Farmington Hills Real Estate and Events talk Michigan

Does Moving up make sense?

Answer these questions to help you decide whether moving up makes sense.

1. How much equity do you have in your home?   Call a realtor to figure out home much you will walk away from the closing with.   Get a CMA done to figure your selling price.
2. Remember it is a buyers market it is going to take a longer period to sell your house. 
3. Did you recieve a large amount of money to put down on the house?  Has your or your spouses income increased to cover increased mortgage payment and taxes?
4. Are you looking for a better school system, a better  commute to work, need more room for an addition to the family?  Are you looking for a different layout or just a more modern or updated home?
5. You are going to get less for your house but if you are getting a bigger house you will actually gain on the buy and sell.
6. Should you stay in the home you have?  Can you add on or remodel? What is the cost to do that remodel?  Would you need a variance from the city to remodel or do you have the room to add on?  Would your addition to the home overprice you for the neighborhood?  Can you handle the mess of remodeling, the decisions you have to make, and the stress that comes with remodeling?
7. How is the home market? If it's a buyers market you may lose on the sale of your house but make it up on the purchase of the new house.
8. How are interest rates? Are interest rates lower or the same than the one you have now?  If so you may be able to get more house just because of a lower interest rates. 
9. Can you truly afford the new taxes and mortgage payment on your new Oakland County Home, Wayne county home, or Livingston county home. 

I want you to live in your new Michigan home for many years to come and not lose it in foreclosure or become "house poor".  So think over carefully what mortgage payment you can afford,  most lenders will be able to lend you more than your can afford.

I am a positive person but tonight I am on a bigger roll of being positive.  Have you ever run into that nasty, mean old person.  Or even that person that is always trying out a new scam or taking advantage of people.

Live is short.  Some people only think of themselves.  Some of the divorces that happen in this country happen because one of the spouses is only thinking of themselves.  The spouse wanting that greener pasture, or wanting that younger or prettier partner.  Or wanting a totally different way of life.

Some people are driven to make lots of money at any cost.  Willing to sell anything even though it may not suit the buyers needs.  Willing to put their needs before the customers.  How many times I heard in mortgage offices " I have to feed and support my family"  I knew some mortgage guys that made $10,000 a loan.  Many times there was no regard for what the customer needed.  It was about what was going to line their pockets.  Over the years I lost some customers because I would not do what they said.  Sometimes it was illegal, sometimes they where buying houses that I knew they could never afford.  They went down the street and got the mortgage, bought the house.  They don't have the houses anymore.

Sometimes we take a path, it is a choice that we make to take shortcuts.  It is your choice in life to be mean, to be nasty.  It's your choice to line our pockets from the pockets of others.  ( You can make lots of money by doing the honest way) It's our choice to do the right thing. To help others.  It is your choice to grow into that mean old nasty person or the person that helps others.  It is your choice to take advantage of people to line your pockets or it's your choice to make the world a little better each month you live.

Will you be remembered as a user or a giver

                                   a volunteer or a hermit

                                   a miserly person or a benevolent person

                                   a person you want to see or a person people avoid

                                   a scammer or some body that is honest

It's your choice what you grow into. 

 When I first joined Active Rain there was another newbie that was blogging away at a furious pace.  He had over a hundred posts in a month.  But he had an "air" to his blogs.  He ticked off a lot of active rainers.  He received a lot of mean comments and got into a few back and forth arguments.  He came across a little arrogant and a lit bit of a know it all.  He was telling people who to do things.  He made a lot of enemies.  He eventually quit blogging on Active Rain.

I read another blog the other day with a eerily similar tone.  The blogger said they would never be one of the "in" people on Active Rain.  What you have to remember is that as part of the community you want to build relationships.  You want referrals from people you know well.  Friendly interaction creates camaraderie.

I remember when I first joined AR I posted a blog that stated that the Metro Detroit real estate market was in the dumps and it wasn't going to turn around soon.  I'm just one of a thousand Michigan Realtors but I know my market well.  Another Active Rainer in another part of the state told me I had a "poor attitude and that the Metro Detroit real estate market wasn't that bad."  I didn't comment back or get into an argument.

When you get into an arguement with somebody in person it creates hard feelings.  In writing it is even longer lasting.  People take written words to heart.  They can read and re-read them over and over.  Here at Active Rain we are an emotional lot. 

I'm not saying that you shouldn't voice your opinions.  I'm not saying that you shouldn't put in your two cents.  I'm not saying you shouldn't stand up for your opinions.  But remember you need to play nice in the sand box.  Active Rain is a beautiful place to meet and interact with with other real estate professionals.  Enjoy!

photo courtesy of http://www.freephotos.com

I had a offer in on a short sale on a Farmington Hills home.  Well for 4 months nothing happened.  Then 2 days before the bank was to take possession of the home they accepted the offer and then said we had to close in 2 days.  Well my clients needed a FHA Mortgage and needed time to get it together.  We had the appraisal, they had all the documents in but the bank needed a signed PA.

