Michigan Real Estate

Announcing my new website ...

Experienced Home Loans is a website dedicated to the people of Michigan. There has been enough negative talk about Michigan in the national media, local media, and among those who live here. I say enough is enough, it's time to be proud of Michigan!

Before telling you more about this exciting site, let me give you a brief background of myself that may explain a lot. I'm senior loan officer at a prominent bank. I got into the business with intentions on doing most (if not all) of my business over the Internet, and that is exactly what I've done. I have been writing loans all over the country. I've written loans in California, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, Missouri, Mississippi, Tennessee, Kentucky, the Carolinas, Florida, Georgia, New York, New Jersey ... you get the picture. Not much in Michigan though.

At one of our sales meetings towards the end of the year, everybody was down in the dumps, business was getting slow, and everyone was becoming more interested in the Internet and how to draw more business in from outside the state. I started to share some of my ideas, and as I did, the idea that I wanted to focus exclusively on Michigan hit me like a bolt of energizing lightening!

First of all, I like it here. It's my home. I like the outdoors, the lakes, the snowmobiling, and the culture. I'm a banker. I have a degree in finance and I trained on Wall Street, but you know what? I don't wear, no, I don't own a red "power" tie. I don't even own a suit that fits me. Gasp! On a Saturday afternoon, I'm wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, boots, and a Lion's cap. I'm just a regular guy. And that's the amazing beauty of our Michigan culture! Nobody expects us to "look" or "play" our roles all the time. Nobody cares! We leave that hoopla for LA/Hollywood and New York.

We have one of the more, if not most relaxed cultures in America!

So while my competition moves to gain business outside Michigan, I'm moving to gain business inside Michigan! My start is the website. Yes, it's generally a mortgage website, but isn't that what you'd want if you're looking for a mortgage? What's different starts with its theme. Say what you will, but Detroit is the heart and soul of Michigan. We love cars! We love trucks! We love horsepower!

Next, you'll find a section dedicated to real estate listings in Michigan. Yes, I know there are approximately 10 million places to list your home today on the Internet, but how many of those are hosted by someone dedicated to the success of Michigan? Just one that I can think of ... Michigan Realty Listings. Oh, and by the way ... your listings are free! Just sign up and go for it! And while it may be in beta stage now, don't let that stop you from posting your listings. This is a community effort, we're all helping each other.

Let me just say it. Please post your listings on my site. It would really help me make this successful, and I want you to know that your feedback is invaluable too, so please email me any thought you may have.

You will benefit too! It'll provide you with additional links back to your main page, increased exposure of yourself and your properties, and lot's of good karma. I promise.

I have a section dedicated to the many fun things Michigan has to offer (facts and trivia too). If you have any ideas, or stuff you think should be added, just let me know. Send an email (via "contact" on the site). And don't let a "commercial" idea stop you. If it represents Michigan well, I'll put it on the site - free. I can't stress this enough - this is about the community! It's about Michigan! I make money helping good people get good loans, not selling web space.

Since I'm still in beta format, please be patient because many more things are coming. Remember, I'm a banker, not a web master. I have some special ideas that will really help Realtors, and I have some awesome ideas that will help Independent Sellers too. You two aren't in competition with each other. Get over it. We all live in the same community, so let's band together, do business with each other, and turn this economy around!

Experienced Home Loans

Michigan Realty Listings

Disclaimer: This website and everything related to it is the personal creation of Michael Todd and is not sponsored, endorsed, or implied to be sponsored or endorsed by Flagstar Bank in any way. I choose to be a Senior Loan Officer at Flagstar Bank because I believe in the bank, I believe in the way they do business, and I believe they offer the single best platform for offering straightforward, no pressure mortgage advice in the country. You can find my Flagstar Bank sponsored website here.

'07 home-price fall is largest in 20 years

Largest drop in 20 years? What's everybody waiting for? My guess is everybody's waiting until prices are heading up. Of course, nobody will notice an upward price trend until it has become, well, a trend. And we all know what that means ... people must be waiting to pay higher prices. - MT



Prices of existing homes plummeted nationally through 2007, ending the year down 8.9% -- the largest decline in 20 years, according to data released Tuesday.

