Real Estate Information Archive

 

Please let me know if you would like to view the video below.  Just Email me for the latest password.  

This is a Great Video about how to stage your Home for a successful sale, etc.  

 

tom stachler, home sales, broker, ann arbor, saline, michigan, real estate, one, for sale, Lease, preparation, staging, options, listing agreements, prep, ready, fix, up, punch, list, realtor, recommended

The rate of sales slowed in November as it has for the prior three months. It is still strong, but not as strong as this time last year. Inventories continue to fall as a result of an increasing number of listings that are expiring. New listings entering the market have been up for the past six months. Many of those are expired listings reentering the market, which are not enough to raise inventories. For buyers, there is still a significant shortage of available homes for sale with inventories remaining at 10-year lows. At the end of November, Southeast Michigan inventories dropped below 10,000 properties (this is compared to the peak of over 65,000 properties for sale in 2008). Values are up about 8% and new listings entering the market continue to rise. This shows that sellers are seeing some light at the end of the value tunnel and are putting their homes on the market at an increasing rate.

There are more than a few people predicting a flat to declining real estate year for 2014. Certainly with the possibility of tougher mortgage standards, rising interest rates, pent up demand having been released and a relatively flat economic growth, it is reasonable to predict a slow down. After all, we can’t expect to have record years every year (in terms of unit sales) and three years in a row is a pretty good run. We do think 2014 will not be as strong as 2013, but I am more optimistic than most, mainly because there is still quite a bit of Buying power left in the market. 

The housing affordability index is a good measure of that buying power. Historically, an index in the 120 range (the median family income can buy 120% of the median priced Home) is the good spot for a balanced and healthy housing market. In Michigan, we might move that range up to 140 since our values tend to be lower. We are still over 200 in Michigan, so there is still some buyer “slack” that will be capable of pushing up prices and creating multiple offers into 2014/15 (but not at the same pace as 2012/13). The chart below gives an example of what the index would look like given reasonable assumptions for the next few years.

If these assumptions hold, the market will settle to a balance around 2016. There is a positive wild card and that is household income. Income growth has been flat, which does not help home values. But as jobs grow and second income opportunities increase, this supercharges a household’s buying power. Although the median income may not be rising quickly, every job that creates a strong second income, also creates powerful homebuyers who can buy/outbid a significantly higher priced home.

A Short Spotlight on the City of Detroit: The city certainly suffered more than most in the downturn, but its rise has also led the way up. Since 2011, the median price has risen 89% and the average price 69%. Sales are still dominated by investors at the lower end of the market causing the median price to hover around $13,000. Looking behind those numbers we see some strong trends comparing 2013 to 2011. Sales of homes in excess of $40,000 have risen 20% and homes in excess of $100,000 have risen 61%. This shows that with more higher value sales, owners are moving in to replace investors. Midtown and Downtown have a housing shortage as well as key neighborhoods such as Rosedale, University, East English and many more.

As prices and interest rates rise, watch for some of the lower priced areas to heat up even more (Livonia, Redford, East Ferndale, Warren, Detroit, Taylor, Westland, etc.) as buyers move down in value, rather than leave the market altogether.

Thank you for your support in 2013. I look forward to working with you in 2014.

 

 

tom stachler, market, update, ann arbor, 2014, real estate, for sale, condos, homes, commercial, properties, listings, agent, broker, new, property, saline, michigan

 Help for the Hardest-Hit Housing Markets 

1. $1.5 Billion to Work with State Housing Agencies to Innovate and Help Address the Problems Facing the Hardest-Hit Housing Markets 

• There will be a formula for allocating funding among eligible states that will be based on Home price declines and unemployment. 

• HFAs must submit a program design to Treasury. 

• Programs may include:  Measures for unemployed homeowners; 

 Programs to assist borrowers owing more than their home is now worth; 

 Programs that help address challenges arising from second mortgages; or 

 Other programs encouraging sustainable and affordable homeownership. 

 

2. Accountability and Transparency for these Housing Programs 

• All funded program designs posted online. 

• Accountability for results – program effectiveness measured and results published online. 

