Howell Weekly Update November 30 2015

I've been doing weekly updates for the Howell Michigan real estate market for the last month. Here's this last week's activity recap.

Inventory is at 309 homes and condos, down slightly from last week.  We've had 6 new listings in the last 7 days and those listings average out to $198,966 each, or $95/sq ft.  That's a lower number than I usually see.  Most resale properties in Howell average between $100-$122/sq ft.

New construction would be a bit more expensive, of course.

There are currently 21 rental properties on the market, too.  The majority fall into the $1000-$1600/mo range and you can expect at least a 6 month lease requirement, with some wanting a 12 month commitment.  Please note that this does not include apartments, which typically do their own marketing and management, and it does not include some landlords that wish to market on their own.  You may find their properties in Craigslist or some rental property websites.

If you have questions about the Howell real estate market, feel free to contact me at your convenience.  If you're a first-time buyer (or just haven't purchased a property for a while), I have a great manual that I can share with you when you meet with me or we can go through it online.

image courtesy Robert Smith

Lakeshore Pointe Howell Real Estate Update November 2015

Back in August I did a short market report on the Lakeshore Pointe community in Howell.  This is a great community of about 248 homes in a fantastic location.   There are some lakefront homes, most are not, but all have lake access. The community has resident-only waterfront parks, picnic areas, walking trails and two marinas on all sport Thompson Lake.  There is no through traffic and the occasional speed bump on the private roads keeps things quiet.

The Homeowner's Association (HOA) does have architectural/aesthetic, vehicle storage, and landscaping guidelines and is professionally managed by a local property management company. Some people chafe at such restrictions, but generally they will help to keep the property values up by keeping a clean and consistent look throughout the community.

There are currently 5 active listings ranging from $215,000 to $515,000, two of which are larger lakefront homes. In the last 12 months, 14 homes have sold for an average of 98% of their list price.  This equates to less than a 6% turnover rate for the neighborhood, making it a stable community.

If you're thinking about selling in Lakeshore Pointe, or in the larger Howell area, call me for a detailed analysis of your neighborhood's prices and marketability.

Photo credit: Robert Smith, copyright 2015

October 2015 Realtors Confidence Index

Each month the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveys real estate professionals nationwide to get their impression of the housing market.  This report had 2,969 Realtors reply.  As a survey participant, I get a ‘sneak peek’ at the results which will be released soon.

Overall, real estate professionals reported that the market was improved compared to a year ago and that they are “broadly optimistic” for the next six months.   There is stronger buyer and seller traffic compared to a year ago and it is expected that prices will increase “modestly” in the next 12 months.

Nationally, first-time buyers accounted for 31 percent of all sales, sales for investment purposes were 13 percent, distressed sales were 6 percent and cash sales were 24 percent of all sales.

Buyers 34 and under accounted for 28 percent of home sales and nearly half of the buyers were 35-55 years old.  No surprise here, but buyers 56 and older were more likely to purchase a condo while the younger buyers preferred a single-family detached home.

Financing and appraisals are still issues. Only 64 percent of sales were settled on time as reported by survey respondents, 29 percent experienced delays, and 7 percent were terminated.  We should have a better idea of how the new financing guidelines will affect the market over the next two months or so.

Biggest issues to getting closed (delayed but eventually closed)?  18 percent financing, 13 percent inspection issues, 11 percent appraisal issues.  For the 7 percent of sales that did not complete, 32 percent were due to inspection issues and 46 percent due to financing.

Remembering that all real estate is essentially local, this information gives a great general outlook, but you need to be educated in your local market, too.  I just posted a report for the Howell Michigan area, you can watch it here.  If you have questions about the local housing market, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. My contact info is on the right bar of this blog post.

Image courtesy of keerati/freedigitalphotos.net

US-23 Active Traffic Management System (ATM)

Last evening, I stopped at the Northfield Township Hall in Whitmore Lake to visit the Michigan

Department of Transportation (MDOT) open house regarding the US-23 Active Traffic Management (ATM) plan.

If you've ever driven the US-23 expressway to Ann Arbor in the morning rush hour, or tried to get back to Livingston County in the evening, you know what a pain it is.  Designed decades ago, it carries far too much traffic today.  Many entrance ramps are very short and interchanges don't work for today's traffic volume. There are an abundance of crashes due to slowing traffic near entrance and exit ramps.

