East Lansing, MI

Light Bulb Moments for Buyers and Sellers:

• #1 Rule for Real Estate Investing -Buy the ugliest (cheapest) home on the nicest neighborhood you can find. Do not be distracted with new carpet and fresh paint on a Flip when there are 10 For Sale signs on the street. It will make the difference if you are laughing or crying when you go to sell.

• Sellers- "Housekeeping Pays." You better believe that Buyers see that dirt and clutter and start mentally reducing the price of the home....click click click. They are calculating their time & suffering as they picture themselves scrubbing and finding hair balls. It can add up to tens of thousands

• Sellers- Make sure you leave the home completely for showings and give the buyers some breathing room. Do not linger in the backyard and do not park across the street and sit in your car with binoculars!

• Buyers - If you are planning to get approved for a mortgage..... Keep a paper trail on your finances. Keep documentation or a ledger of major cash deposits, shuffling of funds from different accounts, file your tax returns. There will be a test at the end. Just Joking

• Buyers- Making multiple offers is not cheating! If you offer on 2 homes and get them both, you still have to bottom line the acceptance to solidify the binding contract. The likelihood of you getting both homes, (especially in the current trend of "LowBalling") is highly unlikely. Like winning the lotto while being struck by lightening.

• Buyers- 50 cent on the dollar offers on foreclosure properties are going in the trash. This is a huge nasty rumor that people are stealing these properties from the banks. Foreclosures are priced under market value to invoke a feeding frenzy and drive in competing offers, which in turn drive up the final sale price OVER asking!

• Sellers- Do not "over improve" your home for the neighborhood. You have to love where you live, but do not throw money into a home thinking you will get more for it than what the homes down the street are selling for. Sure your home is special but the sold comparables are what the appraiser is going to use to determine the value.

So we just finished our first meeting of the "Shift" book club at the Keller Williams Lansingoffice. For those of you who aren't familiar with the book it is Gary Keller's latest release with Dave Jenks, Jay Papasan and hundreds of others who contributed in this great book. "It's Not About The Market...It's about what you do!"is written across the cover of this book designed to assist Realtors tackle tough times. It is forth in his series of Real Estate training books. Including:

• The Millionaire Real Estate Agent
• Flip
• The Millionaire Real Estate Investor
• Shift

I am far from a reader so having accountability is exactly what I need. I have read about 50 pages of the book so far but we were thrown for a loop today as we are starting from the back and reading the last 40+ pages first. We have assigned accountability partners as well(damnit no slacking) for added support.

I plan to have a weekly post with my thoughts from the weeks reading. What I've read so far is great a I am looking forward to the next few months as we tear this book apart and get real purposful about what I'm doing in this market.

This book is designed for ALL REALTORS, MANAGERS, BROKER OWNERS not just Keller Williams agents. If you would like to get involved and own the book or know where to get a copy (visit your local Keller Williams office if you don't) this week we are reading from pg. 241 to the end. So get your highlighter out and get reading.

• ROBERT DOWDING
• KELLER WILLIAMS REALTY
• 517.853.6390

Hello Gang,

Just wanted to right a little BLOG about our MSU Spartans!!!! I am excited that football season is upon us and I am looking forward to the first home game this weekend against Eastern Michigan. I did not grow up in the Greater Lansing Area, but I have lived here since June of 2005. I have to say that I love it in this area, I live in Laingsburg and the motto of the town is where the city and country meet. I feel that describes all of Lansing as a whole. I think it is a great place to live. There is so much the Greater Lansing Area has to offer, from the Capitol to Sparrow Hospital to Michigan State University and much much more. Anywho GO SPARTANS!!!!!!!!

GO GREEN!!!! GO WHITE!!!!!