New Issue of Livingston Living

The latest Livingston Living newspaper was just delivered to nearly 13,000 Livingston County homes. This signature Buckley Jolley piece is available in a PDF format by clicking on the document above. If you do not receive this publication and would like to be on our mailing list, please email us at FrontDesk@buckleyjolley.com with your name and complete address, and put “Livingston Living newspaper” in the subject line.

Market Update for Our Sellers

Karen & Todd send our sellers an update on market conditions every two weeks. Here is an excerpt of that e-mail.

“Optimistic and realistic.” That was my answer to a recent question from a friend asking about my opinion of the real estate market in Livingston County. As I anticipated in my last update, there were more sales in April ’07 vs. ’06. How many? 10 more in the county for a total of 165, a 6.5% increase. This was the first positive number in some time, but it was accompanied by another number 93. That’s how many more homes were listed in April ’07 vs. April ’06 (a 13.7% increase – and this increase isn’t a wonderful one). So, year-to-date the number of sales in Livingston County are down 11.7% and the number of listings are up 5.6%. All of this information is available in the attached document.

So how has our company stacked up so far this year? Buckley Jolley had sold 27% more homes through April of ’07 than we had in ’06 through April. We have listed the same amount of properties YTD in ’07 vs. ’06.

I wanted to touch on one other item in this update…Bank owned homes (AKA REO’s, foreclosures, etc.). This is growing competition within our market. In fact, 21% of all April ’07 sales in Livingston County were bank owned! This is a HUGE percentage. While there aren’t any official stats available on foreclosures, I would guess that foreclosures would have only made up 5% of Livingston County sales last spring. Traditionally, these properties had been in distressed condition; however, today’s average bank owned property is not a “fixer-upper.” Michigan’s economic woes have led to many of our well respected neighbors, with beautiful homes, to lose those properties. What does this mean to you? Banks are selling nice properties for less money than traditional re-sale homes. This too is a contributor to sliding values throughout our area. Again, this is a price driven market. -Todd Buckley

Preparing Your Home for Sale

With a little effort on your part, your home can be sold more quickly and at a better price. The following tips have proven invaluable to owners and are worth your special attention:

First impressions are lasting! The front door greets the prospect. Make sure it appears fresh and clean. Paint the trim, if necessary.

Keep the lawn trimmed and edged, and the yard free of refuse. Reseed and fertilize the lawn, if necessary. Weed the gardens, and add mulch. Deep green grass makes a lasting impression. In winter, be sure snow and ice is removed from walks and steps.

Decorate for a quick sale. Faded walls and worn woodwork reduce appeal. Why try to tell the prospects how your home could look, when you can show them by redecorating? A quicker sale at a higher price will result. An investment in neutral new kitchen paint will pay dividends.

Let the sun shine in. Open draperies and curtains and let the prospect see how cheerful your home can be(dark rooms are not appealing).

Do the windows and window screens work well and look good? Are the windows spotless.
Are the appliances sparkling clean and operating properly?

Fix the faucet! Dripping water discolors sinks and suggests faulty plumbing.

Repairs can make a big difference. Loose knobs, sticking doors and windows, warped cabinet drawers and other minor flaws detract from home value. Have them fixed.

From top to bottom. Display the full value of your attic, basement and other utility space by removing all unnecessary articles. Brighten dark, dull basements by painting walls and adding brighter light fixtures.

Safety first. Keep stairways clear. Avoid cluttered appearances and possible injuries.
Pack excess linens and clothing to make closets look bigger. Neat, well-ordered closets show the space is ample.

Bathrooms help sell homes. Check and repair grout in bathtubs and showers. Make this room sparkle. Don’t let the Handy Man add gobs of caulking when grout is what you need.

Arrange bedrooms neatly. Remove excess furniture. Use attractive bedspreads and fresh looking window coverings.

-Karen Jolley

5th Annual Fill the Gazebo Food Drive

The Livingston County Association of Realtors, comprised of local Realtors and Affiliate members, will team up with the residents of Livingston County to collect food and monetary donations during the Fifth Annual Fill the Gazebo Food Drive on June 2nd, 2007 at the Brighton Mill Pond.

