Ed & Cindy Knight

My hair dresser is Sheila at Diamond Pet Salon in Macomb Township. My mom and dad meet Sheila a few years ago when they sold her condo in Mt. Clemens. Her pet salon is located at 46808 Hayed Rd. just south of 21 Mile in Macomb Township, 48044. Sheila is a great groomer and trust me I have been to quite a few. My parents are pretty fussy when it comes to my grooming and as you can see she did a great job. Don't you just love the bows and scarf. Sheila's mom makes these by hand.

At Diamond Pet Salon you'll notice right when you walk in the door that they care about their customers. They start talking to you and put you right at ease. They even make my parents comfortable about leaving me. Sometimes I have to wait a little while but I don't mind because the cages are clean and right out in front, so I can see what's going on. Besides it gives me some time to chit chat with my friends.

Now I have to tell you I am a little nervous when it comes to getting groomed but Sheila knows just what to do. When it's my turn Sheila gives me my bath and then starts making me look beautiful. She blow drys my hair and then starts trimming away. I get my ears done, my nails trimmed and Sheila stays with me the whole time. She also calls my mom and dad to let them know when I am almost ready, so I don't have to wait around. This gives mom and dad a heads up to finish with their appointments. Then comes the bow and scarf and when my mom and dad come to pick me up, they are always so happy.

I have posted a few photos below so you can see how clean and bright the salon is yourself. My name is Honey and I would be more than happy to talk to your little honey or you can have your parents call my parents at the number to the right. Just in case you are wondering they also offer extra spa services if you would like.

See I told you it was clean. I hope if you need a groomer for your pet you check out Diamond Pet Salon in Macomb Township. Here is a map and if you would like to make an appointment you can reach Sheila at 586-566-0099 and let her know Honey sent you.

Boy have times have changed.

Up until a few years ago the only leases we drafted were on our own rental properties. That was until the banks came into town and ran the real estate market into the ground. Now many homeowners are being forced to rent their homes or foreclose, if they want or need to move on. The local MLS we belong to - MiRealSource shows the following data for 2008 in Macomb County - 896 homes and 458 condos were rented out by real estate agents vs 12 homes and 10 condos in 1995. Pretty amazing for a town that is not what you would call a vacation hot spot.

So what does all this mean?

It means that homeowners today are becoming landlords, only not for money. Fact is many are actually paying for someone to live in their home, till the market turns around. Especially, once you factor in the increase in property taxes once the home goes from owner occupied to non-owner occupied. As you can see from this millage rate chart, property taxes jump quite a bit. To make matters worse homeowners are finding that a huge percentage of the tenants have less than perfect credit and many are either in foreclosure or headed for one - making the homeowners very uneasy.

However, there may be something that could help since the homeowners still want to sell and many of the tenants really want to own. But...

Is Rent to Own Right for You?

Let's take a closer look:

1. First - the tenant/buyer and the landlord/seller have to draft a purchase agreement and determine a price. But what price? Today's price? What if the market falls more? What if the market turns around?
   
2. Next - the tenant/buyer has to come up with a non-refundable deposit - but how much? If they walk will they lose it?
   
3. What amount will the rent be and what amount will go towards the purchase? $100, $300? Lenders say anything over "Fair Market Rent" can be used.
   
4. When should the option end and a closing occur? 1 year, 3 years?
5. What if the tenant/buyer can not get approved for the mortgage? Should the seller extend the contract or evict?
6. What if the home does not appraise? Will the seller come down or the buyer come up?
7. Will the buyer be allowed to make major changes to the home?

As you can see it is more complicated then one might think. Everything needs to be spelled out.

Can anything else can be done?

Yes, instead of a Rent to Own there is a clause built right in the lease that states IF the seller decides to sell the tenant will be given first right of refusal.

Give us a call and let us help you determine what Option is best for you!

Yesterday I sat and listened to my calm husband hit his breaking point, just as I did last year dealing with the dreaded "Short Sale" process.

As a husband and wife team we each have duties and mine is to take a file from bottom line to closing. Well last year I had a seller that needed to relocate his family. Our seller tried to do the right thing - he tried to sell his home via a short sale rather than foreclose. However, after 4 offers in 12 months the bank was unable to get him to the closing table. I swore at that point I would not process another short sale.

