Tecumseh and Lenawee County Real Estate Blog

What now?

2007-09-10T09:48:00.000-07:00

Summer is ending, what happens now?
For buyer's its a time to get out there and get some offers on the table. Knowing that the hottest selling season is coming to an end, sellers can become a little anxious. An offer that they may have turned down in June, might be more tempting in Sept.
Sellers, for you this is a time to review your pricing, take advantage of the fact that buyers are still out there looking for value and be the one to offer it. We don't know what the market will be like a year from, up or down again. You have to price for where it is today.

Can Buyers Name Their Price?

2006-10-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

It's no secret, this is a Buyer's Market. What does that mean exactly? Some buyers believe it means that when they are ready to write an offer, they don't need to consider market value, they are thinking, 'lets go really LOW!'. What happens then, do the sellers usually grab the offer just to get the deal done?

That is not what we are seeing. The huge benefit to the buyers is that in this market, they have lots of homes to pick from and the prices are lower than before, providing some great deals. Back in the days of the Seller's Market, a buyer might begin with 4 or 5 homes that matched their needs and their price range, we'd set up the showings and often found half of them had accepted offers already. They'd tour the ones that were still available and they'd either pick one out, or wait for another home to come up that they could look at. Other buyers were out there doing the same thing, no one wanted to lose the home that they liked to that other buyer. When a home was right, the offer was made,in some cases even over list price if the buyer was worried that someone else might be writing a strong offer at the same time.

Now, in today's market, a buyer might have 20 homes in their range and they can take more time picking out the one that they will offer on. Once they decide on the home, they must then determine how much they are going to offer the seller. Realtors keep hearing, "We know this is a buyers market and the sellers have to go low." The truth is that because it is a tough market, sellers have already gone "low". Instead of pricing their homes with room to spare, to try and get top dollar, they are pricing as close to ground zero as they can to be competitive and to draw in an offer. They have less room to come down than ever before and there are seldom the huge drops from the list price that buyers are anticipating.

The lesson here is to allow your Buyer's Agent to do some homework for you when it's time to put together an offer that will be taken seriously. Find the home you love, then have your Realtor run the numbers for you. What have similar homes been selling for recently? What is the real list to sales price ratio? When you see the market facts, be realistic and don't expect the seller to be giving the home away. You will certainly be getting all of the benefits of the buyer's market, the wonderful selection, the lower prices and your timing for buying a home could not be better. Don't be disappointed when the sellers counter your "really low" offer with a reasonable price. Or better still, start off with a reasonable offer, many sellers are more likely to accept an offer directly if it is close to their bottomline and as a buyer you get the home for less than the seller would have asked for if they were to counter a lower offer with that original bottomline number. Helping you negotiate to that best price is what your Buyer's Agent will work with you on. Providing real knowledge on the real market, to put you in the right home, at the best price.

To Team or not to Team

2006-05-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

The other day I was talking to a potential seller about listing their home. He was very impressed with our advertising, our websites and everything we offered, yet he had a concern. I was very surprised to hear that his concern was over working with a Team. What he feared might happen was he would get lost in the shuffle with no one really concentrating on him and his home. With the McCrate Team, you list your home with one individual member of the Team. That agent is your go-to person from the day you sit down to discuss pricing and the marketing plan, through putting up the sign, calling you with feedback on showings, tracking the market with you to insure your pricing remains on point, negotiating the contract when an offer comes in, monitoring all aspects of the upcoming closing and sitting down at the closing table with you to finish the deal. There is absolutely no difference in the individual attention aspect, there is a difference in the benefits. If anything should happen and one member is away on vacation or an emergency arises, the team is there to watch over that listings as needed. Because we all tour each team listing, we know the home and can promote it to our buyers. Having agents working together with pooled resources is what allows us to give you the added, excellent marketing in print and internet based exposure. Our Team is not composed of assistants surrounding an agent as some teams are, we are independent agents who have come together in order to supply a higher level of service that we are very proud of. What you get is the best of both worlds, the complete attention of a single agent, plus the backing of a Team.