• Effective oversight under the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008.

Click here for more information on this program.

Well its that time of year again when we get our notice's from the local tax assessor.  The notice will contain your new tax assessment and what we can expect to pay for property taxes.  Remember you can appeal this decision if you do not agree.  Generally there will be instructions with your assessment that tell you how to sign up for to appeal initially to the local Tax Board of Review. 

I am please to announce that this past year I was notified that I would be getting back two checks for different properties that I had appealed to the State Tax Tribunal.  It should be noted that initially I did not receive any adjustments on the local level.  Initially, your case is reviewed by individuals appointed by local government that is very concerned about declining tax revenue due to declining tax values (Tax Board of Review).  No mystery here why they smile and tell you they will take your matter into consideration and then send you a denial letter once you are out of their door and confrontation range.  I have a few suggestions if you think your taxable value is higher than 50% of your market value and you want to lower your tax bill.

You will need to start by requesting a meeting with your tax board of review. This is a panel that will meet for several weeks straight following the mailing of your assessment and you need to request a time slot right away while they are convened.  Being a broker I can put together a market report showing comps or sold price data on similar properties.  I did this in the past but was unsuccessful on my appeals.   I would recommend that you spend $2-300. dollars for a formal appraisal.  The appraisal should be dated December 31st of the previous year which is the value date that your assessor is trying to establish.  Often, several of us in the community will go together and negociate a discounted price with a local appraiser for doing several appraisals at once for this purpose.  This makes the process much easier both at the local and state levels.  You now have an unbiased, third party market value opinion to present initially to the Tax board of Review and if needed, the State Tax Tribunal appeal.  I recommend this approach highly.  To start, you will make several copies (4) to supply to the local board and assessor at your first meeting which generally only last 15 minutes or less.  From my own past experience, this yields limited or no satisfaction at the local level, but you could get lucky.  You will receive an opinion from the Board of Review within a few weeks after your informal meeting along with instructions on how to appeal to the State Tax Tribunal.  Unhappy with the results?.... then don't stop and send a copy of your appraisal to the State if you disagree and then be prepared to wait up to two years for a notice from them, though you should receive a confirmation of receipt and case number within 60 days.  You can check you status online to by going to the State Web site as well.  If this is concerning your Home or principle residence, the appeal to the State is Free.  If its for investment property, then there is a $75. charge.  I have found far more receptive ears at the State level, so don't be shy about taking this final step.  

Of course there are more formal approaches involving hiring a tax attorney, but generally most people do not wish to speculate spending money on their fee's.  This is something you will need to weight vs. the potential return. 

Please call me if you have any questions or would like for me to send you some comps just to see if you should start with the appraisal route.  Remember, I got back thousands on each of my appeals to the state so think positive.  

Please scroll down and review other older posts herein for info on this and similar topics while your in this category.  

Good luck!

Anyone can be a real estate investor in todays market.  I have many clients who are investing in homes prices between 15-80K who are Buying to earn income.  Current investors should note the recent underwriting change dropping the 90 day wait for flip type sales to buyers using FHA loans. (see below) 

For newcomers, generally the plan is to flip the property.  In other words you buy asset, make the necessary repairs and/or upgrades and then place it back on the market for sale.  Most of the time in order to replenish capital an investors first choice is usually to sell it for cash or buyer financing ie:the buyer gets a mortgage and pays the owner in full.  Second option.... the seller enters into a land contract with terms above market interest rate after receiving a downpayment from the buyer. The terms often will call for a balloon payment after three years at which time the buyer will then seek a mortgage to cash out the seller.  Often the buyer is not in a position to get a mortgage right now and the seller can chose this type of transaction because perhaps the property location or market conditions in the subdivision didn't yield a cash buyer right away.  The other option for the seller is to Rent the property out until which time as they may decide to sell it.   All three choices yield a nice return on investment.

New and current investors should note  ... short sale and REO flipping 
are becoming more and more accepted by the government and major 
lending institutions.  This is evidenced, among other things, 
by Freddie Mac's recent bulletins, updated credit policies by 
major lenders allowing for C buyer financing, and revised title bulletins 
stating that the C purchase price does not need to be revealed 
to the A lender as long as certain disclosures are made. 

