Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk

Everyone wants to know what they need to do to get their home sold in Ann Arbor in a buyers market. Homes  that are selling have done the 10 steps listed below. You have a part and the Realtor has a part. Together you can make it happen.

10 Easy Steps to Sell Your Home in Ann Arbor

1)  Hire a technology Realtor

2)  Curb Appeal

Make sure the first impression is a good one. Paint the front door, trim the hedges, plant some flowers. Simple really.

3)  Hire the Realtor that tells you the truth

4)  Price it right from the beginning.

Don’t reduce the price and chase the market down. Homes in Ann Arbor need to be priced  in the top 5 best homes to look at for buyers. Price it right in the beginning.

5)  Make sure your Realtor has a huge internet presence.

6)  Have your home professionally staged.

7)  Use a Realtor that gets the most exposure for your home.

8)  Use multiple photos and a virtual tour on every home, buyers want to see multiple photos. I can’t tell you the number of times I get called from my search site, which is a direct  feed from the MLS, with a buyer requesting more photos. Not my listing but they find it on line and want to see more. In this case there is never too many good photos.

9)  Make sure your Realtor uses a home search site to bring more buyers exposure to the market.

10)  De-clutter.

Throw away, pack it up, move it out. If your not using it then get rid of it. Take it to Salvation Army or Purple Heart.

***Notice any pattern in this ? Thought so...***

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This condo rocks…. it is clean and neat and sparkles. The nicest thing about it is the views. Oh my, hard to find such beautiful views and peaceful setting in Ann Arbor.

It is located at 2554 Traver Blvd. (off Green Road).

All new carpet, fresh paint, full finished walk-out basement with a study, extra 4th bedroom and a full bath.

Convenient to U of M. North Campus and the Medical Complexes.

Work hard, study hard and come home to 2554 Traver to relax.

Located across from Logan Elementary and walking distance to Clague Middle School. A perfect location.

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In 1979, my husband and I bought our first home in Auburn, Alabama. It was a brand new home with 1300. S. F. for 39,000. We went FHA, and my parents, and grandparents helped us with the down-payment of 3%. It was a cute little house, with a corner fireplace, huge master-bedroom suite, walk in closet and I loved it.

In December of 1980, we had our first baby there, Christa, who is now my Partner is Real Estate. In August that year, my husband was “called’ to Michigan. There were skid markets all the way from the South to the Mid-West with me dragging my feet.

When we arrived and I shared with our Realtor what we were coming from and what I hoped to find in a home. She said, “Well, that will cost $100,000. to buy in Ann Arbor.” We were paying $350.00 per year in property taxes in Auburn, AL and the taxes here were around $2,200.00 adding to the less amount of home we could buy.

After looking for a month, in August of 1980, and HATING everything we could afford, we moved in to a townhouse apartment, that is now a condo conversion and sells for $160,000.

After about 9 months of living there, our Realtor called us to tell us, she thought she had found us a home that was listed at $69,000.00 with a $3000.00 decorating allowance. The family was moving to TX. Mr. Seller was already there and school was out so Mrs. Seller was anxious to join him. They had reduced the home from 100K to 69K. So we took a look…

Yuk, orange and brown bold vinyl wall paper, dated kitchen, brown carpet. But, we bought it. I hated paying rent. The best news of all is that the owners would accept an 11% land contract. Interest rates at the time were 18%. So we moved in, re-carpeted, painted the whole house, painted the kitchen and lived there for one month shy of when the land contract was due. I sold it by owner for full price. We made 36,000 on the house.

Then we moved (can you believe this?) down the street into a four bedroom home, where we also stayed for also 5 years. That home was in move in condition. (It was hilarious to see our friends walking the swing set down the street.) We loved it there and would not have moved but baby number 5 was on the way and we couldn’t get everyone around the kitchen table in the nook. We bought the home for $110,000.

Close to 5 years later, I sold the house myself in one hour, to another neighbor who lived in the street over. She was helping her daughter with her paper route, when we put the sign in the yard. Then we were able to purchase a lot and build the home we are still in Saline, MI.

Ann Arbor has always had issue with “affordable housing”. Many people could not afford to purchase homes in Ann Arbor so they would start out in Ypsilanti, Manchester Milan or other smaller communities around Washtenaw County.

Guess What?

Ann Arbor is now affordable.

In the 1980’s, Michigan and the rest of the country were going through a recession. Housing prices were coming down. It afforded us the opportunity to own a home in Michigan.

I grieve everyday when I have to tell my sellers that their home prices have come down. I have turned down so many listings that I know I can not sell for what they owe or want. It was getting so bad, I had even considered taking them over-priced and doing what many Realtors do, keep asking for price reductions. But, it is just not my nature to not tell them the truth.