Of course the other agent did not have a clear title policy or gotten a copy of the signed PA.  Anyway it was an impossible deal even if my clients would have had cash.   The soonest the loan officer said it could be done in was 3 days.  Beyond the foreclosure date. 

But I haven't given up on getting this home for my clients.  I have been calling Fannie Mae each day trying to track down who has the loan for this piece of Farmington Hills real estateand who to contact for my clients.  BUT now Fannie Mae has given the loan back to GMAC because they had a short sale offer on it.  OURS!!!   So now I need to track it down in GMAC reo division.

Any help to find GMAC's reo division phone number would be greatly appreciated.  Let's help this young couple buy this Metro Detroit home before their wedding this fall.

Here it is Labor Day and another summer has passed.  With the slower real estate market in Metro Detroit area I have been working harder than ever.  Some of my buyers just want to keep on looking as they can't find what they want. 

I can not wait for this holiday weekend as the Labor Day weekend is going to be a rest for me.  Hard to imagine a workaholic taking Labor Day as a day of rest.  We will be on a lake one of the days just floating around on a Pontoon boat with family.  We will be barbecuing some ribs.  I can smell them now.

There are lots of things going on in Metro Detroit but you can find inexpensive things to do.  You can play ladder ball, horseshoes, or bocci ball with friends.

Barack Obama and Senator Biden will be here in Metro Detroit at the annual Labor Day Parade.  Then they will be speaking at a rally in Hart Plaza in Downtown Detroit.  There is many great events going on around town.

Pontiac Michigan is having ART BEATS and EATs

Romeo is having the Romeo Peach Festival

Rochester is having Arts and Apples Art show.

Detroit Michigan is hosting the Michigan State Fair 

So take some advice from this workaholic.  Take some time off from working and go and enjoy the weekend with family and friends.   Relax and sit back.   Life passes us by so fast.  Enjoy yourselves. 

Whether you are getting your Livonia Home ready for sale or any home in the country it is important to take the time to fix, repair, and upgrade somethings.

  Get rid of the pink carpet!!!!

My number one tip is that if you don't fix, repair, or upgrade your Michigan home for sale you are going to lose money.  In the 2000 Metro Detroit real estate market home buyers want ready to move into homes.  The home buyer doesn't want to take the time to fix things, take down wall paper or even paint if they can help it.

They want the movers to unload their belongings, put refreshments in the fridge, plug in the TV and put their feet up on the coach.  Maybe I'm exaggerating a little but most Michigan home buyers don't want to do a lot of work when they move in.

Your home will sell if you spend a few dollars, spend some time making it move in ready.  In this buyers market you need everything can to make your home look better than the one down the street.  The homes that are fixed up are selling quicker and for more money.  In one Northville MI subdivision there was a $60,000 difference between a fixer upper and move in ready house.  That was in a $225,000 - $300,000 neighborhood.  The homeowner could gotten all the work done for about $30,000.  Can you afford to lose $2000 or $30,000 like those people did?  

If you live in the Metro Detroit Michigan area and thinking of selling email me at info@russRavary.com  I will be glad to sit down with you and help you devise a plan of getting your home sold for the most money possible.

Farmington Michigan events and Farmington Hills real estate

Cities Help Promote "Great Tree Hunt of 2008" 

The Cities of Farmington Hills and Farmingtonhave joined with the Farmington Public Schools to support the "Great Tree Hunt of 2008."  This community-wide project is an environmental initiative designed to locate the biggest and best trees in our area.

 All students in kindergarten through 8^th grade will learn about the program at the start of the fall semester.  Organizers hope that it will turn into a family activity with parents helping their children hunt for the best tree specimens while enjoying the outdoors together.

 Children will be asked to seek out and provide specific information about great trees, including location, how big around measured at 4 ½ feet above the ground, and a leaf sample.  Completed application forms will be turned in to classroom teachers and then sent on to tree experts for study and comparison.  

The program is partnered with the Champion Tree Project International, which was founded in 1996 to preserve the biggest, strongest, and eldest trees in the nation.  Seeds and buds are harvested from these "champion" trees to be propagated into new saplings.  The "Great Tree Hunt" is a grass roots effort to protect and preserve champion trees in our area. 

The "Great Tree Hunt of 2008" is sponsored by the Beautification Commission, the Farmington/Farmington Hills Chamber of Commerce, the Farmington Public Schools PTA, and the Woodcreek Civic Association.  Although the organizers' goal is to raise awareness of the benefits of trees and to promote environmental stewardship, there are prizes involved that just may help generate interest in the program as well.

Program coordinators solicited sponsorships from several local businesses and organizations.  The "Great Tree Hunt" Grand Prize is a two-day weekend stay for up to seven people in a KidCabin at the Great Wolf Lodge near Traverse City.  The Grand Prize, valued at over $1,000, includes a gas voucher, meals, access to the water park, arcade tokens, and more. 