Last Friday the FHA has rescinded its 90 anti-flipping rule and will, 
for a period of 1 year, allow FHA buyers to obtain loans 
on properties that have been recently purchased by investors 
who intend to flip them for a profit.

This "green light" by FHA means that if you've been on the 
sidelines of property flipping, you need to educate yourself 
as soon as possible, because investors will be coming on 
strong for 2010 given this latest news. 

contact me to discuss this further.  You can also stop by this web site to get easy to use investment tools etc.  www.A2Realty.info or stop by our MLS access and custom report web site at www.shelterquest1.com for easy and current review of the latest listings.   

Tom can be reached on his cell phone at 734-516-2000 to answer any additional questions that you may have.  

Tax Credit has passed the Senate and the house!  It is now going to the President for his signature. 

 

Tax break for Buying a Home

The legislation also would extend the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The controversial credit, which many say has boosted home sales in recent months, was set to expire after Nov. 30.

The bill also creates a $6,500 credit for those who buy a home after living in their current house at least five years. That measure would apply to contracts signed by April 30 and closed by June 30. The current credit defines a first-time homebuyer as someone who has not owned a residence within the past three years.

The credit would be available only for the purchase of principal residences priced at $800,000 or less.

The bill would raise the adjusted gross income cap to $125,000 for single filers and $225,000 for joint filers. The amount of the credit currently begins to phase out for taxpayers whose adjusted gross income is more than $75,000, or $150,000 for joint filers.

Understandably, homeowners who apply for a loan modification tend to get a little antsy and perhaps even annoyed when they apply for a loan modification and then fail to hear anything for several weeks, especially if they continue to receive late payment notices and nasty phone calls from collection agencies.

Many homeowners wonder, “How long will it be before I hear anything?” and “What should I do while I’m waiting.” This article should help answer those very pressing questions.

How long will it take?

The loan modification process typically takes 30 to 90 days, depending mostly on your lender and your ability to efficiently work through the process with your attorney or other loan modification representative.

Note: The loan modification timeline is not set in stone. The more complex your situation or the greater the degree of concessions needed from the investor, the longer the process takes. Borrowers with a lot of collateral issues can see their loans take longer than what has become the typical 30- to 90-day timeframe.

A professional can often reduce the amount of time required by processing your paperwork efficiently, presenting your application exactly the way the lender wants it, and knowing from past experience what the lender is able and typically willing to agree to. Although each borrower’s situation is unique, knowing the measures the lender is willing to take for similarly situated borrowers can be a real time saver.

Whether you are dealing directly with your lender or through a loan modification specialist, ask several questions up front:

How long is the process likely to take? Find out the best- and worst-case scenarios and then count out the days and mark them on your calendar.

When can I expect to hear something about my case? Mark this date on your calendar.

If I don’t hear anything by the specified date, whom should I contact? Get the person’s name, employee identification number (if available), phone number, and any extension you need to dial to reach the person directly.

What should I do while I’m waiting?

Playing the waiting game can be agonizing, particularly when you have no idea of whether your application will be accepted or rejected or what the lender will offer in terms of a workout. It feels like your future hangs in the balance, and you remain in the dark. Knowing the standard timeline for processing a loan modification can certainly help relieve some anxiety. In addition, you can continue to make progress on your own by doing the following:

If you hired a loan modification specialist to represent you, do not speak with your lender or lender’s representative. Refer all matters to the professional who is representing you. Anything you say to the lender could confuse things or compromise your representative’s ability to negotiate the best deal on your behalf.

Log all phone calls and correspondence between you and your lender or representative. Write down the number you called, the person you talked with, what the person said, and what you said - not word for word, just jot down the key points.

Keep track of important dates. If you do not hear something back on the date promised, call the next day to find out what’s going on. Lenders almost never call you back with updates. If you hired a third party representative, they will (or should) keep you posted, but the lender simply doesn’t have the time to make follow up phone calls. If you’re dealing with your lender directly, you’ll have to be the one making the calls. Mark your calendar and schedule periodic update phone calls. Consistent follow up is paramount to a successful modification.

