Michelle Gordon

I live in EGR, so this should not surprise me, most homes here are sold by word of mouth. However after my listing hit the MLS I was amazed to find out just how many "renters" are in the area that are just waiting for the right home to come a long. Some have been waiting for over a year. Most of these people do not have a buyers agent as well.

Now, after sending out an e-mail to fellow agents (I must admit I do very well at the net working) seeing if there are any homes that could be sold, that are not on the MLS in EGR...............

Again I was surprised!

We really need to pull this all together. When asking home owners who have decided not to list, "why?" They commented they do not want to be the home that sits on the market and does not sell. However I wonder how many people they are missing the boat with by not listing.

When asking renters why they do not have an agent working for them, they said they can wait for the right home to come on the market and feel they can get a better deal if dealing straight with the listing agent.

However this is not always true.........not all homes are listed with a duel commission. So this may not always matter.

And if buyers are not working with an agent how are the going to learn about all those homes that could be sold but not on the market...........they need an inside person!

I would consider myself an inside person, living in EGR and networking like I do. So it you are thinking of buying or selling contact me......maybe we can put a few of you together!

WOW! Real Estate is moving. Homes are selling, buyers are coming out of a very long hibernation! I consider myself a very aggressive buyers agent when I need to be. I love the fight and I love to compete for a home. However I have had not much opportunity in the past few years to compete for a home, as I have always had the only buyer.

Not this spring. I have had several offers in where I was one of many bidding on a home. I won a few and lost a few............However, the ones I lost the homes were so over bid from listing price we did not have a ball in the game!

I have to tell you, even though I am sorry we lost, I am happy to see buyers out and homes selling.

It is great to see the excitement once had by home buyers, the eagerness and the jumping up and down for joy when winning a bid!

I work with many 1st time home buyers and some of those had credit issues to work on. They did the work and now ready to buy. What a great feeling they have now. Working so hard to get credit ready and then able to buy a home.

If you are sitting on the side lines wishing you could buy a home and wish your credit was better, and embarrassed to talk to some one...........the only thing to be a shamed of if you do not go get help or advise to take care of your situation.

I can tell you my buyers who thought they would never see themselves as a home buyer and worked on the issues they had and now home owners are glad they did. It came faster then they thought. Lets face it it is not getting better by wishing............

Join in all the fun! Get yourself credit ready too!

If you have stumbled on this blog 1st go to Part One

Well we have gotten all of paper work in - so we think. The underwriter may ask for additional information and may even run your credit one more time and ask for another verification of employment once again. Do not take these request personal. They have had people quit their jobs right before closing.

It is best during this "waiting" period before closing to just leave everything status quot. You were approved for a loan with your current situation, so keep paying bills on time, but do not change anything. Do not pay off your charge cards.........do not make large deposits into your accounts, leave everything the way it was when you were approved for a loan.

Buyers are very excited about buying their first home and are eager to get into the house. You may want to get in early to clean, move some things in.........etc, especially if the house is vacant. This is not a good idea. Till you own the home you should not do anything to the house. If anything should happen while you are there, you could be held responsible and you are not insured for the home till you own it.

Selling a home while you are still living in the home is/ can be very invasive..........the seller is happy you are buying the home (in most cases) however this is probably a home they have loved and they really do not want to hear how you are going to change things, paint the walls a different color........etc. If the home is being sold as a short sale, they may have been forced to sell and we do not need to add salt to the wound. If bank owned they do not like anyone in the house till after closing.

However you do have the the right to walk through the home before closing to make sure everything is the way it was when you first wrote the offer, and can be scheduled with your buyers agent.

Grand Rapids, Michigan is the only place I have lived and bought a home where buyers have possession so many days after close. However very commonly done here. so if you are one of the buyers that does not get possession till .......... say...........15 days after close, then you will still have have more time to wait after the closing till you can move in.

When pre-apring for the closing, make sure you have reviewed the "HUD" AKA- closing statement. Make sure you understand it, have your lender go over it with you. Many times this can be available 24 hours before closing. Make sure everyone names is spelled right, interest rate is what you discussed with your lender and all cost to be paid for by seller is on the HUD...........if it is not on the HUD, then it is not legal or not being done.

When reviewing the HUD, you will the see how much money you will have to bring to the closing table. In Michigan personal checks are NOT excepted..........money order or certified check only. All buyers need to bring a photo ID as well.

The closing will take about an hour..........the title company rep will go over all the paper work with you before you are asked to sign. Do not be afraid to ask questions.

Once all the paperwork is signed, if you have possession at close you will receive the keys to the home. As always there could be exceptions..........sometimes (especially at early morning closings) the loan would not have funded at the closing table. Meaning the money from your lender has not be wired yet to the seller and they may not give you the keys till this has been done.

