Chat about Macomb County MI real estate & Homes for sale search site

I am doing a happy dance while sitting in my desk chair.  I just finished reading this article that was posted a bit ago at ABC online.

What a win for the consumer!

In a nutshell (read the article at the link provided above, you’ll be glad you did) a man in Pennsylvania wrote to his mortgage lender, Wells Fargo, inquiring about added charges for homeowners insurance on his mortgage bill.  He wrote several times and didn’t receive a response from Wells Fargo.  So he did what many of us wish we could do, he took them to court.  And won.

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) doesn’t just apply to those who are buying their homes and at the closing table, it also mandates how mortgage lenders / servicers treat you AFTER you have purchased your home.   If you have a question about your mortgage loan or escrow account and you write to your lender, they darned well better get back with you.

A few years ago I represented a young lady in her home purchase in Roseville (Macomb County).  About a year later she called me because her escrow account was so screwed up and she wasn’t getting any clear reasons for it after many phone calls to customer service.  I instructed her to write to the lender citing RESPA,  send it certified mail (so you have proof that they received it) and sure enough she not only got answers to her question, but her escrow account was finally fixed to her satisfaction.  It took less than 30 days for this to happen.

At the RESPA site linked above there is information on how to write a letter to your mortgage servicer and also states your rights under the RESPA laws.
~Kris Wales~ A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
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I was out and about yesterday in St. Clair County showing homes to a wonderful couple.  One of the homes that we were really interested in viewing seemed to have most of their “wish list / want list” covered.

Imagine our disappointment and surprise when we pulled up to this:

This was an extremely long country driveway that hadn’t seen a snow shovel or a plow probably since winter started.  It’s hard to tell the depth from the photo, but I had mid ankle boots on and the snow went over the top and in to them.

It was such a turn off to all of us that we knew the inside viewing wasn’t going to go well.  It didn’t.

Please PLEASE clean your driveway and walk ways for people if you want agents and their buyers to view your home for sale.  I would imagine that many agents & buyers left before they made this trek to the house.  I know we were tempted.

~Kris Wales~ A partner for your real estate needs in Metro Detroit
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The common misconception about Buyers Agents is that we take people out to look at a few homes, write the offers, then sit back and collect a paycheck.

Misconception?   What an understatement!

Take for example what goes on behind the scenes before we ever step foot in a home with our buyer clients:

• Talk with the buyers about their wish list / want list / must have
  list in a home.
• Sort through all of the thousands of listings in the various
  MLS databases, narrowing down only those that fit the buyers criteria.
• Research the property taxes on the properties.  (I’ll let you know about
  the importance of this in a separate post.)
• Check the ownership of the home (looking for conflicting information
  in public records)
• Sifting through the comments and photos to ascertain whether a home
  meets your financing criteria (Will the condo be HUD approved?  Will
  the home pass FHA or VA muster?)

A good buyers agent will spend hours behind the scenes working in the buyers best interests before they ever step foot into a home.    But you the buyer don’t know that, because we don’t give you a detailed invoice of work performed like other professionals do.   The list above is only  a snapshot of what a buyers agent does for you.  The list goes on and on during the process of purchasing your home.

How do you know if we have done a good and thorough job for you? When you get to the closing table thrilled with the purchase of your new home, with as little stress as possible, and without any surprises.   We willingly take on the stress and sleepless nights so that you don’t have to.

Contact Kris Wales - A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI

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Finally back on track (and with some free time!) to analyze a bit more today the homes sold in Macomb County during the past year. Once again the north west part of the county, Macomb Township, showed me in black and white what I had been seeing with my buyer clients:  Stability.

There were fewer homes sold in 2010 in Macomb Township - 657 - compared to the 673 sold in 2009, but the “sold” price actually went a bit higher - $186,641 in 2010 compared to $185, 674 in ‘09.   (These sales figures are for single family residential homes only, I will do a separate post on condo sales)

One other promising bit to note:  The average days on the market in 2010 fell to 77 compared to 104 in 2009.   That may not seem like good news, but it is for home sellers who don’t have to languish on the market keeping their homes in “show worthy” condition.

As always, if you have any questions about the value of the homes in your specific area please don’t hesitate to contact me.  No pressure, just conversation.

~Kris Wales~  A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
Search Metro Detroit homes for sale with MLS provided data

Continuing on with my beginning of the new years real estate market reports for Macomb County, this morning I am concentrating on Shelby Township:

As I researched Shelby Township this morning I was pleasantly surprised that what I saw in black and white was actually what I thought I had been seeing as I was taking buyers out last year:  An increase in the numbers of homes sold in Shelby Twp as well as the shorter days on the market.  The sold prices seem to be stabilizing a bit also, as the price decline that we have been seeing for years was minimal this year (in comparison to the double digits per year we were seeing!)

Shelby Township saw 62 more homes sell in 2010 as well as 23 less days on the market for the homes to sell.  The decline in “sold” pricing was around 2%, which is wonderful to finally see. (No double digit price drops in 2010)  Hopefully 2011 will be the year that we see home prices stabilize and begin to climb back upwards and not lose any more value!

Have any questions about the real estate market in your area? Feel free to contact me - no pressure, just conversation.

~Kris Wales~  A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
Search homes for sale in Metro Detroit with MLS provided data

It’s that time of year again!   Along with updating the sales information from 2010 and how it affects our real estate industry in Macomb County, I often go through old email questions to try and refresh myself on things that I know can help home buyers going forward.

One of the most frequently asked questions is:  “Do I need a buyers agent?” and then variations of that are:  “Is there a charge for this?” and “What is it that you do?”

