Novi, MI

Here is a quick explanation of tax pro rations. In the Metro Detroit real estate market we pay our Michigan property taxes in advance.

So whether you are buying Livonia real estate or Farmington Hills real estate you will owe the seller back the tax money they have already paid.

I am just going to explain about summer tax pro rations in this blog. Each year the homeowner pays their summer taxes on July 1. So this year we paid our Michigan property taxes on July 1, 2009. They are paid up until June 30, 2010. So if the seller sells his house on October 30, 2009 he hasn't used 8 months of property taxes. From October 30 to July 1, 2010 is taxes the seller has paid for but not used. The seller want his unused tax money back.

The buyer has to pay the unused Michigan property taxes back to the seller. This is common practice when selling a home. There is no way around not paying tax pro-rations.

I hope this explains a little bit about why you have to be prepared to pay tax pro-rations at closing. So many home buyers are not told about this and are surprised by this extra amount of money they need.

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

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in the Michigan real estate market. Yes time is running out on 2009 first time homebuyer tax credit. Only 61 days to have a signed purchase agreement and 30 days to get the mortgage done. So many people are forgetting that on the average it takes a month to get a mortgage completed.

If there is no extension to the first time homebuyer tax creditthe deadline to purchase a home is December 1, 2009. That means you have to close on the home by December 1, 2009. Not be in process with the mortgage. Not sign the purchase agreement. The HUD 1 settlement statement has to be from before December 1.

So if you have been waiting around or not actively looking for a house because you thought you had lots of time..... Get going. On the average most first time home buyers take from one month to three months to find a home.

As of today in the Michigan market you have 61 days to buy a home if you need to have a mortgage! 61 days. And the second reason to get out there looking right away is that all the first time homebuyers are going to be scrambling to find a house in October. I think there might be some bidding wars on the nice houses.

So don't wait to the last minute and miss out on the first time home buyer tax credit.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent

Four reasons to buy a Metro Detroit home now

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Now is the time to put everything you have learned as a Oakland County first time home buyertogether. It's about time to put in a bid. You have your mortgage pre-approval letter and you know what you can afford in a payment. You know it may be wiser to buy a smaller house so the house payment fits your budget.

You have looked at listings and viewed some Oakland County homes. You have taken good notes on the houses you like. You got rid of the paperwork of the ones you didn't. You have looked at the major componants of the house. You know which houses need updates, which furnaces, windows, and roofs are newer or older. You have thought about what it will cost to fix up. You know whether you are handy or whether you will have to pay somebody to fix the problems.

You know some Oakland County homes are out of your budget once you figure in the repair costs. You know some are out of your range because of the high taxes. You know you really love some houses because of the decor but you know the home doesn't really fit your criteria. That's what tough about narrowing down the homes.

That's why it is important to take notes and then do a sheet with all the pluses and minuses on one sheet of all the houses. Being able to see it in black in white is important and some home will stand out all of a sudden.

A knowledgeable Oakland County first time home buyer will know to ask their Oakland County realtor to get them the latest sold homes comparables. They will know to look over them to compare them to the home they are thinking of buying.

YOU ARE READY TO BID and the next blog will go over some of the strategies on how to bid according to the situation.

Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent

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Oakland County first time home buyers part 1 - pre-approval letters MI

Oakland County First time home buyers part 2 - where to start and do next

Oakland County first time home buyers part 3 - how to read listings and pick houses to see

Oakland County first time home buyers part 4 - what to look for when looking at homes

Oakland County first time home buyers part 5 - what to look for structurally

Oakland County first time home buyers Part 6 - tips and tricks on how to keep the information straight

Oakland County first time home buyers series part 7 - why comparables are important

Oakland County First time home buyers series part 8 - listen to your Metro Detroit real estate agent

What do you have to do when you are thinking of buying a Metro Detroit home that has pet urine smell. In the past week I have been in 3 or 4 metro Detroit homes that have had over whelming stench of pet urine.

My worst experience with pet urine was a $400,000 high end Novi Condo on a golf course. We walked into the condo and every two feet there was a yellow spot. It looked like the condo had polka dot carpeting. There was that much cat urine in the home.

Depending on the where the smell or the pet urine will determine how easy it is to get rid of it. I will split it up into areas.

• Basement - I believe the basement is the easiest place to get rid of pet smells. Strip the carpeting or flooring. Bleach the floor or use heavy duty cleaner to scrub the cement floor. Be sure to ventilate the area. Open the windows and use a fan to get rid of the bleach smell. Don't kill yourself by breathing in too much bleach or amonia. Be careful!
• Ceramic tile floors - again use a heavy duty floor cleaner. Be sure to consult a flooring company on what to use. You don't want to ruin the finish of the tile.
• Hardwood floors - strip the floors - (screen them or sand them) Then refinish them
• Carpeted floors on the main floor or on the second floor. Take the carpeting up. Inspect the wood floors underneath it. You may have to either prime the floors or replace the sub floor in some sections if the odor persists after the carpeting is up. The pet urine may have gone through the carpeting and soaked into the sub floor if the area was a favorite pee spot for the pet.
• Some pets may have urinated on the wall. Again the solution is either to remove the section of the wall or clean and paint.

So if you are buying a Metro Detroit home that has pet urine smell that is overwhelming don't underestimate the cost or the time to repair the home. And just don't skimp and throw down some powder or spray some aerosol. Do it right the first time.

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

The first thing you should do as a Oakland County first time home buyer MI

is to get your financing lined up. There is no sense going out to look at

homes when you don't know what you can afford. So call up your local mortgage

broker, stop in your local bank or credit union, or surf the net for a mortgage

person. There are lots of them here on Active Rain too.

The loan officer will ask you about you income, pull your credit, find out

what kind of payment you want. Once they know you can qualify they will

issue you a pre-approval letter. What a pre-approval letter states is that you

can buy a house up to a certain purchase price or certain loan amount.

Does that mean you should buy a house for that much? HECK NO! You and

your spouse or significant other should sit down and determine yourselves

what kind of house payment you can afford. Be sure to include property taxes

and homeowners insurance. The loan officer may qualify you for a much bigger house

and house payment than you want. You need to decide for yourself what kind of

payment you want! Then once you decide that, tell your loan officer and your

Metro Detroit Realtor what type of payment you want.

As a Oakland County first time home buyer MI you are probably thinking why do I need

a pre-approval letter? There is no listing agent or bank that will accept a purchase

offer without a pre-approval letter. The seller wants some assurance that you are

qualified to buy that home. That the loan will close. Without a that how does a seller

you know that the Oakland County first time home buyer MI can get a loan? The seller

can't without it.

So getting your finances and pre-approval letter is the first step in your home buying process.

If you have questions feel free to call me or email. info@russravary.com or cell phone

(313) 310-9855. Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate agent

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