About Eaton County, MI

I was driving up in the rural areas last week in Eaton County, and had to go to Vermontville, Michigan. Vermontville Township is a very tiny community, and their downtown is just a few short blocks long.

When I was driving around the area, I came to a stop light and across the street from me was the Vermontville Fire Department. It has what appears to be a ten foot tall carved statue of a fireman in front of the building, and I thought it was quite interesting.

It is great to see community pride for the men who serve the community and risk their lives in times of need. What a great tribute.

I wrote a post about agents selling their own homes a few weeks back.

If you missed it here is the link to the post.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/2107897/real-estate-agents-selling-their-own-homes

Some of us that have done this, learned from the experience. I have used many selling experiences to help sellers understand the selling process.

In my humble opinion agents have to be pro-active in the selling process and get the seller active in helping sell their own home. If you do not obtain seller involvement, the only thing that happens, you work twice as hard without the reward of selling the home or a commission.

A few steps are necessary to help you sell.

• Belief in the agent. If you are selling your own home you should already have this faith.
• Price to sell. Pricing is the number 1 mistake for sale by owners make and now you are one!
• Preparing the home to sell. Getting the home in physical and visual shape to sell.
• Making the home accessible to buyers. Showings are precious and not making your home available to see is creating a "Stop Sign" to buyers that have lots of choices.
• Stick to selling your home not "sweeting the pot" by talking about throwing in furniture or lawn mowers. Get the offer then worry about the details of the extras.

If you are going to sell your own home take your own advice! Step back and see your home or property like buyers would see it. Check out the competition...make viewing appointments for competitive properties.

I take sellers through competitive properties. Yes it takes some time. Yes it is a pain...and yes it helps me establish a realistic sell price. And YES I get more sales because of this selling step. I have listings 60 to 80 miles from where I live. I don't know every neighborhood but my software does. I don't know every street but my software does.

Do I get showings? Yes. Do I get homes sold this far away? Yes. Do I show the homes myself? Yes, if the buyer does not have an agent.

Creating buyer exposure and sales is a method, strategy a way of doing business that creates the sale. Selling you own homeor selling someone else's has to be viewed in the same context without personal emotions entering the selling process.

I didn't say it was easy. You should know the separation of business and emotion isn't easy. That's why people hire you! The only difference...You Hired Yourself!

Take what you learn the selling process of your own home and integrate these steps into selling client properties. Your sales will go up once you understand the real issues sellers face. It is more than dealing with you or me. It is the emotional ups and downs of the selling process. The anticipation the rejection the bewilderment that you council every seller through.

My new listing by the former real estate agent is going well. They are cleaning packing and preparing for the sale. Have I listed the property yet? NO. I want the property ready for sale so I don't waste the most active days a new listing has...the first 30 days.

Happy Selling.

For Personal Service, Call: 616-784-2360 Email: GaryWhite@FlexitRealty.com

Musical Realtors may be a new term and it doesn't have to do with a Rock Band!

Your have to make a decision when you prepare your home for sale. Will you use a full service real estate company and agent or will you try on your own. After making that decision the anticipation of selling sends your mind into the "what if" scenario.

What if, we sell fast? What will we do?

What if, the offer is to low and we counter and the buyer walks?

What if, the buyer asks for concessions or large repairs?

What if, the buyer wants our appliances?

What if, we don't sell?

These are common concerns and valid issues that must be faced. Let's look at what we can't control first.

Things You can't control:

• Location, where your home or property is located is where you are, it can't be changed.
• Style, what your home or property looks like, for the most part, can't be changed. The color can make a difference but the style of being a ranch or two story remains.
• Layout, you won't be able to make a three bedroom out of a two bedroom in most cases without major renovations. You won't be able to make the bathroom bigger or stretch the kitchen.
• You won't be able to make the lot bigger or tear down the neighbors ugly fence.

Things You Can Control:

• You control who sells your home. You hire a real estate agent or you sell your own home.
• You control your own asking price when you establish your sell price.
• You control the condition of your home. You either make repairs (should they be needed) or you price your home or property "As Is".
• You control when and if you sell. Understanding the competition and pricing your home or property accordingly gives you this control.
• You decide if an offer is acceptable nobody else makes that final decision to accept or reject an offer, only you.
• You control, if the buyer will get your appliances or not.
• You control if you will contribute to the buyers costs of a home inspection or home warranty.