In comparison, home prices fell 2.8% during the 1990-91 housing recession, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.

"We reached a somber year-end for the housing market in 2007," said Robert J. Shiller, a Yale University professor and chief economist of MacroMarkets LLC. "Wherever you look things are bleak, with 17 of the 20 metro areas reporting annual declines and the remaining three reporting flat or moderate growth rates."

In metro Detroit, home prices fell 13.6% through the end of December compared with a year ago.

Cindy Kozlowski, a real estate agent with Max Broock Realtors in Rochester, said the 13.6% figure sounds a little higher than what she's been seeing in Oakland County's upscale neighborhoods.

"I'd say it is between 8% to 10%. They are factoring in the actual Detroit area, which is a completely different market," she said Tuesday. "They have more foreclosures than we have in Oakland County."

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Zell Sees Start of Housing Recovery

I agree with Zell. It's almost like people feed off of negativity today. I'm not saying the real estate market hasn't been hit hard. I'm saying it's been getting hit hard for going on three years. The market decline may only be 3 months old to the general media, but for the rest of us, housing has been in decline for 3 years. - mt

Zell Sees Start of Housing Recovery in the Spring

The US economy will avoid recession as the housing market begins to recover this spring, according to billionaire investor Sam Zell.

Speaking on "Squawk Box" this morning, Zell attributed much of the current economic troubles to fear-mongering and politicking by Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama.

"Obviously what we have going on is an attempt to create a self-fulfilling prophecy," said Zell, chairman of Equity Investments Group and owner of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Tribune, Los Angeles Times and other companies. "We have two Democratic candidates who are vying with each other to describe the economic situation worse.

"The reality is that if you live on Wall Street and you're in the credit markets the world couldn't be worse. If you're a farmer and you're getting $25 for your wheat, you're having a great time. If you're a CEO and you've got a balance sheet that's bullet-proof, you're in a great position. This whole thing is way out of control, way out of hand."

Zell said that although he doesn't try to pick bottoms in markets he believes housing has hit its nadir and will turn around this spring as inventory clears out.

As for the credit situation, he projected that once markdowns are out of the way banks will begin to regain their footing.

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The Bottom?

I think we are much closer to the bottom than we are to the top. People who buy today are not going to be disappointed 5 years from now. - mt

Sales of Existing Homes and Prices Both Fall in January

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sales of existing homes fell for the sixth straight month in January, dropping to the slowest sales pace on record. Median home prices were also down and many analysts predicted further price declines in the months ahead given high levels of unsold homes.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that sales of single-family homes and condominiums dropped by 0.4 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.89 million units. That was the slowest sales pace, going back to 1999, and was seen as evidence that the steepest slump in housing in a quarter-century has yet to hit bottom.

The median price of a home sold in January slid to $201,100, a drop of 4.6 percent from a year ago. Particularly alarming, analysts said, was the fact that the inventory of unsold homes jumped to a 10.3 months' supply, meaning it would take that long to sell the 4.19 million homes on the market at the January sales pace.

That was up from 9.7 months in December and just below a two-decade high of 10.5 months hit in October. During the peak of the housing boom in 2005, the supply of homes relative to sales stood at 4.5 months.

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Michigan: My Home

It's been quite awhile since I've posted, yet in the scheme of life, it was just a short time ago. So much has happened in my life it's crazy. The truth is, over the last 60 days, I've been through about 20 years of stuff. I'm just grateful to be here, alive and well, and doing better than ever.

Since it's been a couple months, I'm going to skip my promised article, and probably skip most of the economics all together. I have a passion for economics (hey, what can I say?), but I'm no Walter Williams. I can't explain it all in his simple, common sense manner. What I can do though is talk about stuff I like, and that's exactly what I'm gonna do here.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm tired of hearing all the negativity about Michigan. It's a bunch of bunk and it permeates the collective consciousness until all hope seems lost. I'd love a bunch of responses to this post, even those who disagree, but come up with something better than the "autos are laying people off/offering early retirements". Why? Because I'm 39 years old and I've heard that argument as long as I've been alive. I think 39 years of false predictions of hopelessness should be enough for anybody to realize that fallacy.

