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.
2 comments:
Russ, I really like your advice, Maybe you can help and suggest something for this situation.
Some friends of mine, a married couple currently have there house listed. I have there mortgage all situated and ready to close for there new location. Thier current property has been on the market now for 4 months. Every weekend they recieve a call from thier agents office stating that someone would like to come and view there home. This has happend like clockwork every weekend since they put it up for sale. My friends have 3 children and a dog. So every weekend they spend a few hours completely recleaning the home just before the showing. At this point they have begun to lose faith and are discouraged. I hear and see what they go through and to top it all off is that in some cases such as last weekend the buyer stepped one foot in the door and then walked out. There home for sale was built in 2006 and purchased for $460,000 and is in immaculate condition. It has marble counter tops, wood floors, and a jacuzzi hot tub...So what do you get from all this? what advice can you give? I dont think its the subject property thats the issue. Should they seek a new agency to represent them? What can I suggest to lower the stress and improve there selling stratedgy?
Unfortunately they bought their house at a high point in the market on the way down. Since last year home prices have dropped an average of 4 - 10% in the metro area depending on who you are talking to. For your sellers to actually have people looking at it every weekend is a plus.
There are three things that influence the sale. 1) price 2)condition of the home 3) Location
How is the location of the home? Does it back to a busy road, or have a cell tower in view, are there any negatives in terms of location.
It sounds like a beautiful house but why did the one couple walk out in and out? Was it the outside or the inside that they did not like? They should have asked for or gotten feedback from their agent. A good agent will try to get it. Sometimes the buyers agent does not respond or give feedback. So it may not be their agents fault. Were they home? Some people do not like to come in or see homes if the people are there. They should make it a priority to be out of the house at showing times.
So if location and condition are good that only leaves one thing they can adjust. Can they lower their price. And if so they should be doing it if they really want to sell. Email me at info@russravary.com and send me their address and I will give you more information.
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