How to Hold a Successful Garage Sale

Garage sales can be a great way to get rid of clutter — and earn a little extra cash — before you sell your home. But make sure the timing is right. Garage sales can take on a life of their own, and it might not be the best use of your energy right before putting your home on the market. Follow these tips for a successful sale.

1. Don’t wait until the last minute. You don’t want to be scrambling to hold a garage sale the week before an open house. Depending on how long you’ve lived in the home and how much stuff you have to sell, planning a garage sale can demand a lot of time and energy.

2. Get a permit. Most municipalities will require you to obtain a special permit or license in order to hold a garage sale. The permits are often free or very inexpensive, but still require you to register with the city.

3. See if neighbors want to join in. You can turn your garage sale into a block-wide event and lure more shoppers if you team up with neighbors. However, a permit may be necessary for each home owner, even if it’s a group event.

4. Schedule the sale. Sales on Saturdays and Sundays will generate the most traffic, especially if the weather cooperates. Start the sale early, 8 a.m. or 9 a.m. is best, and be prepared for early birds.

5. Advertise. Place an ad in free classified papers and Web sites, and in your local newspapers. Include the dates, time, and address. Let the public know if certain types of items will be sold, such as baby clothes, furniture, or weightlifting equipment. On the day of the sale, balloons and signs with prominent arrows will help to grab the attention of passersby.

6. Price your goods. Lay out everything that you plan to sell, and attach prices with removable stickers. Remember, garage sales are supposed to be bargains, so try to be objective as you set prices. Assign simple prices to your goods: 50 cents, 3 for $1, $5, $10, etc.

7. If it’s really junk, don’t sell it. Decide what’s worth selling and what’s not. If it’s really garbage, then throw it away. Broken appliances, for example, should be tossed. (Know where a nearby electrical outlet is, in case a customer wants to make sure something works.)

8. Check for mistakes. Make sure that items you want to keep don’t accidentally end up in the garage sale pile.

9. Create an organized display. Lay out your items by category, and display neatly so customers don’t have to dig through boxes.

10. Stock up on bags and newspapers. People who buy many small items will appreciate a bag to carry their goods. Newspapers are handy for wrapping fragile items.

11. Manage your money. Make a trip to the bank to get ample change for your cashbox. Throughout the sale, keep a close eye on your cash; never leave the cashbox unattended. It’s smart to have one person who manages the money throughout the day, keeping a tally of what was purchased and for how much. Keep a calculator nearby.

12. Prepare for your home sale. Donate the remaining stuff or sell it to a resale shop. Now that all of your clutter is cleared out, it’s time to focus on preparing your house for a successful sale!

Reprinted from REALTOR® magazine (Realtor.org/realtormag) with permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Spring is here...

It's official... in the last week all the snow has melted from our yard, the crocus that Jen planted in the back yard have bloomed, the daffodils in the front yard are sprouting, a Robin Red Breast was fishing for worms on the lawn last night, and I've personally witnessed three different flocks of Canadian Geese flying in V formation overhead. SPRING HAS ARRIVED!!!!

In honor of our April Blizzard...

I first read this joke about 8 years ago when my family and I were living in Washington state south of Seattle. We were tired of the rain, so much so, that every now and then we would go up to Snoqualmie Pass in the mountains for a "snow fix" when we were feeling homesick for our U.P. winters.

Now with the unusually late and heavy snow storms we've been having this year I feel as though cabin fever has progressed into a state of cabin paranoia.
Will it ever melt?
What if there will be no summer this year?
I'm actually looking forward to cutting my grass - WOW!

Any way - I thought the Diary of a Snow Shoveler was a fitting blog entry for today.
Enjoy...

Diary of a Snow Shoveler
December 8 - 6:00 PM. It started to snow. The first snow of the season and the wife and I took our cocktails and sat for hours by the window watching the huge soft flakes drift down from heaven. It looked like a Grandma Moses Print. So romantic we felt like newlyweds again. I love snow!

December 9 - We woke to a beautiful blanket of crystal white snow covering every inch of the landscape. What a fantastic sight! Can there be a more lovely place in the Whole World? Moving here was the best idea I've ever had. Shoveled for the first time in years and felt like a boy again. I did both our driveway and the sidewalks. This afternoon the snowplow came along and covered up the sidewalks and closed in the driveway, so I got to shovel again. What a perfect life.

December 12 - The sun has melted all our lovely snow. Such a disappointment. My neighbor tells me not to worry, we'll definitely have a white Christmas. No snow on Christmas would be awful! Bob says we'll have so much snow by the end of winter, that I'll never want to see snow again. l don't think that's possible. Bob is such a nice man, I'm glad he's our neighbor.

