HutHound.com
August 24, 2008
The real estate market in Michigan is troubled to say the least. Property values have declined considerably.
In many areas, the property values have declined by 6% and more. This decline has created a buyer’s market. If you are a property owner and would like to sell, there are still ways to keep more of your equity. A seller can’t change the general real estate market, but now a seller can control the cost of the actual sales transaction.
My three sons and I have started an absolutely free real estate website called HutHound.com. We decide to develop HutHound due to the Michigan real estate values declining. Typically, home owners hire realtors requiring a signed agreement to have their property listed for a specific time. Realtor compensations range, but the usual commission is 6%. While most homes in the market have included the 6% realtor’s commission in the sales price, homes listed on HutHound.com haven’t had to include this cost of the commission. When the home owner decides to sell their property without using a realtor, the seller can list their property for 3% less than the property’s market value and still close the deal with 3% more than if they had used a realtor. The buyer will also benefit, they will purchase the house for 3% less than if they had purchased a house from an owner using a realtor. This win-win situation is being called the “HutHound Way.”
Naturally, when a seller offers their property for 3% less, more buyers become interested. And after an accepted offer, the seller retains more of their hard earned equity, while the buyer has acquired less of a financial burden.
When we designed HutHound.com, we understood that the typical transaction has a realtor involved. Most realtors post their home listings on the MLS (multiple listing service). Most realtors (working for the home buyer) search the MLS for homes for their clients. To help get the best of both worlds, the users of HutHound.com can get their homes listed on the MLS for free as well. Many internet sites offer home owners the opportunity to get their homes listed on the MLS for a flat fee.
We have found that some clients don’t require the use of an attorney (although we recommend sellers and buyers retain legal advice). HutHound.com has real estate forms that can be downloaded for free to help avoid additional costs.
HutHound.com is funded by service providers linked to HutHound.com. These service providers are the reason there is no cost to post your home on HutHound.com. These service providers are associated with real estate transactions. The use of these service providers is not required, but home sellers can hire a vendor to provide a service desired.
SunTitle is HutHound.com’s vendor for providing title work. After the seller and buyer have an accepted offer, just click on the SunTitle link and they can set up the closing and handle the paperwork.
We also offer a HutHound.com yard sign to help market the homes. The benefit of the signs is that a potential buyer can see the HutHound Listing ID and visit the site to see the details. The majority of the homes sold on HutHound.com had a HutHound yard sign. There is a fee to purchase a sign, but buying a sign is not required.
The bottom line – You can sell in this market, it just requires a little effort which can save you thousands of dollars by using HutHound.com.
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