There's not enough funding to do a major widening of this roadway, so the ATM system has been studied and judged to be feasible.  It will include extensions/upgrades of currently deficient ramps (most of them are!), factor in pedestrian and trail pathway access to local facilities, widening and/or reconstruction of existing bridges, the lane controllers, and courtesy patrols.  Part of last night's open house was to exhibit various natural landscape themes for the corridor.

Interestingly, there is also a commuter rail line effort that could help decrease commuter traffic on US-23 between I-96 on the north and M-14 on the south.  Officially called the North-South Commuter Rail, it  is often referred to as "WALLY", because it would serve Washtenaw and Livingston Counties, running from Howell to Ann Arbor.  I understand that one very expensive part of this effort, the actual rail track upgrades is done already.  As it is now, you would even be able to take your bike with you on the WALLY line, to use at your destination.  But WALLY is another blog post for another day.

There were a lot of MDOT folks at the open house and visitors were encouraged to 'vote' for the aesthetic treatments they thought would best fit the corridor.  Plenty of diagrams and overhead views were available, and I heard a number of attendees inquiring about noise control measures. I spoke to a MDOT representative that said this project would all be done in one piece and it was hoped to be completed by sometime in 2017.  Other states are using ATM systems, but this will be the first one in Michigan. 

One of the most noticeable features of the ATM is the use of a widened and upgraded left median shoulder to use for traffic.  Southbound US-23 would use this 'shoulder' for morning rush hour, northbound US-23 would use their 'shoulder' for the evening rush hour.  Large LED indicators would let motorists know that the lane was either open or closed.  Right side shoulders would still be present and could be used for motorists having vehicle troubles.  There will be set 'crash investigation' sites, too. 

Once you exit US-23, you will likely find reconfigured interchanges.  The Six Mile interchange will be re-worked for more logical ramp solutions.  At North Territorial and again at 8 Mile Rd, a combination of a roundabout and a new 'teardrop' (elongated roundabout) configuration will be used.  Bridges at Warren, Barker Rd and the CSX overpass (north of Lee Rd in Green oak Twp) will certainly be reworked, too.  If you're thinking this is a large project - you're right!

You'll be hearing more about this project, and if you commute to Ann Arbor, I suspect that things may temporarily get a little bit worse, but there's also the promise that it will make the commute less stressful and more efficient. There's a ton of background info available and I've included some links below.  Missing are the treatment options.

Washtenaw Area Transportation Study-http://www.miwats.org/watsblog/2015/1/21/us-23-project-update

MDOT US-23 Corridor Project -http://www.michigan.gov/mdot/0,4616,7-151-9621_11058-316825--,00.html

Wally Rail - https://www.facebook.com/WALLYRail/

image attributions: US-23 sign - State of Michigan MDOT; ATM graphic - Washtenaw Area Transportation Study blog; tear drop configuration - MDOT Appendix A, Traffic Analysis Data, US-23 Improvements document

Housing Market Update October 2015

Real estate is local.  That being said, there are things that happen nationally to affect all markets.  One of them is interest rates.

USA Today ran an article today that quoted San Franciso Federal Reserve President John Williams as saying there is a “very strong case” (their quotes) for rates to rise next month – if the economy continues to improve.

Earlier this year I had the occasion to hear, in person, the National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun.  He went through a ton of stats and indicators that graphically showed how much the economy has improved.  But, he said, it seems that people just “don’t feel it.”  That was holding back home sales.  Question – do you feel it? 

I’ve kept that in mind and I ask that of people I meet occasionally.  Not a lot are feeling it.  They ‘see’ it – with new construction, with homes selling quickly, once vacant strip malls filling up again, lower unemployment figures – they just don’t personally ‘feel’ it.  But let’s get back to the Federal Reserve.

The Fed’s perspective seems to be that gradual rate increases beginning now lower the risk of a run up in inflation later.  They can always stop raising rates if the economy weakens.  Bob’s Prediction – look for up to a quarter point increase in December or January.

What is happening locally?

Rental demand remains high and rental rates continue to slowly increase. I think that will continue for the foreseeable future.  First-time buyers are not the force they once were. Perhaps because they ‘don’t feel it’ yet?  I don’t know, but there are not as many of them as there used to be.

