Detroit Real Estate

Last month I heard a question on one of then morning news show and I thought it could be about West Bloomfield Real estate.  The question was from a Michigan home seller.  The sellers were having to relocate and sell their West Bloomfield home.  They sold their Michigan home but because home values had fallen so much they didn't not get any money from the sale of their home.

WHAT SHOULD THEY DO NOW?

How do they buy a new home if they received no money from the sale of their old West Bloomfield home.  My suggestion is to go back to the basics.  Get an least expensive apartment and LIVE BELOW your means.  Yes you have to go back to saving.  For many people that is a foreign concept.  Whether you have lost your home in foreclosure or sold your home and got little or no money that is what you have to do.  100% loans have gone away.  There is only one 100% loan and it is a very specific loan for rural areas.  So basically you have no choice but to save.

You have to have a down payment now!  The only way you are going to get that money is to save it or have somebody give it to you.  So how bad do you want a home?

• Do you want to build equity in a home?
• Do you want a place to call your own?
• Do you want to live in a rental home forever?
• Do you want to hear your neighbors next door all the time?
• Do you want your landlord to tell you what you can and cannot do in your home?

If you want your own home again start saving.  Find a nice safe, convenient rental home or apartment that is close to your work and good schools.  Don't get the most expensive one.  I see this mistake happening all the time. 

People lose their home that their were paying $2500 a month on.  So they go out and rent a home for $2100.  They are crazy.  They need to re-think what they are doing.  Get the $1500-$1700.  Forget about appearances.  LIVE BELOW YOUR MEANS!  So you can save for a down payment for your next home.  It will be good practice for your financial future.

Whether you are planning to buy West Bloomfield real estate, Livonia real estate, or any Metro Detroit real estate live below your means for a while and save some money.  You will be glad you did.  

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Many people go back and for whether they should do a short sale or not.  You have to decide when it makes sense for you to do a short sale.  Is it worth the trouble if the bank isn't cooperating?  Is the bank being stubborn on the price?  Is the second mortgage company being hard nosed?  Is the bank requiring you to sign a deficiency?

Let me explain this a little bit.  When you sell your Metro Detroit home via a short sale there is two ways for the bank to go.  They can forgive the deficiency, and give you a letter releasing you from any liability from the deficiency.  Or they can refuse to give you a letter.

If the bank refuses to release you from the liability, then you are possibly responsible for the deficiency.  Then it may be smart NOT TO DO A SHORT SALE.  Now this is just my opinion.  Why would you go through the whole hassle of doing a short sale if the bank can come back after you for the deficiency?  The only reason I can see is if you can keep your credit in tack and the bank won't report the short sale on your credit report.

From what I have been told is if you can get through a short sale without getting behind on your mortgage payments it is a good thing.  It is better for you and your credit report than if you had 90 day lates or a foreclosure on your credit report.  But nobody knows for sure how badly a short sale will affect your credit report.  It depends on whether you have late mortgage payments or not.

But my opinion is that if you are going to be responsible for the deficiency it is better off to let the home go into foreclosure.  Then you are through with the home.... very seldom do banks go after people that have lost their home in foreclosure.

Now let me say this.  You need to seek legal advice from a real estate attorney before you make these choices.  You should also talk to your CPA or the person that does your taxes.  You need to know all three of these aspects:

1. Your possible legal liability
2. Your future financial liability / ability to get back on the right financial path
3. What this will do to credit / can you survive with bad credit for three to seven years? 

Don't rely on my opinion.  Get professional advice from those who specialize in those fields.  They are better to guide you on what to do.  But it is your decision alone.  Choose carefully.

More Michigan home selling tips

Feel free to contact me if you make a decision to sell your home as a short sale.  I will be glad to help you get it sold.

                       Russ Ravary

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My quote of the day is:

Whenever you make a mistake or get knocked down by life, don't look back at it too long. Mistakes are life's way of teaching you. Your capacity for occasional blunders is inseparable from your capacity to reach your goals. No one wins them all, and your failures, when they happen, are just part of your growth. Shake off your blunders. How will you know your limits without an occasional failure? Never quit. Your turn will come. 