Explore other options. If the lender denies your request for a loan modification or presents an offer that you cannot accept, you will need a plan B (and maybe a plan C and a plan D). In addition, other options may be better for you than a loan modification. Consult a real estate agent about listing your Home for sale. Talk to a mortgage broker or loan officer about refinancing. Speak with a bankruptcy attorney to find out whether filing bankruptcy would be a better choice.

Don’t be surprised if you continue to receive delinquency notices or late payment phone calls. Lenders rarely put a stop on the foreclosure process until a workout solution is fully in place. You should ask your lender if your attempts to negotiate a solution will stop or at least postpone other collection actions. If they do not, you should find out what that means for you. If the lender is able to foreclose in 30 days and a workout takes 60 days, there’s a slight timeline problem. Push to have all default and foreclosure actions put on hold while your workout attempts are underway.

When your fate is in someone else’s hands, 30 to 90 days can seem like an eternity. By doing your part to keep the process on track, remain informed, and explore other options, you not only improve your chances of achieving a positive outcome, but you can also reduce the stress that commonly accompanies the waiting process.

To get a market report on your homes value in the Washtenaw County area Click Here
For information on new home listings Click Here

By MITCH ALBOM • FREE PRESS COLUMNIST • December 13, 2008

We have grease on our hands.

You have blood.

Kill the car, kill the country. History will show that when America was on its knees, a handful of lawmakers tried to cut off its feet. And blame the workers. How suddenly did the workers — a small percentage of a car’s cost — become justification for crushing an industry?

And when did Detroit become the symbol of economic dysfunction? Are you kidding? Have you looked in the mirror lately, Washington?

In a world where banks hemorrhaged trillions in a high-priced gamble called credit derivative swaps that YOU failed to regulate, how on earth do WE need to be punished? In a bailout era where you shoveled billions, with no demands, to banks and financial firms, why do WE need to be schooled on how to run a business?

Who is more dysfunctional in business than YOU? Who blows more money? Who wastes more trillions on favors, payback and pork?

At least in the auto industry, if folks don’t like what you make, they don’t have to buy it. In government, even your worst mistakes, we have to live with.

And now Detroit should die with this?

In bed with the foreign automakers

Kill the car, kill the country. Sen. Richard Shelby, Sen. Bob Corker, Sen. Mitch McConnell, your names will not be forgotten. It’s amazing how you pretend to speak for America when you are only watching out for your political party, which would love to cripple unions, and your states, which house foreign auto plants.

Corker, you’ve got Nissan there and Volkswagen coming. Shelby, you’ve got Hyundai, Honda, Mercedes-Benz and — like McConnell — Toyota. Oh, don’t kid yourself. They didn’t come because you earned their business, a subject on which you enjoy lecturing the Detroit Three. No, they came because you threw billions in state tax breaks to lure them.

And now you want those foreign companies, which you lured, and which get help from their governments, to dictate to American workers how much they should be paid? Tell you what. You’re so fond of the foreign model, why don’t you do what Japanese ministers do when they screw up the country’s finances?

They cut their salaries.

Or they resign in shame.

When was the last time a U.S. senator resigned over a failed policy?

Yet you want to fire Rick Wagoner?

Who are you people?

More money for the lords of Wall Street

There ought to be a law — against the hypocrisy our government has demonstrated. The speed with which wheelbarrows of money were dumped on Wall Street versus the slow noose hung on the auto companies’ necks is reprehensible. Some of those same banks we bailed out are now saying they won’t extend credit to auto dealers. Wasn’t that why we gave them the money? To loosen credit?

Where’s your tight grip on those funds, senators? Where’s your micromanaging of the wages in banking? Or do you just enjoy having your hands around blue-collared throats?

No matter what the president does, history will not forget this: At our nation’s most uncertain hour, you senators stood ready to plunge hundreds of thousands of American families into oblivion. Leave them unemployed, with no health care, on public assistance. And you were willing to put our nation’s security at risk — by squashing the manufacturing base we must have in times of war.

