As a Farmington Hills homeowner, the selling process can be an overwhelming experience – especially for first timers. Since they’ve never been through the experience of selling a home, many homeowners feel a bit lost as to what they need to do before they can pass their keys over to the next owners. But not to worry! Here’s a checklist for selling your Farmington hills home that covers all the essentials for homeowners getting ready to sell their first property:Sprucing Things UpBefore homeowners list their home, they will want to handle any minor fixes that might keep them from getting top dollar for their property and spruce things up to make the home more attractive to potential buyers. Some of the important things on the checklist for selling your farmington hills home are: While ev... 01/10/2018

When selling your home, you want to do everything in your power to do things that will increase your Farmington Hills Michigan homes value and get you the highest offer possible, makes since right? You may think doing major renovations are the way to go, but sometimes it’s the smallest less expensive things that will add the most value to your home and bring you the best offer possible.Here are 4 small and inexpensive ways to increase your Farmington Hills Michigan homes value to get the best offer possible.Clean Up the ExteriorMany homeowners in Farmington Hills Michigan focus on the interior of their home when selling, but remember the exterior will give the homes first impression when a potential buyer walks up for a showing. It’s important to make a positive first impression that wi... 12/14/2017

Appraised and assessed prices are regularly mistakened for each other. As a buyer or home seller, it is useful to understand how they differ. Details on Farmington Hills Michigan appraised vs assessed prices is provided below.What Are Assessed PricesLocalities require a property tax on residential real estate. The sum is derived from the tax rate multiplied by an assessed value of the real estate. Assessments are used only for measuring taxes and do not necessarily coincide with the market value. Every municipality formulates assessed value differently. They usually look at land area, interior features, and exterior features such as garages. Municipalities can re-evaluate real estate values and/or elevate the tax calculation at standard intervals.What Are Appraised PricesAn appraisal is... 12/07/2017

The tax deadline is right around the corner! Do not miss out on money saving tax benefits of real estate ownership. The Farmington Hills Michigan homeowner tax advice in this blog may help with your tax returns. Look for the 1098 Form from Your Mortgage CompanyInterest paid on primary mortgages, second mortgages, home equity loans, and home renovation loans are often tax deductible. You will receive a mortgage statement, a Form 1098, from each mortgage company. It will detail amounts paid during the 2016 year. It may also reference amounts paid for mortgage insurance, which might be deductible if you meet the income and other requirements.Calculate Money Spent on Property RepairsKeep track of all home repair expenses. Some repairs, such as energy efficiency upgrades (windows, doors, hea... 12/06/2017

A home inspection is an assessment of the building and all mechanical elements by a licensed professional. It normally includes a review of each visible aspect of the interior and exterior of a house. A certified home inspector has inspected many properties and is therefore familiar with all the features of home construction, utility systems, and how they all should function. Even a handy home buyer may not have the in depth knowledge of an experienced inspector. Farmington Hills Michigan real estate inspection  and sellers can be found in this blog.Farmington Hills Michigan Real Estate Inspection TipsBuyer TipsProperty buying is a large investment that you should not enter into without in-depth knowledge. An inspection identifies the condition of a piece of real estate and needed repai... 11/30/2017

There are a few different types of home equity loans. Some may be a better alternative than others based on your situation, interest rates, and the reason for your home equity loan. The Farmington Hills Michigan home equity loan options detailed in this article may help you understand your options.Home Equity Loan TypesCash-out RefinanceA cash-out refinance pays off your first loan and creates a new one. The new loan includes the amount of the old loan, the extra funds you are taking out and applicable settlement costs. Because you are replacing the old mortgage, rather than taking out a new one as a second mortgage, the rates may be better than a second mortgage. This is essentially a normal refinance except that you are extracting equity in the home. Those funds are given to you all a... 11/27/2017

I’m truly thankful for the trust, confidence and the real estate business my clients have entrusted in me throughout this year in Farmington Hills Michigan and the surrounding areas. It seems saying thanks would be enough, but sometimes it seems lacking in some ways as it is a word people use very often, especially in the real estate profession. In this blog post I wanted to share the many ways that I’m thankful and blessed to have been your realtor of choice this last year, and hopefully the coming year to some your friends and family as well. I hope your own Thanksgiving celebrations are equally as full of  being thankful as mine are. As a professional Farmington Hills Michigan realtor and in my personal life the word “thankful” means so much more to me than being appreciated. Thankf... 11/21/2017

