Here’s a quick word on why your referrals mean the world to us.
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How to Avoid Making Service Calls With Simple Fixes
If your HVAC system is on the fritz, here are a few things you should check on before you make that dreaded service call.
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Today I’m joined once again with Eric Kruger from Koch & White, who is here to discuss what homeowners can do to avoid having to make service calls for the HVAC system in their homes. It stinks to make that service call, only to find out that it was something very simple you could have remedied on your own.
The first thing to do is to check your power supply on your furnace and make sure your breakers are on. For the heating end of the system, obstructed vent piping could also cause a problem if snow or leaves got in there. Those are both easy fixes for which you don’t need to make a service call.
If you’re out in a rural area, an empty propane tank will shut the furnace down. Homeowners with natural gas won’t have that problem, though.
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Make sure to check your air filter every single month.
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Finally, check your air filter every month. A plugged-up air filter is another cause of HVAC issues that can be easily fixed.
If you have any questions for Eric or Koch & White about what’s going on with your furnace or A/C system, give them a call at (734) 663-0202 or visit their website.
If you have any other real estate-related questions, feel free to reach out to our team via phone or email. We look forward to serving you.
The Most Important Stats From Our 2019 Market
Here are the key market statistics from 2019 from the Ann Arbor Board of REALTORS®.
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What happened in the real estate market in 2019?
The ups and downs of our market are much like the ski hills of Vail, Colorado, where we’re filming today’s video. After going over last year’s data from the Ann Arbor Board of REALTORS®, the most important number we found was the average sales price for single-family homes, which rose 4% compared to 2018. The average sales price for condominiums, meanwhile, rose 1%.
Year over year, the average days on market for single-family homes rose from 35 to 37 days, and the average for condominiums rose from 28 to 43 days. Sometimes when you see the average days on market lengthen, it’s an early indication that a shift is coming.
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When looking at the real estate market, it’s important
to know what’s happening in your price range.
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Another year-over-year number to keep in mind is the total number of new residential listings, which rose 1%. This is a good sign, as it implies that we’re moving toward a more balanced market.
When looking at the real estate market, it’s important to know what’s happening in your price range. If you want to know the average days on market and absorption rate of every market segment, give us a call or check out the full statistics we’ve provided in today’s video:
Market Snapshot
Ann Arbor Market Stats
Market Timing & Data
If you’d like a live property review, feel free to reach out to us as well. Online home valuations don’t know what’s inside your house, but we’d be happy to check it out for you. We can also help you with tax planning, trust planning, or preparing your home to sell.
Improving Your Home for Resale Value and Personal Enjoyment
How can you improve your home for resale value and personal enjoyment?
We’re joined by an expert today to give you an idea.
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If you’re a homeowner and you’ve found a fixer, what should you improve? Or if you have a house you want to get ready for the market, what should you do? Today we’re joined by Leslie Cascino, founder and principal designer of Bonnie Wu Design, to help answer these questions for you. To give you a guideline, we’ll show you a complete before/after redesign of a sample home she just completed.
Follow along in the video above to see the full tour. For your convenience, we’ve provided timestamps so you can skip ahead to various sections:
1:39 – Swapping the living room and dining room to improve the space for resale value
2:45 – Rebuilding the fireplace for resale value and personal enjoyment
3:37 – Adding square footage to the new living room
4:11 – How the windows at the back of the house extend the living space
4:33 – Opening up the kitchen to the rest of the house and orienting it toward the backyard
5:36 – Dropping the plywood panels and installing overhead lighting
6:17 – Converting the den into a home office and guest bedroom
6:58 – Creating the master suite
7:54 – Wrapping things up
If you have any home design questions for Leslie, go ahead and visit her website here.
If you have any other real estate questions, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We’d love to help you.
How Realtors Provide Such Value to Consumers
Today, Namir George from the Michigan Institute of Real Estate joins me to discuss
how much Realtors go through to become professionals and why consumers should value their efforts.
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Real estate agents have to undergo a lot of education to become proficient in their field, and many consumers don’t fully understand what it takes for an agent to get to the point of being a licensed professional. Today Namir George from the Michigan Institute of Real Estate is here to shed some insight into what exactly agents go through to become real estate agents.
