Lee Morof's Real Estate Blog

Labor Day signals the end of summer, a return to school for the kids, and a welcome three-day weekend for most folks. It can also be a key date for Bloomfield Hills real estate.

If you have your home on the market, you may have heard that if your house hasn’t sold by Labor Day, you should take it off the market. While there is some truth to this persistent myth, the answer (as in many things real estate) is more complicated. Largely, it depends on your circumstances.

Blessed with a home that you would like to sell and the Labor Day weekend, you may be wondering where the summer went and where your perfect buyer is hiding. While in some areas of the country summer is the time for home purchasing, the season extends well beyond the Labor Day cutoff in many areas, particularly in warmer climates. And who hasn’t had a warmer climate this year?

Regardless of the time of year or location, here are three things you can do to help your home sell:

1. Lower the price: Consider comparable properties in the neighborhood and ask yourself if you have really priced your Bloomfield Hills real estate reasonably relative to the market. Bargains do sell faster.
2. Have an open house:  A three-day weekend might just be the time to get home buyers who might otherwise be too busy to view your home. If most people in your area leave town for the holidays, plan an open house for the weekend after Labor Day. Reinvigorate your sales approach with a well-advertised open house.
3. Review home staging:  Maybe there were a few repairs or finishing touches you didn’t get to before putting your house on the market, thinking they wouldn’t matter. A Labor Day yard sale  could remove some of that remaining clutter. Spend some of the long weekend attending to the details and getting your home picture perfect!

If you’re looking for more information on selling your Bloomfield Hills real estate, I can help. Give me a call today at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com. In whatever way you choose to spend the holiday, I wish you a happy and safe Labor Day!

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney 
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com

Want to sell your home this summer? With the help of a Bloomfield Hills real estate professional, you could be signing a closing agreement and on your way to a whole new housing world before winter sets in. So, get inspired this Fourth of July to liberate yourself from your current home.

A local Bloomfield Hills real estate agent who is an expert in his or her field might be the spark needed to get you motivated, strategically market your home and have potential buyers seeing fireworks at your first open house. To help with your quest for the perfect home-selling expert, here are three questions you should ask during initial interviews:

1. What do you know about the local market? Make sure your agent is up to date on the area’s current listings. He or she needs to know what’s happening in your neighborhood in order to market it and ensure it beats out the competition.
2. How will you market my home?  Make sure you’re on the same page when it comes to spreading the word about your property. You’ll want to confirm that your agent is internet savvy and has fresh ideas on how to make your home stand out. It’s always a good idea to ask agents you’re interviewing to provide examples of how they’ve marketed other homes.
3. What will you do to help me prepare my home for sale? Successful agents should do a walk-through with you and use their past experience and buyer feedback to give advice on how to stage your home. It benefits both of you to have your home looking its best, so that it sells fast!

In honor of the Fourth of July, take a cue from our forefathers and enlist the services of a good Bloomfield Hills real estate agent to help emancipate you from your current home.

If you’re looking for a Bloomfield Hills real estate professional, I’d appreciate the opportunity to interview for the job.  Give me a call today at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com to schedule an appointment.

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney 
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com

Most property owners getting ready to sell their Bloomfield Hills real estate understand the importance of cleaning, de-cluttering, updating and staging in order to make a quick sale. However, there are also many other steps you can take to ensure your home appeals to potential buyers, draws them in and seals the deal.

Below are five tips to help you not only get your house in tip-top shape, but also make it extremely marketable:

1. Find a good Bloomfield Hills real estate agent. While many people think they can sell their home themselves and save money, they’re wrong. Relying on a professional’s expertise and experience has been proven to net you a bigger profit — and definitely reduce your stress and frustration.
2. Clean and de-clutter. While this goes without saying, we’re going to reiterate it anyway. Make sure your home is spotless and depersonalized. You also might want to consider hiring a staging professional to make it inviting and memorable.
3. Have your home inspected. Many sellers are getting their property pre-inspected so they can head off any potential deal breakers. If an inspector finds a major issue, you might want to hold off putting the home on the market until you get it fixed.
4. Offer a home warranty. Especially if you have an older home, you should consider sweetening the deal with this tempting proposition. While you know your water heater works perfectly fine, today’s buyers want everything new and might be wary of used appliances. So, set their minds at ease, even if it’s just for a year.
5. Develop a marketing strategy. Utilize your real estate agent and come up with a solid plan for marketing your home. Whether listing just on the web or also in local classifieds, you want to make sure as many eyes as possible see your home.

Don’t jump into the market without doing your homework! Follow these five tips and you’ll be on the way to setting up your Bloomfield Hills real estate for a quick sale.

If you’d like more strategies for getting your home in order before putting it up for sale, please call me at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com for more information.

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney 
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com

If you need (or want) to sell your Bloomfield Hills real estate this winter, you’ll have to step up your game a bit. People tend to be less likely to buy in the winter because the weather keeps them indoors rather than house hunting. And, let’s face it, most homes just don’t look as good in the brown, drab winter as they do in the spicy spring and summer.

If you’re one of the lucky owners who has a home for sale in an area that stays beautiful all year long, you can still find a few tips here to help get your home ready to sell.

Six tips to help you sell your home this winter:

1. Keep it cozy. You want your home to be warm so people can comfortably take their time viewing your Bloomfield Hills real estate. Saving money on heating costs isn’t worth it if it means freezing out your potential buyers.
2. Turn up the light. Keep curtains and blinds open during the day. Turn on your lights, both inside and out, at night. Put your lights on timers if you won’t be home until after dark. Use motion detectors to light up in the evening when a potential buyer approaches your doorstep.
3. Point out cold-weather benefits. Have mass transit within walking distance? That’s a big benefit in bad weather because you don’t have to de-ice or dig your car out of the snow in order to get to work.
4. Take advantage of good winter locations. If your home is in a location that people flock to in the winter, such as an area with great outdoor winter sports such as skiing or a warm-weather area like Florida, now is the time prime time to promote your house! Put all you’ve got into marketing the benefits of living where it’s always sunny or where winter living is fun.
5. Set the mood. Play soft, classical music. Toss afghans or throws across the back of your sofa. Hang plush robes in your bedroom or bathroom.
6. Clear away snow and ice. Shovel a path through the snow so potential buyers don’t have to get out their snowshoes. De-ice your driveway, sidewalk, steps and porch to prevent slips and falls.

If you’re ready to sell your Bloomfield Hills real estate this winter, I can help. Give me a call today at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com for more information.

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
Call:  248-514-2640
info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com