About Oakland County, MI

REIA of Oakland County Michigan is putting on a seminar on "How to flip houses"
REIA of Oakland County is a Non-Profit Real Estate Investment Group
Serving Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and Livingston Counties in South Eastern Michigan. I can't say enough about this association. They go out of their way to teach and inform their members. If you are a beginner I believe joining REIA (real estate investment association) is one of the best things you can do to ensure your success as a profitable real estate investors.

This month they are proudly presenting

Paul Esajian of A&E's "Flip This House" on February 11, 2010

How To Rehab Like A Pro

Paul Esajian, along with his lifelong friend and co-founder Than Merrill, built their company, CT Homes, LLC into a multi-million dollar company in just three short years.
During their first year in business Paul and Than bought and sold 30 properties. Since that time they have more than doubled that number every year.
Currently buying 8 - 12 properties each month, CT Homes, LLC has purchased, rehabbed and wholesaled more than 180 single and multi-family properties in the last three years. Their rehabs don't tend to be paint and carpet specials--their average project requires more than $35,000 in rehab. The average profit is over $27,000 each-you do the math!
Paul currently manages multiple teams of contractors and sub-contractors in three different states and over twenty different cities. Paul is an experienced Project Manager who specializes in personnel management and incentive based motivation for his contractors.
Don't think you have to be a Project Manager doing the number of projects that Paul manages--you may just have your own home and a rental or two to deal with--but don't think you can't do multiple projects, either.
Does the thought of rehabbing make you think twice about buying properties?
Paul will share three simple steps in managing contractors: do your homework, lay out a detailed scope of work that outlines your expectations and, finally, investigate the contractor's business before you go to contract. Paul will elaborate on those steps to take some of the fear out of rehabbing.

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Meeting Location

Michigan State University Management Education Center 811 W. Square Lake Road Troy, MI 48098

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Meeting Schedule 5:30pm - 7:15pm Early Bird Q&A and Vendor Expo 7:15pm - 9:30pm General Membership Meeting and Guest Speaker
The public is welcome to attend at any of the above times.
It is not necessary to attend all night.
_________________________________ Cost REIA of Oakland Member - FREE Non-member - $20.00

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About REIA of Oakland

Thank you for your interest in the Real Estate Investors Association of Oakland. REIA of Oakland is a non-profit organization founded in 1981 run entirely by volunteers. Our goals include providing education to our members, providing professional networking, and monitoring the political and legislative environment as it affects the real estate investment business. Our meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at the MSU Management Education Center in Troy, 811 West Square Lake Road Troy, MI 48098 Click here for a map.

The meetings begin at 6:00pm with an hour of networking and an informal Early Bird Q&A session. The seminar portion of the meeting runs from 7:15-9:30pm. Each month we have a different guest speaker, including national speakers on topics useful to real estate investors. The formal presentation is followed by a question and answer session.

In addition to free admission to our monthly meetings, joining REIA has many benefits for real estate investors from novice to pro. Visit our membership page here for more details about the benefits of membership.

Non-Members are welcome at the monthly meetings. The monthly seminars are free for members and $20.00 for non-members

Search Metro Detroit investment homes and foreclosures

I know of two people that have tried to do a loan modification. I have one friend that had a contracting business that was dependant on new home sales. When new construction died, so did his business. So now he has a house he really can't afford.

He has been working on a loan modification since last summer. He has stayed on top of all the requirements and has called the bank weekly. He has the time to do it. He still does not have a final approval but they are working on it. (So they say)

Now the other loan modification is the exact opposite story. She had a subprime loan, and was behind on her payments too. They told her to make a specific payment for three months and give them a specific amount of money. She did what she was told. At the end of the period she followed up only to be told that they were changing what they wanted. They wanted more money and to do the three months over again.

She felt she was lied too. She feels she can't believe whether they will do the loan modification or not. She has given up. She is going to give the house back to the bank. It is going to sheriff sale soon. Then she has six months to live in the house for free.

So there are two sides of the coin. One going thru and another client that was put thru the wringer only to find out the bank changed the rules halfway thru. I have clients call and get frustrated and never even get the ball rolling. I have had other clients call and be told in the first few calls they aren't eligible. I myself don't have a clue what the banks require as criteria. I think it all depends on the bank.