Markets go up. Markets go down.

As sure as the sun will rise in the morning, and set again at night, the markets will rise and fall.

Think about Michigan for just a little while. We have the Great Lakes! The largest sources of fresh water on the planet! Period. Amazing natural wonders unique only to us. We love the outdoors in Michigan. Who doesn't love "going up north"? Who else has that? We have some of the most amazing beaches, forests, lakes, rivers ... trails ... we have the largest groomed trail system in the United States with more than 6000 miles of trails! It's a blast for atv and orv's, but it's the ultimate in snowmobiling. I have snowmobiled from as far east as Upstate New York to as far west as the Rocky Mountains. As crazy as it may sound, the UP blows away the Rocky Mountains.

Has anyone been to Royal Oak lately? The place is booming! The Fifth Royal Oak will absolutely blow you away! I couldn't believe it myself, so go take a look for yourself. Realtors! Go check the place out! You may think I'm exaggerating, and that's okay. When you experience the place, you'll know I'm being conservative. And I mean this is the type of place that someone like Jennifer Aniston would own in NY City. There is simply nothing like it anywhere in Michigan.

I've read about some new office developments coming to town. These will help drive traffic to the local stores. I like to eat and be entertained, so I'm thrilled about Ronin, the new restaurant next to the Royal Oak Music Theatre. The food and atmosphere are simply incredible! The theatre is under stellar management and is bringing in more and more top-notch acts with better consistency, and you can see its popularity growing again. And anyone who's seen a good show at the theatre knows about Tania's awesome pizza right next door.

Drive around the neighborhoods of Royal Oak. More and more people are putting some investment into their homes and property. That's a good sign! People like it and are happy! People aren't "walking away" around here. Now as you're driving the neighborhoods, notice all the "for sale" signs, start looking, and get yourself a deal! Home prices are incredibly good right now. You're practically "getting away with something" at today's prices, particularly in Royal Oak.

Oh ... that's right, you're gonna wait to catch the bottom. Just like you caught the top too ... right?

I'm like Indiana Jones searching for that crystal ball, yet I've never found it. Why? Because there is no crystal ball. You have to make the right choice for you, at the time that is right for you. What the media says about "the market" doesn't dictate your life.

All I know is that if you're a first-time home buyer, or you've been leasing for the last two or three years ... prices for housing are low, and mortgage rates are low too. That's a one-two punch! Now is the time to take advantage of the situation and do something good for yourself. You deserve it! Go find yourself a home!

Homeowner Tax Relief Extended

Homeowners with a new mortgage that is covered by insurance can claim a tax break on the insurance for the first time this year.

The new break, called the qualified mortgage insurance deduction, lets taxpayers with an adjusted gross income of less than $100,000 write off the full cost of mortgage insurance. Folks who earn less than $109,000 can take a write-off for part of it.

To qualify, the mortgage must have originated between 2007 and 2010. The deduction can be taken for insurance on a principal residence or a second home.

Introduced by the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, the break initially applied only to the 2007 tax year, but it was extended through 2010 by the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007.

"It's something we will definitely ask our clients about," said Jackie Perlman, senior tax research coordinator at H&R Block Inc. "If you come in and say you bought a home, we'll be checking it out and making sure you get that deduction."

The mortgage-insurance deduction will help first-time home buyers who are unable to put down 20%. Typically, "if you put down less than 20% down, that's where the lender would require private mortgage insurance," said Katie Monfre, a spokeswoman for Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corp., a private mortgage insurer in Milwaukee owned by MGIC Investment Corp.

On average, the annual tax break from the deduction will be worth around $350 per taxpayer, according to the Mortgage Insurance Companies of America, which represents mortgage insurers.

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Whose side are they on?

Government efforts to stem foreclosures mean fewer chances for people priced out of the market.

Some people are cheering for a plunge in local housing prices: Those who watched the market rocket skyward and waited patiently for the return trip, resisting the temptation to spend more than they could afford.

Linda Werbner and Mark Muzeroll sat out the boom in a small Lynn condominium. Now they're eyeing the housing market "longingly but cautiously," Linda said, hoping for "a slew of homes to be had for a song."