We’ve seen cash buyers decrease, too.  Sure, a lot of them were investors buying lower priced properties but there were also some higher priced buyers paying cash for move-in condition homes.  As of the end of October 2015 for Livingston County, there were a total of 2828 sales. Only 219 were cash buyers (7.7%).

I fully expect home prices to continue their rise.  Part of that is with the lower price point inventory shortage. Everything I’ve been reading says our area should see at least 3%-5% appreciation in the next year. 

Locally, Howell, Brighton and the SE Livingston County area, homes under $250,000 will continue to sell very fast if they are priced correctly (within 2%-3% of their true value).  Sellers – trying to squeak that extra percent of two from a buyer could shoot you in the foot.  Buyers today are more educated than ever before.

Tighter lending standards have also had an effect, but if you’re 680 or better you should be able to get a loan.

 If you’re a first-time buyer, I can give you a short ‘buyer information’ course that will fill in a lot of blanks with the entire home buying process.  If you have a property to sell, please contact me for a complimentary home valuation and a tailored advertising/marketing discussion.  My information is on the sidebar of this blog.  I’m a full-time residential real estate professional and a Senior Real Estate Specialist. I work western Oakland, northern Washtenaw and all of Livingston County, especially Howell, Brighton, Hartland and Pinckney. 

image courtesy of atibodyphoto/freedigitalphotos.net

Closings Change – Starting To See It

There were a number of changes that went into effect October 3^rd, as part of the CFPB’s efforts to make sure we never have another meltdown like we had a few years back.

Some of these are great.  Sellers MUST get their closing statements for review 3 days before closing.  What?  No more statements at 2pm for a 4pm closing?  (Yay!!)

Also, one that will take a while to get used to is the term replacing ‘closing’.  That’s right, there will no longer be ‘closings’.  We will now have ‘consummations’, which sounds decidedly more, er, romantic.

Imagine my surprise when I saw a lender post this with a picture of himself and his new buyer on facebook:

Consumption of the sale is complete! Big congrats to Kyle on the purchase of his first home! 

Wow, the closing was, hmm, ‘used up’?  Or it got a case of tuberculosis. I hope not.

There’ll be plenty of little funnies like this for real estate pros in the next couple of months, I’m sure.  Let’s take the positive from these changes and not forget to smile.

courtesy of imagerymajestic/freedigitalphotos.net

Government Dashboards Keep Citizens Informed

The first governmental ‘dashboard’ I saw was that for the State of Michigan.  When Governor Rick Snyder took office in 2011, he was a businessman with no prior political experience, but a lot of leadership skills and business sense.  He referred to himself, and is still known as “one tough nerd.”  Among other things, he directed the use of a dashboard to give Michigan residents a way to check Michigan’s performance and progress quickly and visually.

But Governor Snyder and Michigan were not the first to use a government web site dashboard.  That was actually President Barack Obama.  In February 2009, just a month after his inauguration, the first dashboard went up to provide some transparency for the stimulus funds of that year’s American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  See the U.S.A. dashboard here. The current Michiganversion is more comprehensive than the original and actually there are now numerous dashboards for things like Education, Seniors, Health & Wellness, Financial Health, Safety, etc.

Since then, Livingston County has also established adashboard for residents, too.

This tool was used in business as far back as the 1980’s, although not the internet-type we see today.  Dashboards can provide great visuals that are easy to understand, but they are dependent on the use of quality, and often standardized data.  The concept has evolved since then and many sites offer the opportunity to download raw data in spreadsheet and other formats for further analysis.

If you’ve never seen a dashboard, it’s worth a quick look.  Links have been provided as appropriate throughout this article.

Images courtesy of State of Michigan

Business News in Brighton

The old Brighton Donuts has undergone extensive remodeling and is likely to host a Potbelly Sandwich Shop and perhaps a T-Mobile cellular store, too.  Potbelly began in Chicago in 1977 and there are some stores in the west Detroit suburbs, as well as Ann Arbor.  The new building looks fantastic.

If you remember the florist shop in the newer building with Tim Horton’s and the BP Gas Station at Grand River and St. Paul Street, look for a Domino’s Pizza outlet there soon.

