Livonia, MI

Are you upset with a real estate agent because they won't show you a house without a pre-approval letter?

Here are the real estate agent's reasons why they won't show you a house without a pre-approval letter

1. Home sellers and listing agents won't accept a purchase offer without a mortgage pre-approval letter. Home sellers want to know that the buyer can buy a house and that it isn't a dream. I used to do mortgages and I can't tell you how many people think they can buy a house. But there is no way they would be approved for a mortgage by lenders. So if you don't have a pre-approval letter then you can't get your purchase offer accepted. It won't even be looked at. They won't even accept it if there are no other offers.
2. Without a pre-approval letter you are just a "looker". If you are not serious enough to get a pre-approval letter then you aren't a serious buyer in the eyes of many real estate agents. So why should they waste their time and gas to show you a house you are not serious about. It doesn't take much time to get a pre-approval letter. So many real estate agents feel if you won't take 20 minutes to get a pre-approval letter you are not serious about buying. Agents want serious buyers. They have seen enough houses they don't need to see another one with somebody that isn't ready to buy.
3. The line "I'm serious" or "I'm going to buy" and it won't be with a real estate agent that won't show me a house with out a pre-approval letter. Unfortunately as most experienced real estate agents and mortgage people will tell you.... they want serious buyers that can prove it. In today's market many people can't get approved because of the tougher bank rules. Even though you think you can or that your were approved a year or two ago. It's a new world of banking and mortgage lending.
4. Real estate agents are busy like everybody else in life. They only have so much time in a day. Do they spend it with a serious buyer who has a pre-approval letter or a "looker". They would rather spend time with their family or enjoying time off than a spend time with a non-serious buyer.

So my advice to anybody thinking of buying a home..... get your financial affairs in order and see a mortgage lender to get a pre-approval letter. Plus you should have figured out what you want in a monthly payment before you go to the mortgage lender. It will only take a few minutes to get pre-approved and you will be ready to get the home of your dreams.

Whether you are a Livonia real estate home buyer or a Farmington Hills home first time buyer get yourself a pre-approval letter.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent

helping Oakland and Wayne County real estate buyers and sellers (Michigan)

Whether you are young or old it doesn't matter. Whether you are a man or women, experienced or doing it for the first time it's easy to score your first foreclosure. Some of the keys to scoring your first Metro Detroit foreclosure are:

1. Knowing the Metro Detroit real estate market and housing prices. This is a major factor in winning when bidding on Metro Detroit foreclosures. If 1000 square foot Livonia ranches in decent condition sells in the range of $120,000 to $150,000 then when a Livonia foreclosure that is priced below $100,000 comes up for sale don't low ball it. There was a 1000 square foot Livonia ranch that came up for sale 4 days ago. That Livonia foreclosure sold in four days and it had multiple bids because it was listed below $85,000 and it was in decent shape. All the Livonia home buyers knew it was a deal. Any price it was bought for below $110,000 was a steal. I'm sure it went for over list price. But I'm also sure some dummy low balled it thinking they were going to get a real steal. All they got was a big fat NO. NO SCORE for them!
2. Being prepared. If you are out looking at houses have your pre-approval letter already or your proof of funds letter. Time is of the essence. If you have to wait a day or two to get these things because you or your mortgage person are busy, then you may miss out on bidding on a house. I had a young man that "lost" his pre-approval letter. He was busy at work the next day and didn't have time to get it from his mortgage person. Too late. NO SCORE the house was sold.
3. Act quickly. If you like the house and it is a decent deal, put in an offer. I was taking a Ford engineer out for six months looking at houses. He loved to analyze everything. None of the homes were meeting his criteria. We finally found one that him and his wife loved. It was a good price. We saw it on Sunday. Monday afternoon he called and asked for comparables and public records. I got the information back to him within an hour. I called him the next few days and asked him if he would like to put an offer in. "I'm thinking about it" he replied. He finally called me back on Friday and said he was ready to put an offer in on the house because his wife really loved it. Sorry NO SCORE it sold already to somebody else. Don't dawdle and analyze the house to death. If you like it put an offer in on it. There are Metro Detroit foreclosures that sell in one day!
4. Don't be cheap. The metro Detroit home buyerthat is low balling a new foreclosure that just came on the market is most likely going to be turned down or lose the house to another home buyer. Sure it is fine to do a lower bid after the house has been on the market for over 30 days but don't lose the house you want over a few thousand dollars when it is under priced already. NO SCORE for the cheapskate!