What to ask a Realtor before listing your home

2006-05-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

You're ready to put your home on the market, what will your first step be? Will you simply call a local company and list with whoever is working that day? Maybe you have a friend or relative who just got their real estate license and you think you should give them a call. In the old days, back when we had a Seller's market, you could do either of those things without too much risk to your success, homes just about sold themselves. Today's market is far different, we are in what is called a Buyer's market, lots of homes competing for a smaller pool of Buyers. In this type of market, you need an edge to put yourself above the average level of exposure that the typical Realtor provides.
Ask these questions:

How many internet websites will you place my listing in?
What page does your website show up on in the major search engines such as Google?
Have you paid for the upgraded Realtor.com option?
How much print advertising do you do on top of your company's ads?
How many homes did you sell in the past year?
Does their company have a real estate magazine that presents your home from the time it's listed until it sells?

Let me share with you the answers that the McCrate Team gives to these questions, if the agent you are interviewing can't match us, why don't you give us a call?

The McCrate Team's Answers:

Over 78% of buyers are beginning their search on the internet. This is the hottest area of growth and exposure and we have it covered. Your home will be featured on Realtor.com with an enhanced listing (this is an upgrade we pay for the allows us to add photos, banners, and interactive icons to bring us and the buyer together immediately, studies show increased photos draw attention) You are also included in Coldwellbanker.com, cbshomes4u.com, TheMcCrateTeam.com and my site, TecumsehProperties.com. If you run a search for Tecumseh Real estate on all the major search engines you'll find us at the top of the rankings, this puts you on top as well.

The McCrate Team advertises every month with a full page color ad in The Ann Arbor Homes Magazine and the Resource. We do a half page color ad in the Access. We also advertise twice a month in the local papers in Dexter, Chelsea, Manchester, Ypsilanti, Belleville, Saline and Milan, hitting the surrounding areas that move our way. We do periodic extra ads in the Tecumseh Herald as well. All this is on top of the advertising you receive from Coldwell Banker Success. Our company has an excellent magazine that is available all over the county and you are featured there each and everyday until you sell.

Last year our Team sold just under 18,000,000 in real estate with a closing on the average of once every three days, this in a slow market! We achieved this by being at the top of the real estate game, having the experience and knowledge as well as the advertising powerhouse to make it happen for our clients. Clients like you.

If you really want to move, don't take chances, go with a Team that has a proven record of success backed by the strongest company in the County. Your home is your single largest investment and you deserve the greatest return. Call me at 517-403-0989 and lets talk about it.

Looking for robins

2006-03-08T12:32:00.000-08:00

This time of year I am anxiously awaiting each and every sign that Winter is losing its grip and Spring is arriving. So far no robins, but another sign has started, lots of showings being set up for our listings! We are all interested in seeing what type of market we will be dealing with this season. I would be thrilled with an even market, lots of Buyers, lots of Sellers and the resulting reasonable sales prices for all. It seems like we might be heading that way. Here are a few tips for Buyers who are thinking of making a move soon:

1. Gather all your financial records together and contact a lender to arrange your pre-approval prior to beginning your home search. If you would like some recommendations, just give me a call and I will be happy to help.
2. Put off making any large purchases unless your lender assures you that such a purchase will not impact your loan approval. Now is not the time to make impulse buys, like that hot new convertible. Remember, having your own home will make it all worthwhile!
3. We've all seen the commercials for credit counseling companies, promising to consolidate and lower your monthly payments and you may think that this will help you before going in to apply for your loan. Many times this turns out to be a big mistake, underwriters view using these services as a sign that you cannot handle your finances and are therefore higher risk. I had a buyer who was preapproved actually lose the home they wanted to buy when it was discovered that after filling out the initial forms they signed up with a credit counselor, the lender withdrew their approval.
4. Start getting a feel for the market and pricing, you can run your own search of the MLS right from my website, www.TecumsehProperties.com. See what you like, the styles of homes and the neighborhoods that draw you. When you have an idea of what you are after, let me know. I will educate you on the buying process, help you find a home you love and walk you step by step through the process of making it your own.

Changing the past

2006-01-05T15:18:00.000-08:00

I just went in and edited my first post. I had ended that post with a promise to add a new topic every week and as you can see, I didn't fulfill that plan. If only we could do that in every part of life. Say or do something we'd rather forget, go back and edit it out. When we make mistakes though, they are ours to deal with.

One of the most common regrets for Homesellers comes from pricing their home too high when entering the market. As a Team, we provide a market analysis showing what price range would be appropriate when we come in to list a property. Some homeowners are sure that they can get more, or they just want to test the price and plan to drop it later if they must. If they are close to where we feel they should be, we will work with them and let them see what happens, always having a timeframe agreed upon for lowering the price if they turn out to be overly optimistic. If they are way off, we prefer to walk away from the listing rather than offer unrealistic promises.

