With it being a buyers market in Southeastern Michigan it has become tougher on Realtors and For Sale by Owners, (FSBO) trying to sell their houses. If you do not have to sell your home do not put it up for sale. However it is going to take 3-5 years to come back to prices a year or two ago.
The three main reasons a house does or does not sell are location, price, and condition. So if your house is not selling think about this.
Location. Is your house on a main road, or back up to a main road? Can you see a shopping center, industrial buildings, cell tower from your house? Can you hear traffic from your house? Is a School close to your house? Does a lot of traffic come by your house? If you answer yes to any of these questions then location is a problem for you. What that means is that your house will have to be priced better than other comparable homes in your area and it should be nicer than other comparable homes. That is what will make it sell. You can't change those outside factors so you either have to reduce price or improve the house.
Condition. Some of the items that make a home in the "top condition" in Michigan are. Granite or Corian counter tops, updated wood cabinets, updated bathrooms, freshly painted (neutral is a plus), like new carpeting, walkout and finished basements. Do you have any of these? What are you lacking? These homes bring top dollar and move faster! Not many houses are selling in thirty days. If it is selling right away it is priced low to move it.
Price. Right now is Michigan price is the key. There is no way around it. It is not price it right, it is price it lower than your competition. Those are the houses that are selling. If you are not getting traffic then you need to lower your price.

Bottom line in Michigan is that people know it is a buyers market . Whether it is Oakland County, Livingston County, or Wayne County it is the same. They are taking their time to make decisions, because they know the house will be there. They know the price may drop just by waiting a week or a month. If they don't buy your house they will get a deal on the next one.

Buyers Bottom line is that unless you absolutely have to have a house, you should be putting in offers of 10% - 20% less for a house. Negotiation is the key now.

If you are selling your house search your competition on my website http://www.russravary.com/ Search the MLS. Put in number of bedrooms, number of baths, 150 square ft less than your house, and 3 cities around yours including yours. Look at your competition, and your price how do you compare. Thanks and have a great day. Russ Ravary

Saving money lost money for this home seller. So many people try to save money by turning down the heat in homes that they sell. You want the house to be comfortable for buyers. You want buyers to linger in the house. You want them to check everything out.
My clients and I were in a house so cold you were shivering and you could see your breath. We ran thru that house. It was off the list in a heart beat. Keep the thermostat turned up.
But the worst case scenario was with another client. The clients were looking in the 400-$500,000 range. I called up to see a 5 bedroom home. It was off the market because the pipes burst. Sure insurance will pay for it. But it is off the market until it is fixed up. A loss of showings, longer on the market means lower offers. Now there will be doubts about mold and other pipes being stressed and possibly leaking in the future. And the people are still paying taxes and mortgage payments on it. One month's mortgage payment would cover the cost of heat bills. These people lost big time, who knows maybe my clients may have loved it and bought it. Now they have to deal with contractors and cleanup instead.
Don't be cheap, turn up the heat!! Check out more tips on selling your home at www.RussRavary.com

I talked to a buddy of mine in the basement wall business. He said that he was starting to pick up. I guess it depends on who you talk to on how the new housing sector is doing in the Detroit area. I have one electrician friend that was really busy around Christmas. They had a couple of builders that were busy. But most of my other friends in the construction trades were slow.
What is good about the slowness is that builders are willing to reduce their prices and give incentives to get you to buy a new house. Would I buy a new house right now? Absolutely not. There are too many deals out there on "slightly used" houses. There are many vacant homes that have been foreclosed or the owners have re-located. There are great deals out there.
Why would anybody in their right mind buy a new home when the day after they buy it - it will be worth less money. Right now is not the best time to buy a new home. You have to remember that you have to then buy shades, drapes, and blinds. You have to landscape, add a deck or patio.
Sure builders prices have come down. They are definitely making less per home in order to get rid of homes and lots. Add up the price of the home, plus window treatments, plus landscaping and compare it to existing homes sales in the area. I will bet 9 out 10 times that the "slightly used home" will be a better deal. Are you willing to lose money?
Search the mls free on my website At www.russravary.com If you are selling try out www.checkmyhousesvalue.com for a free report on how much your house is worth.

With the recent snowfall it has made traveling and getting in and out of houses more difficult. If you have a home for sale it is better if you keep the walks clean so prospective clients do not slip and fall.