The real estate industry is regulated by the state of Michigan, and as part of their regulations, they have a straightforward set of rules that a Realtor has to abide by. They have to attend classes and ongoing courses in order to know the latest developments within the industry.
To consumers who are trying to buy or sell real estate, it sounds easy, but determining the price of a home and putting it on the market is only 40% or 50% of the work that’s involved with putting a transaction together. If the Realtor is going to represent a seller legally, they’re obligated to put clauses and contingencies into your contract that will serve the seller. When a buyer’s agent represents a client, they have to structure the transaction to serve the best interests of the client.
On top of the state’s rules, Realtors also have to abide by the Code of Ethics, which is even tougher than the state. If you act unethically as a Realtor, you’ll have to pay a fine to the Association of Realtors. Just today, George spent hours in class going through legal issues that could have been avoided had the parties involved had full disclosure and communicated effectively.
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Determining the price of a home and putting it on the market
is only 40% or 50% of the work that’s involved
with putting a transaction together.
”
We run into so many issues during transactions. For example, For Sale By Owner (FSBO) sellers who don’t even know what a seller’s disclosure is or provide one to the buyer before they sign the purchase agreement. The buyer then would have to withdraw from the transaction and the seller has to refund their deposit.
That’s why it’s so important that consumers take advantage of the services we provide. According to a survey from the National Association of Realtors, when a FSBO sells a property, they get 10% to 12% less than the market value of their home. They might think they got a good price for it, but they didn’t. A Realtor usually charges you less than that, they’ll get you the full price of your home, and even with the commission fee, you’re still ahead of the game. They do all the work for you.
George is always contributing to the industry and is a valued member of my community. If you have any questions for him, visit his website here.
If you know someone who wants to buy, sell, invest, or work in real estate, give us a call. We can help you align with the right real estate agent anywhere in the world.
Options for Sellers Whose Homes Don’t Appraise
If you’re a seller, what happens if your house doesn’t appraise?
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What happens if your home doesn’t appraise?
Here to help me discuss today’s topic is Steve Stork of Summit Funding. Steve has been working with us for about 10 years, and we consider him an expert on this subject. Together, we came up with a list of things that can happen if your house doesn’t appraise:
- We can split the value.
- We can ask the buyer to bring cash.
- We can lower the price and then close.
- We can choose not to close. More often than not, you’ll see a section on an appraisal report entitled “pending sales,” which refers to the comparable homes to yours that, like yours, are under contract. Because they don’t yet have a sales date, pending sales are not given any weight in terms of the value of your property. So, by calling that listing and finding out where these pending sales are in the process may give you some insight into a potential comparable you can add to the mix once it closes. At that time, you can send the appraiser back out to the home to reinspect the property and use the comparable to help calculate the overall sales value.
- We can wait for more comps to sell if prices are going up.
- We can also refute the appraisal if the buyer will cooperate. If you have any additional comparables the appraiser might have missed, you could bring those to the attention of the appraiser, possibly earning some value for your property.
- We can ask the buyer to reapply with a different lender.
- If it was an FHA appraisal, the appraisal sticks to the property for four months. Unfortunately, there’s no way to dispute that appraisal; you just have to wait until that period is over and to take another FHA offer.
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Because they don’t yet have a sales date, pending sales are
not given any weight in terms of the value of your property.
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If you have any questions for us, feel free to reach out. We are here to add value to your real estate experience.
What Happens if the House You’re Buying Doesn’t Appraise?
What should you do when the house you’re buying doesn’t appraise?
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If you’ve found the perfect home and submitted an offer, what happens if the property doesn’t appraise? Well, first of all, don’t lose hope. There are many ways a deal can still proceed even after an appraisal comes in low, and here are just a few:
- Ask the seller to lower the price.
- Pay the difference in cash.
- Get a new lender (and a new appraisal).
- Refute the appraisal.
- Wait for comparable properties to rise in value, then order another appraisal.
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Our team will do everything we can
to help arrange a solution.
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Of course, each of these options would need to be approved by a lender. The good news is that appraisals don’t come in low very often. If and when they do, though, our team will do everything we can to help you arrange a solution.
