The Perfect House Probably Does Not Exist Even with the low inventory in North Oakland and Lapeer County MI, I still consider this pretty much  a buyer’s market. Prices have been increasing pretty rapidly, BUT are still quite low compared to peak times as are interest rates. And there are good houses out there, but […]

Oakland County Home Prices on the Rise BUT Housing Is Cheaper When most Oakland County MI home buyers purchase a house they are buying under a certain house payment amount. Many factors go into that amount including home price, property taxes, mortgage interest rate. Your mortgage pre-approval is really an approval for a certain monthly […]

CCS = SALE PENDING Tired of calling your agent with Oakland County homes you find on Realtor.com or on your agent’s IDX site (consumer MLS) only to be told that many of those Oakland County homes are pending? And many of those same homes are still showing as active a month or two or six […]

Writing an Offer on an Oakland County Michigan Home Unless you’re a cash buyer, our standard purchase agreement contains a financing contingency. Even if you are pre-qualified you need this contingency to protect yourself. If your financial situation changes after writing the offer (such as job loss) you need the protection of the financing contingency. […]

Seller Concessions Explained- Southeast Michigan Real Estate This is my attempt at a very simplified explanation of what seller concessions are. Example: You want to buy the house you just looked at and want to make an offer of $200,000. You need $5000 in seller concessions (seller paying all or part of your closing costs). […]

Home staging your Oakland County or Lapeer County MI home for sale. At one time it was just part of a Realtor’s job to “stage” a home they were listing- at least in the North Oakland and Lapeer areas that I work in. In those days staging had a bit of a different meaning. I […]

Now your Southeast Michgan house is on the market- beautifully described in the MLS with 25 photos and a virtual tour, sign in the yard with color flyers in the box (again- beautifully described), full color ads all over the internet. Everything is going along just like your Realtor told you it would. And now the […]

What Does BATVI Mean? Clarkston MI Real Estate Simply- Buyer Agent To Verify Information. This is also known as an ass covering, or in my opinion, a waste of precious space in the limited space allotted in the MLS. If you are buying a Clarkston MI short sale listing, beware of listings where the listing […]

North Oakland County Homes- The Faster They Sell The Higher They Sell For The quick sales tend to be the appraisals I sweat out the most. A well priced house will sell quickly. The best prices I’ve gotten for sellers have been the quickest sales. Last year I listed a 4 bedroom colonial in Wyngate, […]

What Sets Me Apart From Other Southeast Michigan Listing Agents? I’ve been showing houses quite a bit lately and have noticed some disturbing trends. Many of these trends are confined to foreclosure listings; or at least I thought the incomplete listings with no yard sign out front and no electricity on in the house was […]

If Your Short Sale Agent Has A 90%+ Success Rate, Are They Really Looking Out For Your Best Interests? It seems like every broker has one- a “company” or “group” who will handle short sales for their agents’ clients. I’m contacted a couple times a week with the common pitch: “All you have to do […]

Why I don’t List Short Sale Listings The title is off a little- if you are a past client or a friend I will consider taking your short sale listing, but you have to play by my rules- no exception. And those rules will be the topic of another post. For the most part I […]

Southeast Michigan Short Sales- Why You Should Avoid Many Of The So Called “Short Sale Specialists” I will preface this post with a kind of anti-disclaimer: If you have to sell via short sale, I DO NOT WANT TO LIST YOUR HOUSE. If you are a past client or a friend, I will list your […]

Bad Advise From Your Realtor? From Your “Short Sale Specialist”? What Are Our Responsibilities? Where Does The Buck Stop? I’m going to start this post with a true story. A week or so ago I received a phone call from an out of state Realtor asking if I would list his sister’s house- a short sale listing. […]

Oakland County MI Seller- When Foreclosure May Be Your Best Option If you need to move, and you’re upside down on your mortgage, short selling your house isn’t always the best option. Sometimes bringing the difference to closing is best. Sometimes renting your house out instead of selling is your best option. And sometimes letting […]

Buying an Oakland County MI Short Sale Listing- What to Expect Between what I’ve heard on TV and radio, read and from conversations I’ve had with clients, potential clients, other agents, relatives, friends… I have learned that there are a whole host of definitions for the term “short sale.” And most of them not very […]

Oakland County MI Real Estate A short sale is when the house is offered for sale by the owner (person as opposed to a bank) who owes more than what is owed. Once an offer is accepted, the bank has to agree to reduce the mortgage payoff. Usually some of the leg work has been […]

Short sales in Clarkston Michigan – click here for the very basics including my attempt to define exactly what a short sale is and the basic steps involved. Below is more about what to expect throughout the short sale transaction. Short sale listings can be some of the best bargains available in Clarkston MI, but […]

Making an Offer on an Oakland County Michigan Short Sale Listing? The Asking Price Means Nothing! First a quick run down about how the short sale process works. Owner lists a house with a real estate agent. The owner owes more on the house than he can sell it for and is either unable or […]

Southeast Michigan Short Sales- Why You Should Avoid Many Of The So Called “Short Sale Specialists” I will preface this post with a kind of anti-disclaimer: If you have to sell via short sale, I DO NOT WANT TO LIST YOUR HOUSE. If you are a past client or a friend, I will list your […]

Buying an Oakland County or Lapeer County Foreclosure? What to Expect Or more precisely what not to expect. Don’t expect to be able to negotiate anything other than price. Think $150 to re-key a door is high? Too bad. There’s no way around it and you won’t get the key at closing. It may be […]

Can A Seller REALLY Enforce That The Buyer Not Resell For A Specific Period Of Time? A lot of the bank and government owned listings specify owner occupied only for the first couple weeks or for the first month. They require the buyer to sign a document that the house will be their primary residence […]

Lake Orion Michigan Foreclosure Listings Are NOT Available For Sale BEFORE Hitting The MLS I am asked multiple times a week if I can let someone know about Lake Orion MI foreclosure listings before they hit the market. When I say “there is no way” I am then often asked about RealtyTrac. RealtyTrac reports foreclosure […]

Am I Overpaying? Is the listing overpriced? What is the house worth? All questions, or variations of questions, most buyers ask when buying a house. They are valid questions with not easy or pat answer. The value of the home depends on your point of view. Webster defines “value” as “a fair return or equivalent […]

Michigan Foreclosures- New Buyer Fee to Consider It is customary in Michigan real estate transactions for the seller to pay the transfer tax- both state and county- to the tune of .86 of a per cent of the sale price. Bank owned homes backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have been exempt from this […]