This is just another indication of curb appeal and the subconscious thoughts of the buyer thinking that the seller does not take care of the house. I went into a house with clients last week, the two teenage boys were home and playing video games. The walkway was covered with snow and ice. My clients slipped but didn't fall. They remember the house as "the icy walk house" instead of the "house with the nice fireplace". The house had a inclined driveway that was full of snow when it had not snowed in 2 days. That became an objection to my buyers. The buyer thought it might be too hard to navigate during the winter. A simple problem that never needed to come up. If only the snow was shoved, the lawn mowed, the bushes trimmed. it all the same. Neat, trimmed subconsciously means taken care of to the buyer.

Sometimes it is the little things that buyers notice. Whether the door knob is loose, or the kitchen cabinet door hangs crooked, or the walls are dirty. Simple things add up to big objections. Buyers buy on emotion. Curb appeal, and when they walk in the door. Some people make a decision on whether they like the house within two minutes of the door. So if you are thinking of selling take care of some of the simple repairs.

Russ Ravary
www.russravary.com

Real estate and the internet consumer

Did you know that about 90% of the people now look at real estate on line at some point when they are searching for a new home. My company Remerica Hometown One has an excellent site to search listings. http://remericahometownone.com In fact last month it had over a 100,000 visitors. What is great about that is more of our customers listings are being viewed by these clients. The more traffic the more chance that somebody will see your house.

I thought My website http://www.russravary.com was doing good just by being on the first page of MSN when you put in Livonia real estate, and on the second page of Google for Livonia real estate. I was pleased with getting over 5000 visitors last month to the website. Even my local partners page was getting over 300 hits a month. It is 300 more exposures for my clients business's. It is another chance that my client's listings might get seen and might generate interest. Somebody might fall in love with the house. Some of the listing have six or more pictures.

We all surf the Internet and many of us buy on line. So it is natural to view homes and choose homes that we want to see more of. So when you are choosing an agent, ask them about their presence on the web. Ask them about their companies website. More people will see their home on the Internet than in one of those home magazines or the slow moving tv home channel. Buyers have the ability to narrow their search, move at the spend they want, and look at pictures. So remember that when you are choosing an agent ask them about their websites.
Have a great weekend and stay warm. Russ Ravary

With the Plymouth Ice Festival done and over with there is not seems to be not much going on. But many of our local cities have Historical areas or Museums that are great to visit. Livonia has Greenmeade, Plymouth has a great historical museum, Northville has a historical area. Take the time to go and visit the local history.

I have been taking a married couple out looking for homes. This will be their first home. they did not know what they should be looking for when they went through the homes. This is what I told them.
1) They needed to list their "must haves", "would likes", and "if it was possible" characteristics of what they want in a house on paper. Of course we as real estate agents get the simple "must haves" covered by doing a good search. We search for the 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage in Novi. But then the "must have" of open, updated kitchen is something we don't totally realize until we go through the home. What is open to me, may not be to the client. They "would like" a walk-in closet, and "if it was possible" a deck and hot tub.
2) As they walk through the house take notes on the good and bad. If possible take a picture of the things they love or want in a good house.
3) If there is major problems that are obvious cross it off your list unless you think you can pick up the house at a bargain to make it worthwhile. Will it be worthwhile for the time and money spent? Are you capable of the job? Remember that you should always hire a home inspector after you choose a home that you would like to buy. The first time through should not be an in-depth pick a house apart for faults. The first time through should be - does this fit my idea of a home? Does it fulfill most of my wants in a house? What are the pluses? Can I change this or that to make it work? What will I have to compromise? Is it in a good location?

Remember no home is perfect. They all need something. Fixing up, a different layout, different paint, more bathrooms. Very seldom is any home perfect. The trick in finding the right home is narrowing your selections down without getting rid of one for a simple cosmetic reason. I have seen many times where a client will say this house is out because of ugly wallpaper, shag carpeting, or atrocious paint color. When it fit their needs perfectly, they had the time, and money to fix the "ugly" only to buy a far less suitable one. I had one guy buy a two bedroom house instead a three bedroom house, and he had two kids living with him! He gave up a few three bedroom homes because of the wallpaper, or carpeting. So remember get past the simple, fixable stuff and concentrate on the un-fixable, and costly. Such as open layouts, updated kitchen, updated baths, extra closets, extra square footage, good location, yard sizes, and views. For more information on "what to look for" or buying a home go to my website www.russravary.com
May your choices today be easy.