A Quick Chat With Realtor of the Year Gene Szpeinski

Today I am joined by Gene Szpeinski, the Realtor of the Year and my manager. Gene shares a few kind words about my career, as well as his take on our current real estate market.

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Gene Szpeinski is the Realtor of the Year. He also happens to be one of my good friends, as well as my manager.

Gene has known me for a very long time. “I knew his father, too,” says Gene. “Larry is a third-generation Realtor, and they’re now working on getting the fourth generation into the business. That means they have really served West Michigan families for a long time, which is really awesome.”

“Larry spends an enormous amount of time making sure that things are right for you in your transaction. He’ll go the extra mile to make sure that it’s right because he wants to do business with you again, as well as with your friends and family. Referrals are the lifeblood of a Realtor’s business, and you can’t be a third-generation Realtor, last this long in the industry, or do as well as he has without really good referrals from people,” Gene adds. “He is always focused on what he can do right for you.”

Besides these kind words, Gene also took a moment to share what he thinks of our current market.

These last three years have been very interesting for our market.

“This is my 45th year in the business, and the last three years have been very interesting,” says Gene. “Parts of the market have no inventory whatsoever, so when something gets listed, it’s immediately descended upon and receives multiple offers. So it’s a very active time for a lot of folks.”

“Not every segment of the market is quite that speedy,” he adds, “but for the most part, we just have a shortage of properties [on the market].”

While this lack of inventory can make things difficult for homebuyers, I look at eight to 10 properties a week that have yet to be listed on the market. Once I meet with you, I can find out exactly what you’re looking for and find you the perfect house before it even hits the market.

Thanks to Gene for stopping by. As always, if you have any real estate questions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I would be happy to help you!

How to Choose the Best Offer for Your House

What all goes into the home selling process? Since we're in a great market for sellers, you might receive multiple offers for your home, which means you'll need to carefully consider these factors.

Selling your Grand Rapids home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Grand Rapids home? Search all homes for sale

We're currently in a great market for home sellers. How does the selling process actually work, though?

It starts with a Realtor like myself coming to your home to assess it and tell you what it's worth, then providing you with some tips for making it more sellable. Next, we'll list it for sale. If and when offers start coming in, we'll examine a few different factors.
 
Say you list the house for $200,000 and the first offer uses FHA financing and asks for $3,000 in closing costs and the second offer is an all-cash, full price offer wanting to close in 30 with only 10 days possession. Say the third offer is a VA loan from a veteran for $206,000 and asks for $4,000 in closing costs. Let's say the last offer—and probably the best offer—is an FHA financed offer for $208,000 and asks for $3,000 in closing costs with a 40-day closing and 30 days possession after closing, and the buyer is pre-approved by a trusted local lender.

Of these offers, there are a lot of factors to consider. For one, having an offer that's approved by a trusted local lender is important. If an offer comes in from a bank I don't recognize or like, it will probably be shifted down the pile.

With every offer, there are plenty of factors you need to consider.

Also remember that when selling your house, you'll also need time to look for your next home and time to close on it so that you don't have to move twice. In the case of our best offer, the buyer is giving a 40-day window for closing and 30 days free possession, which gives us plenty of time shop for a house and close on it (hopefully on the same day as the other home's closing) and plenty of time to move.

Of course, there's a lot more that goes into examining these offers, but the important thing to remember is how much I study these offers to make sure you get the most for your situation and avoid having to move twice.

If you have any other questions about selling your house, don't hesitate to give me a call or send me an email soon. I'd be more than happy to help you.