Detroit Real Estate

If you are thinking of relocating to Novi Michigan and buying a piece of Novi real estate here is Novi demographics.   This will give you a glimpse of the city and what it's residents characteristics are.

As I have said in some of my other metro Detroit relocation posts you have to remember that some of this demographic information has changed because it is over ten years old.  In the last ten years the City of Novi I believe has become wealthier.  There have been many high priced Novi neighborhoods built in the last ten years.

Search Novi homes for sale

So you are getting ready to sell your Novi Condo and you know to:

• paint the walls neutral
• clean the carpet
• take down all your family pictures
• de-clutter counter tops, dressers, and shelves
• de - ordorize the house 
• get rid of excess furniture and "stuff"

but what about one of the most important things.  You need to get your condo associations by-laws.  EVERY METRO DETROIT CONDO BUYER will be requesting to see the condo association by-laws.  So take the time and gather up your condo's information. 

1. The name and phone number of the association management
2. The condo associations by-laws
3. What is included in your associations fees
4. What is covered by the association?  Windows, Deck
5. Pictures of the club house or the pool

So when Getting ready to sell your Novi condo this information about your condo will be needed.  So don't be scrambling at the last minute to gather this information.  It will help you sell your Novi condo.

It doesn't matter whether it is a Novi condo, a Canton condo, or any cities condo it's best to get the information early.

More information to help you sell your house.....

Metro Detroit home seller tips 

Metro Detroit relocation information

Search Metro Detroit home listings

My quote of the day:

 Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm ... As you grow older you will discover that you have two hands. One for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

                                          Audrey Hepburn

When selling your Novi home or any Metro Detroit home there are many grades

F is for failing.  F is for Failing to listen to your real estate agent or the market analysis.  If you don't listen to your real estate agent on what homes are selling for and price your home high in this market your home is going to sit on the market.  You won't be selling your home anytime too soon if you over price your house.

D is for De-cluttering your Novi home.  Get rid of the the excessive furniture.  Clear off the refrigerator..  Clear off the counter tops.  Make your home look open and free flowing.  Inviting. D is for dirty.  If your house has marks on the walls, dirty laundry lying all over.  Or smells it is going to make it much hard to sell.  You will have to lower your price to offset a smelly home, a dirty home.  So if you want more for your home spruce it up.

C is for Ceeing.  So I cheated a little on this one.  But turn your lights on when ever you show your home.     A Cheery home will sell.  A dark home won't.  ( Back to the Ds)  Clean the windows, put in a little brighter bulb in areas that are dark, and make sure every light socket has a working bulb.

B is Being available.  So many times as a Metro Detroit real estate agent I can't get my clients into homes when we need to see them.  We can't get in because the sellers are busy or don't want to be inconvenienced.  I have had clients buy a home that we added to the list at the last moment.  Homes that the sellers let us in when we saw  the house while driving thru the neighborhood.  So be available when the buyers want to see it.  You never know who the person is that is going to buy your house.

A is the grade you want.  A is for accepted offer.  Getting from F to A is really quite simple.  Listen to the advice your Novi real estate agent gives.  Or what you read on the internet, sellers tips such as Livonia real estate selling tips.  Or any articles on home selling advice is good.   Read and implement them.  So price your home right, de-clutter it, spruce it up, brighten it up by keeping the lights on, make your colors neutral, make your home available to all buyers and you will be on your way to getting an A.  Getting your Novi home sold isn't really that tough

My favorite description of love is from Captain Corelli's Mandolin: 

"Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness, it is not excitement, it is not the promulgation of promises of eternal passion. That is just being "in love" which any of us can convince ourselves we are. Love itself is what is left over when being in love has burned away, and this is both an art and a fortunate accident. Your mother and I had it, we had roots that grew towards each other underground, and when all the pretty blossom had fallen from our branches we found that we were one tree and not two."
-St. Augustine

Russ Ravary Your Metro Detroit real estate agent

 Search Metro Detroit real estate or search Novi real estate listings

I recently got a this question from a Metro Detroit real estate buyer.  Does Radon pose a serious health hazard to my family?  And really what is radon gas? 

Radon is a naturally occurring, radioactive gas, derived from naturally occurring uranium deposits in the earth. It is colorless, odorless, and tasteless.  It belongs to the group of noble gases, including helium, neon, argon and xenon, which are all characterized by their low level of chemical reactivity.  Radon is also a naturally occurring gas in Earth's atmosphere.  Why is radon is a radioactive gas? It comes from the natural decay of uranium that is found in nearly all soils.

