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Archive for the 'Royal Oak MI Real Estate' Category

Stage Rooms for Their Intended Purpose When Selling a House

When potential buyers view a house for sale, they need to see rooms presented as they were intended.  The master bedroom shouldn’t be an exercise room, the bathroom shouldn’t be a pet station, the garage shouldn’t be a storage unit, and unless you have more than 3 bedrooms, resist the urge to make one an office.

This is especially important when it comes to dining areas.  People want to see where they will gather for meals and entertain their loved ones.

I recently staged a 900 sq. ft. house for a client who was using her dining room as office space.  As you can see (amongst the considerable clutter), a desk definitely does not belong there.  Aside from being the wrong use of the space, it was also the first thing visitors saw when they came in the front door … NOT a good first impression. 

After completely clearing out the area , I moved the table and chairs that were overwhelming the small kitchen and created a proper dining room.

Visitors can now see that there is room for a full size table and 4 chairs at the very least.  Showing a dedicated dining room, the intended purpose for this space, adds value to this petite house and answers an important question for the buyer.

Short sales successes

When we started selling homes in 2001, short sales were unheard of in Metro Detroit.  Foreclosures were rare in Oakland County.  But times have changed and this year we have had an enormous uptick in our short sale business.

Short sales are taking place in every price range.  In the last 30 days we’ve helped buyers and sellers to close on homes with list prices between $110,000 and $999,000 in communities like Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak and Orchard Lake.  We’ve got 5 other short sale homes in the pipeline right now, all with offers on them and in to the bank for evaluation.

Some scenarios can make a short sale even more challenging to handle successfully.  Dmitry recently navigated treachorous waters with a short sale that involved private lien holders in addition to the banks.  Three individuals had made personal loans to the owner and did not really want to accept anything less than payment in full.  The banks were offering a few grand to them to scram.  If the home and gone to foreclosure they would not have seen a nickle.  In the end there was intense drama for a few weeks but Dmitry got everyone to the closing table.  The buyers got a great house and the seller got out of a bad situation.

Buyers, you can get a deal with a short sale, but it comes at a price.  If you have the time and the patience you could be rewarded handsomely.

Tags: bloomfield hills short sale, foreclosure, short sale

Home Sellers Top Questions About Home Staging

As I head to Florida for a much-needed vacation and annual Spring Training game (Go Tigers!!!), I leave you with an excellent Q & A reblogged with permission from my staging colleague Cindy Bryant of Redesign Etc, Inc. in Houston, TX.  Her post on Active Rain is spot-on and truly reflects the most common questions that I am asked by potential staging clients.   I apologize for starting my vacation early and taking the easy way out.  Truth is, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

Take it away Cindy …

“There is so much information on home staging, that home sellers are on overload.  With advice coming from all kinds of sources and areas of the country.  Yes, it is confusing, where do you start?   If you watch tv, you may get the impression you can have your home staged for under $2000.  Or another show may stage a home for around $20,000.   Big difference!   Another show has strangers coming to your house picking it apart, to the point that you’re thinking, no way am I going to let someone do that to my home.  You can read articles or books on the internet from people that may be experts or just people with an opinion.  You can also read a book on ”How to Cut Hair”, but would you actually trust yourself to cut your hair or someone else’s?  I wouldn’t!  So, where do you start?  Sure, you have questions … who wouldn’t?

Here are a few questions home sellers have when thinking about staging their homes.

1) How much does it cost? Reasonable question … as a matter of fact it’s the #1 question.  It’s the big mystery.  This is why.  I wish I could say every home stager could give you a standard answer, but we can’t.  Every stager should be their own business entity, and provide different services.  Some charge an hourly rate, by the square foot, per room, a percentage of the list price or a flat fee.  As every property is different, we really need to see the home to assess it and give you a solid number.  Some stagers can estimate it, but shouldn’t be held to that number until the property is viewed.  There are too many variables that go into it. Is is vacant? Do furniture and accessories need to be brought in?  Or is it occupied, and you just need a redesign of existing furnishings? These are just a couple of examples.

2) Who pays for the staging? The 2nd most popular question.  The home seller is ultimately responsible for staging services.

3) Why doesn’t my Realtor pay for home staging, they are making the commission? Again, ultimately a homeowner is responsible for staging costs.  Some, but not all real estate agents will pay for a Home Staging Consultation, as a value-added service, but the actual costs associated with staging (furniture rental, actual hands-on staging) is paid for by the home seller.  It is not the responsibility of a real estate agent to pay for home staging costs.

4) Can I pay at closing? This is up to the stager.  Most, do not do this as we do not know if a property will be on the market for 1 day or 3 months.  Again, we all do it a little differently, some ask for 1/2 upfront, and some charge a monthly fee.