Bottom line for us in Michigan, this has allowed many home buyers to purchase their first homes in Ann Arbor. Had it not been for the recession when we moved here, I may still be renting.

In the midst of the current market conditions, there is a silver lining for buyers.

There is “affordable housing” in Ann Arbor and Washtenaw County.

***Photos courtesy of Flickr, KCkellners for carpet***

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Every day, I am seeing more and more homes listed in the MLS with the remarks, “subject to a short sale” or “subject to third party approval.” Some neighborhoods are loaded with them. Some communities are loaded with them.

What does a “short sale” mean?

A short sale is when the homeowner, can not sell their home in the current market conditions at the price of what they owe the bank on their house or condo. Therefore they ask the bank or lender to accept an offer on the property that is less than the amount owed. This is called “selling short.”

Before selling a home “short”, the homeowner must have missed payments on the home and the house must be listed.

When I do a listing presentation and must tell a homeowner that their home will not be able to sell at the price they owe, we discuss “short sale” as an option. Not everyone will be able to sell their home as a “short sale”. If the homeowner has a good job, lots of assets in the bank or investments it is unlikely that the bank will agree to it.

The first thing I do as a Realtor is to have the homeowner or myself, ( must have the authorization form) signed by the homeowner for me to speak with the lender and order a short sale package from the bank or lender. It usually takes 72 hours for the bank to process the authorization form and for me to be in their system so that I am allowed to speak to them about the homeowners situation.  At that point I can find out how much they owe, explain the homeowners situation and try to work out a plan. Included in the package called a “loss mitigation package”, is the requirements for a short sale.

The homeowners must write a “hardship letter”, explaining why they need to sell, and the reasons for the hardship.

When I see a home listed as a “short sale”, the first thing I do is call the Realtor and ask, what has been done to move the sale along. If they have done nothing, then it is best for my teams buyers to move on and find another house or condo.  It takes the patience of Job to wait on a response to a short sale offer. If the package has not been ordered, assests, bank statements, W2’s and the hardship letter written you are in for an even longer wait. If a buyer needs to be in a home in 30 to 60 days, it is best to find a home that can be closed within that time period.

We have been waiting three months on a lake house, the seller was trying to sell “short”. The lender would not accept a short sale, the home went to foreclosure and is now with another company, which still does not have the paper work from the servicing institution. Fortunately, this is a second home so our buyer can wait it out.

I’ll post more later on why banks let homes go into foreclosure and why they would rather do this than accept a “short sale”.  If you are a buyer and looking at writing an offer on a short sale, make sure your Realtor is familiar with doing them, make sure the loss mitigation package is ordered, make sure the Realtor has permission to speak with the bank and make sure the hardship letter has been written.

If the listing agent is not able to say “YES” to all of the above, it is best to find a different house.

As more and more homeowners are asking the banks for short sale relief, it is critical to work with an agent who is knowledgeable in understanding and working the short sale process. Just because a home or condo is listed in the MLS, as “short sale” or “third party approval”, doesn’t mean the agent or the bank has agreed to it and the necessary documents are gathered.

The Mortgage Forgiveness Act was signed into law in January 2007,  read the document in it’s entirety as it applies to the Principal Residence Exemption on selling a home short.

***Begin your home search here.***

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On May 20, at 7:00 pm at the Pittsfield Township Administration Building, Saline Sustainability Circle will feature a presentation on wind turbines by John Sarver of the Michigan Energy Office.

Mr. Sarver is part of the Michigan Wind Working Group, and will speak on the different types of turbines currently in use in Michigan, the feasibility of wind generation in our area, and ideas for ordinances and guideline for heights and locations for wind turbines in communities in Michigan.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s Wind Powering America program has a goal that 20% of all electricity will come from wind power by 2030.  Michigan has the wind resources and technical and manufacturing capabilities to make a major contribution to this goal.

Will ultra low frequency noise be a problem?

What is “shadow flicker” and can it be abated?

Are birds and bats affected?

If large propellers aren’t feasible in a more urban or suburban setting, how about barber pole or roof mounted turbines?

Saline Sustainability Circle meets on the third Tuesdays of most months. Locations of the meetings rotate among the member communities and organizations: City of Saline, Saline Chamber of Commerce, Saline Area Schools, Saline Township, Lodi Township, York Township, and Pittsfield Township.

The public is invited to attend and learn more about a renewable resource that is gaining popularity throughout Michigan. For more information, please visit www.salinesustainability.org.

More information on wind and other alternative energy can be found at Michigan’s Department of Labor and Economic Growth website at www.michigan.gov/eorenew.

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One of the things I have been doing in the current market is having all my sellers who need to move before their home sells is to have it Stagged.