December 14 - Snow lovely snow! 8" last night. The temperature dropped to -20. The cold makes everything sparkle so. The wind took my breath way,but I warmed up by shoveling the driveway and sidewalks. This is the life! The snowplow came back this afternoon and buried everything again. I didn't realize I would have to do quite this much shoveling, but I'll certainly get back in shape this way. I wish l wouldn't huff and puff so.

December 15 - 20 inches forecasted. Sold my van and bought a 4x4 Blazer. Bought snow tires for the wife's car and 2 extra shovels. Stocked the freezer. The wife wants a wood stove in case the electricity goes out.I think that's silly. We aren't in Alaska, after all.

December 16 - Ice storm this morning. Fell on my ass on the ice in the driveway putting down salt. Hurt like hell. The wife laughed for an hour, which I think was very cruel.

December 17 - Still way below freezing. Roads are too icy to go anywhere. Electricity was off for 5 hours. I had to pile the blankets on to stay warm. Nothing to do but stare at the wife and try not to irritate her. Guess I should've bought a wood stove, but won't admit it to her. God I hate it when she's right. I can't believe I'm freezing to death in my own living room.

December 20 - Electricity's back on, but had another 14" of the damn stuff last night. More shoveling. Took all day. Damn snowplow came by twice. Tried to find a neighbor kid to shovel, but they said they're too busy playing hockey. I think they're lying. Called the only hardware store around to see about buying a snow blower and they're out. Might have another shipment in March. I think they're lying. Bob says I have to shovel or the city will have it done and bill me. I think he's lying.

December 22 - Bob was right about a white Christmas because 13 more inches of the white stuff fell today, and it's so cold it probably won't melt till August. Took me 45 minutes to get all dressed up to go out to shovel and then I had to pee. By the time I got undressed, peed and dressed again. I was too tired to shovel. Tried to hire Bob who has a plow on his truck for the rest of the winter; but he says he's too busy. I think the a**hole is lying.

December 23 - Only 2" of snow today. And it warmed up to 0. The wife wanted me to decorate the front of the house this morning. What is she nuts!!! Why didn't she tell me to do that a month ago? She says she did but I think she's lying.

December 24 - 6". Snow packed so hard by snowplow, l broke the shovel. Thought I was having a heart attack. If I ever catch the son of a bitch who drives that snow plow I'll drag him through the snow by his you know what and beat him to death with my broken shovel. I know he hides around the corner and waits for me to finish shoveling and then he comes down the street at 100 miles an hour and throws snow all over where I've just been. Tonight the wife wanted me to sing Christmas carols with her and open our presents, but I was too busy watching for the damn snowplow.

December 25 - Merry fricking Christmas! 20 more inches of the damn snow tonight. Snowed in. The idea of shoveling makes my blood boil. God I hate the snow! Then the snowplow driver came by asking for a donation and I hit him over the head with my shovel. The wife says I have a bad attitude. I think she's a fricking idiot. If I have to watch "It's A Wonderful Life" one more time, I'm going to stuff her into the microwave.

December 26 - Still snowed in. Why the hell did I ever move here? It was all HER idea. She's really getting on my nerves.

December 27 - Temperature dropped to -30 and the pipes froze, plumber came after 14 hours of waiting for him, he only charged me 1,400 to replace all my pipes.

December 28 - Warmed up to above -20. Still snowed in. THE BI**H is driving me crazy!!!

December 29 - 10 more inches. Bob says I have to shovel the roof or it could cave in. That's the silliest thing I ever heard. How dumb does he think I am?

December 30 - Roof caved in. I beat up the snow plow driver he is now suing me for a million dollars not only the beating I gave him but also for trying to shove the broken snow shovel up his ass. The wife went home to her mother. 9" predicted.

December 31 - I set fire to what's left of the house. No more shoveling.

January 8 - Feel so good. I just love those little white pills they keep giving me. Why am I tied to the bed?

How is a real estate agent paid???

From time to time I will have a buyer or a seller who is unsure of how I am paid. This is more prevalent with my first time home buyers. So I thought this would be a good forum to give a brief overview.

Real estate agents almost always work on commission only and are not salaried employees nor are they paid hourly. The commission on a home sale is paid to the listing agent (representing the sellers) and selling agent (representing the buyers) at the closing of a real estate sales transaction and is almost always paid entirely by the seller of the home.