In case you missed it, the Leaf, Barley & Vine building on Grand River and North St (next to Stout Pub) has been taken over by a new mortgage lender, Treadstone Funding.  I got to see the building while work was in process and it is going to be a great addition to downtown. It's wonderful that the building is no longer sitting vacant.

The Grand River Crossing mall (near VG’s, across from the Brighton Bowl) will soon have an old Brighton favorite returning – Big Apple Bagels.

Davis Office Site – at Grand River and Best Buy Drive, the old buildings that held many small medical offices is almost done.  One of the tenants is going to be Panda Express, a “fast, casual Chinese restaurant”.  Current locations include Okemos, Jackson, Ann Arbor, Great Lakes Crossing, Allen Park and the Rochester area.

And if you’ve seen the construction on Challis Rd just west of the newly remodeled and reopened Big Boy, that’s going to be a Hampton Inn.

The City of Brighton continues to try to add more parking to meet demand. The Dairy Mart on Grand River and North Street has been demolished and will be another ‘Transitional Parking Lot’. Walking distance to downtown shops and restaurants, it will be another option for you, but it will be right turn only when exiting because it is so close to the traffic signal at North and Grand River and because of traffic volumes on Grand River.

Information above is believed to be correct, but things can happen! Negotiations fail, problems arise, that’s development.

Time Change Sunday November 1st

Before you retire on Halloween, be sure to set your clocks back an hour.  We have to do this less and less it seems.  My mobile phone and cable box do it automatically.  I have a counter top radio that gets the time signal via a local NPR station and it adjusts on its own, too. Likewise for the laptop and tablet.

I have to change the clock on the range and the microwave, and in my car, but that’s about it.  Here are a few other things that you should do when it’s time change time.

Of course, replace your smoke detector batteries.  This is really important because it’s your first line of defense should a fire break out while you and your family are asleep.  But here’s one you probably haven’t thought about.

Check your water supply hoses to your washing machine.

Last year, I was fishing around the back of the washer for a sock that went flying while I loaded it up.  As I grabbed the sock from the side, I noticed a huge bulge in the hot water hose.  It could have burst at any moment.  And since it was before it went into the washing machine it would have spewed water forever had it broken.

 

These were the old black hoses that you can get anywhere for about $6-$7 each.  I decided to upgrade to the newer red/blue braided hoses that come with a lifetime guaranty.  But guess what?  I still check them on time change day. 

Water damage is not something you want to experience.  Especially if you have a first or second floor laundry. (See this blog post explaining how I learned the hard way.)   So please be sure to change your clocks as needed, check your smoke detector batteries, and give a quick look at the water hoses to your washing machine.

As always, should you have a real estate question or need, feel free to call or contact me by way of the info on the right panel of this blog.

photos courtesy digitalart/freedigitalphotos.net and Robert Smith,Realtor

How To Protect Your Digital Data – Or Else!

What could be worse than losing your tablet or smartphone and having somebody access your social media accounts, business information, and contacts?  Well, OK, identity theft.  And that could happen, too.  But not if you’re a bit proactive.  Here are just a few basic defenses for you.

My first line of defense is a simple one.  My tablet, laptop and smartphone all have a screen lock.  My smartphone auto locks after 2 minutes of inactivity (which admittedly is sometimes a real pain), my tablet locks after 5 minutes, and I manually lock my laptop anytime I step away from it.  Yup, rest room break, out for lunch, meeting with a colleague – it gets locked.  Luckily, you can set the time interval for the auto lock to whatever you prefer.  The important thing is that if you lose your device (or it gets stolen), it will be harder for somebody to access your services and accounts.

Think about social media. On my smartphone and my tablet, I stay logged in to certain sites unless I specifically click ‘log out’.  Many don’t because they’d be logging in a hundred times a day. Lose the phone and anybody now can post in my name, solicit my friends, and in general cause havoc with my life.

Something that still amazes me is the number of people that do not back up their devices.  Please, back up your data.  With cloud storage this is so easy.  Afraid of the cloud?  Buy an external drive and let it run at night.  Storage has never been cheaper and you won’t go into a cold sweat if your device gets trashed.

Get and use a quality anti-virus software.  These programs have developed so much that they detect bad web sites, dangerous files sent to you anonymously and many other threats that you’ve not heard of yet.  I opt to pay for a well known package that protects three devices for an annual subscription.  That is ‘cheap insurance’ to me.  Some free programs are good, too, but lack all of the features.