As always, if you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.
How Pet Owners Can Still Sell Their Homes for Top Dollar
As a pet owner, there are three tips you must remember in order to sell your home for top dollar.
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How do you prepare your for-sale home if you have pets?
The good news is, many homebuyers are out there looking for a pet-friendly home. Two out of three of us have pets, and 61% of pet owners say they have trouble finding a home that’s a good match for their pet. In fact, a recent survey said that 31% of pet owners won’t make an offer on a home if it doesn’t suit their pet. In other words, if your home is attractive to pet owners, it will be available to a larger pool of buyers.
On the other hand, 67% of Realtors believe having a pet in your home makes it harder to sell. So what can you do? Here are the three top tips we recommend:
1. Repair any damage. Floors, walls, doors, and the yard are typical areas pets love to chew, scratch, and dig up. Repairing this damage is an investment that will pay for itself many times over because it will earn you a higher sale price.
2. Hire a professional to remove pet odors. Many pet owners are less sensitive to odors in their homes than prospective buyers are, which is why you should hire a professional cleaning crew to clean any carpets, rugs, or upholstery that have absorbed pet odors. Once you’re done cleaning, ask a friend or Realtor to perform a sniff assessment to see if the job is done.
3. Take your pet out during showings. Some people are afraid of animals. Others might be allergic. Regardless of the time, money, and effort you put into cleaning your home, many buyers may still be prejudiced if they know a pet lives there. Also, your pet might be scared with so many strangers in your home. Additionally, remove any pet objects such as toys, food bowls, or scratching posts.
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You’ll be able to sell your home for top dollar,
whether your buyer is a pet owner or not.
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By following these three simple guidelines, you’ll be able to sell your home for top dollar, whether your buyer is a pet owner or not. We cherish our pets and our homes, and we hope this merges both so you can have a hassle-free home sale as well. You can also find a pet sitter instruction form here.
If you have any other questions or concerns regarding your home sale, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help you.
How Do Agents’ Services Impact Commissions?
How do an agent’s services impact their commissions? Let’s discuss.
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We’re on-site at the old Inca Ruins in Peru, so we thought we’d spice up today’s message on commissions by adding some footage of Peru’s breathtaking scenery.
To start, let’s define commissions. Commissions are a fee for service paid by the home seller and are based on a percentage of the total sale price. Different agents offer different services, which can include, but are not limited to:
- Market analytics
- Photography
- Standard or trademark marketing plans
- Videography
- Staging
- Geo-farming
- Digital retargeting
- Inside and outside sales
- Calls to prospective buyers
- And many more concierge services
If you’re curious about the range of services we offer, you’d like to see our commissions menu, or you have any other questions related to real estate, give us a call at (734) 669-0337 or send us an email at [email protected]. We look forward to helping you!
We have served thousands of current and past clients and have hundreds of raving reviews from them (consider reviewing us here). That makes us happy, but not as happy as when you think so highly of us that you send us the name of a friend, relative, neighbor, fellow church member, or business associate who needs help buying or selling a home. In our business, that’s a referral, and it works much in the same way as when you recommend a great restaurant to someone.
Referrals are our lifeblood, this is how buyers found agents.
Think about the feeling you get when you recommend that top-notch restaurant to your friend. They thank the restaurant, of course, but they also thank you for leading them to that five-star experience. You get that warm feeling because you know you did something nice for that friend. It’s the same effect with real estate; we at The Toth Worldwide Network have the solutions to make your loved ones’ lives easier.
We promise to take amazing care of your referrals and ensure that you’ll get that same warm feeling after they tell you they’ve had a phenomenal experience. So the next time you hear about someone you know who needs to buy or sell a home, just call or text us their contact information so we can reach out to them and reward you for that referral. We’ll get the process started immediately and work hard to replace their fears, stresses, and confusion with an overwhelming sense of assurance.
At 1:15 in the video above, you can hear from our team about all the different kinds of referrals that we love! We appreciate your support, and we hope you’re thinking about us whenever you need something in the big, wide world of real estate. Stay safe, and happy holidays! Don’t forget to like us on Facebook!