Farmington Hills Real Estate and Events talk Michigan

Here is an update on the Canton real estate market.  It is a buyers market in Southeastern Michigan with Canton real estate being no different.  In Canton some bargain homes are selling for as little as $100 a square foot.  There are lots of bargains out there if you are patient and search for them.  If you don't let your emotions get the best of you will get a great home value.  Newer Canton homes seem to be holding their value better, but there are even good deals in homes under 7 years old.  Feel free to go to my website www.russravary.com to search for Canton Homes for sale.

Here are statistics on how long Canton homes in Michigan are on the market in different price ranges.  If you are thinking of buying a home and have a home to sell, look at the chart carefully.  Can you afford to pay two mortgage payments up to a 150, or 217 days (that's an average too)  Can you imagine how long some homes are on the market if that is the average?  My recommendation to anybody looking to buy a homewith a home to sell is:  DON'T BUY UNTIL YOU SOLD YOUR HOME.  You must realize that buyers are going to low-ball you, and make offers that will insult you.  You have to be motivated to sell in this market.  If you do not have to sell, want a high price,or just testing the market, don't waste your time.   This isn't the market to be the highest price in the neighborhood.  The only #1 spot you will end up getting is the longest time on the market. (before you pull it off unsold, or before you have to drop price in line with the other Canton homes).  Why would somebody pay $20,000 or $30,000 more for your home when they can get a similar home down the street for less. 

Price Statistics
Num of Listings	60   45 30 15   0	R1 R2 R3 R4 R5 R6 R7 R8 R9 R10

I hope this information gave you a glimpse of the Canton Real estate market in Michigan

Have a great day.  Russ Ravary

Canton MI real estate

Comp and Listing Information Courtesy of Realcomp II Ltd, Properties shown have been listed and sold by various MLS member REALTOR® agents

Buying foreclosures in Michigan requires some diligence.  Remember that when buying a foreclosure your are buying a home "as is".  Whatever the condition you see it in is the condition that you will buy it in.  The bank will not fix anything after the inspection and a Purchase agreement.  They know you are interested in the house and they do not want to spend money. 

If you do an inspection you need to ask for a credit, or reduction in sales price because of the issues found.  The bank is more likely to grant a price reduction if the repair is a safety issue.  The bank knows that the issue will come up again.  Items such as electrical problems, gas leaks, furnace not working, roof leak, plumbing issues, and water leaks are more likely to get a price reduction.   These are items the banks sometimes have to do to get the home ready for sale.  ie a roof leak, water leak, or furnace problems.  The bank does't place much value that a few windows are bad, or the garage door doesn't close properly. 

Your choice is to take the house "as is" or ask for a price reduction. Banks are starting to accept lower offers for foreclosed homes in Michigan.  Many banks have large inventories and they would like to move them.  Hint for finding a Michigan foreclosed home bargain is to find out how long they have been on the market.  The longer on the market, the more likely the bank will be willing to deal. 

To search for Michigan foreclosures and Michigan homes for sale go to my website http://www.russravary.com/  

I am going to hammer this point over and over this month to people living in Southeastern Michigan.  If you have bought a home in Southeastern Michigan  (metro Detroit area) in the last 8 years you need to be thinking about fighting your taxes.  Michigan Home values have dropped!!!!  You may be overpaying property taxes.  I have an uncle that is a elected official in a city.  He made a comment to me that one western Wayne County city lost $1,000,000 in tax revenue last year at the local board of review.  That means a lot of people were able to reduce their taxes last year.  You definitely need to be checking your tax bill and finding out what homes are selling for in your area.

For more on fighting Michigan property taxes feel free to go to my website http://www.russravary.com/ and find out the steps you need to take to reduce property taxes in Michigan Lots of great information for buyers and sellers in Michigan whether it is Wayne county real estate, Oakland county real estate, Livingston county real estate, or Washtenaw county real estate.  

I hope that this helps you save money over the years.  Every penny I can help you save is money that you can spend elsewhere.  Have a great day.  Russ Ravary

My name is Russ Ravary and I am a Realtor and mortgage loan officer in Southeastern Michigan.  I am an proud Member of Active Rain.

I wanted to put my ideologies out there.

I am a person that thinks all of us are better off realizing that each of us are lucky, lucky for being born and live in the US, for having good family friends, for having physical abilities to hear, to see, to walk, and talk.  Each day we live, work, and enjoy life is a gift.  A gift that we need to take advantage of, enjoy, and make the world a little better place by simple things we can do. Like smiling, being courteous, being nice, helping people (as simple as opening a door).  It does not have to be a huge act (like giving $5000 or giving a kidney).  Little acts add up to big ones. 

