Michigan Mortgage

The Tables are Turning

I took a call today from a Dave Ramsey listener who lives in Florida. She’s buying a second home here in Michigan. She loves the snow and the weather in the winter and never gets that in Florida. She misses it and wants to own something here in the North as a second home. After [...]

Now May Be a Good Time to Look at Your Interest Rate

MERS Lawsuit Fouls up Foreclosures

Some foreclosures in Ingham County may have just gotten a lot more complicated. Last month the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems (MERS), a private company, did not have the right to use the state’s “Foreclosure by Advertisement” law to initiate foreclosures. MERS is an electronic registry that tracks servicing rights and [...]

Lemonade, Anyone?

Government looks to increase the FHA minimum down payment. Last month, on May 25th, in the House Financial Services committee meeting, the discussion resumed about increasing the minimum down payment requirement for FHA loans from 3.5% or $3500 on a $100,000 home to 5% or $5000 on a $100,000 home. This idea is gaining traction because FHA loan performance has [...]

Your Home May be the Perfect Rental – Timing is Everything.

I’ve talked with a number of my clients about the following four realities. Many have taken action based on these.

Real Estate is on sale like never before.
You know this already. Most people won’t take advantage of these prices because they can’t see what’s happening around them through the haze of the negative news media and the scare of some impending global gloom and doom. Be that as it may, the fact remains that you could buy your next home, a move up in your own market, for a more favorable price than at any other time in the last 10 to 15 years in most of the country…

Now Is The Time To Rent Out Your Home

I have talked with a number of my clients about the following four realities. Many have taken action based on them…

BUY NOW! Part IV – Supply and Demand & Real Estate Investors

Foreclosure is the name of the game on a couple of levels. First, these are the deals that are attractive to investors because they can get homes at a deep discount. Second, it is the presence of these deals that keep the total market low into the future, which keeps them from reaping the reward from selling the properties.

This is the tricky part – both of the following statements are true…

Buy Now? – Consider Some Facts

The expression Perfect Storm usually has a negative connotation; after all, storms are bad. But in the real estate market today, the perfect storm of price, rates, and incentives may make buying a new home a very good thing…