It can be very frustrating for home buyers, as most that I work with as a buyers agent do not like the uncertainty, the wait or the hassle that the sellers lender can put both parties through.

It’s also an extremely daunting process for the sellers.   One added layer of stress is the fact that at the end of this tax year the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act will end, with no extension on the horizon.  (No one is predicting that this will be extended.)  This means that anyone who is considering a short sale on their home, or a foreclosure, has only until the end of the year to have this process completed or they could be liable for a huge income tax burden.

Word is starting to get out (thank you to accountants, attorneys and real estate agents) to home owners who are in need to short sale their home before this important income tax act expires, and because of that, the increase in short sales is being seen.  I fully expect this to continue right through the fall and in to the early winter.  

Because short sales are anything but short to complete, if you are in need of help I work with an agent who is experienced in these.   Email or call me and I will pass along his contact information to you.  (No pressure, just conversation)

Kris Wales – a partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
SEARCH Metro Detroit homes for sale
Contact Kris – 586-536-5453

“Multiple offer deadline” and “Submit your highest and best” are terms being seen in listing informational sheets AND being phoned / emailed to buyers agents when we set our appointments to view the homes.

AND

Homes that are priced well, in good condition (will likely pass FHA or VA muster) will sell within a week on the market.

Yes, within a week.

Here is what my last 2 buyer clients have encountered:   A home in Clinton Township was viewed by us within the first 3 days on the market.  I was notified by the listing agent that they had already received 2 offers, and were going to continue to show it over the weekend and will present all offers that came in on Monday.  (Today)  That is a total of 5 days on the market.    Another home on the market in New Baltimore was viewed by my buyer clients Day 2 on the market.  By day 6 we were notified that there were multiple offers and the seller would be reviewing offers at the end of the business day of day 6.

When we (buyers agents) say “Don’t take too long to think about it” we are not being pushy or trying to talk you into rushing.  We are stressing what we are seeing and don’t want you to lose out on a home that you love because you took too much time and lost it to someone else.

Kris Wales – a partner for you real estate needs in Macomb County
Contact Kris – 586-536-5453
SEARCH Macomb County MI homes for sale

“How would you feel if you lost this house?”

If the answer is :  “Lousy” or “Crushed” or “Heartbroken” then you know you’ve found it.

All home buyers get cold feet, whether it is prior to sitting down and writing the offer, or after the offer has been accepted.  I haven’t met one home buyer yet in my 15 years of being a real estate agent in Macomb County that hasn’t.  (That also includes me and my hubby!).   I liken this cold feet status to pre-wedding jitters.  You know they’re the one, yet you are still nervous.

Trust your instinct, trust your heart (yes, it is an emotional decision) and work with your buyers agent to make sure that you are positioned well to have your offer accepted and purchase that house that you want to make a home.

Kris Wales – A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
SEARCH Macomb County homes for sale
Contact Kris   586-536-5453 cell

The Detroit News has an article this morning about foreclosures and default filings in Macomb County and the Metro Detroit area, and the first thought that came to my mind was:   We’ve been seeing this for months now!

Almost every buyer that I am working with has been running in to this problem:  There are multiple offers on the homes they are interested in.     The reason for this is pretty simple, it’s supply and demand.

The supply:  It’s dwindling.  Clean, well kept homes in our area that are priced well will command multiple offers.  Even the “beat up” foreclosures that are priced well are having investors rush to the bidding on them.    Those investors who aren’t making any money in the stock market are still rushing to the housing market.  A $20,000 cash purchase can easily net them $750-$800 per month in rental income.   Home buyers in the under $50,000 market are competing with the investors, and can expect multiple offers on almost all of the homes on the market.

The demand:    Interest rates are so low for new mortgages that many, if not all, of  the home buyers I worked with have found that their mortgage payments (including taxes and insurance) are much lower than what they are / were paying for rent.   A recent example:  Home buyers that purchased a home in Chesterfield Township that was 2000 square feet and built in 2002 are paying approximately $200 less than the home they were renting cost them.  (A 1000 square foot home in Clinton Township).    They have twice the home for approximately $200 less per month.

