What is a Clarkston MI Site Condo? The difference between a site condo and a traditional platted sub are mostly technical. Back in the day, when Clarkston MI was growing like a weed, many developers were going the site condo route to develop their Clarkston MI subdivisions because it was much quicker.   A Clarkston MI single family site condo community looks like a traditional, platted sub. Lot sizes, quality of homes and zoning restrictions are the same as with a platted sub. Buyers receive a warranty deed for their own property and are responsible for the maintenance for their own properties and may landscape as they wish, subject to the Master Deed protections or the more common term “bylaws.” It is not unusual for a typical Clarkston Michigan platted sub to have similar bylaws.   Ho... 12/29/2013

If you are trying to sell your Clarkston MI home in today’s real estate market you have probably read that it’s all location location location. Or possibly price, location and exposure. That last one is one third correct. It’s all about price. Crappy location? Location can always be compensated for by price. Your Realtor took 1 photo and left the remarks section of the MLS listing blank? This too will reflect in the price. Is the house difficult to show? Price will take care of that. Does the house show poorly? Not clean or dated or delayed maintenance? This will also reflect in the price. No matter what market we’re in, price has always been the cure all for deficiencies in a property (house, land, etc). To get the highest price possible for your Clarkston MI home you need to call a go... 09/22/2013

Getting Your Clarkston MI Home Ready for Sale We are not currently in a market where it is worth gutting your kitchen or baths before selling your Clarkston MI house. Those things will make your house easier to sell, but dropping the price by the amount of the cost of a new kitchen or baths would do the same thing and your house will have an easier time appraising. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing you can do to better show off your house without spending a fortune. Unless you live a fairly Spartan lifestyle at home you probably need to de-clutter your house. Rent a storage unit and put everything in it you don’t need for the next few months. I like to read. I have hundreds of books. If I were going to put my house on the market today, I would keep the next 6 books I plan on reading... 09/22/2013

I want to say this is just my opinion.  I say right off the top shame on you - spend the money and hire a local appraiser.  I got this email from an appraiser in California.  He is reviewing a appraisal in Michigan and wanted to know some answers.  I say shame on him.  He should not be reviewing an appraisal if he does not have the tools to do so.  This is what is wrong with the industry.  Out of state appraisers doing a job and doing appraisals without the local knowledge.  Shame on them.  If you do not have access to the local MLS data.... how can you do or review an appraisal?  I'm sorry I'm not going to do your work if you are not ethical enough to tell the company that you work for or pays your bill you that you do not have the information to do a good appraisal.Here is the email._... 03/07/2013

Lake Oakland Lakefront Sales- Prices Continue to Climb! Just like the rest of the North Oakland County area- home prices on Lake Oakland are up and there is a real lack of active listings available. Unit sales are up, average sales price is up, median sales price is up, total sales volume is up.... the amount of distressed sales are down! Units sold: 2010: 142011: 122012: 17 (as of Dec, 4) 2010: sale prices ranged from $95,000-$300,0002011: sale prices ranged from $98,700-$560,0002012: sale prices range from $55,000-$825,000 Average Sales Price: 2010: $194,6772011: $223,3202012: $313,341 Median Sales Price: 2010: $197,0502011: $181,0002012: $245,000 2010: 6 bank owned and 3 short sales2011: 5 bank owned and 1 short sale2012: 3 bank owned and 0 short sales There are currently only 6 acti... 12/06/2012

Clarkston MI Real Estate- Clarkston Home Sales Are Up Clarkston MI home sales are up 21%. The median Clarkston home sales price is also up 5%. There has been $16,259,850 more in residential real estate sales so far in 2012 versus the same time frame in 2011 (the first 3 quarters). Listing inventory (Clarkston homes for sale) is very low. On Oct. 24, 2012 there were only 133 homes for sale in Clarkston MI. With an average of 44 sales per month that is about a 3 month supply of active listings. Distressed home sales (short sales and foreclosures) are down in Clarkston with distressed sales making up 38% of the total sales. In 2011 distressed sales made up 50% of the total home sales in Clarkston, MI. Total Sales Clarkston MI (units): 2012: 3982011: 316 Distressed Sales (units) Clarkston M... 10/24/2012

There is so much more to writing an offer to purchase a home in Clarkston MI than in days of yore. At one time pretty much price ruled. Strength of buyer was important, but not as much as today. Today there are many more factors to consider in a Clarkston MI real estate transaction- is it a short sale, bank owned or good old fashioned non-distressed homeowner/seller? You see more Clarkston houses go pending then back on the market (sometimes this will happen multiple times with one house) than I ever remember seeing. Appraisals are coming in low causing the financing to fall apart. Short sales get denied. The list of reasons for dying sales can go on and on. The more contingencies an offer has, the more chances the sale has to die. Low appraisals is probably one of the biggest reasons s... 06/12/2012

What Does BATVI Mean? Clarkston MI Real Estate Simply- Buyer Agent To Verify Information. This is also known as an ass covering, or in my opinion, a waste of precious space in the limited space allotted in the MLS. If you are buying a Clarkston MI short sale listing, beware of listings where the listing agent fills out the listing in a shoddy manner, such as wasting space in the comments, not filling out the remarks section at all, inaccurate listing information, etc. Remember, the listing agent is the person we are relying on to complete the short sale to the banks' and seller's approval. If he can't fill out the listing, how successful will his short sale negotiations be? If you are selling a Clarkston MI home, check your MLS sheet to make sure it is complete and accurate and all 25 p... 06/01/2012

