Farmington Hills Real Estate and Events talk Michigan

I'm hoping nobody I know out there on the rain does this, but.....   We have all heard of ambulance chasing attorneys, but have you heard of obituary chasing real estate agents?  As many of you know my wife died this year of breast cancer.  I went to a grief counseling meeting last night, and I was stunned to hear another man who had lost his wife say that he had gotten about 5 cards from real estate agents after his wifes death.  I had never even thought of doing that and I won't ever do it.

One agent had even called.  I myself find that tacky, being in the situation myself.  I guess each agent has their own way of getting business.  I just find it in poor taste to call on somebody that is hurt in the hospital to be their attorney, or to call on somebody that just lost a loved one to be their real estate agent.

But that is just my thoughts.

I thought you might appreciate knowing about an event happening in your area to help homeowners who are facing difficulties with their mortgages. As you know, the foreclosure situation in Michigan continues to be dire as the difficult economic environment continues to have a devastating affect on people of all walks of life. I believe it is imperative that communities are aware of the resources available to help keep struggling families in their homes, and I thought you or someone you know might be interested in attending this event:  

Help for Homeowners Community Event

Thursday, September 30, 2010

1:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.

Rock Financial Showplace, Diamond Center, 46100 Grand River, Novi, MI 48374 

This event, which is sponsored by the Department of Treasury, Neighborhood Works, and The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), will give homeowners the opportunity to meet one-on-one with their mortgage lender or a HUD-approved housing counselor. This can help determine if a homeowner qualifies for the administration's Making Home Affordable Program or other options that may be available from their lender.

To make the most of this event, please bring the following:

• Your monthly mortgage statement
• Information about other mortgages on your home, if applicable
• Your two most recent pay stubs, documentation of income you receive from other sources or your most recent quarterly profit and loss statement if self-employed
• Your two most recent bank statements
• Your account balances and monthly payments for credit cards and other debts
• Estimates of other monthly expenditures (such as utilities, insurance and medical bills).

The Request for Modification and Affidavit Form, along with the IRS Form 4506T-EZ, will be available on site. 

I encourage you to share this information with your family and friends, or with anyone you believe might benefit. The seminar is free and open to the public and complimentary parking is available. For more information on the administration's foreclosure avoidance program, or to obtain the required forms ahead of time, you can visit [http://www.MakingHomeAffordable.gov] or call the Hope Now Alliance at (888) 995-4673.

What is Title Insurance and why buy it?  Title insurance protects the policy holder from disputes over the ownership of a property.  Title insurance is basically an insurance policy that you pay for in one lump sum to protect you from defects in title.

What I mean by defects /possible examples are:  

• Additional Ownership Claims: Other parties who might have an ownership interest in the property (usually one of the most common ways this happens is when the property isn't probated correctly when somebody dies) 
• Mechanic´s Liens: Claims for payment filed when the seller didn't fully pay a contractor´s bill
• County/State/Federal Liens: For unpaid property taxes or unpaid income taxes
• Zoning Ordinances
• Easements: The right to use another´s property for a specific purpose
• Pending Legal Action or Judgments:  In legal jargon they call this lis pendens.  The suing party usually files a lis pendens to notify potential buyers, or mortgagors that there may be legal action coming.  
• Restrictive Covenants: Legal limitations on aspects of the property´s use, such as size, type or style of buildings allowed to be added to property

The way the process works in Michigan is.  A title company goes to the county in which the property is located.  So if the property is in Wayne County Michiganthe go down to the County building in Detroit.  They go to the records section where the mortgages and all public records for a property is recorded.  They go thru the file.

Then the title company looks for leins, judgements, mortgages.  They look to make sure the chain of title has no gaps.  Sometimes it is a simple as person not filing a death certificate or a quit claim deed.  The title company sends a list of items needed to clear the title to the mortgage company, or real estate agent.  The list of items need to be fulfilled prior to closing to provide clear title.  It may as simple as showing proof that the contractor was paid, or that an old mortgage was paid off. 

