew a trick I didn’t, but impressive.”
#5. Zen
“I’ve had to deal with marital fights, with crying, with bailing out at the last possible second. Everything around buying a home is stressful and I’ve born the brunt of that, even though the buyer is usually stressed at everyone other than me.”
So with that in mind, we designed Doorsteps, a shared online workspace that allows agents to guide their first-time homebuyers through the journey in a comprehensive but very human, very reassuring way.
Take a peak at our video, which gives a quick overview of the big idea:
Welcome to Doorsteps from Doorsteps on Vimeo.
And, some parts of the experience we’re particularly excited about:
#1. Intuitive Overview
Each buyer gets a clear overview of what they need to do, why, and how.
#2. Agent Dashboard
Meanwhile, the agent dashboard lets you have instant oversight of what every buyer is up to at all times.
#3. Completable Tasks
Your buyer can move through every step and see not only their task list, but a single, streamlined place to complete every one of them – from choosing a mortgage to hiring a moving company.
#4. Add Your Own Insider Tips
Agents can add their hard-earned tips and pointers specific to their market within each step.
#5. In-Context Messaging
Buyers can message you the second they have a question or get confused – and you’ll see instantly exactly where they got stuck.
#6. Rich Buyer Profile
Every step or input is fed into a rich buyer profile, so you always have their latest updates at your fingertips.
We just released a new version on Friday, June 29th, so please request an invite and take Doorsteps for a spin!
To hear more about Doorsteps, click here.
