What If The Clarkston MI House Doesn't Appraise?
A common misconception is that the house must appraise for sale price and if it doesn't then the seller has to come down to make up the difference.
First of all everything is negotiable. When you make an offer on a house you can specify that the house must appraise for the sale price. Or you can specify that the house must appraise for X below sale price.
Why would you negotiate in a lower appraisal amount you ask? There are many reasons.
You may be in a multiple offer situation and this is a great way to strengthen your offer.
You may be able to get the seller to come down a bit more if they're more comfortable about your ability to close.
There are many reasons a house might not appraise and they have nothing to do with value.
First of all the appraiser does not work for the buyer. The appraiser is hired by the lender to protect the lender's interests- period.
The appraiser has to follow the guidelines specified by the lender as well as government guidelines. I recently had a sale in a subdivision in Metamora- a fairly rural area. The appraiser was told to go no farther back than 6 months but preferably 3 months and no farther than 3 miles from the subject property. The criteria was just plain silly. There aren't any other subs within 3 miles.
There may not be any comparable sales in the area. This is especially true in neighborhoods where there is a high amount of foreclosures.
If the lender uses an appraisal management company you may get an out of the area appraiser who doesn't know the area. On the buyer side of a transaction about a year and a half ago we were in a multiple offer situation. 4 people wanted this house the first weekend it hit the market. We were the strongest offer (not the highest- but strong buyers who offered incentives to the sellers other than price), and when the appraiser went out the appraisal came in at $80,000 under the agreed upon price. We changed lenders and ordered a second appraisal and it came in $62,000 higher. 2 licensed appraisers came in $62,000 apart on a house that was selling for less than $400,000.
I actually had one lender brag that the appraisers they used tended to come in low! His attitude was it put the buyer in a position to negotiate a lower price. Well, all the low appraisal did was require my buyer to pony up the difference. We had seen many of the comparable sales the appraiser used and all it did was confirm for the buyer that he was getting a great deal and was fortunate to have the difference in cash so he didn't lose the house he had his heart set on.
So back to the original question I titled this post with. What happens if the appraisal comes in low?
The seller may come down to meet the appraised value.
The buyer and seller may negotiate a price some place between the original price and the appraised price.
The buyer may have to come up with the difference.
The deal may die and someone else will get the house that you wanted enough to make an offer, put up a deposit for and pay for inspections on. And you get to start your home search over and hope that the interest rates didn't increase in the meantime.
Why You Should List With Jackie Hawley
Jackie Hawley
Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston
Cell: (248) 736-6407
Voorheis Lake- Lakefront Real Estate Sales
Voorheis Lakefront real estate sales, Lake Orion Michigan. Private, all sports, 250 acre Lake Voorheis. Sales in 2009 were pretty dismal with only 5 total sales- 2 of which were bank owned homes (foreclosures) and sale prices ranging from $150,000-$650,000 with a median sales price of $385,000. That's right- someone was able to purchase a home on desirable, all sports Lake Voorheis for the disgustingly low bargain basement price of $150,000. I would say that person made a great investment, even if the house needed a major re-hab.
In 2003 there was only 1 sale below $400K reported in the MLS with sales prices on Lake Voorheis topping out at a tad over a million dollars.
There were no sales on Lake Voorhies in 2010 (at least none reported to the MLS). 2011 was a pretty good year considering the state of real estate prices the past 5 or 6 years. There were 5 closed sales last year with sale prices ranging from $253,500-$449,900- 1 short sale and 1 bank owned home. 3 of the 5 sales were in the $400's with a median sales price of $435,000
There is currently one sale pending on Lake Voorhies- a short sale on Saturn asking $220,000- and 1 home for sale also on Saturn, a non distressed listing asking $244,900. There is also one home on Walmsley Circle for lease asking $2850.
Thinking Of Selling Your Lake Voorheis Home?
Considering Buying A Home On Lake Voorheis?
Why You Should Choose Jackie Hawley To Sell Your Lake Voorheis Home
Preparing Your Lake Voorheis Home For Sale
Jackie Hawley
Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston
Jackie@JackieHawley.com
Cell: (248) 736-6407
The Preserve, Lake Orion MI- Home Prices UP Again!
Good news for homeowner in The Preserve in southern Lake Orion MI. Median sales prices were up 3 1/2% from last year and up 7.3% from 2009!