What often happens to those Homesellers is they miss the opportunities they should be having as a new listing. When a home first hits the market, agents pull it up as a new listing and send it out to the clients that are looking in that price range. If the home does not measure up with the other selections, the buyers will reject it as a home to preview. The buyers who would have been interested will not receive the listing since it is priced above their range.

If the seller waits too long to lower the price to a reasonable level, even after the price drop, buyers begin to wonder what is wrong with the home. They can see on the listing grid that it has been on the market a long time, they think the sellers must be getting anxious which encourages them to write lower offers. In the end, the sellers are typically angry with their agent who wasn't able to sell the home, angry at the low offers and often lower the price to below the initially recommended range.

As Realtors, we know you want to walk away with the most money possible from the sale of your home and we want the same thing for you. Pricing the home right to begin with is the best ticket to that goal. It's a Buyer's market out there and being competitive, without under pricing, is a delicate science and an important aspect of your entire marketing plan.

Selling in Winter

2005-11-29T13:11:00.000-08:00

In a prior post I touched on some positive aspects of selling a home during what is traditionally thought of as the slow season. Today I received a Flyer from Coldwell Banker addressing this issue as well. I thought I would share a few of the points with you.
1) Only serious buyers are out this time of year, saving you the inconvenience of visitors who aren't that motivated.
2) There are fewer listings, less competition means the best possible price for you.
3) Homes show better, decorated for the holidays.
4) Lenders aren't as busy and can process loans faster.
5) Buyers use vacation days to house hunt
6) Many large corporations move executives during the holidays and we're connected to some of the America's largest corporate relocation companies.
7) It's easier to prepare your home for showings in Winter months, no lawn care and weeding etc.
8) You can take advantage of my Winter Special Offer for Clients, check my website for details!
So, if you're ready to sell, give me a call and we'll talk about the benefits of working with Coldwell Banker and The McCrate Team.

Giving Back

2005-11-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

The Holiday Season is coming on fast, it always seem to get here too early! As an office we always look forward to getting together for our annual party. This year however, we have decided to trade our usual pleasure for one that is a little different. Instead of receiving we are going to be giving. The money that would be spent on the food and festivities will go to assorted Charities that we want to support. Of these, one is very special to a fellow Realtor who's son-in-law is serving in Iraq. He is one of many men and women who will not be home, surrounded by all the comforts of family and friends from home. This is a wonderful opportunity to brighten a Soldiers Christmas. We will be purchasing a number of items that will be shipped off in time for our Soldiers to have a holiday treat. If you are interested in donating, we have a list of items at our office, just stop by and pick up a copy. We will be gathering and packaging the items at both the Tecumseh and Adrian offices. Everything from toothpaste to batteries to DVDs are needed, dried fruit, nuts, games, books, you name it, they can use it. The rest of the funds will be going to local charities, with so many disasters far from home, we can't forget the needs nearby.

Falling leaves

2005-10-17T08:52:00.000-07:00

The trees are finally starting to turn and we know Summer is giving way to the inevitable Michigan Winter. Yuck Winter! Potential Sellers begin to ask themselves if they should just wait until Spring when considering putting their homes on the market. I will give you the pros and cons through the eyes of a Realtor.
Pros: While there are fewer Buyers out looking during the winter months, the market never stops and the Buyers are more likely to be serious. In the Summer you get some people out just looking, the weather is nice and maybe they will see something they like enough to push them to buy, maybe not. Another plus is less competition as a number of Sellers will opt to wait until Spring. At that time a whole herd of homes will flood the market and you might get lost in the shuffle. Homes also look lovely decked out in their Holiday wear, this can be a plus making buyers feel all warm and fuzzy!
Cons: You may have fewer showings and find yourself anxious over what might feel like a lack of interest. You will have to deal with keeping the access to the home clear of snow and ice.
All in all, if you are ready to make a move, I'd suggest you go ahead and put the home on the market. It may take a bit longer, but you will have good potential buyer's coming through and it just takes one to make the sale!

Reality TV?