So yes you should always get title insurance when you buy a home.  And you should never buy a home without going through a title company.  Otherwise you could buy a house that somebody else has a lien on it, somebody else may have an interest in.  Another words buying a home without a title company could mean you don't own the whole house free and clear.

Wouldn't you hate to find out in order to sell your home you have to pay a contractor $25,000 from the previous owner's debts?  Get title insurance if possible.     

I received this email from an internet surfer that lives in Canton Michigan about Michigan Property taxes.  It is a great question that many people wonder about.  Many Michigan property tax protesters sometimes go down this path and get their appeal denied.  So here is the question:

I was reading information on your website and wondered if any of the following information matters:

•·         My SEV is approximately $300K.

•·         My neighbors all of whom have homes that if sold would go for a higher price than mine, have SEVs of ranging from $150K - $250K.

 Is it worth mentioning that my neighbors have lower SEVs (yet higher actual market values), or is this irrelevant to my case?  2 of them completely remodeled and another has been in the area for more about 15 years.  Perhaps that is why their SEVs are so much less.

Here is my answer.

In order to win your appeal of your Michigan Property tax is to play by the rules the board sets.

What your neighbors have as SEV means nothing.  The only item that matters to the tax review board and the assessor is the comps that fall within the dates they are looking at.  Usually the dates they want the sold comparables from  are October 1, 2009 - September 30, 2010.  They will be looking at homes that similar in size, shape, and age.  They will use comparables from your neighborhood first, and then other similar neighborhoods. 

If you bring up their SEV it just makes you look ignorant in their eyes.  You can't argue that point because all they care about is current market value to determine SEV for your home.  And they determine current market value by taking a snapshot of homes of similar style, size, age in an area close to your home. (It doesn't matter what homes sold for in another city, or what your neighbors SEV is)

So go to your local Michigan tax review board with written proof of homes that sold like yours during the dates they want.  Be nice, be professional, and present your case.  You will at least make a good case for reducing your taxes. 

I hope this helps.  

A prospective client emailed me yesterday and asked me should I buy a Livonia home now or wait?  First of all you should look at your own finances and your stability first.

• Do you have a decent paying job?
• Have you been on the job for at least two years?
• Do you have a lot of debt payments like credit cards?
• Is your job, company stable?  Are there layoffs coming in the near future?  Are you getting good job reviews?

If your company is going through downsizing or layoffs?  Then I would say you might want to wait to buy a piece of Livonia real estate.

If you have your credit cards maxed out, I would wait to buy a home.  I would pay down the credit cards first.  Because if you can't pay them off before you own a home, it will be worse when you buy that Livonia home.  There is always something you need when you buy a home.

Having a decent paying job that you have been on for at least two years helps.  It's not necessary to be on the same job, if you have been steadily employed.  I just don't think you should come out of a college and jump into a new job and a new Livonia home at the same time.  You don't need all that stress at one time.

So take it slow.

This is just part one of what you should think about when deciding whether to buy a home or not.

More Livonia home buying tips (Over 100 different articles)

        Metro Detroit home buying advice and articles

        Search Livonia homes for sale and get the latest foreclosures emailed to you

Mandon Lake waterfront homes White Lake MI is a smaller lake in Oakland County.

Mandon Lake is a private all sports lake.  It is a small lake only being 31 acres.  One of the residents told me that the deepest spot was about 20 ft deep with the average being about 12 foot deep.

 It is a spring fed lake, but they also pump from a well to keep the lake level up.  The lake association dues in 2010 were about $100 a year.  That pays for 2 weed treatments and the cost of pumping the water.

Mandon Lake real estate and homes range from 800 square foot cottages to 2000 square foot colonials.  This isn't a lake that has mega mansion or pretentious residents.  It is just a casual lake that doesn't demand the latest and greatest boat, or the biggest house.

