Experience Isn't Expensive, It's Priceless!
Reason #16 to move to Grand Rapids: Sleeping Bear Dunes
As Labor Day Weekend has come to an end, we are reminded once again why West Michigan is such a great place to live. One of the great things about West Michigan and the Grand Rapids area is that we are only a small car ride away from Lake Michigan!! Recently, Good Morning America came out with a list of the 'Most Beautiful Places in America and the #1 most beautiful location was Sleeping Bear Dunes. Sleeping Bear Dunes is about a 2 hour car ride north of Grand Rapids and not only offers a beautiful scenery but the National Lakeshore will keep even the most adventurous outdoors enthusiast busy with hiking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, skiing, snowshoeing and more. See ABC's article here http://abcnews.go.com/Travel/best_places_USA/sleeping-bear-dunes-michigan-voted-good-morning-americas/story?id=14319616.
We'll let these descriptions and pictures speak for themselves but it's just another reason why West Michigan is one of the top place to live!
Overpricing your home could be detrimental to selling it!
Every appointment we go on to present a Strategic Price Analysis to a seller we always make sure to present them with the honest market value rather than the number they want to hear. We feel it's best to be completely honest from the beginning so expectations can be set but quite often the seller believes the homes is worth much more than others that are selling around it. Trulia recently came out with an interesting article explaining that the best way to increase your odds of a successful sale is to price your home at fair market value. To avoid the temptation to overprice in order to get an unreasonable price, here are the Seven Deadly Sins of Overpricing:
1.) Appraisal Problems- Even if you can find a buyer at this inflated price, the buyer is still more than likely being financed to pay for the sale of their home purchase. If your home won't appraise for the purchase price the sale will most likely fall.
2.) No Showings- Today's buyers are well educated about the real estate market. If your home is overpriced they won't bother looking at it, let alone make you an offer
3.) Branding Problems- When a new home hits the market, every agent quickly checks the property out to see if it's a good fit for their clients. If your home is branded as "overpriced", reigniting interest may be very difficult.
4.) Selling the competition- Overpricing helps your competition because you make their lower prices seem like bargains.
5.) Stagnation- The longer your home sits on the market, the more likely it is to become stigmatized. People may immediately wonder, "what is wrong with that house?"
6.) Tougher Negotiations- Buyers who do view your home may negotiate harder because they see it has been on the market for a very long time and because it is overpriced compared to the competition.
7.) Lost Opportunities- You will lose a percentage of buyers who are outside of your price point. These are buyers who are looking in the price range that the home will eventually sell for but don't see the home because the price is above their pre-set budget.
Most buyers look at 10-15 homes before buying one so setting a competitive price at the beginning will help it sell and sell FAST.
SOLD $300,000 Hudsonville Home in 37 short days !!
Dear Friends,
A couple of months ago we recieved a call to be interviewed by someone looking to sell their home. We always like to hear and think its a very good idea to research all options in Realtors before making a decision of who to go with. The seller had met with 3 Realtors total and then chose us to market their home. Three reasons to highlite they chose us was first our willingness to spend money on things like a professional photographer-virtual tour company taking the photos, this is so important to first impressions in enticing the buyer to want to visit the home. Second was our internet and relocation network. When their home was put for sale with us it was listed on over 350 different websites. Third was our track record in successfully selling homes in less than 60 days with our "60 Day Home Sale Guarantee" which says we will sell your home in less than 60 days or we will pay you $5,000. This is another happy seller who experienced not only quick sale but a smooth and uneventfull one. If you or someone you know is looking for a quick, smooth and uneventfull sale please call us today........
Reason #15 to move to Grand Rapids: Rock the Rapids
This week Grand Rapids held its second annual music event known as Rock the Rapids. For this music festival lasting Monday to Saturday, groups from every genre come from all over the country to entertain West Michigan. These bands included Lynyrd Skynyrd, Stone Temple Pilots, Wayland, Willie Nelson, Alice Cooper, Blake Shelton, Bombshel, Ludacris, Due Dilligence, T Pain, and many more! Rock the Rapids is designed to serve our community by providing affordable concert tickets for well-known artists while raising funds for local organizations such as John Ball Zoo. During Rock the Rapids, many other free activities were going on at Festival Village and also The Melting Pot set up at Rosa Parks Circle. One thing Grand Rapids knows how to do and can do it well is bring people together and this event once again proved it!
VALUE: Americans still realize the value of home ownership
With the ups and downs in the market Americans are increasingly looking towards home ownership.
Though most people purchase a home for non-financial reasons, everyone realizes there is a money component to homeownership. Here is what they said on this issue:
- 65% of the general population (and 67% of homeowners) believe that homeownership is a 'safe' investment.
- 56% believe that homeownership has more potential as an investment than any other traditional asset class.
- 69% think that now is a good time to buy a home (this number has increased in each of the last two quarters)
To read the entire blog post click here: http://kcmblog.com/2011/08/16/homeownershipstill-the-american-dream/
The Great American Comeback of Grand Rapids Michigan
Grand Rapids ROCKS! Check out some of the latest updates on what others are saying about Grand Rapids:
"Last week the National Association of Realtors came out with its second quarter Metro Area report that showed that 27% of the surveyed 151 metros studied saw price increases over last year at this time. And four markets showed a double-digit increase in prices. And fourth on the list? Yup, Grand Rapids! The “little engine that could!”
