Detroit Real Estate

On any mortgage loan the bank or lender want a house in good shape.  They don't want to loan money on "bad 

collateral"  With FHA loans it is even tougher.  When I got out with Metro Detroit home buyers I find out what type

 of loan they are getting.   FHA appraisals and mortgages are tougher than many other loans.  Here in the Metro

 Detroit Michigan real estate market the FHA appraiser will pick up on these repairs.

This missing window would cause problems with a conventional mortgage or a FHA mortgage.  Broken windows will need to

 be fixed on a FHA mortgage.

Peeling paint is a major.  Whether it is inside or out it has to be scraped and painted.

                    (Redford home)

Missing light fixtures or hanging wires will always be caught and noted in a FHA appraisal

                               (Westland home)

This broken step will draw the attention of the appraiser (Southfield home)

This much mold will cause a underwriter to suspend the loan and possibly even cancel the mortgage application.  So forget

about buying a home with mold if you need a mortgage.

                                              These missing plumbing (tub) fixtures will cause a problem. 

This missing water heater and furnace will have to be replaced and reinspected by the FHA appraisers.

               (Detroit homes - most Detroit foreclosures will be missing the furnace and water heater)

                 Here is the general process of what happens during the FHA mortgage process.  The FHA appraiser does

their inspection.  The inspection report is reviewed by the loan underwriter who notifies the buyer and the real estate

agent what items need to be repaired or fixed before loan can go forward.  The items are repaired and the FHA

appraiser goes out and checks the repairs.  Then the FHA appraiser lets the underwriter know all the items are

repaired or what is not completed correctly.

                Search FHA homes for sale and Metro Detroit foreclosures

Livonia real estate Michigan

Pickney chain of Lakes real estate Michigan

Oakland County Michigan facts

Plymouth Michigan subdivisions

So how long does a closing take when you are buying a house and doing a mortgage?  When you do home closing with a mortgage there are basically two parts.  You will have the real estate / title company documents.  Then you will have the mortgage documents.

The real estate side of your closing is only about 5 -10 papers and takes less than 10 minutes.   It is the mortgage documents that take the time.  There will be about 25 -50 papers that you will have to sign.  So warm up your hand.  If both you and your spouse have to sign it takes time.   I would plan to spend anywhere from 1 hour to an 1 1/2 in the closing.

We send you the real estate documents a few days before the closing when we get them for the title company.  You can also ask your mortgage loan officer to send you the complete mortgage package 2 days before so you can read over the mortgage documents.  If you have a day to read over the documents you will feel comfortable signing them quickly because you can ask your questions before the closing.

My Quote of the Day

Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in getting up every time we do.

                                                                            Confucius

I read that with the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program launch on April 5, 2010 there will be a rise in short sale mortgage fraud.  I hate to say it but it is already going on and nobody is stopping it as of now.

Here are two examples of short sale fraud I have seen.

1.)   A real estate agent takes a short sale listing.  He tries to influence the banks BPO agent to give a low price.  If he is able to negotiate a low price below market value he has a "friend" buy the property.  The friend buys the property and then the agent re-lists the property after a little fix up.  The agent gets some of the profit from the sale and gets the listing commission too.

2.)   A seller hires a real estate agent they know to get ready to list a short sale.  The sellers friend or family member with a different name gets another agent.  The buyer tells them they know of a short sale that is coming on the market. The same day the house comes on the market before anybody else can bid on it the sellers friend or family member puts in an offer.  That offer goes into the bank because the listing agent is using first in only.

Other higher and better offers come in, but the sellers agent disreguards them because they use the "first in" rule.  They dis reguard their obligation to get the best deal or highest offer for the bank.  They protect the seller.  The seller's friend or family member buys the house.  The seller continues to live in the house.  The seller's friend either leases it back to the seller, or has the seller pay the mortgage payment to them.

The short sale seller has bought their own house back at a much lower price than they originally bought it for with the aid of their real estate agent.  They have beaten the bank out of money and helped commit mortgage fraud. 

It's happening already and I don't think the banks or the FBI is going after these people individually.     

Right now there are 47 Canton rental homes and condos for lease.  There are 13 Canton homes for lease as of today.  There are 34 Canton condos for lease starting at $875 a month.

If you are looking to lease and want to get a head start.  Here are the items you should have ready:

1. Credit report.  You should have a tri-merge credit report with all three bureaus with the three credit scores.
2. A financial application filled out detailing your work history, your credit obligations, who will live in the house, and your income
3. An employment letter stating length of employment, and yearly income.  Or your w-2's   
4. An letter of explanation for any credit issues you have had
5. Verification of rent.  If you have rented before get a letter from your landlord or have copies of your checks to prove you have paid your rent on time.
6. Bank statement 

So if you want your Canton lease to go smoothly gather up these things before hand.

Feel free to call me on my cell (313) 310-9855 or email  me at YesMyRealtor@gmail.com to get a list of the latest Canton rental homes or Canton condos for lease

Russ Ravary your local Plymouth real estate agent

This week I had four different people get denied for home purchase loans.  A few years back in 2004 some of these Michigan home buyers would have gotten their loans approved.  For example.

1. One borrower had only one open trade line.  Now days many banks want two to three open credit lines.
2. One potential home buyer had a 583 mid score, now you need a minimum 620 score to get a loan.
3. One had a bankruptcy.  A couple of years ago you could get a loan done with in a year of having a bankruptcy, now you have to wait at least 2 years.
4. One just had a very low score and bad credit.  Back then they could get a loan and just put more down.  Not any more.  No loan, no how.

All of these home buyers have to get their credit repaired.

Step one:  Pay all your bills on time.  You need at least on year of perfect credit history to bring your score up.  So pay your bills on time.

Step two: Don't let anything else go into collection.  No medical bills, or co-pays can go into collection.  Collections drive down your score. 

These are just the first two steps of credit repair.  Stay tuned for more credit repair tips

Russ Ravary your Wayne County real estate agent serving Livingston, Washtenaw, Oakland, and Macomb County in Southeastern Michigan