If you have viewed properties for sale recently, you have probably come across the term as-is. Homeowners may prefer to sell as-is, but it is important to learn how a potential might react to it. Here is important information on selling your home in Farmington Hills Michigan as-is.Understanditng Wha the Term As-Is MeansAs-is means that a home will be sold in its current state. This covers any problems that may exist, whether they are obvious or not. Buyers must perform an inspection to better assess any problems before finalizing the sale. Based on previous cases involving as-is clauses, the specific interpretation may actually vary by state.Disclosure of Property ConditionNo matter whether the term as-is is used in a property sale, home sellers have a obligation to divulge any material... 11/17/2017

Halloween in Farmington Hills is the one day in every year when the regular order of things gets a thorough shaking up. For one thing, it’s the single day of the year when we expect our doorbell to be ringing non-stop for hours on end. It’s certainly the only time when prudence dictates that we stockpile bowls full of treats to serve as ransom payments against demands for booty from an onslaught of pint-sized masked neighbors.For Farmington Hills’s small fry, if all goes well, Farmington Hills’s Halloween ranks right up there with birthdays in terms of fun and excitement—possibly because of the aura of good-natured bounds-testing that seems to hover over the proceedings. When else does everybody get to dress up in disguises? When else might some perfectly dignified adult don an eyepatch... 10/30/2017

For Farmington Hills Real Estate, Halloween Marks a Turning Point  ...Fa la la la la, la la la la: it’s carol time again! Not quite? You can’t almost hear those sleigh bells ringing? Well, brace yourself. Halloween is next Tuesday—and nowadays, that means that by Wednesday, holiday advertising will be with us for the duration. Whether we admit it or not, the Thanksgiving start of holiday season is a thing of the past. Hallmark has already launched its “Countdown to Christmas;” Farmington Hills mailboxes are filling with gift catalogs; store windows are only weeks away from being transformed into snow-sprayed winter wonderlands.As far as Farmington Hills real estate is concerned, a couple of the advantages to buying during the holiday season will arrive more or less simultaneously. And t... 10/27/2017

Amazon has invaded the realm of Farmington Hills real estate—but you couldn’t say it’s happening in a big way. It’s happening in a tiny way. Last week the improbable news arrived that the web’s 400-pound gorilla had made its first foray into the realm of real estate. Since Farmington Hills real estate (like all real estate) is by definition local, its very nature would seem to preclude the buying and selling of homes as a mail order enterprise. But since Amazon.com has succeeded in other industries where failure had been assumed (high-end fashion, for instance), could local Farmington Hills real estate soon be monopolized by a tsunami of Amazon Prime home sales? At least it warranted some looking into!Farmington Hills Real Estate Braces for Amazon.com IncursionIt turned out that Farming... 10/17/2017

My organization—the National Association of Realtors®—offers a wide range of guidance for Farmington Hills families who have decided it’s time to land their first house. With more than a century’s worth of experience, you’d expect nothing less. Last week I happened across an article the NAR had distilled that looked like a must-read for anyone who is just starting out on the path to buying their first Farmington Hills house. Its title was “8 Critical Things to Do Before Buying a Home”—but it could just as well have been “8 Critical Things to Do Before Buying Your First Farmington Hills House.” Each of the eight was apt—and important to mull over—but it’s the kind of list that’s awfully easy to read without giving much thought to the individual items.  A Century of NAR® First House Buyer... 10/13/2017

Buying your first place can be an exciting but often overwhelming experience. From finding “the one” to figuring out how you’ll pay for it, you’ll face many choices along the road to home ownership.Before you box up your belongings and prepare to put your new welcome mat in place, you’ll have to do some serious soul searching. Let’s explore the most common decisions first-time homebuyers face.1. Location vs. square footage?via GIPHYWhen it comes to real estate, the first thought that flashes through most minds is the old “Location, location, location!” But if you want a home in a coveted spot, you may have to make certain sacrifices in order to afford it.For example, if you’re seeking waterfront property, a swanky pad in the city, or a colonial in a top school district, you’ll quickly r... 10/09/2017