So few loan modifications have been done as compared the amount of foreclosures out there. I wish the best for all the people that are trying to get loan modifications done.

The FHA, or Federal Housing Administration, has helped many a homeowner buy one of the homes for sale in Southeast Michigan by providing mortgage insurance through FHA-approved lenders. However, a change in policy, announced in January, may make it harder for those with poor credit.

Before we talk about FHA's change in policy, let's cover a few of the basics about the FHA and how it might help you buy a home for sale in Southeast Michigan.

What is the FHA?
The FHA is a government agency that provides mortgage insurance to approved lending institutions. It assists homebuyers by providing mortgage insurance to lenders to cover most losses that may occur when a borrower defaults. This encourages lenders to make loans to borrowers who might otherwise not be able to get a loan.

What is an FHA Loan?
An FHA loan is a loan provided by an FHA-approved lender and insured by the FHA. In other words, the FHA guarantees that a lender won’t have to write off a loan if the borrower defaults – the FHA will pay. Because of this guarantee, lenders are willing to make mortgage loans.

An FHA loan might help you get a mortgage by providing:

• Lower down payments
• Lower closing costs
• Easier credit qualifications

Now let's talk about the changes FHA is making…

The Future of FHA Loans
Until recently, the FHA has managed to weather the real estate turmoil rather well. In fact, the turbulence surrounding other lenders had potential homebuyers flocking to take advantage of FHA loans. However, even FHA's bank account is starting to suffer. In order to shore up capital reserves and keep 34 million families in their homes, the FHA is changing the rules.

Before the changes, borrowers were required to pay a down payment of 3.5% of the cost of the home. Now, borrowers with a credit rating below 580 will be required to pay at least a 10% down payment. As well, the good upfront mortgage insurance premiums of 1.75% are increasing to 2.25%. The FHA is now trying to get Congress' approval to raise the annual premiums from 0.55%, although the amount it will seek is still unknown.

What This Means for You
If you’re interested in buying one of the homes for sale in Southeast Michigan, but haven’t because you’re waiting for the market to bottom out, you may end up losing out on a great deal. With almost record low mortgage rates, home values lower than they’ve been for eight years, the first-time and upgrade homebuyer tax credits and a wide selection of homes, there may never be a better time to buy.

Whether you want to use an FHA loan or a traditional loan, I can help you cash in on this great buyer's market. Call me today at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com.

Here are all the homes that have sold on Cass Lake or it's canals in the last year. If you notice 3 Cass Lake homes were leased in the last year.

You will also notice that there were three Cass Lake homes that sold under $200,000 in the last year. Like most Metro Detroit Lakes we have a wide variety of homes on the lake. We have small rustic cottages under 1000 square feet. And we have high end estates that are priced as high as $2,000,000.

What I think is really interesting is that one home that was priced at $2,595,000 sold for $1,900,000. That is a huge reduction in price. What is even more impressive is that somebody paid cash for it.

Cass Lake is located in Oakland County Michigan. It is one of southern Michigan's largest lakes. In fact Cass Lake lake front propertiescan be in Waterford, West Bloomfield, Keego Harbor, or Orchard Lake Michigan.

Currently there are 28 Cass Lake water front homes for sale

Search Oakland County lake front real estate

Orchard Lake water front real estate

Cass Lake real estate and information

information courtesy of Realcomp II Ltd

Oh how I love it when a listing agent tells me all about their client. My clients were looking at Novi real estate and the listing agent lived across the street. She came up to me while I was waiting for my clients. It was my second showing on the home with the same clients.

In five minutes of talking to her I learned.

• Her client was a 86 year old man
• The 86 year old man lost his wife two years ago
• The seller just sold his other home in Florida
• The seller just bought a condo in Plymouth Michigan
• She thinks the Novi home is over priced
• Her client will settle for $210,000 for the Novi home
• Her client is a negotiator so be sure to bring a lower offer to get to the $210,000

Lose lips sink real estate deals. She gave away all the information that will help my client. By real estate ethics she was not supposed to disclose any of this information. But she gave it all away in 5 minutes of casual conversation.

I think I will have to send her a thank you card if my clients buy this house and get a good price!

More:

Novi subdivision real estate information

Novi MI data and demographics

Metro Detroit home buyer tips

Wayne County home seller tips