List price to sale price percentage ranged from .4% of asking price to 7.8% of asking price and one house sold for 3% over the list price. There was only 1 foreclosure listing and no short sales. Sale prices ranged from $212,000-$274,000.
The good news for buyers:
Number 3 is quite interesting. Let's look at 3760 Acadia. Last year it sold for $274,000 which gives you a payment of about $1010 (20% down, principle and interest, 3.92% interest rate which was the average for Jan 2012). If you were to pay that same price at 2000's interest rates you would have a payment of about $1616. Put another way- at the 8.05% interest rate of 2000 you would need to have paid $170,000 to have the same payment as 2011's buyer.
The good news for sellers is that prices are up the past couple years.
The even better news for buyers is that with interest rates it feels like prices have kept going down. And when a buyer gets approved for their mortgage they are truely getting approved for a certain house payment and those payments are super low.
Jackie Hawley
Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston
Jackie@JackieHawley.com
Cell: (248) 736-6407
How Much Does The Interest Rate Really Affect Your Buying Power?
I am going through old listings that couldn't sell at the owner's desired price and through files of home owners who didn't try to sell after getting a market analysis (CMA) for their home because of the value at that time. The good news for those homeowners is that prices are coming up in the Clarkston area and have been for the past couple years. But for buyers- if you look at your payment instead of price- prices are still very low.
As an example I just pulled up a listing I had in 2007 that was asking $400,000. At that time the interest rate for mortgages was at an average of 6.34%. When I checked the Freddie Mac web site I found the average interest rate last month was 3.92%.
What does this mean from the buyer perspective? If you would have bought that particular house for $305,000 in 2007 your payment (principle and interest) would be the same as if you were to pay $400,000 today. That's a hundred thousand dollars worth of buying power just in the difference in the interest rate.
But it gets better!!! The property taxes on that house have dropped from just over $6k/year to just over $4600/year. That's $116/month savings in your house payment.
Interest rates are not going to stay this low forever. Home prices are on the rise- not skyrocketing, but steadily rising. If you have been holding off buying waiting for the market to hit bottom I think we may be there- especially when you factor in the mortgage interest rate and property taxes. AND the cherry on top is the fact that your property taxes will be capped to 5% or the rate of inflation as long as the house is your primary residence. So for the example above it will take quite a while before property taxes are back at 2007 amounts.
Clarkston Lakefront Homes For Sale
Waterford Lakefront Homes For Sale
Lake Orion Lakefront Homes For Sale
Buing a Foreclosure or Short Sale
Jackie Hawley
Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston
Jackie@JackieHawley.com
Cell: (248) 736-6407
Have Banks Gotten Into Real Estate By Way Of Foreclosure Listings?
If you have been in real estate for any length of time you know the banks have been trying to cut into our slice of the pie. The National Association of Realtors has fought for years to keep this from happening, but have the banks sneaked in through the back door? And have we as Realtors facilitated this?
I showed a bank owned home yesterday. I called the listing office to set the appointment and was told to schedule online, and if I wanted to submit an offer I needed to do that directly. I don't think the listing agent was ever in the house- she was offering conventional financing but there was no furnace or water heater and the house was powered literally with 4 fuses. If she had seen the house she would have only offered cash terms.
If she never saw the house how did she price it? I know- the bank set the price and the bank will determine (without advise from their "agent") the timing and amount of future price reductions.
Where is the agency relationship? She doesn't advise on pricing. She won't be looking over any offers that come in or advising her client. The totality of her marketing is just sticking it into the MLS.
I don't mean to beat up on this one agent- she is the norm in this area.
So where exactly is the average foreclosure agent behaving in the manner of an agent? Where is the representation? Or is a Realtor who doesn't look at their listings, who doesn't advise on a price, who doesn't check with a potential buyer's lender before advising their seller to accept or counter an offer, who in many cases now doesn't even receive the offer and present to their sellers, who doesn't go to closings... is that person just a secretary for the bank? Is collecting data to enter into the MLS and emailing offers the job of a Realtor or an admin job?
The banks get the best of both worlds- they get cheap secretarial help without the costs that come with hiring an employee.
