Who to List Property With...continued. Franchise vs. Small Northern Michigan Real Estate Company

This is never a easy subject to dicuss. Being an objective writer of northern Michigan real estate topics, you want your opinion to be respected by all, however, from time to time, you will offend certain entities. Unfortunately, in small town USA (northern Michigan), it is only a matter of time before you have somehow offended the entire population. With that said, let me give you my opinion on what company you should consider listing with.

We've discussed listing with friends and relatives. This of course should be the your first option, only from a humanistic perspective. Give them the opportunity. If no results are produced, then you need to consider your options. It is a touchy subject. For every $100,000 of property you own, when it doesn't sell, it will cost you over $9,000 annually due to interest lost, taxes, insurance, etc. At some point, "It's not your friends, it's your business"...Jerry Mcguire.

Obviously you want to get with the biggest and highest producing real estate office. However, just because a Century 21 may sell X number of homes in Alaska which is 100X the amount of property your small town real estate office has sold, doesn't mean they are even an option. I've seen this happen too many times. My radical example is always, "People don't go to Detroit to see and learn about property in small town northern Michigan". Closer yet, people don't go to Indian River to buy real estate in Onaway.

Back to franchises. Franchises such as Coldwell Banker Schmitt Realtors are one of the biggest. They tend to be one of the more successfull companies no matter what city they are located in due to their great reputation. Franchises tend to be the way to go in most bigger city circumstances. You need to remember the following: ALL FRANCHISES WERE STARTED FROM 1 VERY SUCCESSFULL BROKER IN THE MIDDLE OF SOME SMALL TOWN SOMEWHERE. Margie Haaxima of Banner Realty is a good example of this. She leads the county of Alpena in sales every year, yet she is not considered a franchise. Debbie Artrip of Cardinal Real Estate leads Presque Isle County in sales every year, yet she in not franchised either. Ten and tweny years from now, when these areas are more built up, maybe Banner Realy and Cardinal Real Estate will be "franchises" then.

Remember to always go with the company with the most webpresence. That is how 70% of all potential buyers go before they even consider contacting a real estate company. And that number will grow to 100% as the generations pass who are simply not familiar with computers.
If you'd like to find any Traverse City Michigan Real Estate, I of course suggest that you click on the afore noticed link to have a professional help you find what you are looking for.

Who To List Your Michigan Real Estate With?

Who would best represent your property? Women vs. Men, Young vs. Old, Franchise vs. Private, Big City vs. Small Town. These are all good questions and each of them can be argued both those savy policitally correct folks. Lucky for you I call it the way I see it. For the most effective marketing of your Michigan real estate listing, follow a few simple steps.
#1) If you list with family or friend, don't worry, the listing will go into an MLS service giving all companies an equal chance to sell it.
#2) NEVER list with a company that does not belong to a board of Realtors.
#3) Go with a familiar face and company. These people have been in the real estate business for a few years for a reason.
#4) NEVER list with part-time agents. These people are not serious about selling property. So, if you are not serious about selling your Michigan real estate, go ahead and give your favorite relative a chance.
#5) Always list your property with a local real estate office. Too many times have I seen some idiot think they are better off listing with a big city office 45 miles away. If you are looking for a piece of property in Indian River, do you go to Detroit? Nope.
#6) For the finest of services, make sure your real estate company has a great presence online. All of them say they do, but check for yourself. If you can't find them, then neither can your potential buyers.

Unpolitically correct yours, a memo from the private sector.

Who do you blame when your listed property doesn't sell?

The answer is easy, but not for the reason you might think. Sometimes I blame the seller for this reason. Sellers only care about one thing, "how much money am I going to make". Often times sellers unjustly use this normal desire to decide who they list their northern Michigan real estate with. If one agent says your home is worth $50,000 while another says it's worth $75,000, who are you going to list with? Obvisously most folks go with the higher figure. This leads to an overpriced market with too many listings. Assusming the home does not sell, I blame the irresponsible real estate agent for this common malpractice. They told you a high figure just to make you happy (for the short-term). What this has done has caused you to put off your life for another year because your home did not sell. It gets worse. You just spend a ton of money on taxes, upkeep and interest on the loan as well over the course of the year. So now you need to sell the home for at least $55,000 just to get the $50,000 the professional realtor suggested in the first place. It is a slippery slope commonly seen with new and unsuccessful northern Michigan Realtors. If a real estate agent turns down your listing, suck up your pride and list with them. Chances are they know what they are very good at their job.

So, who do you blame for your listed property not selling? Now that you've read this, you should blame yourself.