So then why is radon hazardous is it occurs naturally?  Radon gas is hazardous when it builds up to high levels.  Congress would like to set home radon levels to outdoor radon levels.

Radon gas typically moves up through the ground to the air above and into your home through cracks and other holes in the foundation. Your Metro Detroit home traps radon inside, where it can build up.  Nearly 1 out of every 15 homes in the U.S. is estimated to have elevated radon levels. Radon gas can also contaminate well water but you are more likely to inhale radon particles by breathing than by swallowing water.   Because radon is nine times heavier than air, elevated radon levels build up in basements and on lower floors of your Metro Detroit home.

Radon gas is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers. Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in America and claims about 20,000 lives annually.   Dr. Maria Neira of the World Health Orginization said that "Most radon-induced lung cancers occur from low and medium dose exposures in people's homes."   If you smoke and your home has high radon levels, you're at a higher risk for developing lung cancer. Some scientific studies of radon exposure indicate that children may be more sensitive to radon. This may be due to their higher respiration rate and their rapidly dividing cells, which may be more vulnerable to radiation damage.  (I also think that many people ship their kids off to the basement, and that kids are now spending much more time in the house).

There are two main sources for the radon in your Northville home: indoor air, the soil and the water supply. Radon enters the indoor environment from the soil by penetration of a building's foundation or by release from well water.  Radon poisoning occurs when areas without adequate ventilation build up high amounts of radon gas. This can occur in underground mines, basements and in homes or buildings. Radon, like all other radioactive elements or gases, decays over a period of time, giving off tiny radioactive particles. When these particles are inhaled, they can damage the DNA in the cells of the lungs, resulting in lung cancer.

Although scientists were aware that radon exposure caused lung cancer, the high levels of radon that can accumulate in homes and buildings wasn't discovered until 1984 when the basement of a home in Pennsylvania was found to have radon levels so extreme that the owner of house was setting off radiation alarms at the nuclear power plant where he worked.

So does every Metro Detroit home have radon gas in them?  I would bet every Northville subdivision, Novi subdivisions, and Plymouth subdivision has a home that has high radon levels.   So it is always good to have it tested.  Homes with higher radon levels can be fixed.  You can have one home that has a high radon level in it and the house next door may have a much lower level of

Should you not buy a Metro Detroit home if it has a high level of radon?  That is up to you but I would say the proper solution is to have the radon mitigated.  Have a Radon mitigation system installed.  Then buy the home once the levels are back down to the accepted levels.

I hope this helps you and explains a little about Radon gas in the metro Detroit area.

Search Metro Detroit real estate and get the latest metro Detroit real estate listings emailed to you.

Pricing your Metro Detroit Home

A few weeks ago one of my first time home buyers put an offer in on a Novi home.  It wasn't a Novi foreclosure.  We looked at all the comparables for the home and my clients made a good decision on offer price.

But the problem was that the Novi home sellers were chasing the market down.  They were always over priced for the Novi real estate market and they still are a little.  My buyers offer was a reasonable offer.   But now the Novi home sellers were digging their feet in the sand.  They have put a list of $215,000 out there and they didn't want to sell it for less than $215,000. ( price has been changed to protect the identity of the seller)..

We were $5000 apart when we stopped negotiating.  If you call it negotiating.  My buyers kept coming up in price and the other side didn't budge.  My buyers were willing to pay a little over market for the home.     But when we tried to negotiate they were firm on their stance they weren't going to take less than $215,000.  NO WAY, NO HOW  WERE THEY GOING ANY LOWER.  My new Novi home buyers moved on, and bought another Novi home, and the seller's home still sits for sale.

There are three mistakes the seller is making.

1. Not being realistic for the market.  Look at the recent sold prices and accept them.  You want to sell your home right?
2. Not being flexible.  You can't dig your heels in and not negotiate most of the time in this market.  It is still a buyers market.  You will have more buyers walking away than selling the house.
3. Pricing the Novi housewrong.  The seller should have priced the house $5000 higher.  You have to give the buyer the feeling of getting something off list price in the market.

For more Metro Detroit home sellers tips feel free to visit my other website if you can't find enough good information on the right side of the page in the category sellers tips

Livonia Real Estate Wayne County homes for sale

Russ Ravary your Novi relocation specialist

It was sunny here in the Metro Detroit area so my quote of the day is:

Blest power of sunshine!--and genial day,
  What balm, what life is in thy ray!
    To feel there is such real bliss,
      That had the world no joy but this,
        To sit in sunshine calm and sweet,--
          It were a world too exquisite

Thomas Moore