Redford, MI

This is just another day in the life of a Metro Detroit realtor.

1. First I got a call from one of my clients. He was all upset. He kept slipping into his native tongue but I got the gist of the message. He went by the house we are supposed to be closing on. Well the seller is supposed to be replacing the driveway concrete by the street per city inspector. Well they did that. But they took the old concrete and wheeled it a hundred feet and dumped it behind the garage. Did the seller really think we wouldn't notice? So I had to call the agent and tell him we won't be scheduling the closing until the cement is gone from the property.

Then I got a call from my Redford buyer. The underwriter has decided even though the furnace is working per furnace inspection. The wording said "furnace is running hot" so the underwriter said to replace the furnace. So I called the listing agent to try to work this out.

Then two hours later I get a second call from my Redford buyer. Besides a new furnace wanted by the underwriter. The new appraiser that went back to check on the repairs has now added two more repairs. Of course the mortgage company loan officer or "client care specialist" hasn't called me. So I have to write them an email to find out what is going on and what is exactly needed. Then I am going to have to try to get the listing agent to have the bank do the repairs.

Then at 7:00 pm I get a call from another buyer. She's all upset with the mortgage company. She's about 60 days into a loan and they still don't have a clear to close. They didn't start asking for certain items until about 40 days into the loan. Tonight when we are expecting a clear to close they are asking for a student loan deferment letter. Why didn't they ask for this 40 days ago!!! Poor underwriting and operations is my guess. We are supposed to be closing on Monday. Unfortunately it's the same mortgage company as #2 and #3. So I'm not real excited.

Unfortunately this company is big and they tend to blame everybody else. When they blame the underwriters, or people in the company they talk in the 3rd person. As if it isn't their company. They even tried to blame their client for not getting the info to them in 4 days. It was the 54th day into the loan when they asked for it.

Of course I had asked the loan officer 30 days into the loan if they needed anything but he said they were fine. Now they are piece mealing everything. They keep asking for more. Hey it's 60 days into the loan. I call but there is no answer. So I have to send off another email to see what is going on.

I hate it when the clients are upset. But I will track these people down and get the problems worked out.

I recently wrote a contract on a Redford home for one of my clients. It was a beautiful newer Redford home. In the contract we asked and the sellers accepted 6% sellers concessions. The sellers were going to pay for the closing costs, including the appraisal.

Well my client got the mortgage started and the appraiser went out to visit the house. Well the appraisal came back and it was $10,000 to low. There just were any homes (comps) in the area recently. So the bank's appraiser came back lower than I believe the house was worth. Thanks to the guy that thought of HVCC. Unfortunately the seller could not go lower. They owed too much on the mortgage and did not have any money to come to the table with. They didn't want to do a short sale either.

So the Redford home sale was DEAD!

The sad part is that my buyer had to pay for the appraisal out of their own pocket. No mortgage company in Michigan will start a mortgage without the appraisal being paid for. But what my client didn't realize is that the seller will not pay for the appraisal if the home does not close.

My client thought they would get their money back. But it the mortgage does not close the seller is not going to pay for any costs.

So you as a Redford home buyer could be out of pocket for

• The appraisal
• Any inspections you have done

even if you have the seller paying for the closing costs and the sale does not close.

and have a few thousand bucks to invest. But is Detroit the place to invest your money? Sure you may have never heard of such low home prices. Yes homes in your country or state may be much higher. In fact they may be hundred of thousands of dollars higher. But just because a home is $500 or $1000 or $10,000 doesn't mean it is a bargain.

• What will be your return on investment?
• what will be your downside?
• what will it cost to bring up to code or to saleable condition?
• what is Detroit and rental market like?
• what will it take for your investment to be worth more money?
• what are local professional investors doing in the City of Detroit.

I myself would not buy investment homes in the City of Detroit. I would put my families or friend's money there either. I don't know of any investors that have done well in the City of Detroit. In the suburbs yes, but not in the city.

