Site Updates and Overhauls

Over the next several days I will be making significant changes to this blog. Many of the posts were written when the housing market was down and distressed sales were the norm (foreclosures and short sales).

Tags and categories were assigned accordingly.

We now appear to be back to a normal market, and I am rearranging tags, categories and posts to better “educate” and opine on more current topics. I will be recycling some posts that are still relevant. Many will be updated. And of course there will be new posts.

I also have several other blogs and will be writing posts for this blog that are specific to the Lake Orion area. The other blogs will be more specific to other areas. There is also one just about purchasing, another about selling and one specific to lakefront real estate. Once I get them all going again and better organized, I will be attempting to posts links to other blog posts.

Any feedback about the updates is greatly appreciated.

No reason for the photo- I just like it.

Why Are You Getting An FHA Mortgage For Your Lake Orion Home Purchase?

When a Lake Orion home buyer comes to us with a pre-approval letter for an FHA mortgage we will ask both you and your loan officer “Why FHA?”

It’s not that we are FHA snobs or don’t want to work with FHA buyers, but FHA does come with its own baggage. Baggage that affects you the buyer, not me or anybody on my team. We are very experienced dealing with FHA buyers, and FHA is a good program for the right buyer. But it’s not for everybody.

FHA is good if you have bruised credit; it is a program that is more forgiving of less than perfect credit. And what better way to repair credit than making a house payment on time for a few years since your house payment will probably be lower than the rent you are currently paying.

Some people need to go FHA because of their debt to income ratios. FHA allows you to carry more debt than conventional mortgages do.

But if your reason for going FHA is solely because of down payment you may want to find another lender. A big part of a loan officer’s job is to fit you with the loan that is best for you.

Two of the biggest issues with FHA loans from the buyer perspective: 1) Many sellers have heard too many horror stories and are somewhat biased against FHA buyers. You want your offer to be as strong as possible and an FHA offer will make you come across as a weak buyer. 2) You will be paying mortgage insurance for the entire life of the loan.

Until recently if you could show 20% equity after a couple years, you could drop the mortgage insurance from your FHA mortgage. But the rules changed last year and if you want to drop the mortgage insurance you need to re-finance to a conventional loan. And with today’s rates under 4% do you really think you will get that rate in a few years?

There are now conventional mortgages with as low as a 3% down payment. Once you find a house you can lock into today’s low low super low rates and not wonder and hope for the next 3 or 4 years that the rates don’t go up a per cent or two.

www.Search-The-MLS.net

www.JackieHawleyRealtor.com

photo from Raymond Bryson Flickr

Orion Oaks County Park and Lake Orion Bark Park

Lake Orion Bark Park is a 24 acre section of Orion Oaks County Park. Please take 2 minutes to watch the video below for aerial photography. For more information about Lake Orion, MI real estate and homes for sale please visit my web site www.Lake-Orion-Homes.com. And please subscribe to my YouTube Channel.

Why I Like Zillow

They are well optimized so my Lake Orion listings get good exposure.

And their Lake Orion  Zestimates are SOOOOOOO wrong!!

The first is a no brainer. Free exposure with a pretty decent format. My Lake Orion MI listings are attractively displayed with multiple photos and a good description. I can edit the photos and text, and it allows me to link a virtual tour.

Many agents belly ache that we are giving our listing data over too easily just for Zillow to sell leads to other agents. This is true, but there is nothing I can do about that. Most sellers would not be happy if I excluded Zillow from displaying their listing. And I don’t blame them. So for now I take the free advertising.

Many agents have also been whining lately about the inaccuracy of Zillow’s Zestimates or estimated house values for Lake Orion MI homes. And they are correct. Most of the estimated home values on Zillow are crap. From my perspective this is a good thing. It bolsters my belief that sellers and buyers still need us. If a computer program can accurately price a home, it greatly reduces the need for real estate agents and appraisers.

So in my mind Zillow is a good thing- further proof for the need of a real estate professional and free advertising on a highly ranked web site.

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel

Thinking of Selling

Thinking of Buying

www.Search-The-MLS.net

Jackie Hawley, Realtor

ReMax Encore

Cell: (248)736-6407

www.MiRelocation.com 

Lake Orion MI Home Purchase – What is the Deposit? How Much Should it Be?

Lake Orion MI Home Purchase – What is the Deposit? How Much Should it Be?

When you  make an offer on a house in Oakland County Michigan one of the questions I will ask you is: How much of a deposit to you want to give me? Partially because it is a space on the purchase agreement that needs to be filled in, but mostly the size of the deposit shows the seriousness of your offer.

