DON'T LOOSE SIGHT OF THE BIG PICTURE!

Recently, I have had numerous prospective sellers tell me that they decided to hold off on their move because they didn't feel they had any equity in their homes.

When you look at your situation, todays real estate market can be slightly depressing to say the least.

When looking at the big picture however, you may have noticed that there are numerous properties on the market that are already priced well below value and previously sold prices. Some are still asking slightly more than what they are worth in todays market and it's unbelieveable BUT there are a few that are still way over (by 15% or more) what they would reasonably sell for in todays market.

An experienced full time agent can help you assess your current situation to help you obtain the greatest amount of money for your current home AND, help you acquire a home for a great value.

Here is an example: I just had the honor of working with a client that bought a home in the Royal Oak area 3 1/2 years ago for $232,000. They put 20% down and mortgaged $186,000. They were shocked when reviewing recent comps that showed a value of approx. $185,000 to $195,000. The way they were looking at it, they felt that their down payment was lost. So they made the painful decision to stay put. Luckily (I was referred to them while they were still willing to look at what I had to offer them.) Upon closer look at their situation, we worked through the following scenario. (If they had decided to rent the same home to live in for the past 3 years, rent would have run them $1,350 a month or $48,600 for 3 years of housing.) *And while their home had already been for sale for 5+ months with another agent. I was able to help obtain a buyer in less than 2 months for $194,500. (Please note that this is $11,100) more than if they would have rented for the past 3 years which I believe was a huge win for the seller as so many homes by that point have developed the stigmatta of being a problem property. So they were still ahead of the game and were able to use the tax bennefits by owning a home for the past three years to their advantage.

They have just purchased a home in Troy that sold 4 years ago for $415,000. While the home was in foreclosure and needed some work, the "as-is" appraisal came in at $348,000 and we were able to acquire it for them for just $260,000 which was a $88,000 to $145,000 swing in their favor. So even if we looked at the conservative side and calculated the $88,000 below value, they still had an almost $53,000 swing in their equity possition.

They now own a home that is almost 3 times the size. Long story short... I have been thanked nearly 37 times in the last 60 days for not letting them make a decision to stay put without all the facts. In addition, I have had three referrals already from these grateful clients who have now become friends.

The moral of the story... Looking at the market from only one perspective may hurt you. The big picture is what you need to consider.

A well experienced Realtor can be a major asset to you. Don't select your agent based upon what they charge. Select your agent based upon the value and RESULTS that they bring to the table.

There are many agents that compete based upon the commission that they charge. (I say that this is because they probably don't have anything else to compete on such as experience or even a true marketing plan to get your home sold.) Simply sticking a sign in a sellers front yard today doesn't do the trick.