5) What do you do? Again, each home stager is their own entity.  Some offer redesigns only, some offer accessories only, and some offer furniture and accessories.  Some don’t have the inventory to do a vacant home so they will have to use a third party source, and some use their own inventory.  Different services can be offered, such as paint color consultations, personal shopping, organizing, curb appeal, recommendations on cost-effective cosmetic changes such as flooring, counters, lights, fixtures, etc.  The ultimate goal is to help a seller get their home sold faster and in the most cost effective manner.

6) How long does it take? It depends on how much you want done and to what extent.  It can take a few hours or a few days, or maybe longer if there are some cosmetic changes that need to be taken care of.

7) When should I have my home staged? As soon as you decide to sell.  Call a professional home stager and get a Home Staging Consultation.  Once necessary recommendations are completed from your stager’s list, your house is ready to be listed.  Don’t make the mistake of putting up that “For Sale” sign in the front yard before your home is ready.  The first 20 days a home is listed will be when it will get the most interest and traffic.  Make sure your house is show ready.”

Tags: answers to home seller's questions, Cindy Bryant, home stager, Home Sweet Home Staging, Marianne Sweet on Home Staging, Redesign Etc Inc., Rochester Hills Oakland County MI home stager

Don’t Underestimate “The Neighbor Factor” When Selling a House

We know that the three most important factors for a successful real estate sale are location, price and condition.  While the seller can make changes to the price and condition of a property to hasten a sale,  no one can amend the location.

What happens when the location of the house itself is desirable, but the neighbors are not? 

Everyone has a story.  The neighbors who don’t mow their weed-infested yard.  The RV parked in the driveway year-round.  The garbage cans left out for days after pick-up.  The home improvement project that was never finished.  The incessant barking dogs.  The company van.  The boat.  The used cars for sale.  The dumpster.  The broken garage door.  The loud parties.

The smart buyer will scope out the neighborhood before making an offer.  If a house isn’t selling, it may be “The Neighbor Factor” at work.  Here’s where a home stager can help.

In this photo, furniture placement (specifically, a strategically-placed tree) help to block the view of the neighbor’s backyard, so it’s not the first thing a potential buyer will see when they enter the space.

It’s only upon closer inspection, or in this case zooming in, that you become somewhat aware of the Tiki Bar in the neighbor’s yard and the novelty signs that are plastered all over his garage.  Home staging assured that the focus was on the great sunroom itself, and didn’t allow the neighbor’s yard to be a distraction.

As the home stager on this project, I was fully prepared to have a little chat with the neighbor and charm him into toning it down by removing the signs from his garage.  We home stagers go to extraordinary lengths to make sure our clients’ properties show in the best possible light, and that includes talking to unruly neighbors.  Unfortunately in this case, I never found the neighbor home to speak to him.  It turns out, however, that I didn’t have to.  This house sold 7 days after being listed on the MLS.

While there isn’t a silk tree large enough to camouflage an RV in an adjoining driveway, a home stager can do wonders to increase your property’s marketability.  We have a large arsenal of tricks at our disposal, including the power of persuasion and the desire to use it!

Tags: home stager, Home Sweet Home Staging, Marianne Sweet on Home Staging, neighbors preventing sale, selling a house with unruly neighbors

A Look Inside the Birmingham Bloomfield Real Estate Industry

Today I received a call from a salesperson from California who wanted to sell me the latest and greatest real estate lead system.  She started off the call with, “Maureen, are you still selling real estate?”

I was leaving an open house and headed to an appointment to meet a new listing client.  Yes, I am still selling real estate.

Every day.

It occurred to me that she has run into a lot of agents who are no longer selling real estate for a living on her list of prospects.  There is plenty of evidence of agents leaving the business.

In our board of Realtors, Metropolitan Consolidated Associations of Realtors, membership is down to around 4,000 from its high a few years ago of 7,500.  I’ve seen lots of agents pick up second jobs that are really  first jobs, because they actually get paid at their ’second job’, and paychecks are something they were not seeing often as a Realtor.

I’ve watched, in recent years, as successful Realtors packed up their belongings and moved their families across the country in search of greener pastures.  Even they could not have predicted what we are seeing today.

There is uncertainty for the brokers as well.  One large local brokerage is in bankruptcy. It’s agents have been all over town looking for a new wall on which to hang their licenses.  Another has large “For Sale” signs in front of it’s offices.  Every day I drive by the For Sale sign on the Birmingham office and I wonder how it makes the agents and their clients feel.  The broker does not own the building, from what I understand.