2005-10-10T12:40:00.000-07:00

I was watching 20/20 the other night and they had a show that revolved around Real Estate. At one point they talked about the avg. price increase a homeowner has realized in the past 3 years. These ranged from over 100% in Florida to 25-30% in what they gave as the lower range. This no doubt sounds great to many potential Sellers, unfortunately they are very off when it comes to our market. We stopped seeing major increases three years ago and in the last year Lenawee County actually saw a drop of 10% according to our Michigan Association or Realtors statistics. This drop is partly an adjustment to prices that rose too rapidly a few years ago, partly due to high gas prices that make our Washtenaw Buyers think twice about the savings they enjoy on home prices verses the added drivetime and costs. The other factor is we are in a Buyer's market and that is reflected in sales price.
Here is a tip to help safeguard your equity. The most important is to not fall prey to using your home equity to take out additional loans against the property. We have come across more and more Sellers who find they are unable to get out of their homes what they owe. When applying for the equity loan, an appraisal is run on the home to justify value, the problem we have seen are appraisals that are way out of whack with true market value The Sellers get the loan but when it's time to move, they are stuck. Promises of consolidating debt, lower monthly payments and extra cash in your pocket are tempting, be very careful before you jump in. You might even want to ask a Realtor to come out and give you their opinion of what a reasonable asking price would be.

Tuesday Morning Meeting

2005-10-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

Just got back to my Tecumseh office after attending our weekly company wide meeting in the Adrian office. Each week we have a power point presentation of all the new listings, this gives each agent an opportunity to talk about the selling points of the homes they are marketing. It's helpful for all the agents since we often will receive calls to the office and we like to have some knowledge of each listing, of course with hundreds of properties, we won't always be able to remember the details, but we are happy to take you out to preview the homes for yourself.
We also talked about the responsibilities of Buyer's Agency. When a Buyer calls or comes to the office, they are not being represented by an agent until a Buyer's Agency Contract has been signed. Up until that point, nothing talked about is considered confidential. It's important to establish a Buyer's agency as quickly as possible once you find an agent you are comfortable working with. At that point, the agent immediately has a responsibility to maintain your privacy on all matters, act in your best interests at all times and will be invested in the success of your home buying experience. Our Team has a policy of allowing any Buyer out of the contract with us if they are at all unhappy with the service we are providing. We have never had the issue come up as we take pride in creating satisfied Clients, but until you get to know an agent, we understand the hesitation some people feel about binding themselves to one agent. There is no charge for the service and with our policy there is no risk and only benefits to the Buyer. The contact ties the Buyer to the agent they are working with for the duration of the contract, if you find a home you wish to make an offer on, you must write it with your agent. This creates a working relationship where the agent will be willing to invest time and effort into the Client. You can understand that if a customer is not under contract and can write an offer at any time, with any agent, you would not expend too much effort there. We also cannot act as effectively with a customer (someone who is not under contract) as we can with a Client (a Buyer under contract). We cannot provide advice, run a market analysis to compare pricing, or negotiate on your behalf when you are not a Client. As a professional Real Estate Consultant I will not work with a Buyer without being able to provide that level of service, it is simply not doing my job to the best of my ability.

Here I go!

2005-10-03T11:21:00.000-07:00

This is my first attempt at blogging and I am testing how this works. I hope to use this space to share some information on Real Estate, post some thoughts and ideas and hopefully provide some helpful facts and maybe a laugh or two along the way. I wandered into this as a result of vanishing from Google. After working hard to have my website ranked on their first page, I came to the search engine and discovered I have been bumped into the nether-regions. While not at all sure why this happened, I am determined to add features and info to my site that may breathe new life into my rankings. Thankfully, Yahoo and MSN are still my friends! I'm excited at the idea of doing something new and different and sometimes a little nudge like this can be good for sparking a change from being complacent. I love the power and versatility of the internet and wish I had even more knowledge on how to use it to the fullest. I've been doing a lot of research since my plunge off the Google search engine and found that Google advises adding a simple site map feature that will help their spiders crawl the site and up the rankings. Their idea of simple is like reading gibberish to me, help! If anyone reading this knows how to accomplish the 'simple' task, email me, I would love the help. Now, I will work on getting this blog page organized and linked to my site. After I settle in, I will begin to figure out just what I want to do with it. I am sure it will evolve with time and that I will need to remind myself that other people may actually read it so that I better not go off on too many tangents. Stop back and check for updates.