A:  The real estate market is not seasonal. More important factors to look at are supply and demand, current interest rates, whether you home is ready for the market, have you completed all of your projects so that you have a good product to sell?  Homes sell throughout the year, whether it is June or December.  We find that spring is the most popular time to sell because the yards look their best and most sellers, if given the option, try to move during the summer months while kids are out of school.

A:  When you’re looking for a home to live in, you should be looking for something that suits your needs.  When you find that home, you should negotiate the best deal possible.  Interest rates are a larger factor to be concerned about than a decline in value.  Over the course of the next 10 years, we will all experience a cyclical market ~ prices go down and they will come back up.  If you wait for the ‘bottom’ you may miss it.  Many buyers are waiting on the sidelines for a bell to ring… there will be NO bell.  You’ll know you’ve missed it when a wave of buyers jumps in all at the same time.  By that time it will be too late!

A:  In a buyer’s market, price is the most important factor but condition is a close second.  When a buyer looks at your home, does it stand out from all the rest that they’ve seen?  Is it clean ~ freshly painted?  Has it been properly staged, removing additional clutter so as to give the feel of space?  Typically in a buyer’s market there are many homes for sale.  You must be the best condition, price and location to be chosen by the buyer. 

A:  The Kellogg Team can assist you with looking at the comparable data, the trend in the market with Trendgraphics Reports.  We will help you to determine what a fair market value is for the home.  Homes vary in price because of amenities, condition, location, desirability.  As a seller, you must price your home from the beginning.  Chasing the decline is never a good idea.  As a buyer, ultimately your lender will be sending out an appraiser to confirm that the price we’ve negotiated for you is fair based on the current market conditions.  The Kellogg Team will help you to analysis the asking price and determine what concessions, closing costs, etc. would be best negotiated and paid for by the seller or buyer.

A:  As a buyer, our services are FREE to you.  The seller typically pays the brokerage fee.

A:  There are many good buys.  Sellers know that they’re competing the ‘bank owned’ homes when determining their prices.  Many times the seller- owned homes will be in better condition, but the banks are willing to deal because they want to get rid of the inventory. One thing to remember… The bank owned homes are not required to provide you with any disclosures.  They’ve never lived in the home and hence are exempt from the typical disclosure laws.  They are ‘as is’ sales.  Most times this isn’t an issue as we will always encourage you to have a home inspection to confirm the condition of the property; however, buying a bank owned home can also come with its share of fixing up…

A:  The Kellogg Team has access to all bank owned homes, just as we do a typical listing.  Sometimes even faster than what is in MLS.  Our in-house REO department will many times give us a ‘heads up’ on what they have coming on the market ~ giving our buyers a sneak preview of properties.

Q:  How do I know what I can afford when buying a home?

A:  It is critical that you get pre-approved for your loan before starting the home buying process!  This will give you an idea of what price range you’ll be looking and puts you a step ahead of any competing offers that we may encounter.  A pre-approved buyer is what sellers are looking for.  The Kellogg Team can assist you in that process.  It’s free and easy to get pre-approved with a simple phone call to a lender.

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