CHANGE YOUR LOCKS ASAP! Once you own your home, I can not express enough to change your locks on the door. Who knows who has keys to the house. Neighbors, friends, delivery men........etc........

CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE NOW A HOME OWNER! WELCOME TO MANY TAX BENEFITS AND A GREAT FEELING AND LIVING THE AMERICAN DREAM!

Yes! another successful educational lunch at the WCR Western Michigan Chapter.

Introductions of our guest speaker were made by our Educational Chair, Patricia Caston - Great Lakes Home Solutions.

Kevin Allen is a great speaker - Who like myself is homegrown Keller Williams! He said if he did not get but one message out to the group this was the message he wanted people to walk away with:

It is NOT the market it is what you do. For a while when the market was real good we were sometimes just order takers..........we need to "shift" our thinking. How we do business, how we market, how we spend our money, how we "help" our clients...........in the book it talks about 12 tactics we need to do and follow. Gary Keller - the author of the book - his success story is very motivational in it self..........this book is just icing on the cake, and a must have for every agent no matter who you work for. I was watching the people in the room when Kevin was talking and I could see people shaking their heads with agreement, sometimes laughing and ten taking notes.

Kevin Allen - Guest Speaker - The Shift

I have been a member of WCR for over a year now, and this is one of the biggest turn outs yet. Over 60 people for lunch! A great topic and venue brings them in! Our topics for this year are stellar and we too are following the rule of the shift............we have each month planned for 2009 however have room for change. As the market changes we realize the topic may need to change to cover "new" information that is important to the industry. You may go to www.wcrwesternmichigan.com for updates for events, lunch topics, membership information or to www.wcr.org to learn more about who we are.

You can always tell when a good meeting has been had.............nobody wanted to leave: Net working before and after was great. I saw many business cards pass hands. Here are a few pics from after the lunch:

Door prizes at every lunch - 3 Very cool brooms From Kwik and Kleen and 2 Shift books. Left Ed Vogt and Julie Rockwell - 2010 WCR President

Mary Mishler - VP of Membership, Danell Merren and Linda Najar - 2009 President

And sometimes..........our networking just turns into great friendships.

Danielle Rowland and Mary Ann Lemon

If you would like to purchase a shift book let me know. If you would like more information on joining WCR call Mary Mishler at 616-262-2883. If you would like to be a sponsor of WCR let me know or if you want to check us out 1st and attend a lunch go to www.wcrwesternmichgan.com and sign up. We look forward to meeting new people!

If you have stumbled on this blog 1st go to step one.

Congratulations your offer has been excepted! Now this is where things can get a little tricky and you need a buyers agent to see you through allthe details.

If a "regular sale" meaning not banked owned or short sale and you have written your purchase agreement on a current GRAR purchase agreement, you will have 10 days for inspections. This is NOT business days. There are many home inspectors to choose from and they are not all the same. They all offer many different services with various cost. Shop around to see what suits your needs.

If you are working on a short sale or a bank owned there will be additional paper work (contract) for you to sign and your inspection period will vary. HUD homes, some banks will have you responsible for turning on all utilities for the inspection (cost paid by the buyer) and give you an amount of time that they can be on. Make sure you read these contracts in full before signing. Make sure you and your agent understand any changes that vary from the GRAR purchase agreement. This contract does over ride the original and is legally binding.

I have a few where the inspections are supposed to be done prior to the offer...........do not sign a thing till it has been done............

Things to look for but not everything (I have been selling bank owned my whole career and I have yet to see 2 bank contracts the same)

• Closing cost - Make sure it is what you and your bank estimated
• Title work
• Inspection period
• Changes to Close on or before date
• Charge Per Diem if you close later then on or before date
• As Is clause
• Lien and past bills that are due, who is responsible for these

READ - READ -READ

Once your inspections are done in the amount of time given you also have to make sure if their are any concerns to the condition of the property this is written up and addressed in the inspection period allotted.

Bank Owned are sold "As IS" however some banks are making repairs to make the sale happen. Short sales and "regular" sales you can work out these issues with the home owner.

Once this is completed..........it is now time for our agent to do behind the scenes work, getting all paperwork filed, he/she is checking with the lender to make sure we are on track, if seller is paying for closing cost and pre-paids all of your bills that pertain to this transaction should be turned in to the lender. There is a lot to coordinate to assure a smooth closing.

In the meantime you will need home owners insurance and it is now time to shop for the insurance. They are not all created equal and have seen big spreads in pricing lately. Shop for this as well. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples on a policy.

• What is you deductible
• Replacement or deprecation value
• Multi policy discount?
• How much is your hose insured for - Purchase price or replacement value

Once you have picked your coverage - either pay the premium or if seller paying your pre-paids turn in the DEC Page from your insurance agent to the lender to be included in cost to paid at close.

Next Week part 5 and final stage - The closing