The boat regulations are you have to stay 40 feet from the docks and shore and there are only 3 speed boats allowed to run at a time.  (Because it is a small lake).

Mandon Lake is located in White Lake Township north of Cooley Lake Rd and west of Round Lake Road.  Cedar Island Lake is close by on the other side of Mandon Road.

Get the latest White Lake Township lake home listings emailed to you or just search lake homes.

White Lake homes for sale and White Lake MI information

Livingston County waterfront homes

What's happening with Cedar Island Lake watefront homes White Lake Michigan in September 2010.  Currently there are 8 lake homes that have been on the market an average of 515 days.

  There have been 15 Cedar Island Lake waterfront homes that have sold in the last year.  These 15 Cedar Island Lake homes were on the market an average of 131 days.

Search Cedar Island Lake homes for sale and get the latest listings emailed to you

White Lake waterfront home listings and lake information

Cedar Island Lake White Lake Michigan indepth information

Oakland county lakefront home information MI

Residents of Northville Livonia it's Hazardous waste day this Saturday!  This event is your opportunity to rid your garage, basement, shed, etc., of items such as paints, stains, fertilizer, lawn & garden chemicals, antifreeze, gasoline, etc.  In addition, electronic waste will be accepted including computers, monitors, printers, scanners, cell phones, fax machines, televisions, etc.

 The City of Northville will be conducting a Household Hazardous Waste and Electronic Waste Drop-off event this Saturday, September 25th from 8:00am -  3:00pm in Northville.  The event will be held at the Northville DPW Yard.  (Seven Mile west to Northville Rd.  Right on Northville Road, go one half mile and take a right on Doheny Dr)

Additional information is available at the City of Livonia website www.ci.livonia.mi.us under Departments-DPW Public Service-Household Hazardous Waste

This event is open only to residents of Livonia, Northville & Northville Twp. and only residential household waste will be accepted.

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Yes I heard on of my friends utter the words "I lost $200,000 on my Northville home".  This guy is smart.  He is retired and wasn't ready to sell back in 2004 at the top of our Metro Detroit real estate market.  Now he is thinking of looking for a home in Florida.

But he won't sell his piece of Northville Real estate because he has lost $200,000.  It doesn't matter that he wasn't ready to sell or couldn't sell 4 years ago.  It doesn't matter that he won't see his house come back to that high value in the next ten years.  It may even take 15 -20 years to come back to that level.  It took 15 years in a good economy to rise to that level.  So who knows how long it will take in this so-so economy.

My friend and other people are going to have to come to grips that they didn't actually lose $200,000 on thier Northville home.  My friend has still made money on his home.  He just won't make as much.  He needs to get over it.  There is nothing he can do about it.

The sooner he accepts today's Metro Detroit real estate prices, the sooner he can make a informed decision on what to do with his Northville home.  

Search Northville homes for sale and get the latest foreclosures emailed to you 

Northville MI real estate and homes information

Should you buy a new Northville home or not?  What are the downfalls of a new Northville home?

You can buy a new Northville home for just about the same cost as an existing Northville home that is a few years old.  The issues are what isn't included in the sale of the home.

For example:

• Is landscaping included?
• Is a deck included? 
• What is included in the base price? 
• Do you need to pay for a bunch of upgrades like granite counter tops?
• Do you have to pay a lot premium?

That is what is going to cost you.  I would say the average person spends anywhere from 10 -15% over the base price in upgrades.  Remember the builder is most likely going to charge you for that nicer light fixture, or for the tile versus carpeting.

Then you have to remember that you have to put window treatments up.  Blinds, Drapes, and curtains can cost over $10,000.  It is not a cheap item.  So between the landscaping, decks, and window treatments I think you can add $25,000 to the cost of a new Northville home.

So sometimes buying a new home in 2010 could be like buying a new car.  You are going to lose money on it right away.  You might have overpaid for a similiar house that is 5 years old.  

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