Deborah Ronayne

Have you fallen behind on your mortgage payments, and don’t know what to do? Watch this brief video, and find out what a Short Sale is, and why it may be the solution you have been searching for: Click Here To View Video

Then contact me at 248-735-5477 or debbie@ronayneteam.com for a FREE consultation to find out if a Short Sale is right for you.

Buyer's Have The Edge!!

According to Lawrence Yun, chief economist from the National Association of Realtors, "Home buyers over the past year got a great deal, and buyers for the balance of the year have an edge over sellers. Affordability could reach a generational high in the second half of this year because of the rock-bottom mortgage interest rates, helped partly by the Fed's very accommodative monetary policy." For more reasons why now is prime time to buy a home, contact us and I'll send you a free eBook. The Ronayne Team - Keller Williams Realty. 248-735-5477. www.NorthvilleNoviRealEstate.com

Buying A Bank Owned Property - Here's What To Expect

General Buying Process for Bank Owned Homes...Individual Transactions May Vary

Submitting An Offer To start a standard transaction, the Purchase Agreement, along with a Pre-Approval letter is submitted to the listing agent. The listing agent will fax or email the purchase agreement to the Bank. The Bank/Seller is a corporate entity and may respond quickly or very slow, generally 24-72 hours, but can vary depending on their volume and staffing. The bank will verbally Accept, Reject, or Counter the offer, until the price and general terms are negotiated and agreement is reached. Until an agreement is reached, multiple offers maybe submitted on the property. The bank then may ask for the “Highest and Best Offer” from the potential buyers. The potential buyer will generally have 24 hours to reconsider and ammend his offer. The Bank may still counter, reject or accept the offer it deems to be the “Highest and Best.” Upon acceptance by the bank, the Buyer will be given one or two days to sign and return the Bank Addendum. The Buyer must carefully review the Bank Addendum. It is best if the Buyer’s agent can get a copy of the Bank Addendum prior to submitting the original offer for review. The Banks will not accept offers contingent upon the sale of another property or personal property. All funds necessary to close the transaction must be liquid.

Earnest Money Deposit Generally this held by listing Broker or its’ agent (Title Company) for Seller and is usually around $1,000. Deposit must be in the form of a Cashier’s check or Certified Funds, no personal checks.

Loan Approval Purchaser must be Pre-Approved and submit such Approval letter along with the Purchase Offer. Some banks may require Pre-Approval from a specific lender of their choice, even if you are using another lender of your choice to finance the property.

Cash Offers Buyers must show proof of liquid funds.

Concessions This varies by lender. Some allow concessions toward closing costs and others will not. Some will also not allow the Seller’s concessions to go towards pre-paid items (property taxes and insurance).

FHA & VA loans Some Bank/Sellers may not allow FHA or VA financing. Sometimes this is due to the amount of repairs required to bring the property into compliance for these loan programs.

Seller Disclosure Statement Banks are exempt from providing a Seller’s disclosure statement because they have never occupied the property and have no knowledge of any defects. Thus, it is highly recommended the Purchaser’s offer is contingent upon a Private Home Inspection.

Lead Based Paint Disclosure Banks are exempt from providing a Lead Based Paint disclosure because they never occupied the property. Lead Based Paint may potentially exist in houses built prior to 1978.

Possession/Occupancy A representative for the Seller will attend closing. Purchaser signs loan and real estate paperwork and the transaction may or may not be closed in escrow. If closed in escrow, the paper work is sent to Seller for signature. When fully executed and received by Title Company, the Purchaser will obtain keys and gain occupancy. If the purchase is not closed in escrow, keys and occupancy will be at time of closing.

Municipal Inspections/Certification If Required The Purchaser is required to arrange and pay for any required municipal inspections. Also, the Purchaser is required to pay and make any necessary repairs required by the municipality in order to obtain required approval and bring the property up to code. Generally the work is performed after closing by the Purchaser. Once completed and approved by Municipality, the Purchaser can occupy the house.

Repairs Most banks will not allow required repairs prior to closing.

Private Home Inspection Banks allow the Purchaser the opportunity to have the offer made “contingent” upon a Private Home Inspection, which is paid by the Purchaser. Some Bank/Sellers will schedule and pay for the property to be de-winterized and for utilities to be turned on to allow for the Home Inspection. Other Sellers will require the Purchaser to perform and pay for these tasks. This item may be negotiated, with the Seller covering the cost and performing the tasks.

Condition of Property The condition of the individual properties varies significantly. Some properties are “move-in” ready and others require extensive repairs due to missing cabinets, fixtures, plumbing, water damage, etc. All Bank property is sold “as-is”.

Property Taxes Taxes may be Non-Homestead, thus assessed at a much higher rate than Homestead. Thus, tax pro-rations at closing (in cost to Buyer) will be higher. This will be a temporary situation. If the house will be your principal residence, required paperwork to claim the Homestead Exemption is submitted to the municipality.

Special Assessments Generally, the Purchaser will assume the special assessment obligation following the closing date. Amounts due following the date of closing will not be paid in by full by seller when closing the transaction.

Closing Date The Banks adhere strictly to closing dates and various penalties may occur if the process takes longer than stated in the Purchase Agreement. Possible penalties are a stated daily charge (generally $50-$100 a day) or loss of earnest money deposit will apply.

Closing Costs The Buyer may be required to pay closing cost expenses which would normally be paid by the Seller,such as property transfer tax, title commitment, and others fees. These may be negotiable.

