So you want to sell your home by yourself? ::chuckle::

Tweet

Ok, let me make sure I am hearing this right.  You want to sell your home by yourself?  Let me ask you how did you come up with the sale price?  Oh wow, you heard a neighbor say that his home was worth 225,000 dollars.  Have you gone to the county clerk and research the recent home sales in your area?  With out having access to the MLS you cannot easily see what homes sold by you and what they sold for.  Oh really, you know the house down the road that has 2 extra bedrooms, 1500 more square feet and a heated pole barn sold for the same price that you want. 

How many times have you had this conversation with a FSBO?  Unfortunately it happens all to often.  As a realtor you need to be quick on your feet and keep your ammunition box full because if you are actively pursuing FSBO’s you are going to hear this same conversation a million times over and you have to be ready to counter punch. 

When you face these hurdles make sure you are ready to show FSBO’s what you have to offer and statistics for your market area.  I find it a very effective tool to show them how many FULL TIME agents are in the area and the average days on the market.  “There are XXXX amount of agents that actively work in your neighborhood, and it takes them an average of XXX days to get a home sold.  How long do you think it will take you to sell your home, in your spare time while working a full time job? 

Maybe I am just sick but I love contacting FSBO’s just to get a laugh because it is crazy some of the things these people come up with.  They honest think that putting a FSBO sign in their front yard and putting it on forsalebyowner.com will get their home sold. 

Continue to ask them questions showing them how much work it is to actually get a home sold.  Eventually they will give in and realize that they can’t do it by themselves, and if you stay in front of them while providing helpful information you will get a shot at getting the listing, that is if you continually ask for their business.

Don’t be afraid to ask for business.

Jimmy Gilley
Cressy & Everett Real Estate
Niles, MI 49120
Office – 269-683-5355
Mobile – 269-362-4841 (Primary)
JimmyGilley.com
jimmy.gilley@comcast.net

             

Hess & Harris Road, Edwardsburg MI 49112

Tweet

Open your imagination and see the possibilities to own a fabulous home that can be customized to your liking, for much less than buying it new. This is a wonderful opportunity to finish a 4 Br, 3 Ba project that has already been started. Owners started building a large 2400Sq' home with a three car attached garage, with one stall separated which would be perfect for a workshop. This property also has a finished pole barn with electric service already hooked up and ready for use while you finish the house. Two contractors give estimates 2 years ago to finish the home which averaged at 50k. The outside of the home is 95% finished, just needs a few pieces of siding, and garage doors. Septic system is already installed and rated for 3 ba. The home sits on a full basement and 2 acres. It also has a den in the floor plan which could easily be converted to a 5th bedroom. The home does not have any plumbing, electrical, or insulation making it easy for you to finish to your liking.


Jimmy Gilley
Cressy & Everett Real Estate
Niles, MI 49120
Office – 269-683-5355
Mobile – 269-362-4841 (Primary)
JimmyGilley.com
jimmy.gilley@comcast.net

       

3119 Church Street, Niles, MI 49120

Tweet

Cute 2 bedroom home located near 11th street close to shopping and jobs. Home has a detached 2 car garage, and a nice fenced back yard with a patio. Woods across the street provide great opportunity for spotting wildlife. Don't miss this home!

Great starter home for a first time home buyer!

Jimmy Gilley
Cressy & Everett Real Estate
Niles, MI 49120
Office – 269-683-5355
Mobile – 269-362-4841 (Primary)
JimmyGilley.com
jimmy.gilley@comcast.net

       

102 Clyborn, Dowagiac MI 49047

Tweet

    

 

1 year HOME WARRANTY is being offered by the sellers. This is a cute & cozy, spacious 3-4 bedroom home with hardwood floors, neutral decor. 4th room on main level can be used as bedroom. This home has a nice view of the park across the street and has a fenced back yard giving great potential for growth. This home is a must see. All Appliances Stay.

Jimmy Gilley
Cressy & Everett Real Estate
Niles, MI 49120
Office – 269-683-5355
Mobile – 269-362-4841 (Primary)
JimmyGilley.com
jimmy.gilley@comcast.net

Technorati Tags: Dowagiac MI,Dowagiac homes for sale,berrien county homes for sale,jimmy gilley

Don't be a statistic!

Tweet

The great thing about being part of Active Rain is that you get great advice for free, on your own time.

What I want to talk about is Short Sales. I just pulled a market share report in my area of South West Michigan and found that we only had 5 short sale transactions close this month. This is tragic. I know for a fact there are more than 5 people who could have been helped by putting their home up as a short sale.

Short Sale Failures

One problem people have are inexperienced agents who don't don’t know what they are doing with a short sale, which leads to them not closing It's really easy to blame it on the bank, and often enough the bank is at fault, but there are an astounding number of short sales that fail due to agent or seller negligence.

Another problem with short sales is that people simply don't want to deal with them, so rather than try, they just let the bank take their home from them.

Financial Hardship

DON'T LET THEM! If you are having a financial hardship you're not alone! Many people are having money problems, with employment issues, health concerns, or even divorce. With all that could happen,a foreclosure on your credit is the last thing you need! Instead sell your home with a short sale and save some heart ache.

Test day!

Tweet

Today was the big day! "What?" you ask.. Let me explain. Today was the day I had to face my hardest challenge yet in my journey to become a real estate agent.

As I described in a previous post, in order for anyone to become a Realtor you must complete a 40 hour class, and pass the Michigan state exam. I had successfully completed the class, so the only thing left was taking the Michigan state exam.

I had heard that this exam was quite difficult, and it did not disappoint! Having finished the class I felt pretty confident, and completing a few practice exams helped immensely, but I knew this test was going to be tough.

The first 20 questions or so really made me sweat. Growing up, I always thought tests were out to get you, but this one actually was! Questions were purposely worded confusingly, but I was on top of it and I owned this test!
Of course I had to fill out a survey and sit around waiting before I found out whether I had wasted my time and money or if I had conquered this mountain. I was feeling good about the test, but at the same time my heart was pumping so hard waiting for my results. Then a giant screen flashed a big "YOU PASSED" and the stress was gone!

Whew! What a relief to know all my studying and hard work had paid off. I also have a pocket license to show for it, and of course they took my picture to put on the license and the big, cheesy grin proves how satisfied I was. Now I can officially work as a Michigan Real Estate agent.

Now it is time for more work. I have MORE training, and time to actually get my name out there and start helping people realize their dreams of home ownership.

Jimmy Gilley, Realtor
Cressy & Everett Real Estate

Pick Your Niche

Tweet

More Research

The more I research, the more I have to consider. One thing I have found, is that most Realtors are specialized in a specific area of real estate. Just selling homes isn't enough in my personal opinion, I want to pick a specific area and be the best in that area.

Pick Your Niche

Most Realtors focus their time and energy towards creating a niche for themselves, and becoming a master within that area of the field. The purpose of this is to create a competitive advantage against other local Realtors in the area. The biggest thing that has drawn my attention, and what actually brought me into the field is house flipping.

House Flipping

House flipping is the process of buying homes that are in disrepair, and turning them into nice, livable homes through repair and minor construction. Poor condition homes are bought under market value because of the bad state of the house, and with proper care can be sold for a profit.

This process has caught my eye. It sounds like it is an absolute blast to do, not to mention being rewarding to watch a house go from a disaster to a functional home.

My father in law and I have talked about doing this well before I even started looking at a career in real estate, but now that I will be in the market everyday I think this is a perfect time to get started.

What does It Mean?

More research! Plain and simple it will require many more hours of research. There are many pitfalls out there that can to eat up all our profits on the home.

Jimmy Gilley
Niles, Michigan