Selling your Michigan lake property?

Michigan Lakes Team was started because sellers were hiring good local agents but were still not able to sell their lake homes. 95% of all lake buyers are from the Chicago area. We saw a need to make sellers lake homes stand out to that Chicago buyer. We go and get that buyer and will do whatever it takes. Our listings do not get lost in all of the other lake homes for sale in SW and SE Michigan. That Chicago buyer and every local buyer will know about each and every one of our listings.

Basic Marketing plan

We have a 20+ step marketing plan that blows any other real estate company. With an agreed upon listing contract with Michigan Lakes Team Inc. your marketing plan will include:

  • Chicago Marketing
     
  • You listing will appear on our site which gets well over 42,000 hits per month
     
  • Your listing will appear on 30-40 different websites that include lakehouse.comCraig’s list and the Chicago Reader
     
  • We send direct mail to Chicago Attorneys, Doctors and Traders
  • We send 4500 Chicago agents your home information and offer them a substantial referral fee
     
  • Virtual tour on the Realtor.com (the #1 site used by buyers) that will allow hundreds of buyers from many areas to get excited about your home. The virtual tour will also be in the M.L.S and other internet websites.
  • You will be in our own Lake Magazine as well as Waterfront Magazine
  • We give you impressive color brochures with all the information of your home, schools, lake information, pictures of the interior and exterior areas etc. These are left out for potential buyers to take. We never let the buyers forget your home.
  • Direct monthly mailings to thousands of potential lake buyers in our database of individuals and companies in Chicago and Northwest Indiana. We also highlight your home to 4500 Chicago Realtors.
  • Direct mailings to lake owners on your lake and surrounding lakes. Friends and family want lake homes, too.
  • We personally meet with lake buyers Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in Chicago by appointment . We discuss their needs, answer their questions and get them going in the right direction. We DO NOT wait for buyers to come to us! We go get them!
  • View properties online. We have all lake properties that are for sale on our website. It is an easy and fast search for buyers. Buyers can also sign up for our Daily updates (notified immediately of new listings) and monthly newsletters. Our website has the most complete information of any website, anywhere!
  • Our web address appears on all of our advertising which includes:
Chicago Magazine
Shoreline Magazine
Lake Magazine
Waterfront Magazine
SW Michigan Homes & Lifestyles
Harbor Country Homes & Lifestyles
St. Joseph County, Indiana
Chicago Crain’s Business Weekly

Through these publications we are able to reach the most buyers possible in Indiana, Michigan and Illinois. About 95% of lake buyers reside out of state.

  • We cooperate with all other real estate agents in Southwest Michigan. Why is that so important? We want every real estate agent to try to sell your home. Period. When you list with a company that is not a part of the Multiple Listing Service you are missing out on hundreds of buyers and have only a few agents trying to sell your home. The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) in short is a huge database that keeps track of all the area properties that have been listed or sold. Each real estate agent stores his/her listings in this data base so other real estate agents can access the information instantly. They can prepare a comparative market analysis from this information so that you can get the best price for your home. Make sure your real estate agent is part of this system.
  • Last but not least we do direct mailings to over 600 agents in Indiana. Many Indiana buyers want lake homes. Their agents need to know about yours. We make sure
    they do.

Questions to ask agents you interview

We are fine with the idea of interviewing real estate agents before you hire anyone. Odd for us to say right? Actually interviewing other companies only makes us look that much better. If you do interview others make sure to ask them:

  • What kind of properties do you sell?
  • How many lake homes did you sell last year?
  • What is your average sales price?
  • What are your marketing plans?
  • Do you market to Indiana?
  • How many of your own listings do you sell?
  • What kind of follow up can I expect from you?
  • Are you a member of MLS?
  • How many hits does your web site get each month?
  • What is their average length of time spent at site?

What is MLS and do I need it?

Multiple listing service means that your real estate company offers to split the commission you pay to get your home sold with other companies for selling your home.

By offering them a fee to bring a buyer you will have well over 1,000 agents all trying to sell your home. If your company is not a member of the MLS the only people trying to sell your home are the agents just in that office. Your home is a well kept secret known only to those in that office. We don’t think that is really working for the sellers best interest. We would rather be in the MLS and show your home to as many buyers as possible and get your home sold as quickly as possible. When you really work for your sellers best interest your reputation will grow and success will follow. Make sure to ask as all real estate companies are not in the MLS