Would you like to update your home, but you’re worried about sinking a lot of time and money into it?
Here are some quick and inexpensive alternatives.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
Would you like to update your home, but you’re worried about sinking a lot of time and money into it?
Here are some quick and inexpensive alternatives.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
Are you ready to sell your home?
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
If you would like to sell your Ann Arbor area home this spring, you are most likely already thinking about what your asking price should be. If you’ve already had your home on the market for a while with no success, perhaps you’re wondering what you might be doing wrong. There are lots of pricing misconceptions, and Toth Team Worldwide Network is here to set the record straight!
The simplest breakdown is this: Price + Exposure = Sold. The price is determined by the value of your property. The value is determined by what buyers are willing to pay and what sellers are willing to accept in today’s market. Buyers make decisions based on what other similar properties recently sold for in your area.
The value of your home is not determined by what you paid for the house when you bought it, what you feel you need to get for the house, what you want to get for the house, what your neighbors say you should get for the house, what another agent says, or what it costs to rebuild today. If you price your home based on one of these factors, it may sit on the Ann Arbor real estate market with little to no offers.
It’s important to price your home to sell right when listing because the longer the home sits on the market, the less interest it will gain from potential buyers. On average, most offers are received in the first three weeks on the market. By the fourth week, they start to fall. This is when you’ll want to reevaluate your listing price. The longer your house sits on the market, the more price reductions you may have to offer. This could result in a value loss greater than if you had priced it correctly at the beginning.
“
Price + Exposure = Sold.
”
On average, 60 percent of potential buyers look at properties that are priced at market value from the beginning. If you price it 10 percent above market value, 30 percent of buyers will look at it. If you price it 15 percent above, only 10 percent will look at it. Similarly, if you price it 10 percent below market value, 75 percent of buyers will look at it, and so on.
When you work with Toth Team Worldwide Network to sell your house, we’ll give you examples of the competition, both active and recently sold. We also explain the pros and cons of listing over, under and at the suggested sale price. For example, at the suggested sale price, buyers will notice your home, your home will be found easier in searches, it will bring buyers in, and you won’t have issues with an appraisal.
Whether it’s a buyer’s market, seller’s market or balanced market also makes an impact on home prices. You can find more information about all of this, along with graphs to help you understand it, in this Pricing It Right pamphlet we’ve created for you.
Which contingencies can protect you during a vacant land purchase?
Our team has a lot of knowledge on this subject, and we’d like to share some of it with you today.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
When you buy vacant land, it’s important that you avoid vacant land traps. There are a few specific buying blunders to look out for during such a transaction, which we would like to highlight for you today.
The first step you should take in protecting yourself against any pitfalls is to partner with a professional. Otherwise, you could easily encounter expensive issues, each of which we’ll discuss in greater detail in future videos.
Some of the contingencies to consider during a vacant land purchase are:
“
Vacant land is the essence of real estate.
”
There are a number of opportunities for protection associated with each of these, and our team has been very fortunate in helping buyers leverage them during their purchases. Would you rather have an expert or an amateur by your side as you pursue this kind of deal?
Vacant land is the essence of real estate, and our team has a strong track record of success in dealing with this type of transaction. We hope you’ll trust us to meet your goals.
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.
New KW technology will allow consumers to search for homes like never before. Our Chief Innovation Officer will explain.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
When you’re on a property detail page, it’s really important to get all the information about a house as quickly as possible, and with our new KW Search app (available in 2019), you can do that with ease.
There are a couple things you can do differently with our consumer app that you can’t do in all the other apps:
1. Get the home DNA profile. The home DNA is based on your search criteria, and as you use the app, it finds out what you like and don’t like. It trains very similarly to Amazon or Netflix.
2. Customizable. On the Any Home app, you can easily favorite or hide a home from ever showing up again.
3. Agent-client connectivity. If you’re working with an agent, that agent has the ability to recommend homes and give you comments about why a particular home might be great for you and your family.
4. Photo organization. It breaks down all the photos by room allowing you to simply click on a category and see all the photos of that space, including the interior and exterior of the home. Further still, if you double tap a photo, it will show you all the tags that are found in that photo. These tags will point out various aspect of the room or area, and the consumer can point out what they like about these tags, which will train their home DNA. This allows for a very curated search.
“
As you use the app, it finds out what you like and don’t like. It trains very similarly to Amazon or Netflix.
