buyers: If You MUST Stay, At Least Stay Out Of The Way! - 01/19/14 06:01 AM
If You MUST Stay, At Least Stay Out Of The Way!
There are some home sellers that just don't understand that staying in the house while a buyers agent shows potential buyers around it.
Then, there are home sellers that follow the buyers around, trying to "sell" their house to them.
Let the buyers agent do what they're there to do. Stay out of the way, or better yet LEAVE!
Trust me, It'll be better that way.
… (7 comments)

buyers: Should We Charge A "Home Looking" Fee? - 06/20/13 08:58 AM
Should We Charge A "Home Looking" Fee?
I've been reading a lot about agents complaining that they're showing potential buyers a lot of properties, only to have them disappear and/or buy with another agent.
This reminded me of a few news stories about retailers charging potential customers a "looking" fee, that would be put toward an actual purchase.
The reason for this is because a growing number of businesses has noticed that "buyers" will come into their brick and mortar store and look around or try on clothes and shoes, only to leave and (presumably) purchase the same items online, … (79 comments)

buyers: When Losing A Buyer Client Is A Good Thing! - 04/10/13 12:44 PM
When Losing A Buyer Client Is A Good Thing!
I hadn't heard from one of my buyers lately so I sent him a quick email tonight. It was almost 10:00 pm when I sent it and I was surprised when he called me right back!
Let me set the stage: He's a referral from the mortgage pro at my local credit union. We hit it off really good right off the bat. Not only did he demand from the get-go that he doesn't want to waste ANY of my time or money and that he'd drive by any and every house … (16 comments)

buyers: "Cash Only" Doesn't Always Mean "Only Cash" - 03/24/13 09:26 AM
"Cash Only" Doesn't Always Mean "Only Cash"
That might sound weird, but here's what I mean.
When real estate agents, or office staff, input the listing information into the MLS (multiple listing service), "cash" is usually the default in the financing terms.
What that means is that if you don't put anything in, it will always say "cash."
But, there are other possibilities.
Maybe the agent didn't check the other financing box(es), like FHA, Conventional, VA or Land Contract financing options.
It's also possible that the secretary, or other staff, was "multi-tasking" while inputting the info into the computer.
More than … (22 comments)

buyers: Metro Detroit Market Shift - 03/22/13 09:38 AM
Metro Detroit Market Shift
The buyers market is long gone. Has been for a while now.
Did it go to a stable market, where buyers and sellers are about equal?
Absolutely not! It ran right by that.
It's a sellers market, big time!
Inventory is extremely low. There are still plenty of buyers out there.
You know what that means?
Listings are sold quickly, there's a good chance you'll get multiple offers on your home and the offers you do receive are stronger than they've been in years!
Sellers - Give me a call, let's talk about selling your … (3 comments)

buyers: To Be (A Buyer) or Not To Be (A Buyer), That's The Question. - 03/14/13 11:13 AM
To Be (A Buyer) or Not To Be (A Buyer), That's The Question.
Picked up a new buyer today.
He's totally rational.
Wants twice the house for half the money.
And he hasn't been pre-approved, but wants to look at homes this weekend.
He's counting on his income tax refund to be enough for a down payment, but doesn't know how much it's gonna be yet.
Last mortgage person he talked to  said he'd qualify for half of what he thinks he can get now.
Needs to go FHA, but "can do any work that needs to be done."
*stop*
Before … (6 comments)

buyers: Thinking About Selling Your Home? Guess What... - 03/10/13 08:44 AM
Thinking About Selling Your Home? Guess What...
Now is the time!
Here's the deal...
There are a TON of buyers out there, running around looking for a house. So many, in fact, that there's a good chance you'll get Multiple Offers on you house! Interest rates are still Incredibly Low! Buyers can afford more than they could if the rates were higher! The Lack of Inventory is Amazing! With the number of homes for sale so low right now, there's a potential for a Bidding War. How's that sound? No Equity? A Short Sale is an option! Even if you don't … (6 comments)

buyers: You NEED To Put In A SOLID Offer The FIRST TIME! - 03/08/13 07:58 AM
You NEED To Put In A SOLID Offer The FIRST TIME!
This one goes out to all the buyers and potential buyers out there...
The real estate market has changed.
It's not longer a "buyer's market" where you can offer 80% of the List Price to "see what happens."
There is a massive lack of housing inventory out there, meaning all the buyers that are trying to buy are bidding on the same houses.
What's this mean to you?
Put in a Sold Offer ASAP if you want the house.
Period.
(Sellers, you know what this mean, right? Call me)

