Novi, MI

The key to making a good offer that will secure the Metro Detroit home you want is to know the market. You can never guess the sellers thoughts or believe what public records show. Let me give you some examples.

A couple of years ago my home buyers put an offer on a Northville home. It was owned by a retired couple that had moved out. The house was empty. The public records showed they owed nothing on the house. The listing ticket said "bring us an offer"

We put in a 13% below list price offer in. The house needed total updates. They turned us down.

Here's another one. My clients were looking at a Novi home. The public records showed they bought the house for $420,000 2 years prior. We put in an offer of $371,000 when the list price was $410,000. The public records showed they owed $375,000. We thought we would be countered. They accepted the $371,000 offer.

Then we came to the closing to find out the sellers had to come to the closing with $20,000 to sell the house!

On my first example who would believe that somebody that

• owed nothing on the mortgage
• had moved out
• and stated to bring us an offer

would turn down a decent offer on a home that needed total updating. The house sold for $10,000 less three months later.

Then my second experience who would have thought that somebody would have accepted so little so quick when they owed so much.

Both offers were based on current market prices so they were good offers. The people that should have accepted didn't and the ones that did accept the current market prices did. You never know how a seller will react to an offer. So if you base your offer on current sales prices the you will be putting in a good offer. How the seller reacts you can't control. Then you just have to adjust your offer or move on after you hear from the buyer.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent

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1.) Are you seeing this happening in your real estate market.. I took out a client tonight. They just retired and they had bought a new construction home in Canton bout 5 years ago. Their Canton home has lost over 40% of its value. Neighbors that are buying homes in Canton MI have payments a thousand dollars less than theirs.

At retirement age they are realizing that the home will never be worth what they paid for it. That if one of them dies they can't afford the house. They are realizing that why should they pay all that money in a payment when the person next door isn't. That the next door neighbor paid $100,000 less.

The guy just got a cash buyout for retirement and they are thinking of paying cash for a smaller home and not having any payments in retirement.

Here is another example of what is going on in the Metro Detroit real estate market

2.) Husband and wife just got married. Husband had a Novi home. But now the original Novi home is worth $100,000 less than it was 6 years ago. They are walking away from the original home and buying a much bigger and newer home for a lower house payment than they had.

Is it wrong? Is it financially smart? Would you do it? Does it make sense? Isn't it just getting back the money we gave away to the big banks and their executives?

This is the fourth deal I am working on like this. I myself think a few people are getting financially smarter. I myself think they are doing the right thing. Sure it may not be morally or ethically right, but financially it is the right decision.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent

It is simple math. OK everybody is asking the question of how long will it take to come back to the highs of 2004. Now this depends on what area you are in and how far back home prices have fallen.

In Michigan the newer home prices have gone back to about 1994 prices. In some cities it is 1980's or 1970's prices. So here is my math on the 1994 priced home. If your house is worth what is was in 1994 it took a total of ten years before it reached 2004. 2004 -1994 = 10 years right...

So in just 10 short years your Metro Detroit house rose in value to 2004 prices and that was a booming economy.

So how long do you think it will take for the Metro Detroit's economyto get rolling. Let's be optimistic and say in 2 years.

So here is my math.

2 years for economy to turn

10 years for prices to get back to top price.

So I say it will be 12 years at the minimum to get back to the high home prices. That is if the economy is humming like it was in the late 1990's and early 2000. If not then add another 4 years on at least.

So my educated guess is that it will be at least 12 years before home prices come back to the past highs of 2004 (AT THE ABSOLUTE MINIMUM!!!!). I will be retired by the time home prices come back. I honestly think it will a few more years than that but..... I'm staying positive.

So if you are waiting for it to come back to sell you will be waiting a long time. If you have the time wait. If not make your move when it best fits your situation because everything hinges on Detroit area economy.

Nothing............ Yes you heard me right. There won't be some bank official sitting there. They are represented by the closing agent. Many times the closing documents have not been even signed by the bank. The chair is going to be empty. Welcome to the cold, cold world of banking. It is more now than ever that I realize how uncaring the banks are. It is simply about black and white. What shows up on the balance sheets.

There is no corporate responsibility or neighborhood generosity. All they care about is getting rid of the house and protecting the bank with the many addendums and legal papers. They don't care that there was water damage, they have no responsibility to tell you. Like I said the banks aren't good neighbors. They won't care about the black mold or anything else that could possibly get you sick.

Hey their disclosures and addendums protect them for any lawsuit you may bring.

There will be no extra sets of keys. The will be no instructions about how to work the appliances. There won't be a baggy with the garage door openers in it. There probably are burnt out light bulbs. There isn't any goodwill or a hearty thanks for buying the house.

You are on your own. So go home change the locks and secure your new home. Everything is on you and the bank isn't going to be checking on you to see how you are doing. So wash your hands of them. Maybe even go and support your little local credit union. Get to know your new neighbors to find out when trash day is and what you need to know about the neighborhood.

Then curl up and relax in your favorite chair in your new home.

photo courtesy of http://freephotos.com/

Meadowbrook Glens is one of the more well established neighbhorhoods in Novi, MI. It's a very popular subdivision due to the mature trees, large fenced yards, variety of floor plans, and sidewalks.

This subdivision in Novi is located South of Grand River, West of Meadowbrook. You can walk to the grocery store, pharmacy, or to get a bit to eat. There is even an ice cream parlour at the corner.

Home sales in Meadowbrook Glens for the past year have been steady. As of today there are 10 homes for sale. The asking prices for the sales range from $148,000 to $280,000.

In the past 12 months there have been 14 sales ranging from $141,000 to $240,000. The average sale price is $184,625, with homes taking approx. 4 months to sell.

You can access this area on Cherry Hill which is West off Meadowbrook, or you can go North on Kings Pointe, or Hampton Hill from 10 Mile Rd.

If you have additional questions about this neighborhood, feel free to contact me.

Happy Hunting!

Rob Chubb
248-348-6430 ext. 223
Novi, MI, 48375
www.RobChubb.com