”
5. Commute calculator. With the app, you can plug in the address of your work and calculate the commute time between a property and your work.
6. Collaboration. You can actually start private discussions on any home and also invite your agent, co-buyer, or family members to engage you in a discussion right on the app.
7. Property pages. Whenever you’re looking at a property, there will be a feature that allows you to see the neighborhood it’s in and key features about that neighborhood. Then you can go explore the area on the map, allowing you to find out what it’s like to live in any neighborhood for any home.
8. Request tour. At the bottom of the app, there are two buttons: One to contact the agent for the listing, and the other that allows you to schedule a time to visit the home.
This app could truly change the way that consumers search for homes and interact with sellers and their agents. To find out more or to address any questions you have, please reach out to Toth Team Worldwide. We’d be glad to help.
What is an earnest money deposit and what role does it play in a real estate transaction?
We’ll be tackling this question today.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
When you find the house of your dreams, you show the seller you’re serious by writing a check. This is known in the industry as an earnest money deposit.
By law, this sum must be deposited into the title company’s or broker’s escrow account within two days from the final acceptance of the offer.
Essentially, earnest money deposits (otherwise known as a good faith deposit) represents your commitment to buying the home. It shows the seller you’re operating in good faith and allows them to label the home as “Contingent” in the multiple listing system.
As a result of this, the number of showings the seller takes on may decrease while you, the buyer, go through the due diligence period. The larger your earnest money deposit, the more certain the seller will be of your desire to purchase the house.
“
The larger your earnest money deposit, the more certain
the seller will be of your desire to purchase the house.
”
This deposit can range from about $1,000 to 10% of the home’s sales price. In multiple offer situations, you may want to increase this amount to make your offer more attractive.
Keep in mind, though, that this amount will not be refunded to you if you break the terms of the contract and walk away from the deal.
However, if you meet all of the deadlines and contingencies of the contract, such as the inspection, appraisal, and title review, then the earnest money will be applied toward your down payment at closing.
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 is the housing market looking in Michigan? See what this fall holds.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
As real estate and its prices are always changing, it’s always a good idea to keep up to date. So today, we’ll bring you the fall market update for the Michigan area.
There are more single-family homes coming on the market, up 8.9% from 358 to 390 year to year. The number of year-to-year sales is down 18.1% from 315 to 258. However, the average sales price is up to $308,080 from last year’s $299,788—an increase of 2.8%. The average days on market has improved from 32 days last year to 25 days this year.
Things can change so gradually that many people do not notice. To see if shifts are occurring in the market, it’s important to watch for accurate data in your price range.
“
Things can change so gradually that
many people do not notice.
”
Sellers could be chasing prices down, so the question for many is if they should wait until spring to sell a house. It depends on what you think is going to happen in regard to elections, the economy, and interest rates.
What happens to prices when rates go up? There may be a relationship. According to the National Association of Realtors’ national media manager, if you have rising interest rates over a longer period, then you’ll see a weaker demand. In this case, you may see price appreciation slow down. Keep in mind, today’s interest rate for an adjustable mortgage is 4.25% and 5.15% for an annual percentage rate.
If you have any questions or would like some more information, feel free to give us a call at (866) 696-8447. We look forward to hearing from you.
Don’t wait to call your local Keller Williams agent.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
Are you ready to make a move? There are four ways to make buyers fall in love with your home so you can sell it quickly and for top dollar. First, make it move-in ready—think clean, organized, and clutter-free. Second, bring in some plants—greenery adds instant style. Third, up the “dream home” factor by highlighting any unique features. Lastly, call your local Keller Williams agent!
We have the answers to all the important questions you may be asking yourself if you’ve just inherited a property.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
If you find yourself as a personal representative or an heir of a property as an estate, there are five very important questions you’re probably asking yourself right now. Today, we’ll be examining the answers to each of them:
1. What is the best option for you to proceed? More specifically, do you want to keep the property, rent it out, or sell it? If you want to sell, you should consider taking advantage of our Certified Pre-Owned program to bulletproof the transaction and perform your fiduciary responsibilities as a representative or trustee of the estate. For more details about our CPO program, you can watch this video. An appraisal lets the representative know the home’s value and also ensures that no errors can dispute the trustee’s actions. Not to mention, it gives you peace of mind in setting that value.