                                                                     Og Mandino 

 What problem, we have no problem, just a situation that needs to be resolved.  Yes We have no problems............... no reason to get upset, no reason to yet to get worried or upset.  We only have to search for a solution to find for the situation we are in.  In Metro Detroit real estate there are always situations, and issues that come up that need some sort of solution.

There are issues caused by bank guidelines, by asset managers attitudes, and time lines imposed by the bank.  Sometimes things get delayed.  Sometimes items that are supposed to get done, don't.  Then we have to scramble to get them done.

There are appraisal issues where the house does not appraise.  There are only a few solutions to this problem.  Either the seller lowers the sale price, or the buyer brings more money to closing, or we have to find a buyer that can pay cash, or the house doesn't get sold.

There are inspection issues.  We as real estate agents have to reduce the costs of repairs to help the sellers bottom line.  We have to make the buyer happy, we need get the repairs done to make the buyer happy.  Many times it is a give or take between the buyer and seller.

There are money issues that sometimes pop up when the mortgage person doesn't communicate the costs completely to the buyer.

There sometimes are title issues caused by probate, trusts.

We as real estate agents have to think outside of the box to get the issues resolved.  You see there aren't problems.  Only a solution that we have to find to fix the issues.  So don't get worried....we have the resources, the help from agents to find the solution to get the deal closed.  That's what we get paid for....to smooth out the bumps for you!!! 

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Here is the latest in my Farmington Hills home selling articles - are the Beverly Hillbillies living next to you?

When selling your Farmington Hills home there are many things that can reduce your chances of selling your home.  Yes, your next door neighbor's back yard and habits can hurt the chances of selling your Farmington Hills home.  If a Oakland County home buyer comes to your house and sees a mess like this they may just walk away.

Sometimes home buyers don't like to see people working on cars in the next yard.  Boats, motor homes, and trailers stored in the back yard can make buyers run too.

Now these pictures are not of Farmington Hills real estate, but it gives you an idea of what you know is next door to you.  If you have these issues it may be wise to buy a row of evergreen Arborvitae bushes or put up an inexpensive privacy fence to block these views.

Sometimes a turnoff to a home buyer can be an old abandoned tree house, or piled up trash that you have grow accustomed to.  Home buyers don't want to see homes that have trashy neighbors.   So block the view or help your neighbor clean up the mess.

More  Wayne County home selling articles 

Want to find out your value of your home

How to Sell a Canton home - How to prepare your living room to sell,  Your living room is one of the first rooms a Metro Detroit home buyer sees when they walk into  your home.  And they say that a home buyer sometimes make up their minds to buy a home in under 2 minutes.

So here are my steps to make your Canton home's living room ready to sell.

1. Remove any wallpaper or wall paper borders in the room
2. Remove any family pictures.  Home buyers can't visualize themselves in the home if your pictures are up on the wall.   
3. Remove any collections or decor.   If you like southwestern decor take down the cactus and dream catchers.  If you collect dolls put away the 30 dolls.  One or two is okay.
4. Paint the room in neutral colors.  I know you love that bright red color, but buyers want to move into the home and do nothing.  Just because you love that red color doesn't mean the next person will.  Even if a buyer wants a different color they will feel good that they can move into the house right away and then change the colors at a later time..
5. Shampoo and clean the carpet
6. Clean the windows.
7. If you have heavy drapes it would be good to put sheers on the windows.  You can usually pick them up reasonably at a home store.  You want to allow as much light into the house as possible.  
8. If you have every square space of the walls covered with furniture, it would be wise to remove a few pieces.  You want the room to appear spacious.  There should be a clear pathway from the doorways to the other doorways.  Remember wide open spaces is the key. 
9. Put brighter light bulbs in any light fixture.

I hope these answer your question on How to sell a Canton home - How to prepare your living room to sell.

If you want to know what your value of your home send me an email or give me a call.

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