We feel fortunate. Dmitry and I had our best year ever in 2008.  We were amongst the top producers in the company.  And last I knew, SKBK Sotheby’s sales for 2008 were up significantly over 2007.  We are lucky to be backed by a solid, stable brokerage.

We’ve heard similar stories of great years from other’s in the market.  Austin Black II at Max Broock and Erin Keating Dewald at SKBK Sotheby’s also told us they were having their best years.  Todd Waller from Team 366 at Real Estate One in Ann Arbor said his team has put record numbers on the books this year.  I did not go out searching for this information, so I am sure there are many more who are having better than good years selling homes in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills and surrounds. I would be happy to add names to this list if anyone just lets me know in the comments.

I don’t know what the brokerage landscape will look like this time next year.  I think there may be casualties as we all adapt to the ever changing realities of selling homes in Metro Detroit.  But I remain optimistic.  Homeowners and buyers will always need innovative, exceptional advocacy and informed advice.

Tags: birmingham bloomfield real estate

Oakland County Homes Sales, 3rd Quarter 2008

The Metropolitan Consolidated Association of Realtors released third quarter 2008 home sales statistics for Oakland County today, compiled from information they received from Realcomp, our mls.

We’ve highlighted the report for markets that we serve, like Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak and Troy.

In the county as a whole, sales were up by 21.12% year to year, with the number of listings down by 12.82% and sales volume down by 5.5%. The falling number of listings, if broader economic conditions were more positive, would typically bode well for stabilization of prices. Obviously with today’s economic uncertainty, it is challenging to predict future prices, and it seems likely that downward pressure on prices will continue until Metro Detroit begins to create jobs. There, I said it out loud.

A few key stats from some local municipalities:

In Beverly Hills sales, in units, were UP by 20%, while median price fell by 25% to $226,300.

In Birmingham sales, in units, were down by 5.71%, while median price fell 26% to $265,750

In Bloomfield Township sales, in units, were UP by 27%, while median price fell by 13% to $258,421

In Royal Oak sales, in units, were UP by 2%, while median price fell by 17% to $142,000

In Troy sales, in units, were down by 7%, while median price fell by 13% to $213,917

All is not dismal in these numbers. I think far more homes are being sold than people tend to believe. Dmitry and I continue to have our record best year, representing buyers and sellers in Oakland County. If you aren’t seriouslycommitted to selling your home, it should not be on the market. If you are a buyer, Oakland County is your oyster, with some exceptional deals to be had.

Tags: beverly hills mi, birmingham mi, Bloomfield Hills MI Real Estate, oakland county, Royal Oak MI Real Estate, Troy MI Real Estate

“If I see a Sotheby’s sign, I know I can’t afford the house.”

Yesterday I spent a few hours sitting at a booth at the Birmingham Farmers Market with Rebecca Meisner from Weir Manuel.  Our group, the Birmingham Bloomfield Realtors Network, is a sponsor of the market this year.

One of the people who stopped by to chat with us picked up my card and said “If I see a Sotheby’s sign, I know I can’t afford the house.”

Phew! Most likely, NOT TRUE.

Yes, our Sotheby’s office is fortunate to have many gracious luxury homes amongst our listings.  Some of Oakland County’s finest homes have been sold by Sotheby’s agents.

But our Sotheby’s office serves all segments of the market, from rentals going for $1,000 a month, up to $10,000,000 lake front estates.  I think the distinction is that our Sotheby’s agents strive to offer exceptional service and superior market knowledge to whomever we represent, regardless of the price range.

You may see a lot of SKBK Sotheby’s signs in Birmingham and Bloomfield Hills, but you will also find plenty of them in Royal Oak, Troy, Beverly Hills, Berkley, and throughout Metro Detroit.

Tags: SKBK Sotheby's Birmingham, sotheby's international realty

A Plea for Sellers who WANT to SELL their Metro Detroit Home

The last few months have been whirlwind for Dmitry and me.  In spite of all that you hear about the crummy housing market, we, through hard work, good fortune and a bit of creative thinking, find ourselves square in the middle of our best year in real estate-EVER.  Yes, you read that right.  Our best year EVER.

We started the summer with over 30 listings.  Most of those homes have new owners now.  Some sold in a few days.  One half million dollar Birmingham home sold in less than a week at full price. A few more will close in August.  A few unsold listings remain, and that leaves us with those to focus on now.

But we are also at the point where we have the capacity to begin helping more sellers (and buyers) reach their goals, whether it be moving up, moving down or moving out (we hope that is not the case).

I have heard plenty of groaning Realtors around Birmingham, who are saying they are sick of this market, and tired of going without paychecks.  I am not unsympathetic.  However, the most important message I can leave sellers with right now is that HOMES ARE SELLING!  Sales are actually up (in units) throughout Metro Detroit. There are buyers out there who want to buy homes like yours.