Keep your software up to date.  It’s a royal pain when your operating system wants to constantly ‘update’.  Often that requires a reboot, at least on the laptop.  Still, these updates often take care of newly discovered security threats as well as fixing old bugs, so it really is worth it to do the update.  You don’t have to do it immediately if you’re in the middle of something, but do it sooner rather than later.

Be careful of the apps you install and read the installation prompts!   I recently had an alert to update two applications, one needed to let my web browser operate properly, and another program that I use multiple times daily.  On installation, one wanted to change my ‘preferred browser’ to something different and the second one wanted to install web browser ‘tool bar’ that I didn’t need.  Often the tool bar installation changes your web home page and many other preferences.  A simple click on the ‘decline’ box was all it took to not let that happen. Entertainment apps in particular can install unwanted features.

Beware the “crazy good offer’.  Usually it’s something like, “for our 125^th anniversary we’re giving away 125 bottles or cases of ‘x’ totally free”.  Or cartons of cigarettes.  It could be anything.  The link you click on has a similar name but is not the company web site.  These folks are fishing (phishing) for your personal info or for marketing data.  If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.  Keep your antennae up! And don’t nibble on the bait.

If you have real estate questions, you can contact me at anytime for straight answers or referrals to somebody that can help better than I.  

image courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net

National AMERICAN Beer Day – October 27th

photo credit Robert Smith

Not National Beer Day (April 7^th), but National AMERICAN Beer Day. The USA beer market is $101.5 billion, with the craft beer market at $19.6 billion or 17.6% of all USA beer consumption (2014).  Import beer represents 6.9% of the total.

But I’m in Michigan so let’s talk local.  There were just over 100 breweries in Michigan in 2011, and we we’re at 160 in 2014. Those breweries produced 825,103 barrels (10^th in the USA), with an average of 3.6 gallons consumed per adult (21+ years of age, or 13^th nationally).  I’ve always contended that Michigan’s great, tasty and abundant water made it one of the best places for brewing beer.  Our climate is also great for growing hops and Michigan is starting to get some great, mature hops farms, although our acreage is far below competing States. (Watch out Washington State!)

In 2014, we had 159 craft breweries (6^th in the country). The Michigan State web site listed 198 as of this posting (State rankings not available).

So here’s my deal, and I know it’s not everybody’s mug o’beer.  I would so much rather have 1 or 2 good locally brewed (or even just craft) beers at about $5/mug than to sit in a national, regional or local  franchise at happy hour and drink four or five $3, 22 oz mass produced, colorless and flavorless beers (Bud, Miller, your names shall not be mentioned - oops).

It is not required that you celebrate National American Beer Day today. But I hope you will.  And I hope that you stop in your local brewery to sample their offerings.  Or at least go to a restaurant or lounge that has other great Michigan beers on tap to try something other than the clear, bland mass-produced beers. 

I think I will try to do a ‘trifecta’ in my area, that being #Brewery Becker, #EternityBrewing, and #BlockBrewing.  They have smaller glasses than just the mug, so maybe I’ll do an #IPA tour, or perhaps a #Porter or #Stout tour.  Depends on how I’m feeling. I don’t think I’ll be disappointed, in any case.

If, while drinking your craft beer, you come up with a real estate question, feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Realtor Tours Local Haunted House For Professional Reasons?

A haunted house gets your heart pumping, sharpens your senses and raises your awareness of the surroundings.  And since I’m a full-time real estate professional, I figured I shouldn’t ignore this particular type of house any longer. 

Last night, my wife and I went to the Terrorfied Forest in Pinckney, Michigan with our friends Kelly & Lisa. We also toured Bubbles Fun House.  I should mention that these attractions are not for children.  They are geared for teens and adults.

We started with Bubbles Fun House.  It takes about 20 minutes to get through and there is literally a surprise around every corner.  Sometimes the surprise jumps out at you. Sometimes you’re ‘decoyed’ and distracted. But there’s a lot of suspense in here. I don't think the decor would have much appeal for a home buyer, but you never know.

Both facilities have a few simple rules.  The monsters will not touch you, so please don’t touch them or the props.  No lights or cell phones can be used. Listen to the staff and security that seems to be just a few paces from you, no matter your location (many of them are unseen unless they want to be seen, bwahahaha).  Prices are $20 for the Terrorfied Forest and $10 for the haunted house but a combo is only $25.  It was well worth it, too.