Additional prizes guaranteed to encourage participation include a Wii home video game system and a BMX bike.  Other sponsors offering prizes include Ginopolis Restaurant, Sunflower Bakehaus, Kohl's, Oakland County Parks, Trader Joes, Staples, and Whole Foods Market. 

Winners will be acknowledged at the annual Beautification Commission Awards Ceremony to be held at the Costick Center in Farmington Hills Michigan on October 30.  Plaques will also be placed at both City Halls honoring program participants and competition winners.  Organizers hope that the "Great Tree Hunt of 2008" will become a model program that will be adopted in other communities in Michigan, as well as other states.                               

 Details about the "Great Tree Hunt of 2008" will be available on the Farmington Public School's website at www.farmington.k12.mi.us and through an informational video on Cable Channels 8, 12 and 15, and Farmington Public SchoolsChannel 10.  For more information, call Program Coordinators Hank Murawski at 248-910-4163 or Peggi Tabor at 248-932-8933.

Farmington and Farmington Hills Michigan are great places to live.  If you are looking tomove to Farmington and Farmington Hills feel free to search Farmington Hills homes for sale on my websites.  Or call me for your own personalized list of Michigan homes for sale. 

Photos courtesy of http://www.freephotos.com

So you have a dream of buying your own Michigan home and you want to start as soon as possible.  One of the first things you should do is to figure out what you can afford for a house payment.

Many home buyers across the nation failed this 1st tip over the last few years.  Many Michigan home buyers are in foreclosure because they over bought.  They are losing their homes they just bought a few years ago.  They have a house payment they can't afford.  Some of them were talked into a bigger house by a real estate agent, family member, or friends.  Some let a mortgage loan officer tell them what they could afford.  Some succumbed to peer pressure of buying the big Michigan home.  Now they are in foreclosure.  They couldn't afford the house, the taxes, or the upkeep of the house.

So take the time and sit down and figure out what you can afford for a house payment.  Be sure to include taxes and insurance in the house payment.  You have to pay them every year so include them.  If you can only afford $1200 a month.  Then stick to it.  Don't let a real estate agent or mortgage person tell you can afford more.

It is your comfort level.  The bottom line is do you want to keep the home or do you want to start over in 5 years.  Figure out what you can afford.  Then try saving or living without that money each money. 

Let's say you say you think you can afford $2000 a month.  If you live at home try putting away $2000 a month without using it.  If you rent and your rent is $800 then put $1200 aside each month.    Try this for 3 to 6 months.  Then you will know whether your lifestyle would be affected by your new house payment.  You will know that you can afford your new house. 

For more Michigan home buyers tips, Metro Detroit Michigan real estate tips go to www.RussRavary.com or www.DetroitMichiganRealEstateHOmes.com 

Novi real estate

Bradford of Novi subdivision

Whether you are relocating to Michigan or just thinking of buying Oakland County real Estate Novi is a great place to live.  Here is an update on one of Novi's subdivisions.

You will notice the trend in Metro Detroit real estate if you look at several of these subdivision updates.  Novi real estate home values are continuing to fall, but the time on market for Novi homes for sale is about the same.  Even though Novi real estate home values are falling they are not falling as much as the rest of Oakland County home values.

For more on Novi Mi Subdivisions or Search Michigan homes for sale go to my website or give me a call on my cell at (313) 310-9855  I have buyers tips and sellers tips on my websites www.RussRavary.com and www.DetroitMichiganRealEstateHomes.com

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

What a way to end the day of searching Metro Detroit Condos.  I had a first time home buyer that wanted to drive through one more Farmington Hills condo complex because it was a little newer.  On the way through the Farmington Hills condo complex we saw a home that had a real estate sign but was not listed on the local MLS.

So I called the number on the sign to see if we could get into the condo.  A guy answered and I was surprised to find out that the homeowner was a licensed real estate agent that was trying to sell his condo.  We went inside and his story came tumbling out.  

His wife had a stroke a few years ago and he was taking care of her.  He had bought the Michigan condo a few years back and he had $335,000 into the Michigan condo.  He needed to sell the Farmington Hills condo so they could move in with their daughter.  He was trying to do a short sale for $250,000.  He walked us around and told us everything about his life, the condo, and the condo complex.

As we drove away I felt so sorry for him.  That Farmington Hills condo was over my clients price limit and we wouldn't be putting an offer in.  I would feel guilty to even put in an offer becuase even at $250,000 the condo was way over priced.  I knew of all his troubles and his wife sickness.

As we drove away he stood on the driveway as if we were his only hope.  He was like a lonely puppy that needed love.   I felt guilty not buying his house.  Did you every go into a house and feel the same way? 

For his sake I hope he finds a way out of his predicament.  That somebody falls in love with his Farmington Hills condo and has to have it. 

To Seach Metro Detroit homes for sale or search Metro Detroit condos for sale to get more Michigan home buyer tips check out my websites.

Photo courtesy of http://freephotos.com/