Of course, Ed being a man was going to show me how it was done. His 1st short sale ended up having 3 offers in a 7 month period and the seller finally said "forget it we're just walking". Then he started his next one - it's now been 10 weeks and the bank has done Nothing. The seller calls and is told one thing, Ed calls and is told another. They call together via a three way and are told X will be done and a week later X is not done. So yesterday Ed lost it with the bank.

But while he was on the phone I heard him say "yes I know the negotiator has 350 files one her desk". Imagine that the United States unemployment numbers for June 2009 were 9.5% and according to the Center for American Progress it has not been that high since 1983. Yet the negotiator is so swamped it takes us months to get an approval. Did you hear that Bank of America the unemployment lines are Long?

Just think about the changes IF they hired just a few more people

1. Less money would be paid out in unemployment benefits
2. Maybe hiring someone would save that person from foreclosure
3. If my sellers home goes into foreclosure he'll ruin his credit - preventing him from adding $$ to the economy
4. Of course both agents lose a pay check - so less money goes into the economy from them
   
5. For sure if the bank forecloses they will end up with at least $30,000 less
6. The area surrounding my sellers home will go down in value
7. Causing more people in the area to be further underwater
8. Imagine ALL the man hours saved avoiding hundreds of calls to the short sale dept
   

You call yourself Bank of America - well I say you step up to the plate and help out America. Hire a few people from the unemployment lines, Save the American tax payer money by avoiding foreclosures, avoid more foreclosures.

Unless of course you really do not want to do short sales and if that's the case Please let us know now instead of wasting everybody's time.

Are you old enough to remember the drive-in?

Back when I was a kid the drive-in we went to was the Gratiot drive-in. It was located at Masonic and Gratiot, in Roseville. My parents always picked a nice warm summer night with no clouds. Once the plans were made to attend my dad would get the biggest pot he could find and make some popcorn. As dad made the popcorn, mom would make the kool-aid and get the cups and napkins together. Dad usually made 2 batches of popcorn - one with salt and butter and one with butter and a package of dry cheese from the mac and cheese box. Then he'd separate a paper grocery store bag and fill it up and off we would go.

Of course, the Gratiot drive-in is long gone but Shelby Township is offering something similar to the old drive-in. So mark your calendar

Free Family Movie Night - featuring Madagascar 2 - Friday, July 17

the gates open at 8:00 pm and the movie starts at 9:00 pm.

So pack up the kids, bring along a blanket or two and some treats or buy them at the concession stand. There will be bounce houses to help pass the time till the movie begins.

It all takes place at the Packard Proving Grounds located at 49965 Van Dyke, Shelby Twp just south of 23 Mile on the west side of Van Dyke. The same location as the Shelby Township Farmers Market held Saturday mornings.

On July 1st homeowners in Macomb County went to their mail boxes only to find their 2009 summer property tax bills. Of course, the calls immediately started "Why are my taxes so high when property values are dropping?" or "Why is my house listed so much lower than my assessment?" We see it daily.

But just about everyone including our cities, townships, states and federal government are feeling the ramifications of the housing problems. But the real question is Will the housing bubble burst bankrupt your city or state?

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities "at least 48 states addressed or are facing shortfalls in their budgets for the upcoming years". I knew California and Florida were in trouble financially but I was totally blown away when I saw the chart on the CBPP site showing the budget gaps projected for 2010, in all the states.

So it started me thinking about a Question I asked one of the Macomb County Commissioners a few months back at a meeting.

"When property values were lower you managed to get by just fine on the money you received from taxes Then values went up and you received more money, SO what did you do with all the extra money?? His answer simply amazed me - I was told that when they receive money they MUST spend it. They must by state and federal laws find somewhere to spend that money. In other words they added more and more programs as values went up.

But now that property values are down what are they going to do? Here in Michigan everyone of our sellers are being way way over assessed. We are seeing homes selling for $80,000 but they are being taxed at $160,000. So what's going to happen next year when they are collecting even less money? The cities had no problem raising our taxes up but they are adjusting very Sloooow.

Will our cities, counties and states go bankrupt? Or will they just figure out a new way to assess our homes so they can raise property taxes to keep the programs they created? Or will the government cut programs and if so which ones?

I have not attended any Tea Parties but I am beginning to think it may not be a bad idea.

What do you think? Homeowners do you feel you are being over assessed? Real estate agents what's your area like?