Philly Luxury Realtor® Andy Oei Uses Immersive Due Diligence to Help Buyers

Andy Oei was recently featured by Realtor.com for doing what he calls his “immersive due diligence,” which means he takes on strategies to help serious homebuyers experience everyday life in the home they’re considering purchasing. 

What is immersive due diligence? 

“For me, immersive due diligence means giving buyers a chance to experience what it may actually be like to live in a residence,” Oei, a member of the Greater Philadelphia Association of Realtors® who specializes in luxury condominiums, shares with PAR. 

“A typical showing may only be 30 minutes. That gives you a good sense of the residence, but not necessarily the experience of living there. I have taken buyers back late at night to experience the skyline and city lights, had them come back in the morning for coffee or arranged for them to have lunch in a residence and spend some time there.” 

He adds that with luxury condominiums, he also wants buyers to experience the building itself, including the arrival experience, privacy, amenities and level of service offered, which are all part of their decision. 

How can Realtors® practice this in their day-to-day business? 

“I think it starts with finding out what is important to that particular buyer and then giving them an opportunity to experience it firsthand,” Oei explains. “If the views are a big reason they like the residence, I may suggest they come back after dark. If natural light is important, see the residence at a different time of day. If the neighborhood is important, spend some time walking around it.” 

“Sometimes I give the buyer and their agent a gift card to a nearby coffee shop or restaurant and tell them to sit down after the showing and talk about the property without me there,” he adds. “It does not need to be complicated. You are really just giving buyers more opportunities to figure out whether they can see themselves living there.” 

What are the benefits of offering these immersive experiences to potential buyers? 

Oei says the biggest benefit of Realtors® doing their immersive due diligence is confidence. 

“There are things you just cannot learn from photos, property information or one showing. Spending more time at a residence may make a buyer like it even more. It may also make them realize it is not the right property for them.” 

“I consider both outcomes successful,” he says. “I would much rather have a buyer discover something before they buy than after they move in. And when they do decide they want to move forward, they usually feel much more confident about the decision.” 

How does immersive due diligence help buyers in the Philly market?

“I think this works particularly well in Philadelphia because things can change considerably from one block to another, and, with condominiums, from one building to another,” Oei explains. 

“In Center City, two luxury condominiums may look very similar on paper but offer very different experiences once you spend time in them. The views, natural light, privacy, service and even how a residence feels after dark can be very different.” 

“I find that buyers become more decisive when they have had a chance to experience these things for themselves. It also shows the client that I am comfortable with them taking their time and figuring out whether the residence is really right for them. I think this becomes even more important with luxury real estate. At a certain point, buyers are not making a decision based only on square footage and finishes – they are buying the experience of living there.” 

“You can tell someone that a residence has spectacular skyline views,” he says. “I would rather have them standing in the living room at 9 p.m. looking at those views themselves.”