Detroit Real Estate

Michigan relocation information and Northville MI homes for sale.  I am working with a home buyer that is moving from Chicago to Detroit.  They are looking for a home that has privacy.  Well that is hard to select homes from the internet when you are looking for a private lot.

They are looking for a home with the right feel. Not too many neighbors, some trees.  They don't want a busy street.  So here is what I recommend to anybody that is looking to see what the area looks like.

Use google or bing and use their satellite maps,  use their street view photos, use their traffic.  No we won't be able to tell if the home is as private as you want from Google, Yahoo, or Bing maps.  But you can reduce the number of homes you might have to drive by if you use Google satellite views.

I hope this helps you in your Michigan relocation and your search for a Northville MI home for sale (or any home in the metro Detroit area)

Feel free to read to some of my other posts on Michigan relocation information.

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Oakland County Lake homes for sale Michigan

Northville MI information

I had a prospective client that wanted to look at Livingston County lake front homes. They were relocating to Michigan and wanted to go out and look at Livingston County lake front real estate.  I wanted to narrow down what they were exactly looking for.  As a real estate agent our job is to learn what the clients want.  It is a hard job with regular homes, but lake homes add another whole layer of criteria and wants.

At least that is my opinion on what my job is.  I'm not here to sell somebody on a certain home.  I'm here to find them a home that my clients want and that fits their needs.  Sometimes home buyers have a sub-concious hidden idea of what they want.  It's my job to dig out what they want, to probe, and to ask questions.  To help a client think deeply about what they want.

After all I go thruogh this all the time.  I know some of the hidden pitfalls of lakes and Livingston County lake living. So here are some of my questions I asked these clients.

 My questions are:

1. Will this be your primary home or just a weekend place to go?
2. Are you fishermen? Speed boaters (skiing, tubing)?  Pontoon, paddle boat, or kayak?  No boat needed, just like to look at lakes?
3. Where is your primary location that you would like to be?  I know you said you would be in Lansing but you said your husband was in Detroit?  How far would you like to travel to work or to the lake?  Are there any cities you want to be near? 
4. What would you like to be close to the lake?  Are you looking for more rural, or city conditions?  Do you want to have pizza delivered, or to run 5 -10 minutes away for a great dinner, or shopping?  If you want rural do you have the vehicle to get through the snow on poorly plowed roads in the winter?
5. Are you looking for the lake to be swimmable or would you be happy to just watch the wildlife? 

Most metro Detroit area lakes are not going to have privacy.  Most inland lakes in Michigan are house after house next to each other.   Livingston County Lake property is at a premium here in Southeastern Michigan.  But some of the small ponds or river front properties will be more private and wooded.  The small ponds will be just that.  Some might be unswimmable and more of a wild life lake.  They would be able to put a small non motorized boat on the ponds.

I hope this gives you some more ideas on how to narrow down your Livingston County lake front home search 

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Woodland Lake homes for sale Brighton Michigan

Pickney lake homes for sale Livingston County Michigan

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Here is a video of downtown Northville if you have a Michigan relocation in your future.   Northville and Northville Twp are conveniently located on the western suburbs of Detroit.  Located about 35 minutes from the airport, 25 minutes from Ann Arbor, and 30 minutes from downtown Detroit Northville is a great place to call home.

This isn't a professional shot video of Northville, I just shot it with one of those inexpensive flip video cameras.  I just wanted to show that it wasn't a dead empty downtown.  People love to stroll downtown, browse the stores, and stop in the local restaurants.  The locals support the downtown.  Pooles Tavern, Riffles, Tiramisu, Rebecca's, or the Starting Gate all all favorite places to eat or have a drink.

So if you have a Michigan relocation in your future be sure to check out downtown Northville. 

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My quote of the day:

Money has never made man happy, nor will it, there is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more of it one has the more one wants.

Benjamin Franklin

Relocating to Michigan from Texas this past summer (2009) was a really big decision for our family.  Of course, the most stressful part of a move is deciding not only where you want to live, but finding a house that fits into your price range and also fits your family's personality.  With my husband traveling internationally for work and a child wrapping up the school year, we had only a specific time frame that allowed us to visit Michigan for house-hunting.  One of my husband's work colleagues referred us Russ, and we contacted him to start our search.  The next day, Russ sent us lists of homes that fit our criteria and followed up with weekly updates, allowing us to develop a list of homes that we wanted to see during our house-hunting trip.  Russ is a consummate professional - his knowledge of the real estate in the Detroit Metro area is impressive! He also knows about schools, places of worship, things to do in particular areas...he really provided us with so much information that we really felt comfortable about our move.  Russ makes the effort to understand his clients very well...he knew right away whether we like a home or not, he paid attention to the details we liked, and also made great suggestions.
 
When we arrived in Michigan, Russ had made all the appointments and after looking for a couple of days, we narrowed our search down to our top 6 homes.  We made an offer on our favorite, which wasn't successful.  But within hours, Russ called to say that a home we had seen ( but had been a little out of our price range) was now a short sale - and if we were still interested.  Through his expertise, we managed to get our dream house right before our daughter started her new school.  Russ stayed in touch with us  through every aspect of the transaction and kept us updated on all details.  We could also count on Russ for referrals to professionals such as plumbers, electricians, etc. for a few renovations we've done since moving in.   He is truly a treasure-trove of knowledge and his input should be trusted - he knows what he is talking about.
 
I'm a picky person.  My husband is a stickler for detail.  Our move was time-critical.  But Russ was so great to work with because he understood that about us and worked so hard to get us into a home that we truly love.  We can't thank him enough!

                                                                   Liliana

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

Yes as you know most of this West Bloomfield demographic information is from the 2000 census, but I don't think it has changed much.  There has not been a tremendous amount of change in the characteristics of the people that live in West Bloomfield Michigan.

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