So if you want to score your foreclosure bid smart, fast and be prepared and you will have a lot less stress.

Search Metro Detroit foreclosures and get the latest foreclosure listings emailed to you.

Russ Ravary your Oakland and Wayne County real estate agent

Right now I am hearing the same stories again all over the Metro Detroit real estate market. I heard that there was a house that sold in Francavilla a Livonia subdivision for $80,000. Or my friend bought a house for $30,000 in Farmington Hills.

The first story is a blatant lie. I checked all the sold sales there are no homes that sold for less than $180,000. The second story is true but the Farmington home had major water damage. There was mold in the house. The floors were warped. The house had to have all the drywall removed down to the studs. It was like rebuilding the house. The kitchen had to be gutted.

The mold had to be re mediated. The Farmington Hills home buyersthought they could redo the house a certain way, but the city won't let them do what they planned. So now they have a house that is too small for them and is requiring major work.

So forget about all the stories and be realistic. If many of the homes are price in the $100,000 range and there is one nice home listed for $80,000 don't wait around and think about it. It will be gone.

If there is a 3000 square foot house that has been on the market 5 months and is listed for $80,000 it most likely has major renovation work to be done. You may not be able to get a mortgage on it. Don't expect to see another 3000 square foot home that is in good shape for that price. That home is priced that low because it is going to take a hundred thousand dollars to fix.

If you are only find junky houses or houses that don't meet your requirements in that $70 - $80,000 range then maybe you should either lower your requirements or look in a higher price range (if you can afford too).

Your Michigan Realtor can't magically pull up more houses, or can't magically get a super cheap super nice house for you just because you want it. You have to be realistic and adjust your expectations to fit the Metro Detroit real estate market. You have to realize that instead of buying that $80,000 house...you may have to spend $120,000. But that house is still a great deal, that house probably once sold for over $200,000. Homes are cheap. Many times you can't build the house for what they are selling for.

So don't be frustrated, adjust your expectations and you will be glad you did.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit Real estate agent

As Steve Earle blasts on my speakers I sit here at my desk with a bit of optimism.

"How can that be?" you say, "You live in the Detroit area. GM just declared bankruptcy, Chrysler may be an Italian company by now and if the job rates in the rest of the country are bad, Michigan is worse."

If I looked at things that way I could be pretty depressed. Instead I took a look at the market and strangely enough, there was some good news.

Detroit is showing a 4 month supply of homes. Three of the larger surrounding communities had around a six month supply. Now if you go by the rule of thumb that six months is a normal market then we're pretty normal. The city of Detroit si oina down right sellers market.

Yes, there were towns around here like Livonia and Canton with eight and nine months supply and even one with eleven months. Still this is better than the twenty to twenty five months supplies that were there a year and a half ago.

Maybe it's only a glimmer of hope but it's better than nothing. Great things can come from small beginnings.

Here's to great things to come!

Research is the key to wise investing choices; consider all the facts before making a purchase

Detroit, MI - Investing in REITs is becoming popular today; REITs are real estate investment trusts. Investors purchase shares of REITs, which pay dividends based on profits earned from income-producing property.

One advantage of investing in REITs is that are free from the hassles associated with property ownership and management. One only needs to purchase shares and reap the rewards as their investment grows in value.

Earl E. Bird, III is an expert when it comes to investing in REITs. He was recently interviewed and when asked what to consider when choosing a REIT to invest in, Earl said, "You've head the phrase, ‘location, location, location' when referring to prime real estate. The location is essential to REITs; REITs are management companies who handle income-producing property. In order for a property to produce a good profit, the location must be desirable."

Earl also said that stability is a factor. "If you are investing in a new REIT, then you do not have this option, but with an established REIT, you can study their history."

Obviously, another factor is profits. "Since REITs pay dividends based on profits, you want to be sure that buildings are fully leased with long-term tenants. There is no profit to be made from an office or apartment building that has a lot of vacancies."

The thought of doing all this research is overwhelming. Earl said, "The REITbuyer.com website is a great resource for learning all about REITs; the research has already been done and the results are posted on the site."

Earl has published over 100 articles about REITs and real estate mutual funds. He has made this information available to the public on many blogs that he has recently posted. To read more about real estate investing, visit Earl's blog at http://managementinvestment.blogspot.com/