Detroit Real Estate

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.

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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

So you are buying an Oakland County home and you are doing a home inspection.  You have noticed some water in the basement running out from behind the finished walls.  How do you determine what is going on behind the wall?  It is tough to know whether the wall is cracked, or has major structural damage.  How long has the wall been leaking, or is the wall full of mold?

You call in a basement wall repair man and he says let's take down the finished wall, and we will be able to see what is going on behind the wall.   Whoa.................You can't do that.  You don't own the house.  You don't have the right to damage a house you don't own.  What happens you take down the wall and decide not to buy it.  Do you think the owner is going to be happy that you damaged their home.  I think you would be sued for the damage.  The real estate agent, the inspector, and the real estate company would all be sued for the damages.  You can not take apart or damage any home you are inspecting.

So the bottom line is that you can not damage or take apart anything in the house in order to expect.

So here are your choices:

1. Hire an experience contractor to explain the situation, possible costs, and your choices.
2. Request the seller to remove the finished wall, verify the issues, and correct the problem.
3. Ask for enough money to solve the problem
4. Ask for mold test  
5. Buy the house as is
6. Decide not to buy the house because you can not determine the extent of the problem

Do not take apart or damage a house otherwise you will be paying for a house you don't home.  If you have to pay thousands of dollars for repairs in a home you don't own you may not have enough for a down payment on another home.  Plus you could lose your earnest money deposit.

So whether you are buying Farmington Hills real estate or Novi real estate knowing what you can and can't do in an Metro Detroit home inspection is important.

I hope this helped.

Russ Ravary  your Oakland County Real estate specialist

My quote of the day is:

Famous archer, Howard Hill won all of the 267 archery contests he entered. He could hit a bullseye at 50 feet, then split first arrow with the second. Would it be possible for you to shoot better than him? YES, if he were blindfolded! How can you hit a target you can't see? Even worse, how can you hit a target you don't even have!? You need to have GOALS in your life!

Zig Ziglar

 Novi subdivisions Simmons Orchards

Novi MI Homes for sale

Simmons Orchards subdivision is located right down the street from Novi's police station and city offices. (off Ten Mile)  Novi has lots of great shopping, restaurants, and easy access to I-96.  With homes ranging from $100,000 (1200 to 1400 square foot ranches) to Million dollar estates.  ( Bellagio Subdivision )

Simmons Orchard subdivision is actually 4 subdivisions with one homeowners association.  Simmons Orchard has approximately 255 homes in it.  The homes were built during the years of 1983 -1988.

The homes are mostly Colonial, Cape Cod, and ranch style.  Most of the homes have brick/wood exteriors and brick/vinyl exteriors, mostly 2 car garages, 3-4 bedrooms, 2 + bathrooms, basements and some slab.

Square footage of the colonial homes range from 1400 - 2200 square ft.
Square footage of the ranch homes range from 1200-1600 square ft

The school District is Novi Community Schools

The location of the subdivision is between 10 and 11 mile roads and between Taft and Beck Roads.  You can enter the subdivision off 10 Mile

The streets that are in the Simmons Orchard subdivision are:

Cider Mill
Sarah Flynn
Crestview
Simmons Drive
Surfside
Fairway Hills
Riverview
Bonnie Brook

 Simmons Orchards has a combination of ranch homes and colonials.  Some of the ranches have no basements.

All of the above information is general information.  We do not guarantee the information.  This is to give a guide to the subdivision.

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Michigan Trivia

Did you know that :

• Pullman sleeping cars were first manufactured in Detroit in 1871 by George Pullman.
• Did you know that the the Tigers first placed the distinctive letter on their uniforms in 1904, one year before any interlocking NY appeared on a Yankees shirt.
• In 1817 the University of Michigan was the first university established by any of the states. Originally named Cathelepistemian and located in Detroit the name was changed in 1821. The university moved to Ann Arbor in 1841
• Indian River is the home of the largest crucifix in the world. It is called the Cross in the Woods.