The EMD AKA earnest money deposit AKA good faith deposit AKA deposit ties you to the agreement. Once the offer has been accepted I need to have that check deposited within 48 hours (2 business days). You get the deposit money back if any of the contingencies fail to clear; e.g. you find problems on the home inspection and wish to cancel the purchase agreement, you are entitled to get your deposit back.

If all the contingencies are cleared and you just change your mind and want to walk away from the house, you lose your deposit and it would go to the seller. The larger the deposit is, the less likely you will walk for no reason. Or because you found a “better” home to purchase. From the seller’s perspective if you only have $500 at risk there is nothing to keep you from continuing to look at new listings and walking from the sale if you find something better. If you have $5,000 or $10,000 or more at risk, you are more likely to proceed to closing.

There are typically 4-6 weeks between writing the offer and closing. In between contingencies are being cleared; typically the home inspection, clean title supplied by the seller, and obtaining your mortgage which takes the bulk of the 4-6 week time frame. Once we proceed to closing your earnest money deposit is credited against your closing costs and down payment.

So basically, when making an offer to purchase a home in Oakland County MI bigger is better when it comes to the deposit.

Search the MLS

What to Expect From Your Lake Orion Buyer’s Agent

Financing Your Lake Orion Home Purchase

Buying a Lake Orion Foreclosure or Short Sale

Jackie Hawley, Realtor
ReMax Encore, Clarkston MI
Cell: 248-736-6407
Jackie@JackieHawley.com

www.MiRelocation.com

www.OaklandCountyMichiganLakes.com

www.LakeOrionLakefrontRealEstate.com

Homes for Sale Lake Orion MI 

What Exactly Are Lakefront Taxes? Is There a Lake Tax in Lake Orion?

What Exactly are Lakefront Taxes? Is There a Lake Tax in Lake Orion?

I’m in the middle of a home search for a buyer transferring to Lake Orion MI. I came across a listing that states you can get lakefront home without the lakefront taxes. In reality it’s an off the water house with a separate parcel on the water with a dock, but that’s not the issue. The issue is- What the hell are lakefront taxes??!!

Taxes in Lake Orion, Michigan are based on the taxable value. The taxable value is based on what the state equalized value (SEV) was at the time of purchase. The SEV is supposed to equal half of market value. There is NOT EXTRA TAX FOR BEING ON A LAKE!! Your assessment may be higher than if you live in the same house off the water. MAY be higher. The same house on 20 acres may be valued higher than if it were on the lake and taxed accordingly.

At times, I have buyer clients comment about paying lake taxes. I understand when someone who doesn’t earn a living selling real estate has misconceptions about how homes are taxed. However, it is inexcusable when fellow “professionals” don’t know what they’re talking about and even go so far as to publish their ignorance for all to read.

Jump ahead a day. After writing what’s above I have spoken to a few Realtors who I respect ,and a couple of them thought there was a higher tax on the water. So I called the Township Hall to verify. Got laughed at and told there is no special tax for living on a lake- just an assessment to reflect the value of living on the water.

For more about calculating your new property taxes when you purchase your home

How the current taxes can affect your buying power

Lake Orion MI

Lakefront Homes For Sale in Lake Orion MI

Search the MLS

Jackie Hawley
ReMax Encore, Clarkston
Cell: (248)736-6407

Jackie@JackieHawley.com

www.MiRelocation.com

Bald Mountain Recreation Area, Lake Orion Michigan

Bald Mountain Recreation Area, Lake Orion Michigan

Bald Mountain Recreation Areais comprised of 4 separate parcels totaling 4637 acres in Orion and Oakland Townships. Click here for map. This unique property is open to the public by permit and consists of 15 miles of biking trails, 7 miles of snowmobile trails, 8 miles of trails groomed for cross country skiing, picnic areas, a shooting/archery range. There’s a sandy beach and swimming on Lower Trout Lake. Inland lakes offer fishing and Trout Creek and Paint Creek are designated trout streams. The park is open to hunting during regular seasons from Sept. 15 until March 31.

Because of the unique positioning of the 4 parcels, you’re just minutes from state land from just about anywhere in Lake Orion. Several subdivisions butt up to Bald Mountain, and even more neighborhoods within walking distance.

Thinking about moving to Lake Orion, Michigan? Please don’t hesitate to contact me for more community information or for help finding that new home.

Considering a Condo? Figure the Association Fee in Your Pricing

If you have been pre-approved to buy an Lake Orion MI home for X price as long as the property taxes don’t exceed Y doesn’t mean you can qualify for a mortgage for the same price condo. Condominiums in Lake Orion MI tend to have a monthly association fee. If you qualify for a $1200/month house payment that $1200 needs to include the association fee. And they can be pretty hefty.