… (4 comments)

buyers: Buyers, I Need To Know That You're Going To Show Up! - 11/05/12 08:32 AM
Buyers, I Need To Know That You're Going To Show Up!
I just read an interesting blog post by a buddy of mine, Nate Tutas.
In his blog, he was stood up by a potential buyer after he spent some hours scheduling showing and waiting for confirmations.
To me, that's just plain rude. Why would anyone waste someone's time like that?
Here's what I do when scheduling showings for someone that I haven't met:
I do a short phone consultation. I explain how I do thing, what they can expect from me and what I expect from them.
I get their … (27 comments)

buyers: Is It Common for Sellers to Want to Verbally Negotiate Your Offer? - 08/20/12 08:04 AM
Buyers, picture this.
We've been out looking at houses and/or condos. After some deliberation, we decide that we want to put an offer in on one.
We go back to my office, I write up the purchase agreement, get all the other forms prepared, and you sign everything. (don't forget the EMD!)
I've already called the listing agent and he's been waiting for my email, which is the entire offer.
He reads it over, calls the seller and explains the details of the offer.
They decide to counter the price, amount of time for our private inspection, their occupancy and the … (44 comments)

buyers: You Wanted To Lowball The Sellers. Don't Be Upset That You Didn't Get The House. - 03/21/12 08:39 AM
You Wanted To Low-ball The Sellers. Don't Be Upset That You Didn't Get The House.
You've spent countless hours over many nights searching for properties on the Internet.
Finally, you have your list together. 147 houses. And you want to look at them all. In 2 days. Tomorrow and the next day.
What?
In today's market, 106 of them will be pending, meaning they have other accepted offers. Another 28 will be "short sales," and you already told me you don't want to wait that long.
Leaves us with 13 homes. My lucky number.
I schedule them, but in the … (111 comments)

buyers: Stop Taking In Stray Buyers - 03/05/12 04:39 AM
Stop Taking In Stray Buyers
We've all done it before.
Phone rings. Someone on the other line wants to see a house. We start explaining the process of getting pre-qualified for a mortgage before we start looking at homes, etc.
They swear up and down that they have awesome credit and a pile of money in the bank for a down payment.
Their excitement wears us down and we agree to show them the home, with the understanding that it's one home ONLY, then we need to have them pre-qualified by a lender. (if it's a cash sale, then we need … (76 comments)

buyers: Don’t Fall in Love with a House! - 12/04/11 11:41 AM
Don’t Fall in Love with a House!
Trust me on this one.
You get so excited/desperate/confused/scared about what you’re doing that you just want it over!
So, we schedule some homes to go check out. First one is okay, next is a rat hole, etc.
Then, we find “The House.” The sun comes out, we think we hear Angels singing. But…
Here’s where the trouble starts.
We put in an offer. We wait.
You still look at other homes online, but nothing compares to “your house.”
Phone rings. It’s your agent. Bad news. They accepted another offer.
Now what?
Here’s where … (12 comments)

buyers: Can We See This House, Too? - 11/13/11 11:04 AM
Can We See This House, Too?
So, we've talked about the list of homes you want to see on Sunday for almost an entire week.
You've emailed me list after list that you found on another site, not EricMichaelOnline.com.
Most of them are Pending, Sold or there's just no way you can get financing for them.
I've schedules the homes that we decided on well in advance to make sure we could get in, that they were in your price range and that they fall under your financing guidelines.
Please, an hour before we're supposed to meet at the … (9 comments)