Lake Orion MI Homes For Sale

Lake Orion MI Homes For Sale There are currently 20 homes for sale in Lake Orion and Orion Township with asking prices between $200,000-$300,000- many which can go FHA requiring as little at 3 ½% down. A couple are lakefronts. One is on acreage. Some are new construction. Interest rates are low and mortgages ARE NOT impossible to get. Lenders ARE lending.

Call Jackie for a list of homes for sale inLake Orion MI(248)736-6407

Lake Orion Michigan Homes For Sale

Search The MLS- No Registration Required

If you would like a more custom search or information about buying real estate in this buyer’s market please call:

Jackie Hawley

Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston MI

Cell: (248) 736-6407

Jackie@JackieHawley.com

Buying Real Estate In Oakland County Michigan

Writing the Offer

Financing

The Home Inspection

Foreclosures and Short Sales 

What Is Your Definition Of A “Deal”?

What is Your Definition of a “Deal”? Is it finding what you want for the price you can afford? Or finding a house that is priced lower than the other homes in the same neighborhood? Or do you determine the quality of the “deal” by how much the seller comes down from their asking price?

Unfortunately, many buyers lately seem to judge their home purchase by the amount the seller is willing to come down on the price. I can understand not wanting to over pay or feeling like you have been taken advantage of. But it is your HOME you’re buying. And personally I think it’s senseless and short sited to not buy a house because a seller has properly priced it, or even under priced it.

Part of my job as your buyer’s agent is to advise you of value- unbiased value based on sold comparable sales as well as what is currently on the market. When you bring emotion into it, the house may be worth more to you than the comparable sales indicate.

When I bought my house I only looked at houses in a price range I was comfortable in and bought the one I liked best. The asking price happened to be about half what I qualified for and I paid full price. 16 years later I’m still happy with my home. It happens to be a good financial investment, but more importantly I’m not sitting in my second or third choice because the sellers on my first choice wouldn’t come down on their price.

A Tale of Two Taxes- How Property Taxes Affect Your Buying Power

How to Calculate Your New Property Taxes

What Happens if the Appraisal is Low?

Is the Appraisal for Your Protection?

The Perfect House- Doe it Exist?

Buying a Foreclosure

Buying a Short Sale

Jackie Hawley

 Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston MI

Cell: (248) 736-6407

Jackie@JackieHawley.com

Buying Real Estate In Oakland County Michigan

Writing the Offer

Financing

The Home Inspection

Foreclosures and Short Sales 

Southeast Michigan Short Sales- Why You Should Avoid Many Of The So Called “Short Sale Specialists”

Southeast Michigan Short Sales- Why You Should Avoid Many Of The So Called “Short Sale Specialists”

I will preface this post with a kind of anti-disclaimer: If you have to sell via short sale, I DO NOT WANT TO LIST YOUR HOUSE. If you are a past client or a friend, I will list your house if selling via short sale is the best option for you, and you agree to my rules. So this post is NOT to get your short sale business.

I have my own reasons for not listing short sales, one of them being the success rate to close. In just general MLS searches for buyers and for market anlaysis’ for listings, it appears that about 1/3 of the houses that go pending short sale approval, end up back on the market or foreclosed. I personally never saw the benefits of a business model that has a 1/3 failure rate built into it.

Then today, one of my associates received an e-newsletter from a local “short sale team.” They bragged a bit about having closed over 100 short sale transactions in the past year. They then go on to crow about the fact they “process on average 75 active short sales daily…” Hmmmm. I was never a math genius, but I do own a calculator and that comes out to 100 closings for every 27,000+ clients they take on. So about one third of one percent of their business actually closes.

Since I can’t convince all my buyer clients to avoid short sale listings, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE hire a good, experienced, successful agent to handle your short sale. Someone who was a good and successful agent BEFORE short sales became such a big business. To me it looks like many of the “specialists”, whether they are attorneys or real estate agents, specialize in listing a high volume of distressed homes with a small success rate. From a seller’s perspective, you may want to consider quality over quantity.

