Sunday is the last day for Farmington Founders Festival located in downtown Farmington MI.  It is located right on Grand River and Farmington Rd just east of Drake Rd and West of Orchard Lake Rd.  There is lots to do for the whole family especially if you have kids.

They have fine art booths located at the Masonic Temple right on Grand River.  So if you need a nice painting, fine jewlery, some nice glass pieces you might find what you want at the Founders Festival. 

There were about 50 tents of crafters and home items booths.  There is everything from doggie treats to cement statuary. 

They had a great area for the kids to enjoy.   A climbing wall, face painting, bouncy toys.  A kids paradise.  But there are no carnival rides or carnival game booths at Farmington's Founder Festival.

My wife and I clowned around and stuck our heads into the cutouts.   There was a constant line up from kids to grown ups taking their pictures.

There were live local musicans and a beer tent in the parking lot down from Dagwoods Deli.  All the local company booths were in this area.  From churches, home improvement companies, to raffles they are here for you to see.

And of course there were food booths and local companies booths in the festival too.  Whats going to a festival without getting an elephant ear or a corn dog?

It's a beautiful day... not to hot so come on out and enjoy the last day of Farmington's Founder Festival located off Grand River West of Orchard Lake and East of Drake.  Farmington MI is a great place to live or just to visit.  You don't have to be a Farmington resident to enjoy the festivities.  So come on over.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent helping you find Wayne and Oakland County foreclosures and bargain homes

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Metro Detroit is going through our normal winter frigid temperatures.  But if you are like me you are probably sick and tired of the snow and cold already.  I am ready to go to Florida or any place warm right now.  I just can't find my ticket, or my tacky tourist shirt for that matter. 

Farmington Hills MI along with most of Southeastern Michigan is going through another cold spell.  Farmington Hills fire Lt. Denny Hughes sends out some great safety tips throughout the year.  He is a reminder of what Farmington Hills should be proud of.  A guy that truly looks out for his residents and their safety.  Here is one of his latest email fliers on:

 Safety Tips for Extreme Cold

 The weather has been brutally cold these past few days, and with the high winds, it's not unusual to see wind chills down to -25 degrees. What can you do to protect your health and safety? Remember a few of these simple tips:

•  If you have to go outside, make your trip as brief as possible.
• Wear a hat, scarf, gloves or mask. Remember that mittens are warmer than gloves.
• Wear water resistant boots and jackets.
• Dress in layers of loose fitting clothing.
• Stay dry and don't overexert.  The cold temperatures add extra strain on your heart.
• If you have a heart condition or high blood pressure, refrain from heading out to shovel snow.
• Don't ignore your body shivering.  It's the first sign that your body is losing heat. Severe shivering is your signal to get indoors immediately.
• Keep pets indoors except to let them out to do their business.

 If you've been exposed to severe cold temperatures, recognize signs and symptoms of hypothermia:

•  Shivering, exhaustion, confusion, fumbling hands, memory loss, slurred speech and drowsiness are all common in adults.
• With children, look for bright red, cold skin and very low energy level in addition to the signs in adults.
• If you notice any of these signs, take a person's temperature if possible. If it's below 95 degrees, the situation is critical - get emergency help immediately!
• If emergency help is not available, get a victim into a warm location or shelter.
• Remove wet clothing. Warm the center of the body first (chest, head, neck and groin) using blankets or layers of dry clothing, sheets or towels.
• Warm beverages can help as long as they do not contain alcohol. Never attempt to give an unconscious person a beverage of any type.
• Once the person's temperature has increased, seek medical attention as soon as you can.

 One last cool tip... taking preventive measures long before you need them is you best defense against having to deal with an extreme cold emergency. Prepare your home and you car well in advance for any emergency and you can reduce the risk of weather-related health problems.

Lieutenant Denny Hughes is a Fire Safety Educator with the Farmington Hills (MI) Fire Department. He can be reached at 248-871-2800 or dhughes@fhgov.com

Farmington Hills MI is a good town to raise a family.  For more Farmington Hills real estate advice.

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Farmington MI Real estate

Farmington Michigan is located in the Southwestern Corner of Oakland County.  Home values across Metro Detroithave fallen 30 to 50% in the last few years.  Farmington home values haven't fallen 50% but they have dropped heavily in the last few years.  Here is the latest Farmington real estate update for January 2009.  Only 3 Farmington homessold out of the 44 Farmington homes for sale.  The average time on the market is 144 days for homes for sale.  The homes that sold were on the market an average of 50 days.

  Farmington homes for sale

Farmington Mi foreclosures are selling quicker than most Metro Detroit area homesthat are owned by private home owners.  It is simply because they are priced so much less than many homeowners can afford to sell.  2 Farmington foreclosures sold in the last month (out of the 11 foreclosures on the market).  The average time on the market for Farmington foreclosures for sale is 40 days.  And the average time on the market for sold foreclosures is 37.  

 To search Farmington Homes  for sale go to my other website Wayne and Oakland County real estate.

May you and your family stay warm and safe on this bitterly cold weekend.

Russ Ravary

Your Local Farmington Realtor

Photos, Comps, and Listing information courtesy of Real Comp II LTD

Everybody wants to buy a bargain Metro Detroit home.  Of course some of the best deals are in Metro Detroit area foreclosures.  But there may be an issue with that foreclosure that will stop you from buying it!!!

I was out looking at Farmington Hills foreclosures with some first time home buyer.  We walked into one.  It had outdated cabinets, needed painting throughout, needed carpeting throughout the house.  But it was missing the furnace.  As a first time homebuyer you can't buy a home without a furnace if you are getting a FHA mortgage or a conventional mortgage.  A lender will not loan you the money to buy the home because it needs a major part of of the house.

A lender (especially in this market) will not loan money on a home that needs significant work.  Here are some of the items that a bank won't loan you money on home.  This is just some of the reasons I have seen Michigan mortgages turned down.  Some lenders may make an exception but here is a general idea of what is not acceptable

• bad roof (if they can see curling or missing shingles
• broken or missing windows
• broken, heavily damaged (bent) or missing garage doors
• Missing drywall, studs in the wall showing
• a majority of kitchen cabinets gone or no kitchen at all
• no furnace
• no hot water heater

Basically if the bank can see something in the appraisal pictures that they deem unacceptable they won't loan on the Michigan home.  Or if the appraiser notes that something is missing or damaged.  They don't want to end up with a home that is not in market condition.  If they got a Farmington Hills home back in foreclosure they don't want to put money into it to sell it.

Well you say, let's just have the appraiser not mention it, or not include the deficiency in the pictures.  That is fraud.  That could lose the appraiser his license, that could stop the appraiser from doing business with that bank if caught.  It could put the mortgage loan officer, appraiser, and you in jail.  It is fraud.

The only way to buy the house is to pay cash and have no mortgage for the Metro Detroit real estate.  Or to put your money out before you own it and pay for the repairs.  If anything goes wrong with the sale you may have invested money into a home you don't own.

So if you are a first time home buyer and looking at Wayne County homes for sale skip the homes that need major work that will be turned down by mortgage lenders.  Unless you have cash to buy them or willing to take a chance of losing money of fixing the problem before you move in.

There are a few rehabilitation loans out there that may be an exception to this article.

I hope this explains why banks won't loan on damaged homes and homes that have major items missing

Russ Ravary

Your Michigan realtor serving Oakland County, Wayne County and Livingston County

My quote of the day is:

Whatever course you decide upon,
there is always someone to tell you that you are wrong.
There are always difficulties arising
which tempt you to believe that your critics are right.
To map out a course of action and follow it to an end requires courage.

~~~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~~~