Dress for the weather since the Terrorfied Forest is a lot longer than the haunted house.  They claim it’s about 40 minutes and 1 mile of walking and I believe it.  We spent a good 15-20 minutes trying to exit the ‘maze house’ at the end of the forest tour.  And we had lots of company!

Patrons are spaced out so groups remain fairly small and the staff was very polite while doing their scary, ghoulish tasks.  Weather may affect the forest tour, but the haunted house is open unless there is lightning and/or driving rain.

They’re open Friday-Sunday through October 31^st and located at 145 Swarthout Rd, Pinckney 48169.  It’s just off the NE Corner of Pinckney Rd (D-19).  Call 734-878-3737 for more info.  And they will have a special opening for Friday the 13^th in November, too.  Check out their facebook page and their website.

Oh, and by the way, yes I uttered a few shrieks of surprise at various times.  Just to be safe you should use the rest room before entering. It wasn’t the worst house I’ve ever toured in my real estate career, but it was definitely the scariest. 

I don’t think I’d be of much professional help if you were looking to buy a real haunted house, but if you’re looking to buy or sell any other houses or condos, give me a call.  Those I can handle.

Image courtesy of Terrorfied Forest facebook page.

Seniors - Watch Out For Scams

Watching out for scams really applies to everyone, not just seniors.  But it does seem that folks who have been slow to use computers get hit the hardest.  And scammers like to target people they think might have some money put away, who own their home, and that have great credit - and many seniors fall into this group. Here are a a few tips to hopefully keep you safe when you're online.

First, look at any offer 'out of the blue' with suspicion. Maybe it's for an 'anti-aging' product, discount medications (which turn out to be counterfeit), or 'free' medical devices that will be billed to and paid by your health insurance company.

Emails that request you reset your password or verify your account. It may look like a legitimate email from your bank, or from a social media site that you frequent.  Scammers send these out by the tens of thousands hoping to hit some that actually have an account.  For example, I get emails from a nationally known bank.  It includes their logo and looks very official.  The thing is I don't have an account with that bank.  That's an easy one.

Before you click on a link, position the mouse pointer over the link and wait for a second or two for a box to pop up that shows you the destination. My example below is from a social media site where I do have an account.  But the link is not going there!  These fake links go to places where they try to capture your personal info to use for fraudulent purposes.

You will go to a different location - not where the links says. SCAM!

NEVER open an attachment from somebody that you don't know. These attachments often install a virus or keyboard capture routine on your device and passwords can be stolen.

NEVER, EVER fall for the "you have won money", or "I need your help to get millions of U.S. Dollars out of my African country".  I know it sounds absurd, but people do fall for these.  Many of these are written in poor English and they almost always invoke god in some way.

And let's not forget the good old telephone call, either. Many offers come in as a "free prize", except that you have to pay tax and shipping and handling.  Watch out! A legitimate company will not pressure you to make a quick decision.

NEVER pay in advance for services.  That guy working out of his pickup truck might say he needs a couple of thousand dollars to buy materials, but you may never see him again. Of course, his prices are so much cheaper you'll be tempted to jump on his offer.  That is a major red flag.  Ask to see his construction license.  In Michigan, legitimate vendors get a 'pocket card' that indicates they are either a licensed builder, or a 'maintenance and alteration' contractor.  The M and A companies are for specific things like gutters, siding, roofing, painting.  You can check on a company or an individual at this link:  https://www.lara.michigan.gov/colaLicVerify/lSearch.jsp

Go to 'Search By License Type' then 'Profession', then 'Residential Builder'.  If you want to review a previous blog post that I wrote about builder licensing, you can find it here:
http://livingstonre.blogspot.com/2015/07/is-your-contractor-licensed-does-he.html

Remember - if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is!  Stay safe out there.

I am a full-time residential real estate professional and a senior real estate specialist.  If you have real estate questions, you can always contact me through this blog or my office phone number on the sidebar.

Extreme Property Line Disputes

Ever had a neighbor that insisted that the property line was different than your belief?  Did he sue you?  Make life miserable in other ways? Well, here’s a rather extreme story.