Standard Release “In consideration of the sale of the Property to the Buyer, Buyer does hereby release and agree to indemnify, hold harmless and forever discharge the Seller, as owner of the property, and its officers, employees, agents, successors, and assigns, from any and all claims, liabilities, or causes of action of any kind that the Buyer may now have or at any time in the future may have against the Seller from the presence of a condition in, on or around the Property.”

Transfer of Title Seller will transfer title by means of a Special or Limited Warranty Deed, or equivalent.

As-is Condition Purchaser accepts the Property in “as-is” condition at the time of closing, including any hidden defects known or unknown.

Home Warranty Generally, Bank/Sellers will not paid for a Home Warranty Plan. The Buyer may elect to purchase the policy at his own expense.

Tenants In the rare case the Property is occupied by tenants, the Purchaser will be required to abide by the terms of the lease. Rents will be pro-rated at closing. Purchaser will be responsible for the return of any Security deposit funds.

Personal Property The Buyer is responsible for the removal of any Personal Property remaining on the premises in accordance with State Law. The Seller is not the Owner of the Personal Property and is not responsible for its removal. The Seller makes no representation that Personal property remaining on the premises is free of liens. The Seller shall not be obligated to deliver the property in “broom clean” condition. The Seller is not responsible for removal of debris and will transfer the property in its current “as-is” condition.

Asking and Offer Price Often Bank-Owned Property is accurately priced. In a few cases a property may be overpriced due to extensive repairs or location of the property. The pricing of Bank-Owned Properties is established by professional evaluators (based on current market conditions) and has nothing to do with the former mortgage amount. It is rare that the sales price will be lower than 5 to 10 percent of the asking price. If the Seller elects to accept a much lower price that what’s currently listed, the list price will be lowered to that amount. Banks try to set the asking price accurately and aggressively in order to sell the house in a timely manner. Well-priced properties can sell within hours or within a few days. If the Buyer is interested in purchasing a property, he must be prepared and act quickly before another offer is accepted by the seller.

Conclusion Bank-Owned properties can be a much better value than comparable Privately-Owned properties. Bank purchase requirements and transactions vary greatly between lenders. Some items in the Seller’s Addendum may be negotiable. The Purchaser must carefully read all requirements and documents. Not adhering to the requirements and timelines may cost the purchaser money and, potentially, the purchase. Banks are not trying to hinder the transaction; they need to sell the property. Banks want to limit their liability and sell the property in a timely manner. The Bank’s main concern is the bottom line and how fast they can close the transaction: Time is money! It's not easy, but should be worth your time. Patience and persistence can pay off! (Worthy of reposting from March, 2009.)

Deborah Ronayne Twitter-debronayne Facebook-debronayne Facebeook-TheRonaynTeam 248-735-5477 Search for homes, click HERE!!

Is Buying A Foreclosure Impossible in the Northville Novi Area??

I probably shouldn't blog today because I know it will be a rant. But something must be done about the Real Estate agents who are listing properties for banks and not dealing professionally in our market. I can't even begin to count the number of times we've done everything right, from making sure the property is still available at the time we find it on the MLS and send it to our buyer, to making sure it is STILL available on the day we show it, to making sure it is still available when we write our offer. Only once we submit the offer do we find out the listing agent called for "highest & best" offer at some previously undisclosed date. Our buyer is disappointed and we're frustrated after spending days and never having a chance. Maybe these listing agents should be rated by their peers. That might solve the problem!

My team and I will be very careful and very selective when showing foreclosed properties in the future. Just because it's normal doesn't make it right and perhaps refusing to show certain Realtor's listings will have an impact. It's worth a try. Buyers should expect to compete on these properties, but communication is the key. If there are multiple offers, we should know that and the date when our "highest & best" is due (that is, your one shot to make it happen). We're working for you. Check out our NEW WEBSITE or call me at 248-735-5477. We're Certified Distriessed Property Experts! Deborah Ronayne debbie@ronayneteam.com Twitter & Facebook - debronayne.

Luxury Home Market In Northville & Novi Michigan

Is the luxury home market in Northville & Novi on the rebound? In comparing numbers for 2009 and 2010, it appears to be on the mend.

We'll look at two categories for the communities: Pricing from $500,000 - $999,999 (under $1,000,000) and over $1,000,000.

2009

<$1 Million 35 sales (Market Absorption Rate of 5.8)

>$1 Million 4 sales (Market Absorption Rate of .6

2010

<$1 Million 47 sales (Market Absorption Rate of 7.8)

>$1 Million 7 Sales (Market Absorption Rate of 1.2)

Low appraisals continued to plague the high-end market throughout 2010. Homes like this one in Northville appraised at 8% below contract sales price. This was common in developments such as Woods of Edenderry and Stonewater. Bellagio fared somewhat better with six of those properties >$1 Million sold last year and five actively on the market now. With pricing adjusted downward and excellent interest rates available, now is the perfect time to invest in a new luxury home.

There are outstanding ammenities and features in our current inventory such as indoor pools, multiple guest suites, motorized/custom lighting (shown here), custom cabinetry and built-ins, audio systems and theatre rooms, unending marble and granite and the list goes on. Search Here for your luxury home!

Debbie Ronayne, The Ronayne Team at Keller Williams Realty. Find me on Twitter-dronayne, Facebook-debronayne or email debbie@ronayneteam.com 248-735-5477.