Now to the defense of condos– the price tends to reflect both the association fees and the perks (maintenance, etc the association takes care of) of condo living. But if you’re qualified to buy a $150K house and having trouble finding what you like, don’t think you can just go buy a $150K condo.

Tomorrow I will be showing a condo in Clarkston MI listed for $155,000 with an association fee of $261 per month. Looking at the listing photos and after reading the description it sounds like a very nice home. Probably nicer than a regular house in the same area. After factoring in the association fee your monthly payment would be about the equivalent of a $200,000 home with no association fee.

So if you are looking for a home in the Lake Orion area and are content with either a house or condo, please consider you will have a different price limit for the condo than for the house.

Jackie Hawley
ReMax Encore
Cell: (248)736-6407
Email: Jackie@JackieHawley.com

Search the MLS

Foreclosures and Short Sales

Choosing a Buyer’s Agent

Writing the Offer

Financing

Home Inspection

Lake Orion MI Home Purchase-Why are the Seller and I Both Paying for Title Work/Insurance?

Lake Orion MI Home Purchase- Why are the Seller and I Both Paying for Title Work/Insurance?

When you get your closing statement you will probably notice charges to both you and the seller for title. A very over simplified way I’ve explained this in the past is that the seller is paying to supply clean title to the house and you are paying to supply clean title for the mortgage company. For example- if you have an IRS lien it can attach to your house and would have first position in front of the bank.

This morning I went to the web site for the title company I prefer my clients use- First American Title – www.FirstAm.com. They have a much more detailed explanation than the one I’m going to offer here.

There are two types of title insurance when there is a purchase with a mortgage. The company you’re borrowing the money from for your mortgage (whether that is a bank, credit union, etc) will require what is called a Loan Policy which protects their interest. The cost is based on the loan amount and is less than the Owner’s Policy which is the part the seller typically pays for.

The Owner’s Policy is usually for the amount of the sale price and protects you, the buyer, if a covered title problem comes up later. Some of the hidden title problems that would be covered can include errors or omissions in deeds, mistakes in examining records, forgery, undisclosed heirs- basically insuring your ability to be able to pass on clean title when you go to resell later.

If you purchase with cash or land contract you will not need the Loan Policy but it is still prudent to get the Owner’s Policy. The few hundred to couple thousand dollar investment is well worth it even if you have a title search performed and find no problems or if you buy from a relative. The Owner’s Policy provides assurance that your title insurance company will stand behind you- monetarily and with legal defense if needed- if a covered title problem arises after you buy your home.

Writing the Offer

Financing the Home Purchase

Buying a Foreclosure or Short Sale Listing

Homes for Sale in Lake Orion MI

Lakefront Homes for Sale in Lake Orion MI

Search the MLS

Jackie Hawley
Keller Williams Realty
Cell: (248) 736-6407
Jackie@JackieHawley.com
www.MiRelocation.com

Commonly Asked Questions – Lake Orion Home Purchase- What is the Deposit For? How Much Should it Be?

Commonly Asked Questions – Lake Orion MI Home Purchase- What is the Deposit For? How Much Should it Be?

When you  make an offer on a house in Lake Orion MI one of the questions I will ask you is: How much of a deposit to you want to give me? Partially because it is a space on the purchase agreement that needs to be filled in, but mostly the size of the deposit shows the seriousness of your offer.

The EMD AKA earnest money deposit AKA good faith deposit AKA deposit ties you to the agreement. Once the offer has been accepted I need to have that check deposited within 48 hours (2 business days). You get the deposit money back if any of the contingencies fail to clear; e.g. you find problems on the home inspection and wish to cancel the purchase agreement, you are entitled to get your deposit back.

If all the contingencies are cleared and you just change your mind and want to walk away from the house, you lose your deposit and it would go to the seller. The larger the deposit is, the less likely you will walk for no reason. Or because you found a “better” home to purchase. From the seller’s perspective if you only have $500 at risk there is nothing to keep you from continuing to look at new listings and walking from the sale if you find something better. If you have $5,000 or $10,000 or more at risk, you are more likely to proceed to closing.

There are typically 4-6 weeks between writing the offer and closing. In between contingencies are being cleared; typically the home inspection, clean title supplied by the seller, and obtaining your mortgage which takes the bulk of the 4-6 week time frame. Once we proceed to closing your earnest money deposit is credited against your closing costs and down payment.

So basically, when making an offer to purchase a home in Lake Orion MI bigger is better when it comes to the deposit.

Search the MLS

Homes For Sale In Lake Orion MI

Choosing a Buyer’s Agent

Writing the Offer

Financing

Buying a Short Sale or Foreclosure Listing

Jackie Hawley
Keller Williams Realty, Clarkston
Cell: (248) 736-6407
Jackie@JackieHawley.com