The bottom line is you control your future, and how your home or property is presented for sale.

You have options some of which you may not have considered. If you hire a full time real estate agent they deal with only selling real estate. If you decide to sell your own home you need to understand the marketing tools you have available to you to reach your selling goal.

Most time sellers are limited to a for sale sign and poor buyer exposure that causes them to fail in their selling process.

Yet full service real estate companies offer agents tools to market homes that you might not have access too. The Multiple Listing Serviceis the main tool real estate agents use to expose homes to buyers. The Internet and website exposure to buyers is the other main tool. Agents may or may not use magazine ads, newspaper ads, virtual tours, brochures or brochure boxes, open houses or any number of other marketing tools because they cost money and lower percentage results. If you are a seller you want every tool available including those that produce lower results because the more buyer exposure generated the faster you will sell. Nobody can argue this fact. The more buyer exposure generated the faster the sale, because selling is a rule of numbers.

So if you have these tools you still may not sell. Most real estate agentswith these tools sell less than 50% of the homes they list. Your other decision is time. If you decide to sell your own home or property, will you have the time to answer phone calls? Will you have the time to schedule showing appointments?

I haven't listed every issue you will face selling nor have I listed every option to help you sell. The point is you have choices and options. Using a full service real estate company can provide you more options.

You have options when selling your home or property. What works best for you is up to you.

For Personal Service, Call: 616-784-2360 Email: GaryWhite@FlexitRealty.com

If you are considering buying a home in Olivet, Michigan, you probably are aware that this is a college town. Olivet College, founded in 1859, in Eaton County is located 30 miles south of Lansing and 125 miles west of Detroit. It sits on a rolling hilltop shaded by huge maple and oak trees in the city of Olivet, a community of about 1,700 people.

Buying a home in Olivet, Michigan can be a fun adventure, as some of the homes have been cobbled up to serve as multi-units the closer you get to the college, so if you are going to use it as a single family home they can require some renovation. This is a common occurrence in college towns.

One of the great benefits of buying a home in Olivet, Michigan is that the area qualifies as a rural area on U.S. Department of Agriculture maps, due to low population, and is eligible for the USDA Rural Development loan program.

So if you are a first time home buyer, and do not own any other property, and meet the lending requirements for this program, you can purchase a home with 100% financing. That means no down payment will be required.

Now, in order to write an offer on a home, you will still need an earnest deposit, but that is typically just $500 to $1000, based on home values in the Olivet area, in most cases. However, most all of this will come back to you at closing if you have negotiated for the seller to pay for closing costs. So the rural development loan is a great advantage for buying a home in Olivet, Michigan.

If you want to find out about available homes or the rural development program, give me a call. I have helped many first time home buyers with this program. I can be reached directly at: 269-441-8182 if you are considering buying a home in Olivet, Michigan (or anywhere else in the area). You can also reach me through my website at: www.michaeldelaware.com.

An area of Calhoun County that is popular with homebuyers is Bellevue, Michigan. Buying a home in Bellevue, Michigan places you in a great location between Battle Creek and Olivet, and gives you access on I-69 to Lansing or Marshall if you need it.

One thing to consider in buying a home in Bellevue, Michigan is that the city is located in Eaton County, but part of the village is in Calhoun County. Depending on which section of Bellevue you select will determine which County you have to work with in terms of well and septic requirements.

Barry County is merged with Eaton County with their health departments, and both require that a passing well and septic inspection be done on any property before a change of ownership can be recorded. So what this means when buying a home in Bellevue, Michigan, if you buy in Barry or Eaton County, this requirement will kick in.

If you buy in Calhoun, it is not a mandatory, and although sometimes called for by a loan program, it is optional for the buyer. So when working with first time home buyers who are interested in buying a home in Bellevue, Michigan, I explain this difference to them and they usually want to look at the home in Calhoun County portion first.

Not all homes in Bellevue are on well and septic, as the main village does have city water and sewer. Some properties just outside of the village often have well and/or septic systems. The population in Bellevue, Michigan according to the 2000 U.S. Census was 1365, so you can see that it is a smaller community.

If you are interested in buying a home in Bellevue, Michigan, I am a local Realtor and have sold many homes in all three Counties that surround Bellevue. I can be reached at: 269-441-8182 or by contacting me through my website at: www.michaeldelaware.com. I look forward to helping you with the best deals in Bellevue.