2. What should you do with all of the belongings in the home? We know packing experts and other trusted resources who can assist you with moving these things into a pod or a storage unit. They’ll also do a deep clean of the home for you.
3. What if you’re not local? Our trusted resources ensure that the folks who are assisting have been recommended by other locals and have a solid reputation.
“
We’d be glad to be the solution to simplify your life
so you can deal with what’s really important during this time.
”
4. What if you need repairs done? Any handyman tasks or other improvements can be done remotely with our help. We can also organize and stage the home for you.
5. Who can you trust to help? We’ve been trusted to help by thousands of clients in southeastern Michigan, so we’d be glad to be the solution to simplify your life so you can deal with what’s really important during this time.
If you have any other questions or would like more information, please feel free to call or email us anytime. We would love to help you.
While there may be two types of smoke detectors available for your home, replacing them every ten years is encouraged no matter the type. Today we are providing even more fire protection options.
Want to Buy a Home? Search All Homes
Want to Sell a Home? Get a Home Value Report
Did you know that the American Society of Home Inspectors recommends buying a new smoke detector every 10 years? It is news to us, so we thought that we would share more.
To start with you should know that there are two types of detectors. There are ionization and photoelectric which use different types of sensors. Ionization detectors are more responsive to flaming fires. Meanwhile, photoelectric are more responsive to smoldering fires which could mean the difference between getting your family out of a burning house.
Ionization smoke detectors are less susceptible to alarming when you burn your pizza in the oven. You can tell if you have an ionization smoke detector by looking at the model number on the back. If the letter “I” is in the model number or there is any mention of radioactive material, it is an ionization detector.
“
Ionization detectors are more responsive to flaming fires while photoelectric detectors are more responsive to smoldering fires.
”
If you and your tenants really want to be safe, there are some things which you should consider.
1. Install both kinds of smoke detectors.
2. Check the batteries on a regular basis.
3. Install interconnected wireless detectors with battery backup.
4. Alert your phone of any smoke in the house with the Nest functions.
5. Locate smoke detectors in every bedroom and on every floor.
6. It is recommended you change your unit every 10 years.
7. You can install sprinklers in your home.
A member of the Ann Arbor Fire Department recommends Kidde smoke and CO alarms.
For updates on fire safety, you can check the Consumer Product Safety Commission to get the most recent publication. And, if you have any questions about this you can contact your local fire department.
If you have any questions relating to your home or real estate in general, please give us a call, text, or send us an email. We would be happy to help in any way that we can. We look forward to speaking with you soon.
Today, we are joined by Randy Surline, a senior sales partner at Allen Edwin Homes. Randy has years of building experience, so he’ll answer a few questions that you should always ask a builder when buying new construction.
Allen Edwin Homes has been building in Michigan for 22 years. Currently, they build about 200 homes a year in Southeast Michigan. Allen Edwin provides great energy efficiency, high-quality workmanship, and they follow up with their clients after the sale and the build.
As far as cost goes, the buyer controls the price. When Allen Edwin comes in, we make sure the area makes sense, the community makes sense, and everything fits comfortably within their budget. Once that is settled, anything above that price is selected by the buyer from our showroom, or structurally for the home.
Another concern when building is the timeline. The nice thing is that in Southeast Michigan, there are about 60 or 70 spec homes in progress, which allows buyers to move in quicker. If you’re building from scratch, Allen Edwin uses a slotting process so that the buyer knows when the house will be done within a two-month window.
If you are interested in new builds, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!
As a homeowner, it’s important to maintain your property. However, you don’t always have the time or funds to make the improvements you may desire.
To make things easier for you, we’ve assembled a few quick and easy tips to spruce up your home:
1. Try updating your house numbers. This quick fix will really set you apart from your neighbors and makes your home easier to find. There are many options to choose from, so get creative.
2. Paint an old piece of furniture. This can turn an outdated nightstand or chair into a new stunning addition.
3. Paint your front door. Try something that compliments your house or be daring with a bold color.
4. Seal the sidewalk. Cracks and gaps in sidewalks and walkways can quickly expand throughout the year. Not only will a patch job make your pathway look nice, but it will also make it safer for visitors. Fix your sidewalk and driveway with a patching compound specifically made for cement.
We hope that these suggestions help to improve the curb appeal of your home. If you’d like more tips or any information regarding real estate, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.