Novi, MI

"Now who has been winterizing my house when I have been gone" says Goldy Locks. I think a big oops just happened at the property I closed a Novi short sale for my listing client on January 12, 2009.

On January 30th a winterization company and securing company came in changed the locks, winterized the house, and tracked mud and dirt through the house.

Here is an email I received from the buyers.

"Please note we went to the Novi home after 10 days yesterday & we could not open the front door (the key wasn't working) & also the garage door opener wasn't working. We went back there today & tried to enter through the back bedroom door & could get in.
We noticed that there was an entry by a company for "Winterization", they put orange notes everywhere & it says it that they performed the work on 1.30.09 as instructed by the 'mortgage company' (?). The Yellow tag shows the company name and Phone #.

What is going on? I am not sure how he entered in the property, the key is not working anymore & also we noticed they had unplugged the garage door. We had the place professionally cleaned & they left muddy shoe prints all over. This is not acceptable. This should be looked into immediately & compensation should be provided for any loss whoever instructed it (de-winterize it, change the locks, cleaning fee, etc.). Please advise asap what is the next step? Please call me soon as you find out. Thanks, the buyer

I advised the buyers to contact their buyers agent and the company that did the winterization. The winterization company told the buyers that another agent in the area that does a lot of Metro Detroit foreclosures had requested the services to be done.

I have done a deal with the agent and know he's a good guy and a good real estate agent. I'm sure he was just securing the property per instructions from the bank or Fannie Mae. Unfortunately it looks like one arm of the bank was not talking to the other arm because the short sale was closed on January 12. So they bank was entering a property that was no longer theirs. 18 days after it closed!

The buyers were very upset and wanted to be reimbursed for the damages and the work they now had to do. I told the buyers unfortunately that they would have to contact the foreclosure agent and his broker office to work out the solution to the problem.

"who has been in my house?"

I had never heard of this ever happening before but it shows how the banks foreclosure department doesn't talk to the short sale department. I know the agent and I am sure he will make everything right but the buyer still has to deal with getting everything corrected. A locksmith has to come, somebody has to come to re-clean the carpets, somebody has to de-winterize the home, and the loss of income for the property. (I know you agents down in the deep south don't probably know this but up here in the north our foreclosures are winterized. The water meter disconnected, the pipes drained, and a little anti-freeze in the toilets.

For more on Metro Detroit real estate, Wayne and Oakland County MI real estate or to

search Metro Detroit area foreclosures and homes for sale

visit my websites Russ Ravary your Metro Detroit real estate specialist

Novi MI Subdivisions
Whispering Meadows

Novi Real Estate
Relocating to Michigan? Whether you have to relocate to Michigan or just moving from your Wayne County home or your Livingston County home to a new Oakland County home. Where ever you move from whether it is from Plymouth, Canton, Westland, Redford, Livonia, South Lyon, Northville, Dearborn, or Garden City you want to know about Novi, the Novi subdivision, and the Novi neighborhood. This page will give you some basics about Whispering Meadows subdivision

Novi Homes for sale

Here are some Michigan sellers tips

Open house basic rules
Mistakes you don't want to make when selling your Novi home
5 tips to sell your home quicker
A complete Novi home sellers checklist
7 tips to how to show your home in the best light
Negotiating tips
How to improve your Novi home's curb appeal

You can see what has sold in Whispering Meadows Subdivision over the last year, what the prices are, and what Novi homes are for sale currently. This will allow you to compare Whispering Meadows neighborhood homes to Novi real estate. You can see what the trend is in the home prices in Novi and Whispering Meadows Subdivision. If you are relocating to Michigan then I believe this will help you get a feel what the City of Novi is and what Whispering Meadows subdivision is like..

Novi Subdivisions MI
Whispering Meadows

Novi Mi Real Estate
Relocating to Michigan? Whether you have a Michigan relocation in your future or just moving within Michigan this will give you a feel about home prices in Whispering Meadows Subdivision Novi. Feel free to call me with any questions or email with any questions

Novi MI Homes for sale

I hope this helps you if you are searching for a home in Novi. I know Novi real estate pretty well so if you are looking for an buyers agent to help you find a home in Novi, Northvill, Plymouth, or Canton give me a call. I'll work hard to find you a Wayne County or Oakland County home at a great value.