A couple of years ago I wrote an article entitled “Taking the confusion out of buyers agency - what it really means” and I forward this article along to any potential home buyer who inquires about buyers agency, as well as answering their specific questions.

Here is a link to the article, which is permanently location on my homes for sale search site:  Ask me about Buyers Agency in Michigan

If you have any specific questions please feel free to contact me. No pressure - just chat.

~Kris Wales~ A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
Search Metro Detroit homes for sale with MLS provided data

Every New Year I enjoy going through both of the Multilist services that I am subscribed to and researching to see how the year past treated us as far as number of homes sold and average sales price.

There were a couple of surprises that I liked to see, and one of them was the average “sold” price in Macomb County.

In 2010 the average sold price was higher : $99,183 compared to $94,716  in 2009.   During the year we saw prices in some areas of Macomb County stabilizing and at times, increasing.   Did more homes sell via short sales instead of foreclosures?  That’s one area that I will be delving in to a bit deeper in the next few days.  (”Short sale” homes are generally better maintained homes and in my opinion will appraise out a bit higher than a foreclosure that hasn’t been maintained.)

One other area that saw a bit of a good change was the average days on the market.  In 2010 the average days on the market for a home county wide was 81 compared to 93 days in 2009.   One aspect that I think helped push this number lower was the first time home buyers tax credit that expired in the spring.  There were many many more buyers in the spring that hurried to beat the deadline for the tax credit and that helped move the homes much quicker.

As the days go by I will be concentrating on specific cities / townships in Macomb County and talk about their average “sold” prices.  If you have any questions about your specific area please don’t hesitate to drop me an email and I’ll be happy to research it for you.

~Kris Wales~  A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
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This morning as I was researching a condo for sale in The Manors at Central Park in Shelby Township I found a nice surprise:  A blog written and updated regularly by Mike Grobbel who is a co-owner / member of the board of directors.

I have to tell you, I am thrilled with the information on the blog and the helpful links to updated association documents as well as the handy list of co-owners who are service providers (plumbers, painters, etc.)

Condo sales in Macomb County haven’t been a bright side in our real estate market for many years so anything that could help an association and owners of condos speed along a sales process is helpful!   Even though there are hindrances to purchasing a condo that weren’t there 5+ years ago (mortgage difficulties, etc.) condos are still an area of home ownership that is desirable to many prospective buyers.  (BTW, this is one of the condo complexes that is on HUDs approved condo list.  Very helpful for FHA & VA buyers!)

Thank you Mr. Grobbel for providing this informative blog to your co-owners at The Manors at Central Park as well as us real estate agents who want to provide as much information as we can to prospective buyers!

~Kris Wales~ A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
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I can’t pinpoint the date it happened, but it seemed that overnight our multilist databases were becoming filled with local homes for sale (Macomb County MI) by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.  They seemed to have overtaken HUD homes for sale in the numbers of them on the market right now.

A couple of notes about the process in purchasing them (May not apply to all homes, but has applied with the ones I have viewed with buyer clients):

Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae generally have the utilities turned on in the homes. This is a huge plus for all of us involved, as it helps to ensure that the home stays warm enough for pipes to not freeze and burst and also for the drywall / plaster walls to not continue to crack from the extreme weather changes.   It is also extremely helpful when it comes time for your home inspection and appraisal.  (No need to call and have utilities transferred in to your name in order to have your home inspection and/or appraisal.)

The homes may be winterized, meaning that the plumbing systems will be flushed of their water and an anti-freeze additive sent through the pipes to keep them from freezing. Even though the utilities are turned on and maintained, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae do not like to have plumbing problems in their homes and the resulting damage it can cause to the home.   When you are ready to have your home inspection the property manager for the home will come out and de-winterize the home for you and then reverse the process when you are finished.

FHA and VA ordered repairs to the home may not be completed by the buyer without prior approval from Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae.  In most cases any needed repairs to close on your FHA or VA loan will have to be approved first, then completed by the property manager.  Each case may differ, but the standard language in the Freddie Mac contracts state that no repairs may be made by the buyer prior to closing on the house.

A buyer client of mine recently closed on a Freddie Mac home purchase using his VA mortgage benefits. Even though there were several “hoops” to jump through, the home buying procedure from start to finish took less than 60 days and the home was well maintained by the property manager throughout the process.  Congratulations Paul on your home purchase, I know you will be happy with it!

~Kris Wales~ A partner for your real estate needs in Macomb County MI
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One of the challenges to purchasing a foreclosure is abiding by all local laws regulating the condition of the home (different city/township inspections and Certificate of Occupancy requirements).    Macomb County homes that are serviced by a well and septic system also have a mandatory inspection at the point of sale.

This can be a bit challenging as an inspection for a home that is vacant for more than 10 days cannot be done to satisfy the Macomb County Health Department.  (Most bank owned homes have been vacant for quite a bit of time.)   Surely you can still have things inspected, but it isn’t a certified inspection unless the home has been lived in very recently and the systems have been used.

Thankfully the Macomb County Health Department has a provision in their ordinance for this type of situation:  A postponement request.    I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly the request was signed and sent back to my buyer client and I when we filed the document (via fax) to the health department.  I faxed in the request to the health department on a Friday, and by the following Tuesday afternoon we had the signed approval.

Don’t let these mandatory inspections and ordinances frighten you away from purchasing a bank owned home.  Foreclosures are still some of the best buys out there right now.

~Kris Wales~  Ask me about buyers agency
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