Ask a Realtor

I feel that as a Realtor I have a duty to keep everyone informed about the world of real estate.  I find that the more I teach my clients the better they are at making decisions on what to do and what not to do. 

I talked with a friend of mine and he was saying that he would like to move to a different home because his family was growing.  As he was saying this, and without even taking a breath he said but the market is terrible.  This of course sent me into a 20 minutes speech and when I was done he listed the home.  We sold it fast and he made about $30,000 in equity on his new home. 

I ran into a lady at the gas station who was telling me she was having a hard time getting a mortgage last year so she is stuck renting a place where the landlord never fixes anything and she has to put her own money into the home just to keep her family alive.  I talked with her for a while that day and we now, a few months later, have a purchase agreement in on a home in which she calls "the home I have always dreamed of"

A former employer of mine started asking me questions, stuff about how the market was doing and if anything was selling.  Turns out he had his home for sale in Berkley MI for a very long time (over a year I think) and it wasn't selling.  He asked if I work that far away.  Being a Mobile Office Realtor I said absolutely and we listed it.  4 months later it sold for asking price and he purchased a home in Sterling Heights for about $100-120,000 below regular market value.  When the market comes back up, and it will, he is going to be sitting on a lot of equity just for moving into a newer, larger home that doesn't have have any of the older home problems of repair and maintenance.

On a listing appointment an owner almost through me out the door when I showed her what the market was saying about how much she could sell her home for until she said "thats less then what we owe and we are already missing payment and you want us to sell it for that, we can't pay to sell this."  We listed it that day and sold it.

A few months ago I received an email about a house I had an ad for on the Internet.  After finding out more about the home they decided it wasn't right for them.  We got to talking/typing and turns out they are selling their home by owner but have not had any interest in the property.  They are not ready to list the home with a Realtor and want to try for a while by themselves.  Which is very understandable, I would be doing the same thing if I didn't know what I know about why homes sell and why they don't.  But I gave them some advice and they are now getting several calls a week and have had a few showings, as of a week ago when I was checking up on them.  I have also helped them prepare for the purchase agreement to make sure everything is legal and when they close the deal the title company wont kick them out of the office and delay or kill the deal.

In this "different" market, as I tend to call it, we as home owners need to get very informed.  We need answers to what should we do and what should we not do, in order that we don't find ourselves in foreclosure, debt, or find that in 5-10 years that we should have done this or should have done that back 2008.  Retrospect is great for learning from but can often make us regret the decisions we made or the ones we didn't make based on something we could have found out if we would have asked.

My clients buy and sell in the Lapeer County, Oakland County and Genesee County areas.  I list vacant land, residential properties and commercial real estate.  I can help you buy or sell short sales, great deals, distressed homes, foreclosures, investment property, vacation homes, first time homes, longer term residences and can help you flip homes - yes even in this market.

I have contacts with contractors, inspectors, septic and well inspection and repair, appraisers, mortgage officers, private investigators, mold clean up, landscapers, tree removers, carpet cleaners, video and alarm security, investors, lawyers, employment locater, home stagers, dog breeders and trainers...just to name a few.  So anything you ever want for your home or business, just ask and I most likely know someone.  

So again if you have any kind of question please let me know.  The answer could help you sleep better, keep you from foreclosure, point you in the right direction and or make you rich and money safe.  Could even get you that early retirement or pay off debt.  If you don't ask you will not know.  So let me know what you need or need to know and I will get you an answer.  Thank you in advance and talk with you soon.