What Makes a Good Short Sale Agent?

Short Sale Approval is Subject to Seller Approval of the Terms

Bad Advise From Your Realtor? From Your “Short Sale Specialist”? What Are Our Responsibilities? Where Does The Buck Stop?

Jackie Hawley

Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston MI

Cell: (248) 736-6407

Jackie@JackieHawley.com

Buying Real Estate In Oakland County Michigan

Writing the Offer

Financing

The Home Inspection

Foreclosures and Short Sales 

Lapeer MI Lakefront Homes For Sale

Lapeer Lakefront Homes For Sale. There are 4 homes for sale on Lake Lapeer ranging in price from $375,000-$475,000.

You can get a 2 bedroom cottage on Lake Nepessing for $129, 900 or buy an exquisite 2800 sq. ft. home with 150 ft. of water frontage for $515,000.

If you want a larger lake and willing to go a bit farther north you can a nice home on a couple acres on the Holloway Reservoir if you are also willing to spend $500,000-$700,000.

Lapeer County Lakefront Homes
Lapeer
Search The MLS- No Registration Required
If you would like a more custom search or information about buying real estate in this buyer’s market please call:

Jackie Hawley with Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston

Direct line: 1-800-401-1444Cell: (248)726-6407Jackie@JackieHawley.com www.MiRelocation.com

Looking For That Up North Cottage Without Going Too Far North?

Looking For That Up North Cottage Without Going Too Far North? You don’t need to go any farther north than Lapeer County or Tuscola Countyin the Thumb area of Michigan to find that perfect get away or second home. Or possibly that retirement home.

You can get a little 700 sq. ft. cottage on 2 ½ acres on the Cass River for as low as $74,400.

There are a handful of houses on 200+ acre all sports Murphy Lake which boasts state land on about 40% of its shoreline.

There are a few lake houses on acreage in the $150,000.

And if your pockets are deeper and can spend somewhere between a million two and two and a half million you can get a waterfront home on 50-160 acres. Call Jackie for a list of homes for sale in Lapeer County (248)736-6407

Lapeer County Lakefront Homes

Lapeer, Michigan

Search The MLS- No Registration Required

If you would like a more custom search or information about buying real estate in this buyer’s market please call:

Jackie Hawley with Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston

Direct line: 1-800-401-1444

cell: 248-736-6407

Jackie@JackieHawley.com 

www.MiRelocation.com

The Preserve, Lake Orion MI- Prices Rebounding?

The Preserve, Lake Orion MI- Prices Rebounding?

It sure looks that way. The Preserve has always been a great place to live no matter the market. Beautiful homes with great location, subdivision playground, pool, clubhouse, sidewalks, Detroit water and sewer. Now it looks like it also a good investment again.

In 2005 prices ranged from $287,000 – $372,000. In 2003 and 2004 a couple homes sold in the low $400′s.

2011 sale prices so far range from $239,000-$274,000 with a median sale price of $267,000.

2010 sale prices ranged from $155,000-$285,000 with a median sale price of $230,750.

2009 sale prices ranged from $211,000-$260,000 with a median sale price of $221,458.

Even though prices are on the rise, many houses are still selling for less than they sold for new in the mid to late nineties, and many of those houses have been updated since they were built. Updates like finishing the basement or updating kitchens. Of the 6 houses that sold in 2009 all had finished basements, none were bank owned, and only one short sale.

After 2005 prices were on a downward trend all over Lake Orion and The Preserves was no different. Prices steadily declined every year after 2005….. Until 2010. It appears that in many neighborhoods prices are starting to stabilize and the same is holding true in The Preserve. In fact, due to the lack of foreclosures in The Preserve, home prices may actually be arching the other way.

First let’s compare 2008 and 2009 home sale prices.

