Detroit Real Estate

What is PMI?  Here is my PMI explanation.  When your loan officer talks about PMI they mean Private Mortgage Insurance.

Primary Mortgage Insurance (PMI) is required by the lender if don't put 20% down. Lenders require PMI if you don't have 20% equity in the house when you purchase or refinance the home.

Why do banks require PMI?  It is fairly simple there is a higher default rate on loans the less people put down.

• At 20% a certain number of people default on a loan
• but at 15% more people go into foreclosure
• at 10% even more

So banks charge for PMI based on how much you put down.  The historical facts show what percentage go into default.  So the PMI covers the bank's losses in case of default.  You the borrower pay the PMI each month.  You are paying the insurance premium each month when you pay PMI.

It is just the way it is.  If you don't have 20% you are going to be paying PMI.  So the bottom line is you pay PMI to protect the bank from the loss in case you go into foreclosure and the bank has to sell the house for less.

I hope this explanation of PMI helped you.  Have a great night! 

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent 

Here is Northville information about Northville real estate and Northville home styles.    People use Northville generally when they talk about the City of Northville and Northville Township.  They have differnet governments but even to people that live in Metro Detroit we think of them as one community.

Northville is an old town that has victorian homes dating back into the 1800's to mega mansions built in the 2000's.   The lowest price home that was sold last year in Northville was $36,000 and the highest is $1,500,000.  Most of the homes in Northville have basements, attached garages, and have brick and wood exteriors.

In Northville there are a few dirt road areas that have small ranches and bungalows.  In the City of Northvillethere are quite a few beautiful Victorian homes.  Also in the City of Northville they have some:

•  tri-level homes
• 1000 - 1200 square foot ranches
• small colonials 1500 - 2200 square foot
• and some estate sized homes over 5000 square foot

In Northville Township we have

•  1200 -1700 square foot ranches built in the 1960's & 1970's
• 1800 - 2500 square foot colonials built in the 60's, 70's, & 80's

Then came the building boom of the late 1980's, 1990's and early 2000's.  Homes grew in size.  Colonials ranged from 2500 - 4500 square foot.  There were mega mansions worth millions on acre lots. 

If you are have a Northville relocation in your future I hope this Northville information helps you.

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 "In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

                                                               Martin Luther King Jr.

Here is a "proof of funds" explanation when you are buying a home cash.  It is very simple actually.  The bank or the seller wants to know if you really have the money.  If they didn't ask for proof of funds people could try to buy the house without being qualified.  Some buyers do lie.

Or they may say they are doing cash when they are actually going to do a mortgage.  They could say it is a cash sale when it was really a mortgage to get an edge up on the other buyers.  See Cash is king.  So a cash offer is better than a mortgage.

So the seller wants proof of funds.  Proof of funds is just showing where the money is at or coming from.  "Proof of funds" could be:

• a bank statement
• a mutual fund statement
• a letter from the bank/institution stating you have a specific amount of money with them 

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Here are some quotes to get your day started right:

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude.
Thomas Jefferson

 Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.
Confucius

There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you.
David Burns

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure--which is: Try to please everybody.
Herbert Bayard Swope

The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph... You can't be a winner and be afraid to lose.
Charles Lynch

I hope you feel better after reading these 

You should never be afraid of asking questions when buying a home especially if it is your first time.It is your agents job to find the answers for you or to point you in the direction to find the information.  That's our job to give you the resources so you can make a good decision. 

I try to explain the process as we go along.  But sometimes during the process we jump quickly.  Unfortunately during the first time time there are so many things the buyers don't know, or never have come across before.   It's all new to them, so I usually try to go over the home buying process at different times.

Like yesterday I was going over a purchase agreement with a Metro Detroit first time home buyer.   It got me nervous.  I went over it page by page explaining all the different points.  Of course that brought up questions about inspections, costs, and closings.  One answer opened up more questions and answers.

It made me realize how many things could be confused.  How much there was to know?  I want every buyer to feel comfortable.  After all it is the biggest purchase that they are going to make.

               There is just so much to know for a first time home buyer.  So don't be afraid of asking your real estate agent questions.

If you don't understand....ask.  We as agents have done this over and over.  Like you at your job, you most likely know it forward and backwards.  But if I came into your office and tried to do your job I wouldn't understand it.  I would need to ask questions.

So feel free to ask me questions anytime!

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Russ Ravary your Wayne County real estate agent serving Oakland, Livingston, Washtenaw, and  Macomb Counties

 My quote of the day is:

Children will not remember you for the material things you provided but for the feeling that you cherished them 

            Richard Evans