BLOG Branch County Real Estate

Residential Statistics:

Branch County 2009

Residential Units Active- 469

Sold- 34

Average Selling Price- $77,554.00

Median Selling Price- $54,000.00

Units sold under $99k- 26

Units sold between $100-199K- 6

Units over $300k- 1

UNDERSTANDING MICHIGAN TAXES

PROPERTY’S TRUE CASH VALUE:

The assessor must determine the true cash value of a property which has sold in the same manner that the assessor determines the true cash values of properties which have not sold. Therefore, an assessor may NOT automatically set an assessed value or a taxable value at half of a property’s selling price.

“FOLLOWING SALES” is illegal and unconstitutional according to the State of Michigan Property Tax Division.

PROPERTY’S SEV OR STATE EQUALIZED VALUE:

SEV is representative of 50% of True Cash Value and is reflective of the market.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR YOU?

Each homeowner should be monitoring the State Equalized Value applied to your home. The higher the SEV equates to a greater tax liability for a new owner when you sell your home. These levels have been virtually ignored by many home owners.

Go to: Property Search

Look up your current SEV and those of your neighbors. If you need help interpreting the data, I will be happy to help. If you feel your SEV is higher than Market Value please take advantage of your Board of Review to ask for a reduction. The BOR meets on Tuesday following the 1^st Monday in March. Contact your township for times and dates.

A local agent ran an ad that read something like this:

"I have a buyer looking for lake property on the South Chain of lakes in the $200 - $400K price range."

This kind of advertisement looks like an attempt to try to get potential listings.  I have good news...We have plenty of listings in that range! This agent should visit my site at www.debbeck-youragent.com and take a look for his buyer! :)

Sounds like a great "ideal"!

1.  Are you the buyer that wants to offer well below market value, but if you owned that same property would demand to sell it well above market level?

2. Are you the buyer that will see every defect in a 40 year old house to justify your low offer?

3. Are you the buyer that thinks a "cash" offer will demand a huge discount off list?

4. Are you the buyer that loves to tour homes with Realtors, but hates to buy one?

Or, are you the buyer that...

1. Gathers pertinent data to calculate an acceptable offer.

2. Understands that if a 40 year old home was perfect (like new) it would cost more.

3. Knows that a seller gets "cash" from a buyer's bank no matter if they get a mortgage or not.

4. Understand that a Realtor's time is an important part of their business.

Reasons why homes don’t sell

If you have had your home on the market for several months or years, and haven’t seen much activity or any offers, chances are that one or more of the reasons below are to blame.

Your price is too high

No doubt about it, the most common reason for a home not selling is that the asking price has been set too high. The reasons for setting your price too high to begin with are many. Ranging from over enthusiastic listing agents to unrealistic seller expectations. Regardless of the reason though, if you’ve priced your home too high, you’ve set yourself up for a number of obstacles to selling your home. Even if you do get an offer for the overly high asking price, the deal may fall apart before closing because the buyer may have problems financing at too high a price. Look at other homes for sale, ones as similar and as close to yours as possible. If they are going for less than you are asking, you may be priced too high.  The fact is, your home is competing against those other homes, and what buyers are willing to pay is what will determine final sales prices.

The condition of your home

There is a lot of competition out there to sell homes.  Your home has to compete against other similar homes for sale, as well as competing against shiny brand new homes.  The more you can do to make your home look appealing to a buyer, the better your chances for a quick sale.  Look at your home with a critical eye – put yourself in the buyers position.  A buyer doesn’t want to have to do anything except move in.  Your best “bang for the buck” in improving the condition of your home are paint and flooring.  Make sure that all of the paint is in great condition, both inside and out.  Repainting doesn’t cost too much, and will usually make the biggest impact on buyers.  Make sure all of the flooring looks good too.  You may want to consider putting in new carpet.  Again, it’s not that expensive but it sure does make an impact on buyers coming to look at your home.

Location, location, location

It’s the oldest cliché in the world, but it’s true.  When it comes to real estate, it’s all about location!  When it comes to homes, things like how good the schools are, crime rates, visual appeal of the neighborhood and noise or the smell of pollution can all effect how desirable the location is.  If you’re in a bad location, a good real estate agent may help to minimize some of the impact by suggesting improvements to the house.  But the only really reliable way to overcome a bad location is with a lower price.  Simply put, an identical home in a bad location won’t sell for as much as the same home in a better location.

The market is slow

You’ll hear it described as a slow market, or a buyers market, or maybe a cold market.  But it all means the same thing.  That home sales in the local area, or market, are slow.  There are too many homes for sale and not enough active buyers.  There are several things you can do to combat a slow market.  The most effective strategy is to sell at a lower price.  Buyers are expecting to find bargains during a slow market.  You can also help yourself by offering to pay some concessions to help a buyer that might not have a lot of cash.  The ultimate way to beat a slow market is to simply wait it out.  But that’s not always an option for many sellers.

Your home isn’t easily accessible

To get your home sold quickly, it’s important that other agents in the area show it to as many potential buyers as possible.  When a busy agent is compiling a list of homes to show a buyer, the agent will naturally tend to show those houses that are easiest to gain access to first.  Many homes on the market have “lock boxes” on them.  The lock box is a device which holds a key to the home, that only qualified local agents can access.  Homes that are listed as being “lock box, no appointment needed” will get shown more often than homes listed as “agent has key, call for appointment”.  If at all possible, you should let your agent put a lock box on your home for easier showing.  If not, you should do anything else you can to make it as convenient as possible for agents to show your home.