Lee Morof, Associate Broker/Attorney

In the Spring of 2008, I learned that my elementary school age son was being picked on by a bully at his school. Almost immediately, I decided it was time for the both of us to learn self defense. I called a couple of Dojos in the area only to learn that my son and I would have to learn separately. I then contacted the Southfield Martial Arts Institute located at 29100 Southfield Rd., Southfield, Michigan, (248) 569-7030. www.southfieldmartialarts.com. Fortunately, this Dojo has family Karate classes three times per week. The experience has been amazing. The Dojo is run by Master Willie Adams, a 10th Degree Black Belt, and several other very talented and patient Senseis who teach Okinawan Isshinryu style Karate. Above is a photo taken at the Dojo's Beginner Junior Tournament on October 25, 2008 that featured sparring, Black Belt demonstations, awards, and a luncheon following the tournament. A great time was had by all especially the precious children who all had big smiles on their faces as they wore their award medals. This Dojo not only teaches self defense technique that could save your life, but also respect for yourself and others, focus, and provides a sense of accomplishment. I highly recommend it.

Today I began working with a new buyer who wants to start by looking at bank owned homes because, naturally, she wants to get a "good deal". We looked at three homes and they were complete disasters. One had terrible structural problems. The other two had water and mold problems. None of these homes are financeable due to their condition. In other words, unless the buyer is paying cash, she will not be able to get a mortgage loan. Now, some will say, "well, there is a program with the bank where I can get money for the repairs." O.K. then. Will somebody give me a real example of this happening recently where major repairs like mold remediation and structural problems exist? Every lender I have spoken with knows about the program but none of them have done it. They also tell me that the paperwork and red tape are huge. In my experience, it just makes more sense to purchase a home that is functional so you can get financing and then give the home your personal touches with paint, carpeting, etc.

I received this email from a potential seller. The email and my response are well worth posting and his response to me is an example of how realtors can benefit from being straightforward about pricing with sellers. First the email:

We are interested in listing a single family residence in Birmingham. We are not in any rush to sell the property and fully realize the market is currently depressed. We do not want to give the home away in the currently depressed market but thought we should list it at this time. We want to avoid wasting your time or our time if you are not genuinely interested in listing it with an asking price of $450K which may well be $100K over current market value or appraisal. If interested please respond to this email

Now, my response:

Wow! Very interesting email. First, if you don't need to sell at this time then don't. We are experiencing a severe buyer's market and homes listed at the top of the market are not selling. Realtors who list properties at the top of the market are either incompetent or using their sellers to attract buyers to sell other home to. Moreover, by listing a home they know or should know will not sell, they are only perpetuating a buyers market.I don' t want anyone to give their home away either. As you know, youi cannot sell a stock on the New York Stock Exchange for a price above market. The same is true for a home in a buyer's market. If a buyer falls in love with your home and agrees to the above market price, the transactioin will fail because the home will not appraise and the buyer won't ge the financing. If you are certain that the $450,000 amount is $100,000 above market, then I respectfully am not able to help you.If you are not certain, I would be happy to do a market analysis free of charge.

His response:

Though I've had some negative experiences with realtors and I'm too old not to be cynical your frankness makes me think you're someone I could work with. I have to be concerned about the fact that many realtors in the current market in Michigan would be hungry for any sales opportunity and as a result would not necessarily act in the best long term interests of a seller. I accept your offer for a "market analysis" of the residence.

I know many realtors who list homes at any price. I see it happen all the time after I walk away from sellers who want to overprice their homes. The sellers always seem to find a desperate or incompetent realtor and the home never sells.

I just received this email from a potential seller. The email and my response are well worth posting. First the email:

We are interested in listing a single family residence in Birmingham. We are not in any rush to sell the property and fully realize the market is currently depressed. We do not want to give the home away in the currently depressed market but thought we should list it at this time. We want to avoid wasting your time or our time if you are not genuinely interested in listing it with an asking price of $450K which may well be $100K over current market value or appraisal. If interested please respond to this email

Now, my response:

Wow! Very interesting email. First, if you don't need to sell at this time then don't. We are experiencing a severe buyer's market and homes listed at the top of the market are not selling. Realtors who list properties at the top of the market are either incompetent or using their sellers to attract buyers to sell other home to. Moreover, by listing a home they know or should know will not sell, they are only perpetuating a buyers market.I don' t want anyone to give their home away either. As you know, youi cannot sell a stock on the New York Stock Exchange for a price above market. The same is true for a home in a buyer's market. If a buyer falls in love with your home and agrees to the above market price, the transactioin will fail because the home will not appraise and the buyer won't ge the financing. If you are certain that the $450,000 amount is $100,000 above market, then I respectfully am not able to help you.If you are not certain, I would be happy to do a market analysis free of charge.

I am a RE/MAX Associate Broker/Attorney selling homes in the North Woodward Area of Oakland County, Southeast Michigan. Like the rest of the country, we are in a buyers market with more homes than buyers to buy them. Many home sellers think that they can list a home at a price they have in mind and then "see what happens." In my opinion, that can be a huge mistake and here's why. In a buyer's market, you usually have a pool of buyers who have been looking for a while for a home, usually more than thirty days. To attract those buyers, your home must first be in excellent condition. Second, you must price the home somehwhere between the middle and the bottom of the market as those are the homes that the buyers are looking at. Naturally, they are looking for the best deal. At the present time, in Oakland County, Michigan, one of every two homes sold is bank owned. The reality is that if you want to sell, you have to compete with the bank owned home. Most buyers will pay about a ten percent premium above a bank owned home because bank owned homes are usually in rough shape and have had the appliances removed. After thirty days, new buyers trickle into the market. If the existing pool of buyers have rejected your home due to its price or condition, you will be fighting an uphill battle. Some sellers I recently worked with in Ferndale, Michigan understood all of this and listed their beautiful home at a price around ten percent above the bank owned competiton. Within fourteen days, a first time home buyer who had previously looked at more than one hundred homes made an offer that was ninety six percent of the list price, right after he looked at the home.