- Cape Coral/Fort Meyers – 17.9% increase to $110,900 median average sales price
- Elmira, NY – 16.1% increase to $115,200 median average sales price
- Dallas/Fort Worth/Arlingon – 12.5% increase to $151,500 median average sales price
- Grand Rapids, MI – 10.9% increase to $103,100 median average sales price
The home of the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library continues to amaze! Relocate America just ranked Grand Rapids as the nation’s second best place to relocate!"
Read the full post here: http://blog.coldwellbanker.com/the-great-american-comeback-of-grand-rapids-michigan/
Grand Rapids rated # 2 City in the US!!
M-Live's Relocate America Top 100 Places to Live in 2011 is in its 14th year of identifying the best places to live in America. The research and editorial team spends months researching which communities are well positioned for economic recovery, already experiencing strong economic recovery or have proven over all economic stability. Factors such as employment, education, community, leadership and overall quality of life are all used when determining who will make the Top 100. I am so excited that Grand Rapids was rated number 2 for 2011. What an honor to us who already live in the Grand Rapids area as this is more proof of our strength in economics which includes Housing.M-Live's Relocate America Top 100 Places to Live in 2011 is in its 14th year of identifying the best places to live in America. The research and editorial team spends months researching which communities are well positioned for economic recovery, already experiencing strong economic recovery or have proven over all economic stability. Factors such as employment, education, community, leadership and overall quality of life are all used when determining who will make the Top 100. I am so excited that Grand Rapids was rated number 2 for 2011. What an honor to us who already live in the Grand Rapids area as this is more proof of our strength in economics which includes Housing.
Read M-Lives article here for the full story: http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/08/grand_rapids_ranks_no_2_on_rel.html
FSBO a No Go!
This blog prides itself on the quality of real estate information we deliver each and every day. We try to gather empirical evidence to validate the positions we take. We do not use just an anecdotal story to make a point. We also do not get caught up in the sensationalism of the moment. However, today will be different.
We can't resist commenting on the story which recently appeared in the Wall Street Journal regarding Colby Sambrotto, the founder and former CEO of forsalebyowner.com. It seems the founding father and lifelong evangelist of the concept of selling your home without a real estate agent was forced to hire a broker to sell his home after failing at what he preaches others should do.
After failing to sell his NYC apartment on his own as a For Sale By Owner (FSBO), Sambrotto hired a broker and paid a 6% commission in order to get the job done. His personal experience helps refute some of the myths Sambrotto has been espousing for over a decade. Let's look at two of those myths:
Myth #1 – You Will Pocket More Money Selling on Your Own
Most FSBO sites say you can save the commission by selling on your own. What happened in Sambrotto's sale?
From the WSJ article:
"The broker, Jesse Buckler, said he told Mr. Sambrotto the apartment in the Lion's Head building on West 19th Street near Sixth Avenue was priced too low and wasn't drawing the right buyers.
By May, it went into contract, he said, after attracting multiple offers. It closed in the last few days for $150,000 more than the original asking price."
Myth #2 – The Internet Alone Can Sell Your Home
Many have said that, with the introduction of home search on the internet, hiring an agent is no longer a necessity. What happened to the FSBO guru when he attempted to only depend on the internet?
From the WSJ article:
"Looking to move his family to the suburbs, [Mr. Sambrotto] said he carefully staged his apartment for sale himself, and put it on the market. But after using a mix of websites to publicize his apartment, he said he had only 'middling success' and switched to a broker because many buyers were so reliant on brokers."
Bottom Line
There is a reason the real estate industry has been around for centuries: it performs a valuable service.
Reposted from The KCM Blog with permission.
When Did Americans Start Playing It Safe?
There seems to be a paralysis in America right now. Companies are afraid to hire even though they are sitting on hordes of cash. Politicians are afraid to show leadership on certain issues as it may cost them the next election. People are afraid to move forward with a purchase of a home because they are afraid a better buy will appear next week. Everyone wants to PLAY IT SAFE.
Playing it safe did not make this country what it is today. If General Washington played it safe, we would still be talking with a British accent. If Dr. King played it safe, he would have told us about a plan he had not that he had a dream. If Disney played it safe, there would be no Disneyworld.
If my pop played it safe, he would have kept us in an apartment in the Bronx and not moved us 50 miles east into our own home with our own backyard on Long Island. However, he didn't play it safe. Was he nervous about the financial responsibilities that came with buying his first home? Of course he was. But he loved his family so much he didn't allow fear to paralyze him. He conquered his fear and did what he knew was the right thing to do. If he were alive today, I'd hug him right now.
Companies, politicians and the American people have to get back to dreaming and doing the right thing. This country has always been a place where, if you work hard, your dreams can come true. That is still true today.
Originally published by: by STEVE HARNEY on AUGUST 2, 2011 in FOR BUYERS,FOR SELLERS. Used with permission.
