We talked for a long time about how busy we both are and how values are creeping up in the markets that keep me busiest.  Sometimes they are even bolting up, but I like to remain conservative about my market projections.  The appraiser confirmed he is seeing increasing values, but told me that the appraisers in his office are not yet willing to upgrade the overall market status on their appraisals from declining or balanced just because they know they will face increased scrutiny from underwriters.  Yet the evidence clearly points to increasing market values.  Ask any buyer who has tried to purchase a home in Birmingham lately about the competition they have faced.  It’s not easy to be a buyer right now, and I don’t see it getting any easier next year.

I am often told by potential buyers, as they begin their search, “everyone knows it’s a buyer’s market.”  I have to find just the right way to tell them I don’t see it that way at all.  After YEARS of telling people their home is worth less than it was the previous year, I haven’t been saying that for the last few months.  I have comps that show neighboring homes selling for more than they would have last summer.  I see competitive offers on many well priced homes that are not short sales or foreclosures.  There are buyers out there who want to buy, and they are feeling the shortage of inventory.  We recently listed and sold a home in Birmingham’s Poppleton Park neighborhood and had multiple offers and over a dozen showings within the first 24 hours we were on the market.  The home sold for over asking price to a buyer who had become frustrated by the lack of choices available.

I am ready to raise the flag and say the Birmingham Bloomfield real estate market is increasing in value.  People want to live in these communities and are showing that they are willing to pay “market value.”  Like it or not, the bargains of previous years are fewer and farther between.  That said, buyers are still able to purchase homes in areas they previously thought they might never be able to afford.  It’s still a great time to be a buyer, but I think the reality of the market might be quite different from commonly held assumptions and misinformation presented by the national media about the state of the housing market.

Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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Ask any successful Birmingham Bloomfield Realtor and I imagine you will hear a story similar to ours. We are having one of our best years EVER. Our office, SKBK Sotheby’s is on track to have it’s best month EVER this month (and it is the oldest real estate office in Birmingham). Sales volume is up, and prices are rising along with it.

Some time around February, when I don’t think most of us were really expecting it, the market turned overnight from a strong buyer’s market to a more balanced or even, in some cases, a seller’s market. You’ll find many a frustrated buyer out there today, racing from new listing to new listing, hoping to be the lucky one to have their offer accepted. It takes a few lumps as a buyer to accept that the reality you’ve been hearing about for the last few years is not the one you will experience when you make your own purchase.

More than ever, it is a market that requires professional guidance on both sides of the transaction. We are not done with appraisal issues, by any means. Knowing what is coming on the market before it actually hits the MLS has also proved essential to many a buyer over the last few months.

We’ve seen 10-15% appreciation on some houses in Birmingham that we visited last fall in anticipation of marketing them this spring. There are sales out there that support these new prices. We are still not back to historic highs, but it is wonderful to see a new stability in the market.

So please, don’t let a headline generated by the Associated Press guide your sense of what your home may be worth or how it might sell today. Nor, if you are a buyer, should those articles give you a false sense of how you will use your fierce negotiating skills to beat the seller senseless. Those sweeping generalizations don’t apply and can cost you money and grief.

Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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Search for homes in Oakland County

When Real Estate is listed for sale the listing contract calls for the seller to pay a set commission to the Realtor’s involved in the transaction regardless of whether that is one real estate agent or two. This means the seller has to pay the same real estate commission whether the property is sold directly through the listing agent or through a buyer’s agent.

As a home buyer you need to have your own representation – an agent specifically working on your behalf. Here are the top 5 reasons to have your own agent:

1) A professional working specifically in your interest and on your behalf to help you find the right home at the right price.

2) The Buyer’s Agent‘s fiduciary responsibility (their loyalty) is to his/her client (you). The Listing Agent has already signed a contract to represent the seller and their first loyalty is to the seller. How can they represent the seller and you at the same time and still get you the best price on the home?

