Emily Billings

18470 W Ten Mile Rd. Suite 202 Southfield, MI 48075

www.dwellingsunlimited.com

248.443.5400 313.645.0742

We are happy to provide you with a Full-Service as well as Unbundled Services as you require them.

Please call us for more information.

MLS Listing $500/6 months

Full CMA or BPO $150

Pull Comparables $75

Purchase Agreement (paperwork only) $250

Run Title Search $250

Work with Mortgage Lender $50/hour

Final Walk Thru $100

Sign ACR $100

Present offer to Seller $250

Negotiate offer w/buyer or buyer's agent $250

Flyer Preparation $100

Processing Fee (one time) all executed transactions $395

If you would like to negotiate full service agreement our typical commission is as follows:

4% if you find the buyer

5% if I find the buyer

6% if the another cooperating agent brings an agent to the buyer.

From February 1, 2009 to February 15, 2009, City of Detroit homeowners will have the chance to appeal the assessed property value of their home. According to the Assessment Division, no prior paperwork needs to be completed. Homeowners need to arrive at City Hall to report to room 804. Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30 AM to 4:30 PM. I imagine there will be many taxpayers appearing and wouldn't be surprised if many arrived early. February 1 is actually a Sunday, so I assume appeals will actually begin on February 2nd.

Below you will find contact information for Detroit's Finance Assessment Division.

Coleman A. Young Municipal Center, Suite 804
Detroit, MI 48226

General Number:(313) 224-3011
Fax: (313) 224-4270
TTY: 311 or (313) 224-INFO (4636)

Hours of Operation: 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Linda M. Bade, Chief Assessor

http://www.ci.detroit.mi.us/Departments/Finance/AssessmentDivision/tabid/88/Default.aspx

I'm interested in hearing of any experiences you may of had.

Good Luck!

Being a newer Realtor, I am reading as much as I can on building and maintaining a client base. Most of these books go into depth about contacting FSBOs and doing mailings. Certainly, these practices can't hurt, but how important do you think they are?

Many of the agents I've encountered do not do either of these, they are relying on the Internet for all their marketing. Obviously, mailings aren't free, so there's that. But, I have read about agents who say they get 50% of their business from mailings. You may need nerves of steel to contact FSBOs, so that may not be for everyone.

What do you think? What has worked for you?

What books have helped you the most? So far, I've enjoyed many of Ralph Roberts books and "How To Make $100,000+ Your First Year As A Real Estate Agent". The later is is very big on FSBO's.

Finally, how do current market conditions affect your marketing efforts? Besides possibly having less of a budget? How relevant is a book written 2-4 years ago?

I look forward to hearing about your experiences and insight.

I attended the "Movin' the D Forward" symposium on Wednesday the 12 at WSU Law school, it was the first of the series I attended. The program was moderated by Murray Feldman with a panel of business owners operating in Detroit and the Metro area.

Here is a link with the details: http://www.govaffairs.wayne.edu/community/movintheD2.php

Overall, it was a very interesting discussion with the audience submitting questions to the panelists, however, I do feel the topics were steered a bit to keep the discussion in a positive light. I understand the importance of maintaining this mindset, but I also feel it it is imperative to address the current state of affairs in the city and nation. If we don't, how do we expect to work with and solve the economic crisis?

Panelist Jeanette Avila, owner of El Rancho Restaurant, discussed how her license fees and property tax has increased from $5k to $20K in the last 5 years! That is absolutely staggering. How nearly impossible does that make it for someone to open a business? How do we expect to draw new city residents with the outrageous property taxes in the city? The tax breaks/credits and Empowerment Zone and Enterprise Zone are great programs, but they do nothing to solve the long-term problem of attracting, growing and retaining Detroit's population.