The need for emergency food in Livingston County has increased 400% between the years 2000 and 2006. The Gleaners Community Food Bank of Livingston County currently services 1,500 Livingston County residents on a monthly basis. The Food Bank provided 1,000,000 meals to the residents of Livingston County in 2006. Because the donations received from within Livingston County only satisfy 50% of the local food needs, Gleaners must reallocate food and funds from other counties like Wayne and Oakland in order to fulfill the remaining need.

Michelle Brant, Executive Vice President of the Livingston County Association of Realtors says “We are very proud to have played a major role in helping Livingston County residents in need of emergency food over the past four years. A total of 636,251 meals were provided to Livingston County residents as a direct result of the four previous Fill the Gazebo Food Drives. This year’s goal is to collect enough food and monetary donations to provide 155,000 meals to our neighbors in need. Your donation of just one dollar, allows Gleaners to provide an individual with one day’s supply of food. In addition, we would also like to extend a very special thank you to Brighton Mayor, Steve Monet, for his continued and instrumental support of this event.”

The Buckley Jolley Real Estate Team will be accepting donations in our office through June 2nd. We are located in the MillPond Parke Building, at 802 W. Grand River, Brighton. Feel free to call at 810-229-7000 for hours.

May's Feature Property: 639 Chilson Road

639 Chilson Road; Howell, MI
$345,000








2605 above ground square footage, 240 finished lower level square footage.
Five bedrooms and four baths.

This historic home has a perfect balance of vintage character and magnificent updates.

The new elegant kitchen offers cherry farm-style cabinets, granite, a tin ceiling, double oven and two sinks.

This home is elegantly appointed with lots of attention to details. Great touches like woodwork, doors with glass knobs, ceiling and hardwood floors. Lots of cabinets and storage. You'll love the convenient second floor laundry.

Finished lower level family room with a bath.

This is a one-of-a-kind property in a peaceful setting. This home sits back 500 feet from the road nestled in a stand of trees. You can relax on any of the four porches and enjoy the fresh country air.















For more specifics on this property, please feel free to browse through the brochure:
www.buckleyjolley.com/docs/ChilsonBrochure.pdf


If you are interested in previewing this home or any of our other exceptional listings, call us today at 810.229.7000. We'd be happy to provide you with more information.

What's In, What's Out: Homebuyers of 2007

This recently passed across our desk, and we thought you might find it as interesting as we did.

Some of the trends predicted to grow in the coming year: savvy buyers and internet marketing. In the home, look for rejuvenation rooms, snoring rooms, and sustainable design.

Some of the what we should expect to see less of: open houses and buyer incentives. Smaller bedrooms and shiny finishes inside homes are going "out".

Click on the above document to read the article in full.

-From the publication Michigan Realtor May 2007

Market Update For Our Sellers

Karen & Todd send our sellers an update on market conditions every two weeks. Here is an excerpt of that e-mail.

The grass is finally green, the leaves are almost in, and there is finally some positive news in our real estate market. I mentioned in my last update, I expected that April ’07 sales to be up from ’06. Although the official numbers are not out, my research has found that there was an increase in Livingston County home sales: 155 in ’06 and 162 in ’07. While a 5% increase doesn’t sound that impressive, it is the first time since September 2005 that we have seen a positive number!

Although this is good news, it does not mean that values will level off any time soon. Keep in mind that our supply of homes has continued to grow over the last 2 years. Today, there are 3180 homes and condos for sale on the MLS in Livingston County. So, last month only about 5% of the inventory was sold. We need to see an increased number of sales in the months to come and less listings before homes stop depreciating. Still, April ’07 is a step in the right direction.

Congratulations Paul!

Congratulations to Paul Friday, April’s winner of our Client Drawing for Omaha Steaks . Buckley Jolley would like to congratulate Paul and we hope he enjoys the eight 6 oz. filet mignons. Thanks to all who entered the drawing. Watch for our next client appreciation contest postcard in your mailbox or on our web site around June 1st- 4 tickets to see the Tigers vs. Boston Red Sox on July 8th (25 row behind home plate!).