3) A stronger negotiating position and better contract protection for you. You have a separate agent negotiating the price on your behalf with the seller. You also get an independent purchase agreement contract drawn up by your agent to protect you. Plus, your agent holds the earnest money deposit as opposed to the listing agent controlling your money.

4) More candid comparable sales and market transparency. You have your own agent showing you recent sales of similar homes so you can determine the correct offer price.

5) Having your own agent comes at no additional cost to you! The seller has to pay the real estate commission on the sale of real estate so it is costing the buyer nothing to retain the services of a professional realtor.

The bottom line is that it is foolish to not utilize the services of a trained professional Realtor to help you unlock the door to your new home. As a buyer, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. So, if you’re in the market to buy a house the first step should be to find the right Realtor to work with!

Written by Ken Mascia
Prime Capital Mortgage, 248.644.1200
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Certified Residential Appraiser Linda Shurtliff, owner of Troy-based Reliable Residential Appraisals, LLC agrees.  “A staged home has much more appeal than an unstaged home.  A staged home has no clutter, very few personal items and appears clean and welcoming.  A home that is well-maintained, has good functional utility including strategic staging of furniture, has fresh paint and is clean will appraise higher than one that’s not.”

Shurtliff, who has been appraising properties for 18 years and has owned her firm for 14 of those, has seen her share of houses for sale.  She knows that factors other than comps affect the final value.  “In doing an appraisal on a house, the appraiser estimates the current market value as of the day of inspection, but we also look at the house as a prospective buyer.  Everything is considered in an appraisal … how well it’s maintained, the quality of the cabinets, flooring, lighting, etc.”  Since the main goal of home staging is to present a home looking it’s very best, it follows that staging will address all of these factors and affect the appraisal.

“If something is really offensive, it forces us to look at lowering the range of value” according to Robert Vacanti, president of Northeastern Appraisal Associates.

Samantha Maziarz Christmann, Consumer Reporter for The Buffalo News offers the following tips:

• Set the stage. Make the house look as nice as you can, as if you were staging it for a buyer. Making the home as pleasant as possible can help give the appraiser a subconscious nudge in your favor.

• Got wild taste? You might want to consider toning it down for the appraiser.

• Completing needed repairs won’t increase the value of your home, (but) neglecting repairs and maintenance will decrease the value.

A favorable appraisal is in everyone’s best interest.  The seller is justified in listing at a higher price point, the buyer feels confident that they have paid fair market value for the house, the mortgage lender will be more likely to approve the loan to the qualified buyer, and the listing agent makes the sale!

Many great outcomes follow from a small investment in staging.  Shurtliff sums up her belief in home staging:  “It’s one very good thing a homeowner can do to help make their home stand out from the rest.  They need to be able to detach themselves from their home, especially in today’s market, and let the professionals market it.”

Linda Shurtliff, CRA can be reached at (248) 689-3489.

Written by Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging, (586) 212-8400
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The article can be viewed here:

http://blog.homegain.com/home-improvement/homegain-2009-top-12-home-improvements-survey-results/

I have already had an agent ask if $300 for Home Staging is realistic.  The answer is yes, a $300 Home Staging can make a major improvement in the way an occupied house shows.   Call a Home Stager for more details.

Written by Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging, (586) 212-8400
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Helping home sellers achieve their goal.

Offers will come faster.

Marketing strategy.

Effective selling technique.

Selling a home for all it’s worth.

Taking a tried and true approach.

Always looking better than the competition.

Get better appraisal values.

Internet photos will show a must see property.

Never giving you a bad first impression.

Gain more exposure with better listings.

Written by Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging, (586) 212-8400
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But did you know that it is possible to get a Home Stager’s expertise without a huge price tag?