I have to be a little more specific why not to buy in Detroit

1. poor school system in the city of Detroit. Nobody will want to move to Detroit from the suburbs because the school system is so bad and unsafe for their kids.
2. High crime statistics
3. High home and car insurance rates
4. Poor city services in my opinion
5. high property taxes - they could be as high as $3000 for that $500 property - hard to get the high property taxes reduced.
6. Detroit is unfriendly for investors and property managers - hard to evict and landlord is responsible for people leaving cars or dumping garbage or leaving personal property to be removed. have to board up the house when vacant.
7. when home is vacant very likely the furnace, the copper plumbing, and the hot water heater will be stolen. Anything valuable has a chance of "walking" how will an out of town investor know when the tenant is gone?
8. too many great investment homes in the suburbs which will give a better return on investment. Sure not $500 but you'll still have a home intact when it is vacant

My advice buy in a city that the homes will increase in value quicker. Call me if you want to know what makes a good investment home.

that slept with their phone by their bed. I myself put a no go on that. My clients are important. But I need my sleep. I get up and get going about 7 am and end my day about 9 pm. I think clients need to be able to reach us but at the same time we need time. We need time for our family and rest. There is no need to answer a phone at 11 pm. The questions or the call can wait until the morning. I'll answer the voicemail first thing in the morning.

Clients concerns and questions are important. They need to be answered, and as quick as possible to alleviate worries. But we need time to recharge. We need to spend time with our families. Quite honestly I was addicted to the phone and internet.

I was constantly answering my emails and phone calls. I would be at dinner with my wife and with my friends and I would be answering messages and phone calls. I would be texting when I was with friends. I was out of control.

My wife finally got mad at me and I have started to stop doing those things (most of the time). I am cutting back on responding when I am driving. Getting into an accident and hurting somebody else isn't smart. Spending time with friends and family without taking a call isn't wrong. When I'm through I'll call back but I have a wife that wants my full attention too when I'm with her. And she deserves it.

Russ Ravary your metro Detroit real estate agent

Here are 5 quick tips to sell your Metr Detroit home quicker and for more money. Metro Detroit home buyers want to move in plug in the TV, put the drinks in the fridge, and put their feet up on the couch. Metro Detroit home buyers do not want to paint, remove wallpaper, redo the house. Buyers want the home "move in ready"

So here are my 5 tips to sell your Metro Detroit home quicker:

1. De-clutter - get all the knic knacs off the shelves, counter tops, refrigerator. Open up the rooms by getting rid of a few pieces of furniture. Most rooms should only have 3-4 pieces of furniture in them. Organize and straighten up your home. Store all your excess stuff at a storage locker or a friends house.

2. Deodorize - nothing kills a home sale quicker than bad smells. Smoke outside, repaint to get rid of the smell. Find the source of the odor and eliminate it. Some smells that offend home buyers. Pet odors, fishy smells, mildew smell, old person smell, curry, cigar or cigarette smoke. You may not smell it but may offend a buyer. Buy a Cinnamon, or chocolate chip cookie candle and burn it before showings. Don't over do it though. Don't go crazy and over spray smelly deodorizes.

3. De-personalize - Take down you personal and family pictures. If you have collections put them away. If you are country themed or ultra modern loosen up the them. By appealing a larger number of hopme buyers you are more likely to sell your home quicker. The buyer may not like country.

4. Neutralize - Get rid of the flowered or vegetable wallpaper. Repaint that purple wall. Tear up that patterned carpeting or shag carpeting. Again you want the home to be move in ready. So people do not have to do anything. A neutral color will appeal to a greater number of buyers than that dark red wall.

5. Update - Updated homes sell quicker. So if you are in the home and want to update the kitchen or bathroom. Do it. Enjoy it while you live there. This is a general rule: Most updates increase the value of the home. Sure you do not get it all the money back but it helps sell the house. An updated kitchen will sell twice as fast as a 20 year old kitchen.

These five Metro Detroit home sales tips will help you sell your home quicker. Listen to your Metro Detroit Realtor. Your Metro Detroit Realtor knows what helps sell a home and every house is different. So they may have tips particular to your home. For more tips give me a call on my cell at (313) 310-9855 or email me at info@RussRavary.com

If you live in the Metro Detroit Real estate area I will be glad to walk through and tell you what you should do to get more money for your home. Have a great day.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent serving Livingston, Oakland, and Wayne County