Commissions are shared between the listing and selling agents. A standard real estate commission on a home in our area is 6% (Commercial and land are sometimes more).

So let’s say that a home sells for $100,000.
Sales price: $100,000
Commission: 6%
Total commission: $6,000 (6% of $100,000)
Listing agent: receives 3% (of $100,000) = $3,000
Selling agent: receives 3% (of $100,000) = $3,000

Many people know this much but are unaware of what happens next...

Each of the agents usually will not take home $3,000. The real estate brokerage or agency that the real estate agent works for will still receive a percentage of the commission. The agency takes a cut of all agent commissions in order to pay overhead costs such as rent or mortgage for physical location, front office employees, liability insurance, association dues, state employee costs and taxes, small business taxes, etc.

Depending on the agency commission structure which varies from company to company the commission split between agency and agent could be 50/50, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20, 90/10. So, instead of the agent receiving the full $3,000 in the above example, his or her commission may actually be anywhere from $1,500 (50/50 split, agency gets $1,500) to $2,700 (90/10 split, agency gets $300). The agent may also be required to pay a “desk fee” or rent for their office space at the company and/or other expenses.

Real estate agents are also considered self employed so they are usually responsible for every expense required to list and sell their client’s homes. This includes everything from photo copies to computers and everything in between as well as TV advertising, homes guide advertising, newspaper advertising, website advertising, mailings, business cards, postage, FedEx fees, plat maps, membership dues, licensing fees, Errors & Omissions Insurance, real estate signs, etc. These expenses can be astronomical. Most are tax deductible but many new real estate agents will not make it past their first year unless they have a considerable nest egg to start off with.

Every agent is different, every company is different but in general this is a good synopsis of how the commission structure works. Some agents or companies will offer their services for less, but it usually comes at the expense of full service and advertising. Most discount agencies will put the listing on the local MLS and limit their advertising to free resources. It’s one more instance of the classic “You get what you pay for.”

For All the Brett Favre Fans Out There...

Congratulations to Annette Summersett from the Upper Peninsula for her musical video tribute to Brett Favre - 100,000 hits and climbing on YouTube. If you're like me you may shed a tear. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=caqr2zecCUs#

Local Millage Rates

My clients often ask me about property taxes, how they work in Michigan, and which areas in Marquette County have the most expensive and least expensive millage rates. In Michigan the state equalized value is approximately 50% of the home value. If you are living in the home and declare 100% homestead in that property the rate is less than if you use it as a second home or income property. In general a "Non-homestead" home costs about 18 more mills than a "Homestead" property.

Because of Proposal A's taxable value cap, the taxable value of property may be significantly less than state equalized value (one-half of estimated market value). Proposal A was put in place so that a home owner's taxes won't increase too quickly leaving them unable to pay. However, in the year after a property is sold, the taxable value of property will likely increase to the state equalized value. In estimating property taxes on property that will be purchased, use the state equalized value of the property, not the taxable value, or use one-half of the estimated purchase price. Hope that's all clear.

As far as millage rates go they can vary a great deal from one city/township to another. Here is a list of local 2007 homestead millage rates. Let's say you were purchasing a home for 100,000 in the city of Ishpeming. We would divide the purchase price by 2 to get 50,000 (taxable value). Ishpeming's millage rate is 43.3376 so we would then multiply $50,000 by 4.33376% for a total of $2166.88 per year.

You'll notice that several of the townships have different millage rates according to which school system the property falls under.

City/Township
City of Ishpeming - 43.3376
City of Negaunee - 39.4929
City of Marquette - 34.1615
Ewing Township - 30.8223
Champion Township - NICE Schools 29.9213 Powell Schools 25.7516
Richmond Township - 27.7458
Humboldt Township - NICE Schools 27.7776 Republic Michigamme 24.2079
Negaunee Township - 26.0369
Turin Township - 25.9703
Michigamme Township - Republic Michigamme Schools 25.9401 NICE Schools 29.5098
Marquette Township - Marquette Schools 25.2072 Gwinn Schools 23.9072
Chocolay Township - 23.9375
Forsyth Township - 23.7612
Republic Township - 23.6203
Ishpeming Township - NICE 23.3027 Ishpeming 25.1830 Powell 19.1330 Negaunee 23.2514
Sands Township - Gwinn Schools 22.2340 Marquette Schools 23.5340
Tilden Township - 22.8569
Ely Township - 22.8560
Wells Township - 21.4043
Skandia Township - 20.9919
Powell Township - 20.8172
West Branch Township - 19.5733