Why Is Home Staging Such An Important Tool For Selling Your House?

Before and after staging. The seller of this house accepted an offer just 10 days after it was listed, in January of 2007.

It’s simple. What’s the first thing you do before you sell your vehicle? You have it detailed, right? It’s all spiffed up--there are no candy wrappers strewn around or gum stuck to the seats. You want it to sell quickly, so you invest your time, your money, and sometimes both, to make your vehicle shine! And it sells, more quickly and for more money than if you hadn’t done the prep work.

Now, your house is usually a much bigger investment that your car—so why wouldn’t you give it the same kind of consideration? Statistics show that, in a buyers’ market, staged houses sell twice as quickly as un-staged homes, and often for more money. And in a hot market, staged houses cause bidding wars, and generally sell above list price! (Think California, where staging started in the mid-70’s)

The purpose of staging is to make your house stand apart from all the competition out there—to give you an edge in selling it. It’s all about creating an emotional bond with the potential buyer—doing what it takes to allow her or him to literally “fall in love” with your house. Staging does this by neutralizing paint colors and décor styles, de-cluttering and de-personalizing the house so that it appeals to the broadest range of buyers—giving you more chances to “connect” with more people. Staging also addresses issues of deferred maintenance. Buyers today want a move-in ready home, and most will accept nothing less.

People buy your space, not your stuff. And most of us live with much more furniture and many more accessories than we should have in a staged house. The right accessories and the correct furniture placement will call attention to the architectural details of your space—those are what people are purchasing, and they are what make your house different than the one next door that’s for sale. Staging also adds that “wow” factor that makes buyers remember your house—important when people are looking at dozens of homes before they buy!

Your house is competing against new construction. So by using the “model home” strategy of home staging, you house is better able to stand up against new-built houses as well as all the other previously owned houses on the market. And your house will look so much better in the photos and virtual tours on the Internet—the place where at least 70% of buyers shop today!

So, the question you should be asking isn’t “Why stage my house?” It’s really is “Why wouldn’t I stage my house?” -Kathy Presutti, owner of Re:Style. Kathy is an Accredited Staging Professional and member of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals. Her website is www.ReStyleStaging.com and she can be reached at kpresutti@comcast.net or 810-333-5240.

A Team Needs A Coach

Todd, Donna, Andrea and Karen with Howard Brinton

“If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants.” Issac Newton

Both Todd and I have felt that we can benefit from others’ expertise and wisdom and in turn pass on what we know to those we work with and for. That is why we both are big enthusiasts of coaching. We have each had a coach since 2001, and we have been coaching together with Howard Brinton for the past 2 years. Howard is a nationally known real estate expert who brings together the top real estate teams in the country to share ideas and mastermind on all areas of real estate sales. He is also a sought-after business coach to real estate agents. It is a great experience to talk to the “Tom Landry” of real estate coaches. We run ideas past him, ask questions, share successes and evaluate the market and solutions for our clients. Who would not want a national real estate expert on their team? Howard sits on our board of directors, so to speak.

Howard gives clarity to our vision of being the best real estate team in the area. If we are performing as a team at our best, the results exceed the average and of course that makes our clients very happy.

In addition to coaching personally with Howard, we have access to his network of leading agents and teams around the country. I can’t imagine striving to be a top notch real estate team without counsel from those real estate professionals that know the business better than anyone else. Many times, we have called or emailed these agents and bounced ideas back and forth.

We have talked to them and shared what we find is helping our sellers. Last year in NYC we were asked to share how we keep our sellers informed of the market. We spoke to over 2000 agents during that national conference. Howard has also shared our marketing materials with many agents around the country. We want to give back and share with these same agents that have helped us help our clients.

The Buckley Jolley Team is moving forward and taking our clients with us. Coaching is the engine that moves the cars in the right direction. - Karen Jolley