My cell is (313) 310-9855

Novi Real Estate

Here is a brief real estate market update for one of Novi Mi subdivisions. This give you the latest info to figure out the average price per square foot. Let you know what is going on in your neighborhood.

Here is more indepth Jamestown Green subdivision info, including home styles, average size of homes,

exteriors, street names, association info

I know Novi Real Estate very well. I can help guide you to the best bargains, show you the Novi foreclosures or help you list your Novi home to sell. Call me today on my cell at (313) 310-9855 or email me at info@RussRavary.com

Novi Real Estate
Here is a quick glimpse of what Royal Crown Subdivision Novi MI is like.

Royal Crown Estates subdivision is actually 6 subdivisions with one homeowners association. Royal Crown Estates has approximately 228 homes in it. The homes were built during the years of 1990 -1998.

The homes styles: Colonial and Cape Cod. Most of the homes have brick/vinyl exteriors & brick/wood exteriors, mainly 2 car garages, 3-4 bedrooms, 2 + bathrooms, basements. The homes range in square footage of 2300 - 3200.

The School District is Northville Schools

The location of the subdivision is between 8 and 9 mile roads and between Taft and Beck Roads. You can enter off 9 Mile and Taft Rd.

The streets that are in the Royal Crown subdivision are:
Havergale Violet
Devron Ct Fuller
Porter Cheshire Ct
White Pines Moorgate
Bertram Irvine
Braydon Ct Foxmoor
Colony Ct Randall Ct

One interesting aspect of this subdivision is that some of the homes not only have city water but they also have a well. During the 1990's the City of Novi was not allowing new homes to hook up to city water until the water system upgrades could be finished. Then the city allowed the homes to hook up to city water. So some homes water their grass off the well.

Relocating to Michigan? Whether you have a Michigan relocation in your future or just moving within Michigan this will give you a feel about home prices in Royal Crown Subdivision Novi. Feel free to call me with any questions or email with any questions. email YesMyRealtor@gmail.com

Here is more indepth Royal Crown subdivision info, including home styles, average size of homes, exteriors, street names, association info

Here is more information on Novi subdivisions or Novi real estate updates (Novi subdivision updates). Novi is a great town to live in. Novi is located in the south western part of Oakland County Michigan.

Do I think Metro Detroit home prices have bottomed out? No I don't. I think there will be a continuation of foreclosures that will be hitting the Detroit real estate market. I don't see that slowing down in the near future at all.

What I am seeing is that many of the home buyers are people either moving in from out of state, investors, or first time home buyers.

So what do I suggest you to do? Do you sit on the sidelines and wait for the bottom or the lowest prices? Well first of all .... how will you know the bottom has been reached. Do you have a "expert in your pocket" None of the "experts" have been able to call it so far. And I don't think anybody can call the bottom until it has happened and then it will be too late.

My thoughts are:

1) we have tremendous rates. A full percent lower than last year. So it is a good time to buy

2) Home inventory constantly changes. A house that is on the market today may not be on the market for 5 or 10 or 15 years. The beautiful home that is on the market today may not be be for sale in the future. You may never have the chance to buy the house ever again. That perfect house for you may never cross your path again.

3) Buy for the long term. You should be looking to stay in the house for at least 5 years to 10 years in this economy. You are going to lose money if you are only planning to stay in a home for 3 years.

4) My clients that have bought in the last 2 years are not sad that they did. Many of them have lost home value. But I have asked them are they happy they bought. They are happy with the house they bought. They all bought for the long term. So it doesn't phase them that their home value is down. They love their home.

So my advice to you if you are looking to buy in the future is start looking when you are ready.

• Don't wait for the "bottom"
• Search for a home that you love.
• Buy as low as possible preferably below market price
• Get the lowest interest rate. It may even pay to buy down points.

Or you can sit and wait. It's your choice.

Russ Ravary

Your Metro Detroit real estate specialist