They'd like to buy a small Colonial where Mark, a piano teacher, can play a partita at 2 a.m.

In Boston and other hyper-expensive markets, the surge in foreclosures and the resulting drop in prices isn't bad for everyone. Government efforts to limit foreclosures have the effect of favoring people who want to stay in their homes over the people who want to move in next.

Tom Callahan, executive director of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance, said he's torn by concern for homeowners, but "our hope for home buyers is that the market softens somewhat.

"When a market has been as hot as it's been for the last while, your hope is for prices to come down," he said.

Prices in the Boston area more than doubled between 1995 and 2005, even adjusting for inflation. Lax lending standards played a big part. Sellers raised prices, and buyers easily borrowed the wanted money.

By 2005, the area's median housing price was $492,000. Under federal standards, such a home was affordable to families making at least $135,000 a year. The area's median family income: $82,600.

Many families chose to stretch, agreeing to monthly mortgage payments that consumed a larger share of income than the recommended 28 percent - often a much larger share. Many of them are now are facing foreclosure.

Werbner and Muzeroll chose not to stretch. Werbner is a social worker. Muzeroll teaches piano. In 2003, the couple paid $155,000 for a 750-square-foot condo, with comfortable monthly payments. They watched the housing boom lift Lynn. Abandoned industrial buildings became desirable residential lofts. Prices went up, up, and away. New residents came flooding in. Then they watched the market start to collapse. Desirable residential lofts became difficult to sell. Prices started plunging. Residents started leaving.

They began dreaming about buying a sin gle-family home this spring.

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6 cures for the small-kitchen blues

Expand your kitchen without breaking the bank using these simple solutions from Money Magazine

(Money Magazine) -- Sure, you order takeout three nights a week, and preparing a burger tests the limits of your culinary know-how. But that doesn't mean you don't need and deserve a spacious kitchen. After all, the kitchen has evolved from a room where food is prepared to the hub of a house, where you do everything from eating casual meals to paying the bills and helping Junior with his algebra homework.

Plus, as long as you stick within the norms of the neighborhood, a kitchen expansion is one of the best ways to increase your property value, says Omaha appraiser John Bredemeyer, a spokesman for the Appraisal Institute. "A lot of people buy the kitchen and take the house that comes along with it," he says. "So going from a cooking kitchen to an entertaining kitchen is likely to pay for itself when you sell your house someday."

Best of all, you don't necessarily have to shell out the $50,000 to $100,000 cost of a kitchen addition. Here are some money-saving tricks for enlarging the kitchen - or at least making it seem bigger:

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Realtor eyes stabilizing housing in ‘08

It’s not been a fun year for local Realtors, who’ve had a front-row seat for a market turning from hot to cold seemingly overnight. Bill Nelson, ‘07 president of the 14,000-member Pacific West Association of Realtors, was kind enough to tell us what his eyeball is seeing out there …

Eyeball: Your outlook for the O.C. housing market for 2008?
Bill: Homeownership has historically been an excellent long-term investment, providing both equity and tax benefits over time, and we see no change in that outlook. 2007 will be the fifth best housing year on record, despite public apprehension about the real estate market. In fact, 2007 practically mirrors the home sales and price gains experienced in 2002, when consumers were very confident about the market. Realtors believe that investors and first-time buyers taking advantage of today’s market opportunities will bolster both the pace of the market and home values in 2008.

Eyeball: Chances we’ll see a bottom in 2008?
Bill: We believe the market will stabilize in 2008. Pent-up demand, coupled with an abundance of safer mortgage products will lead to market improvements. Further, conditions are ideal for buyers. Prices have moderated and interest rates are approaching 40-year lows. It’s the belief that many economists that foreclosures will slow dramatically by the third quarter of 2008. As that inventory is absorbed, we anticipate stabilization of the market.

