Agency Relationships
Michigan Law requires that we discuss and establish the type of Agency Relationship that best suits your individual needs, at our very first meaningful contact (such as a Bank Owned Property Tour). If you are joining the Bank Owned Property Tour, and you decide that you do not wish CENTURY 21 Town & Country to represent you as a Buyer’s Agent, then we have an obligation to work in the best interest of the seller or the bank. Should you require our services to market your existing real estate for sale, we will work for you under an Exclusive Right to Sell Agreement, in which we will become your Seller’s Agent. As such, we owe all fiduciary responsibilities to you as a seller. We will work towards your best interests in all areas pertaining to marketing, negotiating and closing your transaction. The only exception to this would be when a CENTURY 21 Town & Country agent working under contract as a Buyer’s Agent, brings their customer to your property, in an effort to procure an Agreement of Sale. In this case, CENTURY 21 Town & Country would be working in the capacity of Disclosed Dual Agency, in which we have an obligation to provide equal treatment to all parties, complete disclosure of required information and diligent effort to uphold all contractual agreements.
Preparing your home to sell
Prior to actually listing your home for sale, we will schedule an appointment with you, to walk through your home or condo, to determine if changes or repairs will be recommended, in order to enhance salability and decrease market time. If you are selling in a strong "buyer’s market", then it is important for you to understand that you are competing with several other homes for the same buyer. Every time you make a change that will remove an item that could potentially be viewed as a negative, or you make a change that will potentially be viewed as a positive, you are, in essence moving your home closer to the top of the list of possible choices for that buyer. There may only be 2 or 3 homes sold in your price range in a given month, but there could be 25 homes to choose from. Logic dictates that you need to be one of the top 3. We may suggest that you do things like paint or neutralize a room, replace some carpeting, remove or rearrange some furniture, deodorize pet or cigarette smells, clear closets and countertops or a variety of other adjustments all geared toward putting more money in your pocket in a shorter amount of time. It is important that you try to see your home through the eyes of your potential buyer. When you do this, you will be able to zero in on the things that may catch the attention of the buyer. It has always been the case that a home that is clean, uncluttered, de-personalized and staged will always have the potential to trigger an emotional attachment to your home, which is exactly what you need to cause a buyer to say, "This is the one!"
What is my home worth?
The real estate market changes constantly. Every time a home goes up for sale or sells, the statistical data changes for comparable homes in that particular market. When the time comes for us to determine the best possible listing price for your home or condo, several things come into play. Once we have inspected your home or condo and have become familiar with its pros and cons, we can then start the process of looking for the best comparable homes to be used in your Comparable Market Analysis. In a declining market, it is important that we try to look at comparable home sales that have occurred within the last 3-4 months only. Although you may have many other comparable homes on the market around you, their asking prices are far less important than the actual selling prices of those homes that have recently sold. The "active" competition will tell us how many months worth of inventory is available at any given time, but the "solds" tell the bigger story. Looking at the actual sales data, we can compare the features of your home against those of the recent sales, and begin to add or subtract value as needed. For example, your home may be very similar to one down the street that sold 2 months ago, but yours has a finished basement, and theirs does not. Perhaps they have a third stall in their garage, and yours is a 2 car capacity. Value can be added or subtracted for a multitude of items including square footage, lot size, site views, decks and patios, fireplaces, significant updates such as kitchens and bathrooms, newer roofs and furnaces, landscaping and curb appeal. After weighing out all of the evidence, we will give you our best price and market time opinion. In a strong buyers market, you may want to price your home just below the price that the Comparable Market Analysis suggests, in order to "come out of the gate" strong. Your home will get the most attention in the first couple months of the listing. If the market is in an upward trend, then the opposite pricing strategy will apply. Always keep in mind, however, that the final say in how much your home sells for and when, is going to be up to the buyer.
Marketing your home
Keys to getting it sold
In addition to the marketing and pricing efforts, there are additional issues to bear in mind when you are looking for that sale. For example, being prepared for a showing appointment with little notice, can often mean the difference of getting a showing or losing a showing. Get in the habit of giving the house a "once over" every morning or evening. When the appointment has been scheduled, be sure to turn all of your lights on prior to the showing, remove any pets (if possible) and try not to be there at all during your appointment time. The buyers will feel far more relaxed and welcome if they have been given a private opportunity to consider your home. On the flipside, most buyers will be eager to leave a showing appointment if the homeowner is hovering around or trying to point out all of the fabulous features. Try not to cook anything that has a lingering odor prior to a showing appointment (unless it’s chocolate chip cookies!). Smells are a very important part of the showing experience to the buyer. Since many homes are pre-judged based on their curb appeal, be sure to be on top of your game. Take a look at your front door area. Is it free of debris and cobwebs? Does the front door hardware looking weathered and worn? How about the welcome mat? Are there vehicles in your driveway or yard that could be relocated? Is the lawn mowed or the snow shoveled? What about those weeds growing in between your driveway slabs? Those little extra touches will go a long way towards winning over your prospective buyer. Like the old saying goes, "You only get one chance to make a first impression".
Negotiating an offer
CENTURY 21 Town & Country and the Bank Owned Property Tour Team have assisted hundreds of seller clients over the years with negotiating purchaser agreements, and getting the deal to the closing table. When the time comes to review an offer, we will make certain that you understand every component of the contract before you decide how to respond. Our goal is not only to get your property sold, but to insure your complete satisfaction in the process. A few dos and don’ts for you to consider: When you get your first offer, don’t make the mistake of believing that it is the first of many, even if you are fortunate enough to get an offer after a very short amount of time on the market. Treat every offer with respect, as if it could be your last, even if it comes in low to begin with. Most buyers will need to find out what your best price will be, and they’ll do so by coming in lower than you would like. If you’re not satisfied with the offer, you will always have the right to make a counter-proposal. Just bear in mind that when a counter-offer is sent back to the buyer, they are under no obligation to respond back to it, since their original offer was essentially "rejected" by you. Always try to take the emotion out of the negotiation process. If the buyer is unhappy with your custom paint job in the bedroom, don’t take it personally. If they will only pay a certain price, and that price is below your bottom line, don’t get angry. Just treat it as a business decision. Often times you can make up the difference of how much you came down, in the price you negotiate on the home you are going to purchase.
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