In 2008 there were 4 sales in The Preserve ranging from $255,000-$275,000. All selling for pretty close to what they sold for new. None of the 4 sales in 2008 were bank owned or short sales.

Prices dropped hugely from 2008 and 2009 with 6 sales in 2009 ranging from $211,000-$260,000 with no bank owned sales and 1 short sale.

Now comes 2010. One of the differences in 2010 was there was 1 bank owned home and 2 short sales. The 3 distressed sales in 2010 were of course the 3 lowest priced sales ranging from $155,000-$211,000. Now let’s compare the non-distressed home sales between 2009 and 2010.

There were 5 non-distressed home sales in The Preserve in 2009
There were 7 non-distressed home sales in The Preserve in 2010
There have been 0 distressed sales closed so far in The Preserve in 2011

As of October 26, 2011 there was 1 sale pending: a 2669 sq. ft. bank owned colonial asking $229,900 and 1 active listing: a 1603 sq. ft. ranch asking $218,000- a non-distressed sale.

If you are considering buying in The Preserve you might want to get off the fence and contact your agent (preferably ME) and start a daily update for new listings. As agents we are able to check individual neighborhoods on a daily basis. Personally, I check ALL new listings and status changes for Lake Orion on a daily basis. Knowing my market is part of my job.

Lake Orion MI Homes For Sale

Search the MLS

Jackie Hawley
Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston
Cell: (248) 736-6407

Email: Jackie@JackieHawley.com

Am I Overpaying?

Am I Overpaying? Is the listing overpriced? What is the house worth?

All questions, or variations of questions, most buyers ask when buying a house. They are valid questions with not easy or pat answer. The value of the home depends on your point of view.

Webster defines “value” as “a fair return or equivalent in goods, services, or money for something exchanged” or “the monetary worth of something.”

Out of everything that is currently on the market: Is it the best house for you, with an asking price you would be comfortable paying? If you were assured the asking price is fair, would you feel like you were settling with this particular house? If the house is everything you were hoping for in your price range, then you’re not overpaying.

Websters defines “market value” as “a price at which both  buyers and sellers are willing to do business.”

Now that doesn’t mean it will appraise. Appraisals are usually needed to get a mortgage.

My definition of “appraised value” is “a price determined by a licensed appraiser who is following both government and lender guidelines.”

Some of the rules appraisers have to follow for most residential loans, that can and do affect “value” are (among others):

• they are limited on the amount of value they can give outbuildings
• they are limited on the amount of value they can give to land when buying a home on acreage
• they are limited on the amount of value they can give for upgrades such as top of the line windows, 50 year warranted roof, finished basements, crown molding, upgraded cabinets, flooring, light or plumbing fixtures…..

Other factors that can affect the appraised value are the lack of comparable sales. If you are selling a custom lakefront home on a lake that has had mostly cheap foreclosure sales, converted cottages, the appraisal could come in low. Especially if the house is on one of the more desirable lakes- the sold comps for more custom homes may come from a less desirable lake and there’s really no way to adjust value for the lake.

If you are buying a house with a hundred thousand dollar indoor arena and another fifty thousand in oak fencing and 20 acres, the lender expects the seller to give little to no value to the barns, fencing and land.

Do these things have value to the consumer? Are there things about the house you want, that have value to you, that an appraiser may not consider? If so, are you able and prepared to pay the difference if the appraisal comes in below the agreed upon sale price?

If you are unable to pay the difference between appraised value and what the seller is willing to sell for, then we would need to determine an approximate value an appraiser would come in at and not exceed that price in negotiations.

If you are able to pay the difference, you need to decide what the value of a particular house is for you. Basing your purchase solely on appraised value can cost you more in the long run.

Making the Offer

All About Financing

The Home Inspection

Search the MLS

Jackie Hawley
Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston MI

Cell: (248) 73606407

Email: Jackie@JackieHawley.com