A Norwegian man believed that his neighbor’s outhouse (which had been converted to a shed) was encroaching on his property.  While his neighbors were vacationing, he hired two workers to cut the offending piece of the building off, then he dumped the debris in their garden.

Turns out he was wrong.  You saw that coming, didn’t you? 

After a year of legal proceedings, he was charged with aggravated vandalism. No word on the sentence, but this same man has had other property disputes with other neighbors where he was also wrong and had destroyed property.

At what point do you think it’s not wise to get a survey?  Read the full story here.

And if you have real estate questions, feel free to call me - preferably before you destroy your neighbor's shed.  At least I'll recommend you talk to an attorney first!

image courtesy of imagerymajestic/freedigitalphotos.net

Support Your Local Residents And Great Causes, Too

No, not like local businesses, although I feel strongly that we should be doing that, too.  I’m talking about people that get involved in really good causes for other organizations.

Most of us have at one time or another done some fundraising for a group. Maybe a church, a PTA, Boy or Girl Scouts, a youth sports team, or perhaps a cause that struck us personally, like a foundation for a disease that afflicted a family member or friend.

Here’s one (I could probably write pages worth) from a great local runner that deserves consideration.

Team World Vision is a great cause. They are dedicated to providing fresh, clean water to areas in Africa where water is scarce.  They drill wells, install pipelines and construct water purification stations as well as teach the inhabitants how to operate and maintain them.

Here, in Michigan, we can take safe and abundant water for granted. After all, we’re surrounded by the largest group of freshwater lakes in the world, containing 21% of the world’s fresh water by volume. Not many think of how fortunate we are every time we use the faucet or take a few extra minutes in that nice, hot shower.

My friend Mark Van Netten is raising money for this cause along with his running of the 2015 Detroit Free Press/Talmer Bank Marathon on October 18^th.  If you think this is a good cause, you can donate via Mark’s page below.  He’s running the full marathon, by the way. It sounds funny to say ‘full marathon’ but since there’s a half marathon I thought I’d make that distinction for non-runners. A marathon is 26.2 miles, in case you didn’t know.   Every dollar helps this great cause, so please consider donating at 

http://www.teamworldvision.org/participant/Markruns4h2o.

Team World Vision is a legitimate group with good reviews on Guidestar.com. That's is an information service that specializes in providing non-profit information. You can check Team World Vision’s status here. I donated and I hope you will, too.

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.

Single Family Property Renters More Likely To Purchase A Home

Freddie Mac  (the Federal  Home Loan Mortgage Corporation) released a report last week indicating that renters living in a detached house, a condo or a townhouse (a single family rental, or SFR)  were more likely to purchase a home than a renter in an apartment community.

Overall, 55% of renters responded that they intend to continue renting for the next three years. When the data is broken down into the categories above, however, 55 percent  in a SFR intended to buy a house in the next 3 years, where only 36 percent of apartment dwellers (multifamily renters) said the same.

Of course, rental satisfaction plays a large role in this decision.  68 percent of renters claiming to be happy with their rental experience plan to continue renting vs. 32 percent that intend to buy a home.  Apartment renters reporting a happy experience were at 67%, compared to 60% of SFR renters.  This may be due to the fact that apartment communities often have on-site daily management tending to repairs and issues, where many SFR renters have to deal directly with an individual landlord.

The U.S. Census Bureau reports that renter households is up again for the 10^th straight year.

Image courtesy of Stuart miles/freedigitalphotos.net

Lakeshore Pointe in Howell Michigan

Lakeshore Pointe is a community of about 248 homes just off Golf Club Rd, between Grand River Avenue and Eager Rd.  Minutes from Chemung Hills Golf Club, downtown Howell and the new retail area developing around Latson/Grand River/I-96 interchange, this is a great location within the Howell school district.

There are some lakefront homes, but most are not.  All have lake access, however. The community has resident-only waterfront parks, picnic areas, walking trails and two marinas on all sport Thompson Lake.  There is no through traffic and the occasional speed bump on the private roads keeps things quiet.

The Homeowner's Association (HOA) does have architectural/aesthetic, vehicle storage,and landscaping guidelines and is professionally managed by a local property management company.

As of this post, there are five active listings, five pending listings and in the last 12 months there have been twelve recorded sales.  Only one sale was a distressed (bank-owned) property and because distressed homes are usually sold at a wide discount, it is removed from the stats below.