 I am a realist.  The real estate market is bad, the economy is faltering, and the media is right for reporting it.  Consumers, clients need to be aware of what is going on.  If a seller doesn't know the market is bad, then it is a huge hurdle to set the correct home price.  An informed buyer and seller are our best clients.  Sure sometimes it comes across as negative, or pessimism.  But I will be the first to shout from the rooftops "Don't sell your home unless you have to".  Another I would like to shout is "Don't buy until your home is sold" unless you can afford two mortgage payments for up to a year and a half.  On the positive side it is a great time to buy for clients with the low prices, low interest rates, and a variety of homes to chose from.

Sure the economy is bad across the country but all of us can make it.  We may have to make some sacrifices. 

Some of the things we may have to do are:

We have to cut back spending, (maybe only buying if we can pay cash) We may have to admit to our friends that we can't afford it.  We may have to work harder, and do things that we didn't do before.  We may even have to start over financially.    

The key through of all of this is that YOU and I CAN DO IT.  We can make it through this, we can enjoy life, we can enjoy this day.  Remember what is most important in life itself.  Sure we have to work and pay for how we live.  But we work to play, we work to enjoy life, we work to enjoy family and friends.  We can sit back and complain and do nothing.  But take action, make a plan.  Whether it is starting over because of foreclosure, or losing a job.  Or hanging on.  Do something positive to get your life back on track.  Ask your friends and family for help and to help you change.

It is a tough time, but the people that have positive thinking, positive attitude, and take action to make their life better will be the ones that come out of this the best.  Take action to survive.  May this year be a good one for you and your family.  Russ Ravary

No cost loans are they for real?  True No fee loans or true no cost loans are done by many mortgage brokers, banks, mortgage lenders.  When you borrow money you usually have to pay appraisal fees, title insurance, title closing costs, bank processing fees, flood insurance checking.  These fees add up to $1200 -$2500 depending on the bank and the size of the loan.  So how can somebody do a no cost loan? 

Here is how they work.  Loan officers, banks, mortgage brokers make more money the higher the rate they sell you.  For example at 4% they make get 1% of the loan amount. So at 4.25% they make 1.4% of the loan amount and at 4.65% they may make 2% of the loan amount.

So lets use the example above on a $200,000 loan.  If your Michigan mortgage person does a 4% loan for you they make 1% of $200,000 or $2000 that is split between the company for overhead and the mortgage person.

Now if you have $2000 in closing costs they will give you a rate of 4.65%.  They make 2% of $200,000 or $4000.  They take $2000 of that money to pay the closing costs out of their pocket.   That is how a no cost loan works.  It is also how somebody may have lower closing costs than somebody else.  They are taking some of their commission to pay your closing costs.

Is it worth doing a no cost loan?  Let's say you have a 5 1/8% loan on $200,000 with a payment of $1088.97 a month that you got last year.  Your mortgage person offers you a 4.65% no cost loan with a payment of $1031.27 that does not cost you a dime or raise your mortgagebalance.  You save $57.70 a month!  You would save $20,772 over the life of the loan.  It is a no brainer.

But let me play the devils advocate here.  Why wouldn't you do the 4% loan?  I this case I would if I had the $2000 in closing costs and I did not have to roll it in.  The payment on 4% is $954.83  a savings of $123.04 a month which means it would take 16 1/2 months to break even.  Are you going to stay in the house for over 16.5 months.  Then it would be worthwhile to do the lower 4%.  The payback time is different for every loan and every percentage rate.

You have to work the numbers when offered a no cost loan.  Ask your mortgage person for the full fee loan too.  Then make a decision after you run both payments and figure the payback time. 

For more on Michigan mortgages, credit scoring, and Michigan real estate feel free to go to my website www.russravary.com    Have a great day!!!  Russ Ravary 

My latest Orchard Ridge Subdivision Neighborhood Update, Novi, Michigan as of January 1, 2008
There are 2 Novi homes currently for sale in the sub.  The average list price is $289,950 and on the average has been on the market for 409 days

IF YOU OR ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS, OR CHILDREN WOULD LIKE TO SEE ONE OF THESE LOVELY HOMES EMAIL ME AT INFO@RUSSRAVARY.COM OR CALL ME ON MY CELL AT 313-310-9855

Here are all the Novi homes that have sold in Orchard Ridge, Novi, MI in the last year as of 1/1/2008

2 homes have sold in the last year with an average price of $250,000 after being on the market an average of 93 days.

Remember when you price your Novi home right it will not sit on the market as long.  So if you have to move call me for the latest comparative market analysis (CMA) of your Oakland County subdivision.

I have many other Novi, MI subdivision updates, Northville, MI subdivision updates listed on my website http://www.russravary.com/.  You can find useful information like how to fight your Michigan taxes, search over 11,000 Michigan homes for sale, Southeastern Michigan City info crime statistics and demographics, City of Noviincluding Novi and Oakland County Millage rates, churches, hotels, recreation area, schools.

