Southeast Michigan Real Estate Podcast with Derek Bauer Derek Bauer

Major upgrades and improvements aren’t always necessary. There are simple upgrades you can make that will help sell your home and won’t break the bank. Want to sell your Michigan Home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a Michigan Home? Search all homes for sale I hope 2017 has gotten off to a great start for you. I wanted to drop by today to talk to you about what you can do to invest in your home. A lot of homeowners want to make repairs and remodels before they sell, but they don’t know which repairs they should avoid and which ones will add the most value. If you have plans to remodel and want to make sure what you do is good for resale purposes, that’s a great idea. The first thing you’ll need to accomplish this is expert advice. That’s where we come in. It’s true that kitchens and bathrooms are a big deal to buyers. However, don’t make the mistake of over-improving them. The additions you make will only return 55% to 65% of what you put into the project. "It’s true that kitchens and bathrooms are a big deal for buyers." However, if you do a minor renovation to a kitchen or bathroom, such as adding a new tile backsplash or a vanity, you’ll recoup 75% to 85% of that investment on average. Sometimes, we don’t even need to go that far. Often, a little bit of freshening up, whether that involves adding some lighting or replacing the counter, will net you the most positive return on investment. Some other places where you can get 90% or more of your money back include entry doors, garage doors, and adding insulation. I have two clients right now who are getting ready to list in the next few weeks. The return on investment they will see from what I recommended is going to be three to 3.5 times what they put into it. If you have any questions about your specific real estate situation or have any real estate questions in general, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Another year is almost behind us. Today, I would like to take a moment to thank you for your support and wish you a happy holiday season. Want to sell your Michigan Home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a Michigan Home? Search all homes for sale It’s hard to believe that another year is almost behind us. Today, I want to wish you and yours a happy holiday season. To those of you who we were honored to serve this year and to those who were kind enough to send us referrals, we appreciate it. We don’t take it for granted. We work very hard to exceed expectations, so we truly appreciate all of your referrals. If you are thinking about buying or selling next year, give me a call. I would be happy to talk to you. To that end, I hope you all have a wonderful end of the year. Happy holidays, and I’ll see you in 2017.

Want to sell your Michigan Home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a Michigan Home? Search all homes for sale Do you want to sell your Southeast Michigan home for the most money the market will bear? That is exactly what we want for you, and we will work very hard to make it happen! See what just one of our hundreds of clients is saying about their experience with us and our exceeding their expectations.

In Michigan, homeowners can legally record potential buyers who tour their home. As a buyer, there are a few things you should avoid saying if you want that house. Want to sell your Michigan Home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a Michigan Home? Search all homes for sale Today I want to give some advice about what a buyer should and shouldn’t say when touring a house here in Michigan. I should preface this by saying that I’m not an attorney; I cannot give you legal advice. That said, as of early October, it is legal in Michigan for a homeowner to record buyers who tour their homes. They can record you using video or audio tapes, so keep that in mind when you’re walking through a house. I’ve seen people use baby monitors to record buyers, but more recent technology makes it easier for homeowners to record people in their homes. When you walk through a home you want to buy, I recommend that you avoid making any comments that insult the house or the decor. As you look at other homes, it may come to pass that the property with the bad decor is the one you want to buy. When it comes time to make an offer, you could be in a bad position if you have offended the seller with your comments. “ Don’t insult the house but don’t sound too excited, either. ”   On the other hand, you wouldn’t go into a car dealership and get all excited about the car you want to buy, right? Being too excited would impact the price you pay for the car. The same holds true for a house. If you walk through the house talking about how awesome it is and how it’s a great fit for your family, those comments will probably impact your agent’s ability to negotiate on your behalf. Keep in mind that the seller is not doing anything illegal by capturing your feedback on tape, so be careful what you say when you’re out touring houses. If you have any other questions about home showings or the home buying process, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Want to sell your Michigan Home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a Michigan Home? Search all homes for sale I don’t know about you, but September and October are a few of my favorite months of the year. The sights, sounds, and flavors of fall are all things that I love. Another thing I love is not having to pay high utility bills from using a heater or air conditioner like I do the rest of the year. This reminded me of a tool I recently found. This website is called wegowise.com, and it’s free to use. You can import your utility and power bills into the site through your online accounts and it will pull up many detailed graphs about your usage. This site will summarize your bills per month and break things down piece by piece. You can see how much you are spending month to month, and the price per square foot that you’re paying. There are a number of different charts and graphs for you to look at, as well as what’s considered an efficient home and where you fall into that piece of the puzzle. “ This is useful for anyone trying to save on their utilities. ”   For landlords and commercial building owners, you can track each unit specifically to see if you may need to make an improvement or upgrade to a piece of equipment that is more efficient. I thought this was a pretty neat tool when I found it, and it’s something I wanted to bring up around this time of year when utility costs are lower. It’s fun for a frugal data geek like me or anyone else who’s trying to save a few extra bucks on their bills. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I’m always looking for new topics for future videos, so let me know what you want to learn about. I look forward to hearing from you!

Want to sell your Michigan Home? Get a FREE home value report Want to buy a Michigan Home? Search all homes for sale Through the first half of the year, sales are up a little over 3%. Average sales prices are up a little over 6%. The interesting thing is that inventory is down 19%. The fact that sales and prices are up by small margins is a large indicator that this crazy seller’s market that we’ve been in the last couple of years is probably coming to an end. Looking at the Michigan housing affordability index, our index currently sits at 180. To provide some context, an index of 100 means that the median family can afford the median home. An index of 80 means that the median family can’t afford to purchase this same home. Historically, Michigan’s number has stayed level at around 135. At the peak of our recession, our number reached 210. As we trickle down toward the 130 to 140 mark, what it’s going to take to get level again is interest rates in the low-to-mid 5% range and housing values to potentially increase another 10% or so.  "This gravy train sellers have been on is  likely coming to an end." Another interesting point is that 89% of homes in Michigan have positive equity, and 72% have 20% equity or more. We may have one more spring like we’ve had with competing offers and low inventory, but by and large I think this gravy train sellers have been on for the past three or four years is ending soon. If you’re thinking about selling and aren’t sure whether it’s a good idea to pull the trigger now or to wait until next spring, give us a call and we’d be glad to help walk you through it. Until next time, make it a great day.