Karen Reeber's Real Estate Blog | Farmington Hills MI | First Time Home Buyers, Short Sales, Housing Market, Relocation, Foreclosures, Homes for Sale

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Karen Reeber
REALTORĀ®
    Years of Experience: 35+

    ABRĀ®: Accredited Buyer's Representative
    CRP: Certified Relocation Professional
    CRS: Certified Residential Specialist
    RE/MAX Lifetime Achievement

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Posts Tagged ‘Housing Market’

Tips for Selling Your Farmington Hills Home in a Down Market…

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

….Or in any market for that matter. If you are faced with the prospect of selling your home in today’s market, there are definitely things that you can do to give yourself the best advantage for getting the most money that a buyer is willing to give you for your home in this market. Unfortunately, the sellers are still competing with foreclosures and short sales keeping private owned homes in the background for most buyers. The last thing you want to do as a seller is put more money into your property to get it sold as you are not likely to get much of a return on that money., However, there are some things that sellers can do to really help their property sell that won’t cost them as much as the positive return that they will get.

First of all, clean your property so it shines. Clean the inside until it sparkles and remove all clutter to make your space look as large as it can. Clear all debris from the outside and keep your lawn and landscaping trimmed.

Paint is one of the best things you can do as a seller to improve the looks of your property inside and outside. It is inexpensive and makes the property feel clean. A new paint job definitely uplifts a dreary listing. Also, removing wall paper can be a tremendous plus to helping your property show at its best. Much wall paper is dated and doesn’t do anything to help the property shine. I will say, as much as I love the new colorful paint, unless you are an interior decorator, I would keep the paint colors neutral. Let the new buyers envision what they might want to do with the decor should they decide to become the new owners to your property.

Again, not the best time to be a seller. However, if you can then become a buyer, this sale could be the best one you will ever make.

FHA Loan is Not Just for the First Time Home Buyer

Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009

FHA IS NOT JUST FOR THE 1ST TIME HOME BUYER as many people previously thought. FHA has come a long way over the many years to help buyers be able to call a house their own home. The percentage of FHA buyers has increased dramatically over just the past few years. FHA is not credit score driven and can have looser ratios than conventional financing.

There have just been some new FHA guidelines passed that might help certain buyers even more. Site condos used to have to get FHA spot approvals; and, the new word is that FHA will finally treat them as the single family homes that they have always been. As far as condos are concerned, the whole complex must now be FHA approved. You will no longer be able to get just a spot approval on a condominium that is in a complex that is not FHA approved. However, your lender can try and get the whole complex approved; and, if successful, will be able to give you an FHA loan on your unit.

FHA has increased it’s previous 3% down payment to 3.5%. A seller can contribute up to 6% of the purchase price and might also be able to waive tax pro-rations to give the buyer an even better advantage.

The tax credit for buyers that the government is granting if they purchase by December 1, 2009 might also be used with an FHA loan to help pay closing costs, buy down the rate or add to the 3.5% down payment. This is more than likely going to be up to the individual lenders as to which ones are going to work with this credit for the buyer. I am sure that this could be confusing for some buyers as to just how much credit they will be getting. The lenders will want to make sure that they are doing their calculations correctly for the borrowers or they could end up supporting some of the tax credit themselves.

If any/all of this sounds confusing to you and you would like further explanation, please give me a call and it will be my pleasure to try and answer whatever questions that you might have that will help you better understand the inner workings of these FHA loans.

Home Sales On The Upswing!

Friday, June 19th, 2009

HOME SALES DO SEEM TO BE ON THE UPSWING for Farmington and several other areas in our neck of the woods. How could they not be with these prices! I never thought that home prices would be this good again, First time buyers are able to get into homes that they only dreamed of before; and, to top it off, they receive up to an $8000 tax credit on their 2009 tax returns. Even if you are not a first time buyer; but, have just not owned a home for the past 3 years, you could be eligible for this tax credit.

The properties that are priced right for this market are selling; and, some of them even are getting mulitple offers. Maybe it is just because summer is near; but, there are definitely more people out looking for their new home then there have been in many months. Even if this only lasts a couple of months, it has to help in getting some of the pent up home inventory off of the market.

Faith in home ownership is still alive and well, it just takes a bit more effort. It takes a bit more effort with the financing, a bit more effort in searching out the good properties and a bit more effort in getting to the closing table. It might also take a bit more effort in searching out a good agent that can help you handle all of the obstacles of today’s market. Don’t hesitate to call us if you are in need of such an agent.

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Market Recap

  • Avg. Sales Price: $180,101

  • Avg. Days on Market: 128 *From final list

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