Middle Lake inClarkston, Michigan are mainly older lake homes.  The acreage of these homes are not going to be very large.  They range from 60' to over 180' lake frontage. Middle Lake inClarkston, Michigan is a private lake, more of a large pond, with 23 acres in size.   Pontoons are permitted on the lake.  There is no public access or public beach.    Middle Lake in Clarkston, Michigan has about 20 homes on the lake.  The lake homes range fron 1500-2500 square feet.  The more luxury type homes are on Deer Lake, right down the street.   Other lakes in Clarkston and Independence Twp are Deer Lake, Big Lake, Greens Lake,  Lester Lake, and Van Norman Lake. Middle Lake is located in Clarkston Township Oakland County MI.  It is East of White Lake Rd, West of Main St and North of Dixie Highwa... 05/29/2012

Deer Lake in Independence Township, Michigan is a nice all sports lake that has many varieties of  water front properties. There are 1000-7000 square foot lake homes around the lake.  Most of the homes on Deer Lake in Independence Township, Michigan were built after the 1960's.  Deer Lake home styles consist of cape cods, colonial style homes, ranches and split levels.   Deer Lake in Independence Township, Michigan have some larger homes which sit up on the hill and overlook the lake with some great views. Most homes on the lake are over 2000 square feet.  That is one of the nice benefits of living on Deer Lake in Independence Township is that you can find homes with bigger lots.  There are lake properties with 3, 5, 7, and 12 acres.  Some of the small ones are a 1/4, and a 1/2 are in s... 05/16/2012

Bridge Lake in Clarkston Michigan is a beautiful lake to live on.  Clarkston, Michigan is a great city to raise a family and is in the Clarkston School District. Bridge Lake in Clarkston, Michigan have homes on Hillcrest, Lakeshore, and Cobblestone that face the lake but there is woods and marsh land in some spots between the lake and the houses. Most of the lands surrounding the lake is natural. There is one commercial property that is very close to Bridge Lake inClarkston, Michigan.   05/15/2012

Clarkston MI Home Sales Up- AGAIN!! Can we stop calling this a declining market? I've been hearing on the news lately how foreclosure filings are up in the Detroit area. I wish the media would separate Oakland County from the Detroit area. What exactly is the "Detroit Area" anyway? When listening to the news it seems to range from anywhere in Southeast Michigan to all of Michigan. Sometimes I think they just make stuff up. The "true" housing stats are as follows- at least for the Clarkston area. Sales are up from last year. Sales are up from 2010 and 2009. The first quarter sales for the "Clarkston area" which I define by searching the MLS for Clarkston schools with sales over $10,000 to weed out the lease sales are as follows: 2012: 129 units sold2011: 101 units sold2010: 106 units sol... 05/02/2012

The Job of a Buyer's Agent in Southeast Michigan Many agents seem to have the idea that the primary job of a buyer's agent is to get the seller to come down on his asking price. The more you can get the seller down, the better you've done your job. NOT!! Here in the North Oakland County and surrounding areas there is such a lack of inventory that when you (the buyer) find a house the objective at this point is to get the house. There's a good chance you will be in a multiple offer situation. Or if you wait too long you will be in a multiple offer situation. Why would you want to settle for your second or third choice of home because you lost out on the house you really wanted- but your agent felt the need to flex and either encouraged you to write a low offer or didn't try to talk you o... 04/06/2012

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 ... 02/13/2012

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 perspec... 02/08/2012

Lake Oakland Lakefront Home Sales- Great News If You're Selling! Buyers- Play Games And You May Lose Out! Good news for current homeowners on Lake Oakland in Clarkston and Waterford MI. Prices are up and homes are selling quickly. If you want to live or own a cottage on Lake Oakland, you may need to wait for the right house to come up, but when it does, don't hesitate or play games with the offer price or you may never get that house. Or worse you may end up in a Lake Oakland home in a year when prices are higher and interest rates will probably be higher, too! The average sales price in 2011 was up 13% from 2010. Most houses sold within a few per cent of asking price if they didn't sell for full price or more. Of the 12 sales on Lake Oakland in 2011 5 homes sold for full price or more.... 02/02/2012

Clarkston 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 com... 01/15/2012

Commonly Asked Questions - Clarkston MI Home Purchase- What is the Deposit For? How Much Should it Be? When you make an offer on a house in Clarkston 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 ... 01/13/2012

Independence Oaks County Park, Clarkston MI Offers Something for Everybody Year 'Round The last couple summers I took my continuing education (6 hours/year for license renewal) at Independence Oaks County Park with another real estate office. There is no better way to learn dry legal updates than in the middle of 1100 acres overlooking a lake. Independence Oaks County Park is located at 9501 Sashabaw Rd, Clarkston MI about 2 /12 miles north of I-75 exit 89. Independence Oaks consists of 1088 acres with 68 acre Crooked Lake, about 10 miles of marked nature and ski trails, overnight camping area, boat launch (non motorized boats) and boat rental. Picnic areas, ball field, sand volleyball courts, playground. horseshoe pits... For the bird lover Independence Oaks boasts an extensive bluebir... 01/12/2012

Clarkston MI Home Buyer- "Highest" and "Best" Are Not Synonyms True story: A friend of mine, who is also a Realtor, wrote an offer on a house for herself. The house is a short sale, and my friend made a fair offer. The listing agent called to tell my friend that there were other offers, and hers wasn't the highest, and did my friend want to increase her offer. My friend (did I mention she is an EXCELLENT agent) pointed out that her offer was within 10% of asking price, that the comps bore it out, and it still had to appraise in 3-6 months in a declining market. That she was willing to look at a reasonable counter offer if the lien holders needed a higher pay off. AND that she was willing to buy the appliances or lawn tractor- up to $10,000. She pointed out that this particular lien hold... 01/08/2012