If you don't find your subdivision or would like more information feel free to email me at info@russravary.com or call me on my cell at (313) 310-9855.  When you or friends are ready to buy give me a call to help you find a great Novi home or any Michigan home at a great price.

Have a great day        Russ Ravary 

Comp and Listing Information Courtesy of Realcomp II Ltd, Properties shown have been listed and sold by various MLS member REALTOR® agents

I had an interesting experience with a client last month.  They wanted to buy a home and wanted me to be their mortgage person.  They were very close lipped on their finances and the husband did not want to use his credit or his income.  He said he had blemishes on his credit report, but he had 700+ scores.

Without his income they could not qualify for a loan, get pre-approved for a home, or buy a Michigan home they wanted.  I never found out what was wrong with his credit, as they backed off from buying a home.  The wife had said he won't even tell the wife what is wrong with his credit.  He was trying to solve the issue himself.

When you go to a mortgage person or loan officer let us help you.  I have helped many clients take their scores from the 500's to good credit.  We know the in's and out's of getting your credit problems resolved.  We can usually take you step by step through your credit report and tell you what you need to do.

I do not mind doing this.  At one time when I was younger I had bad credit.  I worked through it and you can too.  It takes time, and sometimes some work.  But then you will be able to buy a home, get a better mortgage interest rate, and save money on mortgage payments..  It is a service that we do free of charge.

We know the business and the banks.  Some banks have different requirements.  If that client would have opened up, we probably would have been able to help them.  They would not be renting right now.

If you have credit issues, live in Michigan, and want to get back on the right track so you can buy a home.  Email me at info@russravary.com or go to my website www.russravary.com  I will help you get back on track to good credit.  YOU CAN DO IT.  IT JUST TAKES A LITTLE TIME.  For more on credit scores feel free to go to my website.  Have a great night  Russ Ravary 

IF YOU OR ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS, OR CHILDREN WOULD LIKE TO SEE ONE OF THESE LOVELY HOMES EMAIL ME AT INFO@RUSSRAVARY.COM OR CALL ME ON MY CELL AT 313-310-9855

Here are all the Novi homes that have sold in North Haven Woods, Novi, MI in the last year as of 1/1/2008

4 Novi homes have sold in the last year with an average price of $345,000 after being on the market an average of 96 days.

Remember when you price your home right it will not sit on the market as long.  So if you have to move call me for the latest comparative market analysis of your Oakland County subdivision.

I have many other Novi, MI subdivision updates, Northville, MI subdivision updates listed on my website http://www.russravary.com/.  You can find useful information like how to fight your Michigan taxes, search over 11,000 Michigan homes for sale, Southeastern Michigan City info crime statistics and demographics, City of Novi including Novi and Oakland County Millage rates, churches, hotels, recreation area, schools.

If you don't find your subdivision or would like more information feel free to email me at info@russravary.com or call me on my cell at (313) 310-9855.  When you or friends are ready to buy give me a call to help you find a great home at a great price.

Novi

Comp and Listing Information Courtesy of Realcomp II Ltd, Properties shown have been listed and sold by various MLS member REALTOR® agents

It is Plymouth Ice festival time in downtown Plymouth, Michigan in Kellogg Park.  They have ice carvers from around the world that come.  Some of the displays are huge taking 50+ blocks of ices.  They are definitely beautiful.  The Plymouth Ice festival runs from January 25 - 27.  The crowds are big, the downtown stores usually stay open a little later.  If you have never been to Downtown Plymouth it is a old style downtown with the stores around the central park.  Be sure to dress warm as you will be walking around and it is going to be cold this weekend.  It is a great event to come to with the family and get out of the house.

There are lots of great bars and restaurants to eat in.  Here are a few of them are listed below

Box Bar- a great place with 100's of different beer and reasonably priced food right on the park

Comparis - authentic Italian food - one of my wifes favorite restaurants right on the park

Sean O'Callaghan - Irish Pub right close to the park

Station 885 - a short drive away from the park if you want to get away from the crowd yet try a new place in Plymouth

Fiamma Grille Steakhouse - Higher end steakhouse right on the park

There is a parking structure in Plymouth, but just park in the first open spot you can.  Parking is always at a premium at the Plymouth Ice Festival

If you are thinking of buying a home in Plymouth, Michigan, relocating to Metro Detroit, or the surrounding area go to my website www.russravary.com  I have crime statistics, Neighborhood updates, community info about the city of Plymouth, MI and a place to search Plymouth homes for sale, and Homes in Southeastern Michigan.  Also my website has a great things to do section.  So whether it is winter or summer I have great tips on what to do this week.

Have a great weekend and enjoy the Plymouth Ice Festival