“Pet-Friendly” is a term that used to be confined to the Farmington Hills Homes for Rent ads and a few open-minded hotel chains. Given the 84+ million American households which now include pets as family members, Farmington Hills homeowners who plan on listing their property anytime soon might include those animal census numbers in their thinking.There may not yet be an official “Pet-Friendly Home” seal with stringent qualifying requirements, but it might not be such a bad idea. What research there is indicates that most prospective home buyers don’t at first concentrate on their animals’ needs—yet when you add the 36% of dog-owning households to the 30% of cat owners, there’s a high probability that more than a few of potential buyers will be sizing up your property with Fido or Fluffb... 10/02/2017

The minute Seasons change, everyone in real estate starts justifying why “Now!” is the best time to sell your home.And when it comes to Fall, the main reason real estate agents give is because there are usually less houses on the market to compete with. Or, the buyers in the market are more “serious”.To me, the best reason for selling in the Fall (or any other time of year for that matter) is because you need to. If you don’t need to sell…wait. Not until Spring. Wait until you need to.Wanting to sell your house isn’t a bad reason. However, selling a house is a pretty big decision, and too many homeowners put their homes on the market prematurely.The problem with that?Since they don’t “need” to sell, they often overprice their homes which leads to their listing becoming “stale”. That lea... 09/22/2017

A couple of weeks back, the ultimate authority on Farmington Hills mortgage rates hadn’t minced words. That was Freddie Mac, whose opinion about mortgage rates constitutes the final say in the matter. Freddie isn’t modest about its preeminence (Freddie’s trademarked corporate slogan is “We make home possible”). Together with sibling Fannie Mae, the quasi-governmental entities stand behind 60% of U.S. mortgages.                                                                                                                  Each week their PMMS survey collects data snapshots from thrifts, credit unions, banks, and mortgage lenders to gauge of the direction of the home loan market. Future Farmington Hills home hunters and the homeowners whose properties are found in the current listings (o... 09/21/2017

Who doesn’t love an open house? Sometimes, the answer to that question, it turns out, is the Realtor® hosting it.Not that the idea of pairing someone with his or her dream home isn’t thrilling, but there are plenty of moving parts agents need to put in place before presenting a home to the public.From signs and balloons to snacks and pets, the struggle is real. So real, in fact, that there’s a hashtag to lament these common #openhouseproblems. Check out this list and see if you’ve experienced any yourself.1. Shoe switcheroo This photo definitely makes a case for wearing uncommon footwear. Though it may seem a tad unprofessional, it could be time to bust out your old Chuck Taylors or Birkenstocks!2. Toilet troubles It’s important to stay hydrated, but not having access to a usable toilet... 09/20/2017

When news of the Equifax hack first broke, the credit ratings giant scrambled to minimize fallout from this massive personal information breach. After an initial embarrassing misstep (they tried to have affected consumers sign off on Equifax’s liability), the company moved to ameliorate the hack by offering free ID protection to consumers.Farmington Hills homeowners and potential home buyers had reason to do more than shake their heads at yet another electronic pratfall. In one way or another, most Farmington Hills real estate transactions involve creditworthiness appraisals that are managed by the three credit reporting agencies (Equifax is one). That means that among the 143 million consumers it admits could be “potentially impacted” are certainly a lot of current and future Farmingto... 09/19/2017

 Even investors whose Farmington Hills rental homes have served long and well as income-producers can eventually decide it’s time to sell. Given today’s tight housing inventories, the current market does stack up as one where selling your tenant-occupied house can be a timely financial move.But if that is under consideration, what should you do about the current tenant? Is it better to wait until the current lease expires—so that the vacated property can be shown without having to deal with an inconvenienced (and possibly miffed) tenant? Or will it be better to go ahead and list the property while it’s still occupied? Michigan landlord-tenant laws will have to be observed in any case, and specifics depend on the terms of the rental agreement, but experience teaches that following a few ... 09/13/2017

Last weekend’s regular Michigan news should have been promoting all the usual upbeat feature stories about the onset of football season, the start of a brand new school year, the finals of tennis’ last grand slam tournament and the like—but Farmington Hills readers would have gotten eye strain trying to find any of them. Instead, the dark clouds brought by Hurricane Irma and Harvey cast dense shadows across the region and the nation’s news. It was certain, too, that even after the terror of their actual passages had subsided, the fallout would continue to reverberate—expensively—for a very long time.A Good News Item Buried in Farmington Hills’s Hurricane CoverageWhat was covered was how the prayers of millions not directly affected were being answered by many thousands of Good Samaritan... 09/11/2017