Why do We ask Buyers About Themselves Before Arranging A Showing?
As REALTORS®, we are often asked, “when you call up a real estate salesperson or Broker to book a showing at a listing, why are you asked some questions about motivation, ownership, timing and name and address? The answer is simple: we need to get to know you before we show you property. 
Typically, as a prospective buyer, you will be asked a few questions to ascertain if you are a qualified buyer. This is important for us to know, because we want to make sure we’re not wasting your time, or ours. If, for example, you are unemployed, have no down payment and no means of getting one, and have a poor credit history, the chances are good that you would not be able to get the financing required to purchase a property. Taking you to see a property wouldn’t be fair to you, to us, or to the seller, who is hoping for a sale. Often that seller has prepared for hours for a showing, cleaning and organizing and perhaps arranging for child care. It isn’t fair to them to bring someone through their home who has no chance of buying it, and it’s not fair to you to get your hopes up!
We’ll ask you about YOU. We need to know who it is that we are meeting, because we’ve never met before. We need to know your name and some other details such as your phone number and where you live. We need to be able to contact you in the event that we need to change the time or cancel the showing, as well. Unfortunately, there have been instances where crimes have been committed during the course of a real estate showing, so it is important that we are able to identify who we have made an appointment with to see the property.
Sometimes we’ll ask if you rent or own your current property, or what your timing is for making the purchase. Obviously, if a seller needs to have a closing in 6 months because he is building a new home, then selling their current house with a closing in 1 month because you need to buy in 1 month, is not going to work for anyone involved. There would be no point in showing you their home in that case. Conversely, if YOU need to sell before buying, we need to know that when we are making choices of homes to show to you.
We will ask you if you are working with another REALTOR®. This is very important for us to know. We are required under our provincial and federal regulations to know who it is we are working with, and, if they are working with another REALTOR®. If you are working with another REALTOR®, then we are obligated to respectfully decline to work with you.