It has been said that people buy with emotion and justify the price. When you walk in a empty, vacant house, there is NO EMOTIONS involved. The rooms looks cold and bare. Many buyers have a hard time visualizing how their furniture would fit in the room.

This is why when builders are developing a new subdivision they always have a model home. Did you know that most model homes are the ones people tend to build, even if they have floor plans and other elevations available?

True…

The model home is all stagged and they can imagine themselves living there. Therefore, stagging a home in Ann Arbor, Saline or anywhere in Washtenaw County helps the homes sell faster. Recently I listed a home that was originally listed my another agent. The dining room ceilings were ORANGE and below the chair rail was a different color of orange. The closets were filthy, the fireplace and family room were painted. Over it needed painting and stagging. So my seller agreed to have it done. We are closing on this home on May 16th.

Here are two separate shows on stagging one before and one after. Which would you rather see if you were looking. This home at 1258 Waterways is closing on May 16th too.

Click her to see the difference in a stagged and unstagged home.

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Today, is the first day of May, the weather is still chilly and the market is also chilly.

Last year from April 1st 2007 to April 30th, 2007, we had closed on 148 homes.

This April from April 1st to April 30th, 2008, we only closed on 29 homes. Now if that is not discouraging enough, of the 29 that sold, 9 were rentals and three were foreclosure’s.

This is discouraging for home sellers who have a home to sell in either Saline or Ann Arbor.

If you include the entire MLS for the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors, this would include all the way from Brooklyn in Lenawee County to Brighton, down through Western Wayne County, there were 373 closings in 2007 in the month of April and only 82 for April 2008.

This means that out of the 1000 Realtors in Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors, only 82 got a paycheck of any kind in the month of April.

The Missy Caulk TEAM had 9 of those closings in April, making us with about 11% of the total closings. Of the nine closing we had in April, three of the clients were referred to us, and six were buyers from the internet.

My thoughts are, if you are a Realtor and not working the internet you are missing out. Since 77% of all buyers are going on line to look for houses, you must have a STRONG internet presence. When I say strong, I don’t mean a web site. Everyone has a web-site. Your web presence must include PPC ( pay per click) campaigns, and a good follow up system to nurture those initial leads and most important a home search site that is so good the buyers come back again and again.

Good photos are a must. ( did I say good? ) Virtual tours are extremely important. I do a virtual tour on ALL my listings, regardless of price and even on rentals. I saw a photo the other day in our MLS with I guess the seller sitting in his back yard, and another one of a child watching TV. Now that really helps sell houses.What were those Realtors thinking?

Having trouble selling your Ann Arbor or Saline house?

Give us a call or visit us at our home search site.

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If you are a Realtor like myself, or in any profession, you are aware that gas prices are over the top of the roof. I mean really ? Where is the outrage ?

Here is a link to find the lowest price gas prices in Washtenaw County. There is not a lot of difference but some and every 10 cents can help.

If you are driving around, looking at houses for sale in the Ann Arbor Area, start your home search here and save that gas money. You can save homes to your favorites, with Google Maps, Google Satellite Images and Multiple Photos.

Yesterday, my daughter and I went and video taped a home for an out of town buyer. We blogged on it on my other blog, BlogAnnArbor. If you want care to see it.

Ask yourself, is my Realtor doing that for me ?

Are you stuck looking at the 8-10 photos on a web site?

*** We would love to be able to serve your realty needs in Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas of Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, Ypsilanti.***

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Well, the Spring market is FINALLY here in the Ann Arbor Area market. It has been a while since we have had this flurry of activity in Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Ypsilanti.

This past week, from April 18 to April 25th, we have had 71 homes go under contract in one week. Prices of homes under contract range in price from 49,000 to 499,000.

The condo market is a bit slower with only 10 condos going under contract. Those condo’s have been priced from 69,000 to 373,000.

If you are a seller, and not seeing activity on your home it is time to make a price adjustment, spruce up the yard, get new photos of the outside.

There is nothing more frustrating to potential buyers than to see, photos of your home in the snow.

First impressions matter, many times when I am out showing homes to a buyer if they don’t like the look of the outside, they say, ” no, let’s skip this one”. I hate that because I know the seller has spent time getting ready for a showing. But, when the buyers are on a mission to find a house, they don’t want to waste time going in one that doesn’t have look good from the outside.

My buyer agents have been writing competing offers these past two weeks. The homes selling the best are priced “below” market value. If you are a buyer, we know you are looking for a “bargain” and there are many homes listed and priced to sell. Don’t miss out. At the rate homes were moving this week the Spring Market is here.

You can begin your home search here at Search Ann Arbor Houses. All the homes in the MLS are available not only for Ann Arbor but the entire area of Washtenaw County.

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