In the coming days I’ll be talking with you about how to position yourself for the best possible outcome before you write an offer.  Putting your best foot forward is the key to being the winning purchaser when you’re up against a bidding war!

Kris Wales  – A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
SEARCH Macomb County & Metro Detroit homes for sale with MLS provided data
Contact Kris 586-536-5453

One of the common misconceptions is that the City of Warren is the only city in Macomb County that has an ordinance in place to keep up with the blight that overtook our neighborhoods by the rash of foreclosures and abandoned homes. This is not true. Many, if not most, of our cities and townships have an ordinance that requires a home owner to have their homes inspected for health and safety issues before they are issued a certificate of occupancy for their home.

Please please don’t try to move in to the home before you have contacted the appropriate department at the city / township.  If you do this, you will surely be caught.  The cities and townships do keep good records of which homes they have “tagged” as needing a current inspection & certificate of occupancy.

Ask your buyers agent to contact the city / township prior to writing your offer to purchase to ask about the specific ordinance that may apply to you.   If you decide to proceed with the purchase you can ask (as part of your negotiations) to have an extended period of time (2 weeks is usually sufficient) to have the home inspected by the municipality during your home inspection contingency period.  If you are not happy with the list of items that the inspection requires to be repaired and/or replaced, then you can ask to be let out of your purchase contract.  Remember, most foreclosure sales are “as is”.

Waiting until you have closed on your new home purchase to address the “tagged” issue is much too late in my opinion.  Due your homework first, before the home is yours, and then there shouldn’t be any surprises in the municipal inspections.

Kris Wales -  a partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
SEARCH  Metro Detroit homes for sale
Contact Kris Wales - 586-536-5453
Ask me about buyers agency!

I came across a blog written by an appraiser in Minnesota, and the same standards would apply here in the Metro Detroit area.  Here is a link to the appraisers blog.

There is a HUGE difference though to your own home inspection (please don’t skip this important step when you are purchasing a home) and the FHA appraisal. A home inspector that you hire to represent YOU will typically spend 2-3 hours in the home working their way from top to bottom inside and outside the home.  An FHA appraiser has a checklist of the items within the Safety, Soundess and Security that he/she looks for, and will spend approximately 30 minutes or so in the home.

When I am with home buyers and I know they are using an FHA mortgage to purchase their home, I am looking at the homes with a different set of eyes:  I am looking for flaking, peeling paint in a home built before 1978, large trip hazards in cement outside or carpeting /tiling inside, a roof that appears to be on it’s last years, etc.   Here’s an example of what I know by experience will be flagged by an FHA appraiser and the lenders underwriter:

If you look at the bottom of the window panes you will see flaking & peeling paint. The FHA appraiser assigned to perform the appraisal took a photo of it, and included it in his report.  The buyers lender required that the flaking paint be scraped off and the window re-painted.  This took very little time to do and when we were finished the appraiser came back out to take photos and verify that the work was done.

If the whole garage was flaking and peeling, then the whole garage would have had to have been scraped and painted.  **If the home and garage were built prior to 1978.

Ask your buyers agent what to look out for while you are viewing homes if you are using an FHA mortgage to purchase your home.  Also remember that the FHA appraisal is much different than your own home inspection!

Kris Wales -  A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
SEARCH homes for sale in Metro Detroit
Contact Kris

One of the things I like most about St. Clair county for home buyers is the USDA rural home loan that can be used for their home purchase.

Unlike most Macomb County buyers, those that are purchasing in the outlying “rural” areas of the state can purchase their homes with this low down payment home loan.  (Think “north of 26 mile” and you’ll have an idea of what areas qualify.  Some of Macomb County would qualify if you use the north of 26 mile road parameter).

