Detroit Real Estate

So what is a good Redford home inspector worth?  A lot.  A good home inspector may cost you $300, but a home inspection is well worth the money.  A good home inspector can find out hidden problems that most people don't see.                                

Some of the issues Redford home inspectors can find are:

• mold in attic
• inadequate insulation
• faulty wired electrical plugs
• leaking plumbing
• improper wiring
• leaking basement walls
• carbon monoxide coming from the furnace
• brick tuck pointing needed
• poor roof
• hot water heater that is bad
• mold in the basement

Sometimes an home inspection issue can run into thousands of dollars.  I had a recent Redford home inspector that found 5 different major issues on a Redford home.  It saved my client from buying a very bad house.  It would have cost my client about $5000 in repairs.  That Redford home was a money pit.  But because they had a good home inspector my buyers were saved. 

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I had a senior experienced real estate agent tell me today that he could sell his house with a bad roof to a FHA buyer or a convention loan buyer.  I don't know what planet he is on but he doesn't know what banks are requiring today.

Sure he could sell it to a cash buyer.  But to get a mortgage company buy off on a bad roof is impossible in todays environment.   Banks want good colateral.  They don't want houses with bad roofs or no kitchens, or houses that have drywall damage.  They want to loan money on homes that are readily saleable.  Homes that don't need work.

Some banks are really tough.  I had one home lately that was an estate home.  It needed a lot of tender loving care.  It needed cleaning, updating, and minor repairs.  The appraiser commented in the appraisal that is was below average condition.  The bank made us CLEAN THE CARPET, AND REFIX BAD DRYWALL REPAIR.

The house was dirty and they wouldn't give us a loan!  So do you think they will give you a loan on a home that needs $4000 - $5000 in repairs.  NO WAY!!!

So if you are a home buyer that needs a mortgage, and see a home with a bad roof walk away.  Banks won't give you a loan on a house with a bad roof.  They want the roof fixed before they loan on it. 

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How can I find the average electric and gas bill price for I house I am thinking about buying?

If it is a foreclosure it is not possible.  Usually the utility companies will only release this information to the people that live in the home.   Because the bank owns it now there is no utility history.  Without somebody living in the home it is not a realistic utility history.  And the old owners that were foreclosed on can not be easily found and most likely won't be cooperative.

But if it is a short sale or a regular sale have your real estate agent contact the seller's agent.  The sellers agent should be able to get the information for you.  It may take a few days to get the information but the listing agent should be able to get it to your agent.

Here is some Novi first time home buyer advice about purchase contract contingencies.  In each purchase contract there are clauses relating to conditions, or contingencies, that must be satisfied, each within a certain time frame, in order for the sale to go through. These are the guidelines to which the buyer and seller must stick.  On one side it is legal loopholes that allow you to back out of the contract under certain circumstances. 

Contingencies are a double-edged sword. Some of them are designed to protect you

1. from buying a home that has major inspection issues or being a money pit
2. from being tied to buying a house when you can't get a mortgage
3. from buying a house that doesn't have clear title
4. from buying a house that doesn't meet mortgage guidelines

These purchase contract contingencies protect you when you buy your first home in Novi.  These contingencies let you cancel the contract without penalty. By the same token, of course, the seller is allowed to keep your deposit or hold you to the contract if you don't meet your obligations.

How these Purchase contract contingencies work

We have in our Michigan purchase contracts a inspection contingency.  We usually give the buyer 7 days to get an home inspection.  Then the buyer must decide if they want to void the contract, or ask the seller to repair items, or ask for a price reduction, or accept the house as is.  The buyer has two days to decide this.  Then the seller usually has two days to respond to the buyer.

The common mortgage contingency is that the buyer must apply for a mortgage within five days and have a mortgage commitment within 30 days.  If the buyer can not get a mortgage the buyer can void the contract and get their deposit back.

The title contingency is quite simple.  If the seller can't provide clear title for the Novi home, the buyer does not have to buy the home, the contract can be voided, and the buyer can get their deposit back.

If the house doesn't appraise, or has appraisal issues that prevent the mortgage company from giving the buyer a mortgage the mortgage clause kicks in again.  It allows the buyer to back out of the home purchase if the mortgage company won't loan on the house.

These are all protections for the first time home buyer.  However these Novi home purchase contract contingencies all have time lines.  If the home buyer doesn't meet these deadlines then the seller can enforce the contract and/or keep the earnest money deposit.

 I hope this Novi first time home buyer advice about purchase contract contingencies has helped you.

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Whitmore Lake real estate Green Oaks MI

If you were all alone in the universe with no one to talk to, no one with which to share the beauty of the stars, to laugh with, to touch, what would be your purpose in life? It is other life, it is love, which gives your life meaning. This is harmony. We must discover the joy of each other, the joy of challenge, the joy of growth. -- Mitsugi Saotome

There are a small percentage of home buyers that have such strict criteria that they turn down house after house.  Some of these people look for years.  They go through multiple real estate agents.  They get frustrated.  90% of the time they never get "THAT" house.  A small percentage don't buy at all and another percentage take as long as 5 years to buy.

Many settle.  They get frustrated.  I have been with buyers like these.  They end up buying a house that doesn't even come close to having what they need.  They get tired one day and just buy a house.  They settle for a house that doesn't even meet their needs.  They will have passed up so many houses that were close but not "EXACTLY" like they wanted.  Then they just buy the next house they see.

I will give you an example.  I was taking this guy out a few years back.  He and his significant other had children from previous marriages.  They needed a finished basement and a 3 bedroom home.  They need space for all the kids.  They looked and looked but the homes didn't meet their standards. They ended up buying a 2 bedroom house because they got frustrated.

 Lots of reasons home buyers turn houses down.  Here are some of the many reason why buyers turn down houses:

• the next door neighbor didn't cut his grass the right height
• They don't like the neighbors just from one look or from listening to them
• the bus stop was too close
• The layout wasn't right
• The kitchen cupboards were the wrong color
• The basement was too cut up
• the porch is cracked
• The carpet wasn't new enough
• They saw three old people in the neighborhood
• The carpet was the wrong color
• One bedroom is too small
• there is cracked concrete
• The house had animal heads in it
• They don't like the tree in the yard
• the porch isn't big enough
• the walls are the wrong color
• The next door neighbor had weeds in their yard
• There is no deck 
• a wall is in the wrong place
• The garage had no electricity
• there were kids next door
• Too much wallpaper
• The refrigerator is in the wrong place
• The windows are old
• The window in the room is in the wrong place

What I am trying to say is that there is no "PERFECT" house.  There is always a reason.  Even in brand new houses that you build you can't have it all unless you have unlimited money.  All houses are "IMPERFECT".  You sometimes have to think beyond cosmetic issues, you have to sometimes give up on little.  I don't want you to do is give up a on what you want, but even more I don't want you to pass up houses that are close.  And then buy a home that isn't what you want.

I have seen it too many times.  They are unhappy that they passed up on some of the houses.  Many times they are unhappy with their purchase later o

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