Blood Drive October 30th at Preview Properties in Brighton

Going to be in the Brighton area on Friday, October 30th?  Hey, it's the day before Halloween and you get a great opportunity to do a little reverse-Dracula-ing.  Our office is hosting an American Red Cross Blood Drive that day from 11:00 AM to 4:45 PM at 130 W. Grand River, Brighton 48116.

Afterwards, forget about the traffic and browse around the downtown businesses or treat yourself to a great lunch or dinner at one of the many restaurants in the area.

To schedule an appointment you can log in at redcrossblood.org and enter the sponsor code Preview, or call Lisa at 810-220-1505.  Another great way to make an appointment is by using the Red Cross Blood App, available for Apple and Android platforms at the app store or google play, respectively.

New Buyers Alert - Recorded Deed Notice Scam

When you buy a property, a deed is signed at settlement (closing).  It goes to the County Registrar of Deeds for recording and is mailed back to you. Depending upon the County, it may be a few weeks to even a few months.  Any recording fees were paid at closing.

There are companies that are sending out very official looking notices, complete with 'respond by' dates to new homeowners.  They want you to get a 'Current Grant Deed' and 'Property Assessment Profile', you can pay by phone (usually an 888 toll free number), and charge $83.  These documents are worthless and they are NOT your real deed.

Sometimes these official looking notices come to homeowners before the true deed arrives in the mail.  Please don't waste your money.  If you have questions, contact your Realtor, the title company that handled your settlement or your County Registrar of Deeds.

And as always, feel free to call me with real estate questions.

Realtor Confidence Index August 2015

Every month, the National Association of Realtors does a nationwide survey. For August, 3,065 Realtors answered.  We know that real estate is local, but nationwide trends are interesting to see, too. This report will be available to the public shortly, but here's a sneak peek.

Market activity is up vs. August 2014, but actually down a little from last month, July 2015.

Buyer traffic is up and generally we still have tight inventory supplies.  In Livingston County, inventory is tight at the $250,000 and under price points, but loosens up as you climb in price.

Homes are selling faster, at an average of 47 days to go under contract with another 42 days to close.  In Livingston, days on market (time to get an accepted offer) are at 60. August 2014 figures were at 65 days.

Nationally, first-time home buyers were 32% of all sales, cash sales represented 22% of all sales, investment properties were 12% and distressed properties were down to 7% of all sales.

Michigan Realtors responding to the survey feel that the outlook for detached homes and condominiums is strong for the next 6 months, but demand for townhomes will be weak.  Again, real estate is local and some markets may buck this trend.

Michigan Realtors also expect to see prices increase 3%-4% over the next 6 months, and the median days on market for the survey was at 30 or less days!

Residential rents continue to rise, showing a robust market for investment property owners.

The biggest delays in settlement (actually closing a home purchase) were finance related at 47% of cases, then appraisal issues at 22%.  

For home sales that 'fell apart' (didn't close), the big issues were home inspection related or environmental at 32%, then financing at 25% and appraisal issues at 13%.

Purchasing or selling a home may seem overly simple to many, but there's a veritable mine field of problems out there.  If you're planning to buy or sell real estate, please work with a dedicated, full-time real estate professional to make sure you have the smoothest and most profitable transaction possible.  Feel free to contact me through this page if you have any questions.