Dmitry & Maureen: Moving Metro Detroit

10. Try to sell "By Owner." Sorry, I am not just saying this because my livelihood is in selling homes. If you want to sell your home, you need to be where the buyers are. Since about 90% of sales in Metro Detroit involve real estate agents, that is clearly where the buyers are. Additionally, many of the small 10% of non-Realtor transactions are between family members and known parties, making the odds for selling on your own even lower. Transferees coming in to this market always work with a Realtor.

9. Defer maintenence items. If something is broken, FIX IT. Period. Buyers today have lots to chose from and they don't want your problems.

8. Leave "updates" like removing gold flocked wallpaper to the buyer so that they can "put in what they want." In many price ranges, older homes are competing against nearby new construction that shows very well. Your gold flocked wallpaper will be laughed at during the showing and the "pottery barn perfect" home down the street will get the offer

7. Listen to your neighbors when they tell you to price your home a little higher. Clearly they want to protect their investment and you don't want to "sell cheap" but if property values are falling then that is the market.

6. Hire your mom's best friend Sally to represent you. If Sally tells you she does not know anything about the local market because she lives and works in Monroe, trust her judgment and hire someone who knows what they are doing.

5. Leave your Star Trek action figure collection set up in the den. Highly personal items are a distraction for home buyers. As much as you may love that collection, you'll love it even more in your new home. You want them to remember your house, not Dr. Spock.

4. Ask your real estate agent to cut his commission. Sorry, I know that sounds self serving too, but think about it. Right now there is a surplus of homes for sale. Most listing agents have the highest level of inventory they have ever had. Many agents are turning away sellers. A Realtor's costs for selling a home right now have increased as we have to advertise more (longer) and work harder on each transaction. If your agent agrees to a reduction in his or her commission, how hard do you think he is going to work at selling your home. And if he cannot justify his own commission do you think he will be the best negotiator when an offer comes in?

3. Make showings inconvenient for the buyer. Sorry, but every showing right now is more valuable than your family dinner. Pack up the kids and head over to Salvatore Scallopini's or something. Don't refuse a showing because, in all likelihood, that buyer will never come back and you have just missed your one opportunity to have him see your home. Selling a home is inconvenient.

2. Hire an agent without a strong marketing plan. Buyers are looking on the web. Can you find your agent on the web? If not, do you think buyers can find your home? Read our "Dear Mr. & Mrs. Seller" series for many other thoughts on marketing a home successfully.

And finally, the most important of all:

1. "Test the market" "Tell them to bring offers" Pricing is critical in this market. You will miss showings if you are not in the right price range. Buyers won't write offers if they are not seeing your home because it is priced above the range they are looking. We've been successful getting quick offers on homes that were priced just slightly below the competition. Our sellers netted more than their neighbors who still have for sale signs in their yards months later because their home was priced a bit too high. This is not a market for testing. What you 'want' or 'need' out of a house, unfortunately, is irrelevant to a buyer.

Sounds like tough love, but there are lots of things the right agent can do to help you position your home successfully against the competition. In many market segments we have more than 2 years inventory that you will be competing against. The details matter. Good advice and implementation of a good marketing strategy will help get your home sold. Be informed and prepared and you will be a Seller not a homeowner with a "for sale" sign in the yard. The difference is huge.

For more information about selling a home in Michigan, read miOaklandCounty.com or call Maureen Francis directly at 248.961.0801

Just received news (not good news) from Lansing that the proposed moratorium on the pop up tax is not likely to come to be this year.  We were looking at it as a short term stimulus for the housing market and were optimistic that it would have helped to motivate home buyers over the coming 18 months.  We’ve long felt that a bigger fix is needed for our property tax legislation, but we were at least happy for the bandage that the moratorium would have supplied in the short term.  Obviously the State’s budget crisis will not allow for a loss of $90 million in revenue that this time, but the housing market could use a bit of assistance too.

More articles on the pop-up tax and the Michigan real estate market can be found on miOaklandCounty.com 

For those with long memories on ActiveRain, I have hosted a number of blogging carnivals and contests on ActiveRain since I joined last August.  Today my turn arrived to host the 'Grandaddy' of all real estate blogging events, The Carnival of Real Estate.  Hosting is never an easy task, as we really have a great community of real estate bloggers.  

This week the Carnival of Real Estate has landed in Motown (or suburban Motown if you want to get technical) and in keeping with the motor city’s rich musical heritage, we are awarding our weekly picks with theme songs of their own. Motown theme songs, of course. So sit back, relax, and prepare to let the Motown beat bounce through your head.

The official hosting guidelines prevent me from being as generous as Casey Kasem, so there will be no Top 40 on this week’s Billboard Charts. In no particular order, I offer you my very pared down play list.

Please click on over to miOaklandCounty for the rest of the story. 

It is Board of Review time again, and citizens across the state of Michigan are headed in to appeal their property taxes. If they read the Free Press today, the might be left with the impression that they are destined to be overtaxed. Yes, it does seem ironic that taxable values/SEV's went up last year by 3.7%, the largest increase since 1994, in a year that property values fell.

A few things to remember:

• Dmitry and I routinely assist our clients with property tax issues. You will need a recent set of comparable sales to defend your request for a reduction in taxes. We will provide this for our clients.
• The city of Birmingham lays out the board of review process very well.
• If you are considering a move in the next few years and you have lived in your home a long time, you should closely review your assessment. Even though your taxes are capped, they will become uncapped for the next purchaser. If your SEV is above market value, this could impact the resale of your home as the new buyer will be paying a higher rate based on your current SEV. It is best to take care of this sooner, rather than later.

My personal opinion has remain unchanged. Prop A is intrinsically unfair and it is hurting the Michigan real estate market and adding to our economic challenges. Two identical properties should not be taxed differently just because one has been owned longer.

For more information about Michigan real estate and issues that impact property owners, visit miOaklandCounty.com.