Not just any port in a storm...

And now for a word from our sponsor - me. After yesterday's somewhat brutal assessment of he current real estate market and its immediate future, I couldn't help myself and came up with today's commercial. It's just not a time to be in the market without a good Realtor partner and a part of what makes a good partner is the company that they represent.

We are in a major real estate storm, especially in Michigan; and the seas for home sellers are very rough. There’s an old saw about “any port in a storm”; however, I would submit that now is the time, more than ever, to seek a safe harbor in which to ride out this storm. If circumstances dictate that you must sell in these conditions, then seeking out the best and the safest company to go with makes the most sense. This is no time to be throwing in with some fly-by-night company (see my posting of June 18th on Two Clowns and a Sign) or even the smaller franchise operations, which may not have the wherewithal to maintain their marketing and advertising programs during this downturn. Real Estate One is Michigan's largest and most successful real estate company.

Now, having size doesn’t always mean better; but, it almost always means more – more agents who might show your listing, more advertising to give your home more exposure and more Internet presence to attract more buyers. In the real estate game, more in those categories is a good thing. Size also normally means more staying power. We’ve seen quite a few small branch office of multi-office franchisers close in the last year and we’re seeing quite a bit of movement of agent in the marketplace (fortunately for us many are coming to work for us). There’s peace of mind in knowing that the company and agent that you’re signing up with will still be in business a few months from now. Size for us also means having affiliated companies - John Adams in the mortgage field, InsuranceOne in insurance and Capital title in the title field- so that we can create and offer more and better packages of services and marketing programs for our customers.

In addition to size, experience is important in these trying times. It’s just good to know that you’re dealing with a company that’s been in business since 1929. We’re still owned and run by the founding family and there are quite a few people in the company that have been around for 30-40 years; so, we’ve got people who’ve been through a few of these storms. Our management doesn’t panic in a storm like this, because they’re weathered them before. They adjust, they adapt, they change and they survive, precisely because they’ve been through them before and they help our agents and clients do the same. Call me and let’s talk about how we can help you get through this storm safely. End of commercial. We will now re-join our regularly scheduled blog in progress.