A purchaser record does not end at exchange

A sales pipeline treats an exchange as the finish line. For an off the plan purchaser it is closer to the beginning. Construction, a sunset date, a colour selection, a defect inspection and a settlement all sit between the contract and a key. The purchaser will hear from somebody about eleven more things before they get that key. One record holds all of it.

What the record carries after exchange

• Their solicitor, who will do most of the communicating.
• Their lender or broker, whose valuation timing affects settlement.
• The lot and its selections, including anything varied.
• The sunset date, which is the one date a purchaser's solicitor watches.
• Deposit and any instalments, with where each is held.

Every one of those generates a conversation, and each conversation goes better with the record in front of somebody. Diract CRM keeps the purchaser as a contact on the project, with their solicitor and their lender linked beside them. The dates sit on that record as real dates rather than notes. A reminder then reaches whoever owns the purchaser, which is the only reason any of it happens on time.

Silence is what loses a purchaser

A buyer who hears nothing for four months assumes the worst. That is exactly when they consult their solicitor about their options. A short monthly update, even one reporting no change, keeps deposits in place through a delay nobody controls. The update costs ten minutes for forty lots when the list already exists. Rebuilding the list each month from an inbox costs an afternoon, which is why the updates stop.

The sunset date needs a named owner

A sunset date passing is the single largest risk in an off the plan sale, and it is entirely predictable. Recording it on the purchaser, with a reminder well ahead, turns it into a managed date rather than a discovery. Diract CRM sends that reminder to the person who owns the purchaser. A date on a spreadsheet nobody opens is not a control, whatever the spreadsheet says.

Selections have a cut-off, and it needs saying

A purchaser choosing finishes after the builder has ordered creates a variation nobody priced. The cut-off belongs in the record and in the communication. A purchaser who never heard about it will not accept the consequence, and they will be partly right. Diract CRM holds the cut-off as a date on the purchaser and prompts a reminder before it arrives.

Their lender sets the settlement pace

A purchaser whose valuation comes in short cannot settle. The developer usually learns that in the final fortnight, when nothing can be done cheaply. Recording the lender and asking early turns a settlement failure into a problem with time to solve. Diract CRM links the lender or broker to the purchaser, so the question has somebody to reach. Forty purchasers with forty unknown lenders is a settlement run built on hope.

Defects, and the settlement run

A purchaser inspecting before settlement will find items, and how those get recorded decides whether settlement happens on time. Our guide to handover and defects covers a list with dates raised and dates rectified. The settlement itself is a run rather than a date. Forty lots settling over three weeks involves forty solicitors, forty lenders and a sequence somebody has to manage. Our guide to the settlement run covers working it from a list rather than an inbox.

One person owns each purchaser

A buyer who has spoken to four people about four things has no relationship with the developer at all. A named contact on the record, with a deputy behind them, makes the monthly update somebody's actual job. The deputy matters during construction, because the programme runs longer than anybody's annual leave. Diract CRM puts both names on the purchaser, so the update goes out in either week.

A rescission is a record, not an embarrassment

A purchaser who walks away leaves a lot to resell and a reason worth knowing. Deleting the record loses both, and the reason is usually the more valuable half. The waiting list from the campaign is the first place to look for a replacement buyer. That list exists only where somebody recorded the lot type each enquiry wanted.

Keep them after settlement

A purchaser who settled happily is a referral, a repeat buyer and a warranty contact for years afterwards. Deleting the record at settlement throws away the easiest audience the next project will have. The strata handover needs the same list again. Once the scheme registers, the owners corporation inherits records, warranties and obligations the developer must transfer. Our guide to setting up a strata scheme covers what that handover carries.

What to change first

• The purchaser record carries their solicitor, lender and selections
• A monthly update goes out even when nothing has changed
• The sunset date has a named owner and an early reminder
• The selections cut off appears in the record and the communication
• The purchaser's lender gets recorded and asked early
• Defects run from a list with dates raised and rectified
• Records survive settlement, for referrals and warranty