Today I had a call from a reporter from Money Magazine.  She asked what we are doing to get homes sold.  I would say there are a couple of things that have proven successful for us:

• “Right pricing” from the start, which means carefully looking at the comps and trends in the market and helping our sellers to understand the market like we understand it.
• Innovative Internet marketing for maximum exposure.
• Staging.  Marianne Sweet, a contributor here on miOaklandCounty.com, has shown us the light and done wonders with our listings.
• The Birmingham Bloomfield Realtor Network, our tight knit group of 13 top producing agents from competing offices.  We meet to create marketing events for our listings and share ideas in a very collaborative manner.
• We have a strong brokerage behind us.  SKBK Sotheby’s International Realty has provided us with great support and with great marketing for our sellers.

I don’t pretend that this market is not without challenges.  Most brokers will say they have never seen anything like it.  Yet I see plenty of hope and success out there.  I want you to see it too.

P.S.  We need more listings :-)

Tags: Birmingham Mi Real Estate, selling a home, selling a michigan home

Short Sales: The New Frontier for Bank Fraud

I hesitate to write this post because I hate to put ideas in anyone’s head about how to commit fraud. The perpetrators are always one step ahead of the banks and “the system” and, just like with mortgage fraud, the rest of us will all end up paying the bill for the latest trend in sticking it to the bank. I learned about this today from Greg McClelland, the Michigan Association of Realtors legal counsel, who is seeing this taking place.

Here is how it works:

Nice, honest, and unsuspecting Realtor Jenny takes a short sale listing. Deciding it is more work than she can handle, she accepts the assistance of a “short sale expert” (I’ll call them SSE) who promises to facilitate the deal with the banks. Personally, I understand Jenny’s motivation: short sales are a TON of work for the listing Realtor, and the likelihood of actually getting compensated for that work can be pretty low, especially to an agent inexperienced in short sales. Not to mention that the banks, as a rule, look to the Realtor’s commission as a great source of funds for reducing their losses, ie, they like to cut commissions as much as they can.

Jenny has had the house listed at $200k and is getting a fair amount of activity, but no offers yet. Jenny feels her market analysis is right, and the house will achieve something close to asking price.

SSE tells Jenny to slash the price to $125K, and tells the owners to make the place look as dumpy and undesirable as possible. Jenny is told to remove all decent photos of the house from the MLS and the internet. Jenny is also told that if she meets or talks to the bank’s appraisers or BPO agents that she will lose her commission on the deal. SSE handles all communications with the lenders.

Jenny gets an offer for $125K on the house from a buyer produced by SSE, and SSE submits it to the bank and tells Jenny to leave the house on the market. Jenny gets another offer for $195k, gives it to SSE who never submits the second offer to the bank.

The bank approves the short sale at $125k. It closes, and the same day SSE’s buyer sells the house to the buyer who was willing to pay $195k, netting a very nice profit, which is presumably shared with SSE.

Realtors beware. I am sure there are some wonderful short sale experts out there, but if it does not pass the sniff test, I would walk away as quickly as you can.

[tags] short sales, short sale, short sale fraud[/tags]

Photo courtesy of Chris Boyle

Tags: Greg McClelland, mortgage fraud, short sale fraud, short sales

Metro Detroit Home Sales UP for the 4th Consecutive Month

Yes, that headline is correct. Sales are up over last year for the fourth month in a row, according to our MLS, Realcomp II. We’ve told you, we are seeing a lot of activity, and we are busier than ever. Spring has sprung! Here is Realcomp’s report

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• Yesterday I tried to show 4 Birmingham homes. Two of them went under contract over the weekend. The third was a short sale and there is an offer in it too. The 4th was just put up for rent and sale, and a tenant had put in an application. So we will keep looking because others got there before we did.
• An agent who I respect enormously for his market knowledge and decades of experience said to me last week, “2008 will be the year that people look back and wish they had bought a new home.” I think he is right.
• That said, a seller still needs to be aggressive in pricing a home and completely on top of making sure it is in the best possible condition. Especially with homes that have already experienced a long marketing history. We just had a stager go into two homes and I am excited about relaunching them now that they have been freshened up and repriced.
• Buyers, there is nothing wrong with paying full price or more. Sometimes the house is actually worth more than the list price. You might miss out on a great house because you’ve been told that your first offer in this market needs to be low. Agents from throughout South East Michigan are all telling me that they are seeing multiple offers on the best properties this Spring (if it is well priced and in great condition…)

Want to know more? Give us a call.

Tags: metro detroit home sales 2008, Michigan home sales 2008, oakland county home sales 2008