And why? So you could stand on some phony principle? Crush a union? Play to your base? How is our nation better off today now that you kept $14 billion in the treasury? Are you going to balance the budget with that?

Don’t make us laugh.

Kill the car, kill the country. You tried to slam a stake into our chest; you don’t realize how close you are to the nation’s heart. Shame on your pettiness. Shame on your hypocrisy. This is how lawmakers behave two weeks before Christmas? Honestly. What has become of this country?

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homeowners threatened with foreclosure would in some instances get a 30-day reprieve under an initiative the Bush administration announced Tuesday.

Dubbed "Project Lifeline," the program will be available to people who have taken out all types of mortgages, not just the high-cost subprime loans that have been the focus of previous relief efforts.

The program was put together by six of the nation's largest financial institutions, which service almost 50 percent of the nation's mortgages.

These lenders say they will contact homeowners who are 90 or more days overdue on their monthly mortgage payments. The homeowners will be given the opportunity to put the foreclosure process on pause for 30 days while the lenders try to work out a way to make the mortgage more affordable to homeowners.

"Project Lifeline is a valuable response, literally a lifeline, for people on the brink of the final steps in foreclosure," Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson said at a joint news conference with Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson.

He said the goal was to provide a temporary pause in the foreclosure process "long enough to find a way out" by letting homeowners and lenders negotiate a more affordable mortgage.

Paulson said the new effort was just one of a number of approaches the administration was pursuing with the mortgage industry to deal with the country's worst housing slump in more than two decades.

In December, President Bush announced a deal brokered with the mortgage industry that will freeze certain subprime loans -- those offered to borrowers with weak credit histories -- for five years if the borrowers cannot afford the higher monthly payments as those mortgages reset after being at lower introductory rates.

"As our economy works through this difficult period, we will look for additional opportunities to try to avoid preventable foreclosures," Paulson said. "However, none of these efforts are a silver bullet that will undo the excesses of the past years, nor are they designed to bail out real estate speculators or those who committed fraud during the mortgage process."

In coming days, lenders will begin sending letters to homeowners who might qualify for the new program. Homeowners won't qualify if they have entered bankruptcy, if they already have a foreclosure date within 30 days, or if the Home loan was taken out to cover an investment property or a vacation home.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that at least 1.3 million home mortgage loans were either seriously delinquent or in foreclosure at the end of the July-September quarter.

Private economists are forecasting that the number of foreclosures could soar to 1 million this year and next, about double the 2007 rate.

Officials did not have an estimate of how many people might be helped by the new "Project Lifeline" program.

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., said the finance industry and the administration were falling further and further behind in dealing with the growing crisis.

"This plan, while a step in the right direction, will not stem the tide of the millions of foreclosures we are facing in the coming months," Dodd said in a statement. His committee will hold a hearing on the housing crisis on Thursday with testimony from Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

The six participating banks are Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. Countrywide Financial Corp., J.P. Morgan Chase and Co., Washington Mutual Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co.

They are all members of the Hope Now Alliance, an industry group that is trying to coordinate a response to the mortgage crisis. Officials urged homeowners to call the group's toll free hot line number at 1-888-995-HOPE for assistance.

AP Business Writer Marcy Gordon contributed to this report.

The Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announce new sales incentives on HUD Homes being bought as primary residences in Michigan.

 

     1.) $100 Down Payment!

            Purchase a HUD Home with FHA-insured financing and put ONLY $100 down!

     2.) Sales Allowance!

            Purchasers using FHA financing will receive $2,500 at closing to use on repairs, closing costs, or to lower their mortgage amount.  Not using FHA financing? You will still receive $1,000 to assist in paying closing costs!

     3.) Available Statewide!

            This offer does not have restricted areas!  All homes, in Michigan, being purchased as Owner Occupied homes are eligible for these special incentives!

 

**Benefits of FHA Financing**

            Flexible Underwriting.

            No minimum credit scores.

            Competitive, often lower, interest rates.

            Government Insured.