Two of the five active listings are larger lakefront homes.  They average out to a list price of $166/square foot while the three smaller, non-lakefront homes are at $126/square foot in price.

The 11 non-distressed sold properties were an average of 1807 sq ft (finished basement space excluded) and sold for 97% of the original list price and 99% of the last list price, at $129/square foot. On average, they took 83 days to sell.

Original List Price	$240,627
Last List Price	$236,618
Sales Price	$234,258

Generally, overpricing makes your competition look better and takes longer to sell your own home. You must always take updates into account when determining your listing price.

If you're thinking about selling in Lakeshore Pointe, or in the larger Howell area, call me for a detailed analysis of your neighborhood's prices and marketability.

Photo credit: Robert Smith, copyright 2015

Today Is World Mosquito Day

Who knew that there was a day set aside for the Michigan State bird?  Just kidding, but some years it feels that way.  Today is World Mosquito Day, established in 1897 to raise awareness about the causes of malaria and how it can be prevented.  In this part of the world, there are worse things that get transmitted by mosquitos than malaria.

Use today to review your personal environment.  Do you have areas that catch and hold water accidentally?  If you can’t change that, perhaps a mosquito trap would work.  You can also visit the American Mosquito Control Association for more information and tips.

image courtesy of vectorolie/freedigitalphotos.net

August 19th is Photography Day

Yes, August 19^th is Photography Day. Are you an amateur, a pro, a hobbyist?  Doesn’t matter if you don’t have a great camera, you’ve got a phone, right?  Celebrate Photography Day by taking pictures of something different today.  A cloud formation, a bird, your garden, even a funny bumper sticker.  Then post it online. It doesn’t matter where, the idea is to participate.

So get out there and shoot a few pictures and post them to celebrate Photography Day.

Image courtesy of Stuart Miles/freedigitalphotos.net

Howell Melon Festival – August 14-16th

Get ready to have some fun!  Howell’s Melon Festival starts tomorrow!  The Melon Run features a 5K/10K, a 1 mile run, a Tot Trot and a Mascot Dash – a 100 yard out and back course by mascots sponsored by local businesses.

There’s a Bike Ride, live entertainment, children’s events, a fine arts show, car show, steam train rides, and more.  Check out the full roster of events at http://www.howellmelonfestival.com/and come out and visit Downtown Howell.

And if you're looking to purchase a home in Howell, give me a call!

image courtesy of Howell Melon Festival

India Pale Ale (IPA) Day – August 7th

It must be an omen that IPA Day falls on Friday this year.  If you’re into craft brews, you know what an IPA is all about.  For those into other types of drinks, here’s a quick explanation of an IPA.  The important letter is the ‘A’ – for ale. No, wait, it’s the ‘I’. I guess they’re all important now that I think about it.

Way back, the 18^th Century to be exact, Britain ruled the waves.  Sailors found that beer didn’t quite survive the long trips o’er the seas so a London brewer (attributed largely to George Hodgson) developed a highly hopped, pale in color ale that could survive the voyage. (Sailors often drank the darker porters of the time.) Of course, the trip to India was a long one (6 months), and there many voyages there, so the new beer was coined India Pale Ale. (For an interesting read on this topic, check out this article on the Smithsonian site.)

Today, most local micro- and craft-breweries have at least a few versions of IPA on their list, as well as it’s cousin the American Pale Ale. And there’s no shortage of local or regional brewed and bottled IPA’s either. Most supermarkets have a pretty decent selection of craft beers from which to choose.

If you’re in the Livingston County area, a couple of my favorites are the D.I.P.A. (double IPA) at Brewery Becker, in DowntownBrighton, and the Torn In 2 IPA at Eternity Brewing in Genoa Township (Howell zip code). Not to leave out a local brewery, if you stop in at Block Brewing in Howell, their Hop Genius IPA is first rate, too!  If you celebrate #IPAday, please drink responsibly. Most craft brews are higher in alcohol content than production beers, so they often pack more of a punch. Breweries usually list the ABV figures on their menu for reference. 

This is a great way to unwind after a long day of viewing homes, too.  And if I can help you with real estate questions, feel free to contact me.

Photo credit Bob Smith, Torn in 2 IPA, Eternity Brewing, Howell, MI