General
Home Buyers
Home Sellers
Helpful Tools
| 
Send This Page |
I can do a market analysis to determine the correct offering price so that you buy at the best possible price. Next, I will determine the condition of the home as well as required repairs, and finally, the seller's situation. That way you will be able to come up with a fair offer for both you and the seller.
Reviewing the selling price of homes in Grand Rapids comparable to the homes you are interested in and in the same Grand Rapids area, gives you a definite advantage.
Specifically, you want to look at total square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, type of construction, garage space, amenities such as; fireplaces, pool, deck, etc.
If you are looking to buy a tract home in Grand Rapids, finding this information will be easier in that you can use the price of an exact model to do your comparison.
Although some comparable sales information is difficult to find by the public, I am able to access this information easily through Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for Grand Rapids, (Grand Rapids Association of Realtors) or public records.
This is the listing service used by all real estate agents in Grand Rapids. Through this service, I can locate all types of information about a specific home for sale. Many years ago, MLS was used only by licensed Realtors. However, this service has now become available to the public. If you know the price and location of a house, you can look at listing prices. In addition, the MLS service in Grand Rapids, will usually provide most of the information needed, although only on homes still actively listed for sale in Grand Rapids.
For houses that have already been sold, only a Realtor can gain access to this information to help you determine the appropriate offer. That is why I will conduct a Market Analysis on your home in Grand Rapids that you want to make an offer on.
When a house is purchased, the property deed is transferred from the seller to the buyer. This deed is then recorded at the local county recorder's office, which includes sales information as well as other property information as a way for the property tax to be assessed in Grand Rapids.
As long as there are no additions to the house, this data is public information and can be accessed via the Internet or at the courthouse. You will be able to find square footage, sales price, as well as number of rooms.
If you run into a problem, I can usually gain access by going through the insurance company. In this situation, the title company compiles the data from the county recorder's office or, they purchase the information from other companies in Grand Rapids.
Since there is no record of the sales price until the house has actually sold, this makes getting accurate information a little tricky. Obviously getting your hands on information from a house sold one month ago opposed to six months ago is far more valuable. However, until the deed is recorded, the information is not there nor is it available in the Grand Rapids MLS.
The reason for this is that the seller is protected should the transaction not go through and the property would go back on the market in Grand Rapids. By knowing what the buyer accepted on the first accepted offer, new buyers would have a huge advantage the second time the house goes on the market. They would have the upper hand over the seller in knowing what the house sold for and what the buyer is likely to accept.
However, keep in mind, a real estate agent in Grand Rapids can usually obtain the price information on the sale that fell through by conferring with another agent, which is done as a professional courtesy. In addition, some real estate brokerage offices have this very information posted on a transaction board in their office.
The bottom line is that analyzing comparable information should be a huge part of your overall house buying process. Look for recent sales in the Grand Rapids area you are interested in, the specific house you like, and determine if you have a motivated seller. If a seller has been transferred out of Grand Rapids for a job, or if the house belonged to an elderly mother who just passed away, they may be willing to be more flexible on the selling price.
Send This Page |
HOW TO PREVENT OVERPAYING FOR YOUR HOUSE IN GRAND RAPIDS MICHIGAN!
When getting ready to buy a home in Grand Rapids, knowing what price to offer helps give you some level of control over the buying process. The big question is - how do you know what is a fair offer?Don't pay to much for your home in Grand Rapids
I can do a market analysis to determine the correct offering price so that you buy at the best possible price. Next, I will determine the condition of the home as well as required repairs, and finally, the seller's situation. That way you will be able to come up with a fair offer for both you and the seller.
Ethan Dozeman 616-292-7329
What Have Similar Properties Sold For In This Grand Rapids Area?
Reviewing the selling price of homes in Grand Rapids comparable to the homes you are interested in and in the same Grand Rapids area, gives you a definite advantage.
Specifically, you want to look at total square footage, lot size, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, type of construction, garage space, amenities such as; fireplaces, pool, deck, etc.
If you are looking to buy a tract home in Grand Rapids, finding this information will be easier in that you can use the price of an exact model to do your comparison.
Although some comparable sales information is difficult to find by the public, I am able to access this information easily through Multiple Listing Service (MLS) for Grand Rapids, (Grand Rapids Association of Realtors) or public records.
GRAND RAPIDS MLS
This is the listing service used by all real estate agents in Grand Rapids. Through this service, I can locate all types of information about a specific home for sale. Many years ago, MLS was used only by licensed Realtors. However, this service has now become available to the public. If you know the price and location of a house, you can look at listing prices. In addition, the MLS service in Grand Rapids, will usually provide most of the information needed, although only on homes still actively listed for sale in Grand Rapids.
For houses that have already been sold, only a Realtor can gain access to this information to help you determine the appropriate offer. That is why I will conduct a Market Analysis on your home in Grand Rapids that you want to make an offer on.
Public Record
When a house is purchased, the property deed is transferred from the seller to the buyer. This deed is then recorded at the local county recorder's office, which includes sales information as well as other property information as a way for the property tax to be assessed in Grand Rapids.
As long as there are no additions to the house, this data is public information and can be accessed via the Internet or at the courthouse. You will be able to find square footage, sales price, as well as number of rooms.
If you run into a problem, I can usually gain access by going through the insurance company. In this situation, the title company compiles the data from the county recorder's office or, they purchase the information from other companies in Grand Rapids.
Pending Transactions
Since there is no record of the sales price until the house has actually sold, this makes getting accurate information a little tricky. Obviously getting your hands on information from a house sold one month ago opposed to six months ago is far more valuable. However, until the deed is recorded, the information is not there nor is it available in the Grand Rapids MLS.
The reason for this is that the seller is protected should the transaction not go through and the property would go back on the market in Grand Rapids. By knowing what the buyer accepted on the first accepted offer, new buyers would have a huge advantage the second time the house goes on the market. They would have the upper hand over the seller in knowing what the house sold for and what the buyer is likely to accept.
However, keep in mind, a real estate agent in Grand Rapids can usually obtain the price information on the sale that fell through by conferring with another agent, which is done as a professional courtesy. In addition, some real estate brokerage offices have this very information posted on a transaction board in their office.
The bottom line is that analyzing comparable information should be a huge part of your overall house buying process. Look for recent sales in the Grand Rapids area you are interested in, the specific house you like, and determine if you have a motivated seller. If a seller has been transferred out of Grand Rapids for a job, or if the house belonged to an elderly mother who just passed away, they may be willing to be more flexible on the selling price.