The Home Staging Consultation is a great, low-cost alternative to a full-house staging.  The Home Stager will tour the property inside and out, and provide a comprehensive room-by-room list of recommendations for the homeowner to Stage their own house.  This to-do list follows proven guidelines to make the house show it’s best and hasten it’s sale.  It will include what to keep and what to store, furniture and art placement, color recommendations and suggestions to pump up the curb appeal, among other things.

Photo courtesy of blogspot.com

The consultation usually runs around $200 (depending on the Stager and square footage) and most Stagers will include a follow-up visit to check progress and fine-tune the results.  This service is invaluable to those getting ready to sell their properties and are able to do the work but don’t know where to start.  For the house that has been on the market but hasn’t received an offer, a consultation can pinpoint the reasons why the house hasn’t sold and give remedies.

If the homeowner runs out of time and energy and can’t get the work done, the Stager will gladly come back to complete the Staging and add the final “Wow” factor to the property.  Good Stagers also have an arsenal of reliable contractors (painters, handymen, landscapers, etc.) that they can refer to get trickier jobs done.  We also know which storage unit facilities will give the best deal if you need to store  extra belongings while the house is on the market.

Hiring a Stager for a consultation is a great investment in the sale of the house.  We know what needs to be done and will tell it like it is.  A note to agents … add a Staging consultation to your marketing plan.  We’ll make sure the house is ready to show, and we’ll be the “bad guy”, so you don’t have to!  We don’t mind.

Written by Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging, (586) 212-8400
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This is especially important when it comes to dining areas.  People want to see where they will gather for meals and entertain their loved ones.

I recently staged a 900 sq. ft. house for a client who was using her dining room as office space.  As you can see (amongst the considerable clutter), a desk definitely does not belong there.  Aside from being the wrong use of the space, it was also the first thing visitors saw when they came in the front door … NOT a good first impression. 

After completely clearing out the area , I moved the table and chairs that were overwhelming the small kitchen and created a proper dining room.

Visitors can now see that there is room for a full size table and 4 chairs at the very least.  Showing a dedicated dining room, the intended purpose for this space, adds value to this petite house and answers an important question for the buyer.

Written by Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging, (586) 212-8400
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Ahhh … the wonders of Photoshop.  The owners of this site will take uploaded photos of your vacant rooms and plug in furniture to make it appear furnished.  The “after” photos actually look pretty good, although some are a bit obvious in their illusion.

We know that vacant houses don’t show well and buyers have a hard time visualizing the best use of an empty space, especially in photos.  We also know that most home buyers start their shopping on the internet, so it seems that this would be a great idea to draw visitors in to view the property. 

But what happens when the potential buyer visits the property in person and discovers that they are standing in the middle of a vacant house?   Would they be disappointed?  Probably.  They may, in fact, feel like they’ve been duped.  And quite frankly, they have.

A buyer makes an offer on a house when they have been able to emotionally bond with the property.  They see the rooms, but more importantly, they feel the home.  That’s the whole idea behind home staging … to create a flow and ambiance that buyers will connect with.  Photos can only do so much, which is why most people don’t buy a house without touring it personally.

With packages starting at $225 for photos of three rooms and increasing with each additional room on this particular site, it seems like a steep price to pay to deceive a potential buyer.  But hey, you have to admire an entrepreneur with a new angle!  As a hand’s-on home stager though, I think your money would be much better spent hiring a real live person to install real live furnishings to create tangible warmth in the property.  Nice photos may get buyers in the door, but they won’t keep them there.

Written by Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging, (586) 212-8400
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When we started selling homes in 2001, short sales were unheard of in Metro Detroit.  Foreclosures were rare in Oakland County.  But times have changed and this year we have had an enormous uptick in our short sale business.

Short sales are taking place in every price range.  In the last 30 days we’ve helped buyers and sellers to close on homes with list prices between $110,000 and $999,000 in communities like Bloomfield Hills, Royal Oak and Orchard Lake.  We’ve got 5 other short sale homes in the pipeline right now, all with offers on them and in to the bank for evaluation.