Here is a great link to the map of the homes in St. Clair County (and northern Macomb County) that would qualify as a designated area for the USDA rural home loan program.  (The shaded areas of the map are ineligible.)  Give the map a moment to load, at first it comes up with the whole US showing.

One other nice thing about this home loan is that the borrower can borrow up to 102% of the purchase price , with the extra being used towards their closing costs, pre-paid items and tax prorations, as long as the home appraises at the higher price.   I don’t know of another loan program that offers this much financial help to a home buyer.

If you’d like more general info on the USDA home loan / assistance program you can visit their main site here.   One of the mortgage lenders in our area that is very familiar with this program and has assisted buyers with it is Michelle Cyplik of University Lending Group.  You can reach Michelle at 586-484-0646 or email her with your questions.

Kris Wales – a partner for your real estate needs in Macomb & St. Clair County MI
SEARCH homes for sale
Contact Kris 586-536-5453

One of the things that I’ve noticed consistently over the last few weeks is the fact that so many homes on the market have really horrible photos online for potential home buyers to see.   Among them I am seeing:

• Pictures of the bathrooms with toilet seats up.
• Front views of homes with snow still on the ground.
• Photos of the curtains, blinds, etc with no views of the room itself.
• The ever popular TV set that is turned on and a nice screen pic of what the sellers were viewing!

If you are selling your home please double check the photos that your agent is using to market your home.   There are many sources in which you can view your home as your potential buyers will view it:  Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, my own search for homes website, etc.  If you don’t like the photos or don’t feel they show your home in a positive manner, then by all means ask your agent to re-take and resubmit them.

Remember, you can only make a good first impression once!

Kris Wales – A Macomb County MI partner for your real estate needs
586-536-5453
SEARCH homes for sale in the Metro Detroit area.

The best way that buyers can be prepared and proactive before house hunting and applying for a mortgage is this:  Start a paper trail. If any financial transaction (deposits, withdrawals, paychecks, etc) has a piece of paper (or electronic trail) then keep it.  File it away, and don’t shred or destroy any documents that are less than 1 year old.

Along with the normal requests (paystubs, last couple of years of W-2s and tax returns, bank statements) you may be asked to provide a gift letter if your down payment is a gift from a family member, or have to explain the larger than normal deposit in your checking account, etc.

Don’t throw away anything that has a paper trail in the year leading up to applying for your mortgage.  It never fails that just as you’ve shredded something or thrown something away that your mortgage lender will ask for it.  It’s much easier to pull it out of your file then it is to go back and try to get it from the source again.

Kris Wales – a partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
SEARCH Macomb County homes for sale

This has absolutely nothing to do with real estate in Macomb County, so please bear with me.  (Unless I point out that Mike and Shannon were home buyers that I represented several years ago, then I suppose I am ON topic )
I would like to introduce my readers to Mike and Shannon Clauw, two very special people.

Mike and Shannon Clauw have recently let all of their friends and family know that they have started the long process of adopting a child.  When I first heard the news I almost jumped out of my chair with joy, because I was SO happy for them and excited for them.  My 2nd thoughts were “I know this is a long and sometimes heart breaking process” and I would do anything to help them if it is at all in my power to do so.

Why do I feel so strongly about helping them? Because I know Mike and Shannon, and I know they have hearts full of love to give to a child.  I also know they are stable people financially, both blessed with good jobs and hard work ethics.  They also have a community full of close knit family and friends who will be there to welcome a child with open arms.

If you know of anyone (family, friend of a friend, co-worker with a pregnant teen, etc) who is beginning to consider adoption as their pregnancy choice, would you mind asking them to come read this blog article?   Mike and Shannon have a social worker guiding them through this process, and I would be happy to connect the social worker with the pregnant mom (and father) so they can merely sit down and talk and go over all their options.  No pressure, I promise!

Mike and Shannon found me through this blog, perhaps fate will strike twice and the pregnant woman will find a wonderful loving home for their unborn child via this blog?

I can be contacted via kris@chataboutmacomb.com or 586-536-5453 (cell).