On my way to show a home today I received a call from an older couple who want to look at a couple of houses. As standard practice I have to justify my time and began to inquire if they have spoken to a lender or are already working with another agent. "We just want to see a couple of houses, why do all the agents keep asking us if we have talked to a lender?"

After explaining the process and spending 20 minutes on the phone I learn that not only have they not spoken to a lender but don't even have a checking account. They would like to buy something and need payments around $530 a month including PITI. That puts them in the $65,000 range and it is hard to find a lender willing to loan such a small amount. I tried to get them in touch with some competent lenders to work with but got the impression that they weren't going to make the call. Can't win them all.