Some scenarios can make a short sale even more challenging to handle successfully.  Dmitry recently navigated treachorous waters with a short sale that involved private lien holders in addition to the banks.  Three individuals had made personal loans to the owner and did not really want to accept anything less than payment in full.  The banks were offering a few grand to them to scram.  If the home and gone to foreclosure they would not have seen a nickle.  In the end there was intense drama for a few weeks but Dmitry got everyone to the closing table.  The buyers got a great house and the seller got out of a bad situation.

Buyers, you can get a deal with a short sale, but it comes at a price.  If you have the time and the patience you could be rewarded handsomely.

Written by Maureen Francis
SKBK Sotheby's International Realty, 248.430.4450
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Take it away Cindy …

“There is so much information on home staging, that home sellers are on overload.  With advice coming from all kinds of sources and areas of the country.  Yes, it is confusing, where do you start?   If you watch tv, you may get the impression you can have your home staged for under $2000.  Or another show may stage a home for around $20,000.   Big difference!   Another show has strangers coming to your house picking it apart, to the point that you’re thinking, no way am I going to let someone do that to my home.  You can read articles or books on the internet from people that may be experts or just people with an opinion.  You can also read a book on ”How to Cut Hair”, but would you actually trust yourself to cut your hair or someone else’s?  I wouldn’t!  So, where do you start?  Sure, you have questions … who wouldn’t?

Here are a few questions home sellers have when thinking about staging their homes.

1) How much does it cost? Reasonable question … as a matter of fact it’s the #1 question.  It’s the big mystery.  This is why.  I wish I could say every home stager could give you a standard answer, but we can’t.  Every stager should be their own business entity, and provide different services.  Some charge an hourly rate, by the square foot, per room, a percentage of the list price or a flat fee.  As every property is different, we really need to see the home to assess it and give you a solid number.  Some stagers can estimate it, but shouldn’t be held to that number until the property is viewed.  There are too many variables that go into it. Is is vacant? Do furniture and accessories need to be brought in?  Or is it occupied, and you just need a redesign of existing furnishings? These are just a couple of examples.

2) Who pays for the staging? The 2nd most popular question.  The home seller is ultimately responsible for staging services.

3) Why doesn’t my Realtor pay for home staging, they are making the commission? Again, ultimately a homeowner is responsible for staging costs.  Some, but not all real estate agents will pay for a Home Staging Consultation, as a value-added service, but the actual costs associated with staging (furniture rental, actual hands-on staging) is paid for by the home seller.  It is not the responsibility of a real estate agent to pay for home staging costs.

4) Can I pay at closing? This is up to the stager.  Most, do not do this as we do not know if a property will be on the market for 1 day or 3 months.  Again, we all do it a little differently, some ask for 1/2 upfront, and some charge a monthly fee.

5) What do you do? Again, each home stager is their own entity.  Some offer redesigns only, some offer accessories only, and some offer furniture and accessories.  Some don’t have the inventory to do a vacant home so they will have to use a third party source, and some use their own inventory.  Different services can be offered, such as paint color consultations, personal shopping, organizing, curb appeal, recommendations on cost-effective cosmetic changes such as flooring, counters, lights, fixtures, etc.  The ultimate goal is to help a seller get their home sold faster and in the most cost effective manner.

6) How long does it take? It depends on how much you want done and to what extent.  It can take a few hours or a few days, or maybe longer if there are some cosmetic changes that need to be taken care of.

7) When should I have my home staged? As soon as you decide to sell.  Call a professional home stager and get a Home Staging Consultation.  Once necessary recommendations are completed from your stager’s list, your house is ready to be listed.  Don’t make the mistake of putting up that “For Sale” sign in the front yard before your home is ready.  The first 20 days a home is listed will be when it will get the most interest and traffic.  Make sure your house is show ready.”

Written by Marianne Sweet
Home Sweet Home Staging, (586) 212-8400
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