Jackie Hawley specializes in re-sale homes, new construction and vacant land in Oakland and Lapeer Counties including Clarkston, Lake Orion, Oxford and Lapeer Michigan. Cell: (248) 736-6407
I have been selling real estate full time since 1991 and have been a consistent top producer since licensed. My sales production has consistently put me in the top 9% of all Realtors nationwide (statistics from NAR). I have a full time assistant and two buyer specialists. While at GMAC Real Estate I was certified to handle relocation through GMAC Global Relocation, and while at Coldwell Banker I ranked in the top 10 Coldwell Banker agents for the state of Michigan. I am a top producing agent with a top producing team at Keller Williams Realty in Clarkston, MI, an office with approximately 65 active agents.
In 2005 I received my e-PRO designation, an internet marketing specialization achieved by approximately 1% of Realtors. I am also a Certified Marketing Specialist, Certified Negotiation Specialist, Certified E-Marketing Specialist and Certified Previews Property Specialist (upper tier marketing).
I deal with both buyers and sellers and have 2 buyer specialist to help handle the high volume of buyers attracted by my web sites and our other marketing efforts. For buyers this means you will get the highest level of service and the attention you deserve, no matter how busy we are. For sellers this means a prospect for your listing will never be put off until I have time to show them your property. Somebody is always available. We also have an assistant who handles the majority of our paperwork as well as keeping my listings updated on the several Internet sites we advertise on.
For more information about my team or myself please check our my web sites at:
You can also reach me toll free at 1-800-401-1444 or via cell phone at 248-736-6407
My e-mail, Jackie@JackieHawley.com is monitored daily and all messages are replied to the same day; often times within minutes.
For more about me let's go back to the beginning:
Chapter One: I am born. To begin my life with the beginning of my life, I record that I was born (who better to pilfer from than Dickens!). January 20 in the year of our lord nineteen hundred and sixty three. The number 1 song was the Rooftop Singers "Walk Right In." There was an exchange of letters between Premier Khrushev and President John F Kennedy. And Jim and Sandy Hawley gave birth to a healthy baby girl - ME! Jacqueline Tracy Hawley.
For the first almost 6 years of my life we lived in Troy Michigan in a small house on 16 Mile Rd. My grandparents on my mom's sided lived a few minutes away on 5 acres on Livernois Rd. That's where I learned to ride horses. Starting at a few months old I rode in front of my mom or grandpa; when I was old enough I moved to riding behind them. By the time I was 4 I had my own pony, Bam Bam, and was showing. When I was 6 I upgraded to a full sized horse, SanMin, who had previously been my mom's. He was getting up in age, but was still fast enough to win. When I turned 11 I passed him onto my brother and upgraded to a younger horse my grandpa had given me the year before to break. When I was 15 my parents sold the horses and shortly afterwards divorced.
Just before I turned 6 we moved from Troy to Lake Orion- this was in 1968 when Lake Orion MI was still a small town - almost rural. We lived on just under 5 acres where we kept the horses, raised rabbits and chickens and a large garden. My parents had issues with paying us an allowance; we did chores for the privilege of bellying up to the table. For money we sold vegetables from the garden, eggs and rabbit meat. The rabbits were especially lucrative and by the time I was 18 there was just about enough rabbit money in the bank to pay my way through college.
I graduated from Lake Orion High School in 1981, attended Oakland Community College then went on to Oakland University. While in college I worked on a couple of Thoroughbred breeding farms, doing everything from cleaning stalls, fixing fences, breeding, and working as a midwife at night after school. I currently live on a small farm (67 acres) in Lapeer, Michigan.
The Jackie Hawley real estate sales team at Keller Williams Realty in Clarkston MI assist both buyers and sellers in all forms of residential real estate from the first time home buyer to luxury home sales to vacant land. I currently have a small team with 2 buyer specialists and an assistant, all with varied backgrounds and experience that help us serve our clients and customers.
We have vast experience with:
We give top of the line, high quality service to both our buyer clients and our seller clients. For more detailed information on our services, please click on the appropriate link below:
We service North Oakland County, Lapeer County and parts of Macomb and Genesee Counties including the following areas:
You can reach us toll free at 1-800-401-1444 or via my cell phone at 248-736-6407.
When you get a chance, please browse my web site at www.MiRelocation.com
Do you have any good testimonials that clients have provided you in the past? Be sure to add them here.
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