Eyeball: What events might change your outlook, pro or con?
Bill: The market would receive a big boost if, as part of FHA reform, the confirming loan limits were raised to a point more commensurate with home prices, allowing more new buyers to enter the market. Additionally, the Mortgage Debt Relief Act could significantly slow mortgage loan defaults, thus reducing inventory. Real estate is a supply and demand business. Less inventory tends to stabilize and even increase prices. The market would be hurt if the proposed “fixes” fail to materialize.

Eyeball: Any “off-beat” economic indicator you’re watching now for signs of recovery?
Bill: At the Pacific West Association of Realtors, we can tell what’s happening in the market based upon what products are selling in our real estate store. When the open house signs get dusty and sold signs start flying off the shelf, we’ll know the shift is upon us.

Eyeball: What might be the housing surprise we’ll be talking about a year from now?
Bill: The major surprise a year from now could be that we are back in a period of rapid housing appreciation, and buyers who are now on the fence regret not taking advantage of the tremendous opportunities of 2008. A year from now, home buyers and sellers understand that buying a house is a long term investment, not a substitute ATM machine. They understand the facts about homeownership.

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Chicken for the Brave

In this crazy real estate market, sometimes you've got to step away and have a good laugh.

Snacking on a wing and a prayer

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A Chicago tavern said on Thursday it will begin selling chicken wings coated in one of the world's hottest peppers -- a dish so hot that patrons first have to sign a waiver agreeing not to sue for injuries.

Jake Melnick's Corner Tap said the wings made with Red Savina pepper will be served with an alarm bell for patrons to summon waiters with sour cream, milk sugar and white bread if things get out of hand.

Levy Restaurants, which owns the tavern, said its chef d'Cuisine Robin Rosenberg had been working on the concept for years but was never sure he'd be able to serve it.

"This isn't the right sauce for everyone, but for someone out there, this is going to be absolute heaven. Of course, for a handful of people, it's going to be hell," he said.

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The Best Time to Plant a Tree

This morning when I woke up, I remembered a Chinese proverb that goes like this:

“The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The second best time is today.”

Lots of people make resolutions on New Year’s Day. Unfortunately the best intentions in the world easily get laid aside once we have to go back to work tomorrow. Life has a way of intruding on our desire to make a new start. We want to be better or different or to break out of a rut or to take a risk or to break a bad habit or end a negative relationship or set out in a new direction. I’ll bet half the people in America want to lose weight this year.

And this time they really mean it!

We want to be like Valerie Bertinelli or Dan Marino or that other guy on the commercial who lost weight and declares, “My wife says I’m not as repulsive now.” Well, that’s a start.

Or maybe this is the year you want to plow some new ground spiritually.

You could read through the Bible in 2008.
You could decide to be baptized.
You could join a short-term missions trip.
You could memorize Romans 8.
You could get involved in a small group.
You could take an online course in how to study the Bible.
You could start a prayer journal.
You could help start a Moms in Touch group.
You could pick 10 good books you want to read this year.
You could stop making excuses and join a church.
You could join the choir.
You could start praying for 3 friends to come to Christ.
You could read “My Utmost For Highest Highest” by Oswald Chambers
You could listen to Christian music while you work out.
You could volunteer to help out at a local public school.
You could try to heal a broken relationship.
You could fast one day a week.
You could pray for an unreached people group.
You could volunteer to help the sound team at your church.
You could visit your local jail once a month.
You could ask God to help you grow in patience (or joy or courage) this year.

What holds us back? Very often it is the feeling that no matter what we do, we’ll be the same a year from now as we are today. When we look back on failed resolutions from the past, it’s easy and very human to think, “What’s the use? I’ll never change.” And it’s true that most diets that start today will end by Friday. And lots of people who pledge to stop smoking will break their pledge later today. Stopping something bad and starting something good is always hard. That’s why most of us stay the way we are.

This is Day 1 of 365 days that come gift-wrapped from heaven. And you have the privilege today of starting over again–or at least making some changes you know you need to make.

Don’t let past failures hold you back. Before this day is over, jot down some goals you’d like to accomplish in 2008. Write them down. Print them out. Put the list where you can see it at least once a week.

Go ahead. Plant a tree. Put that seed in the ground. Yes, you should have done it yesterday, but yesterday is gone forever so don’t worry about what might have been.

Just do it.

The best time to plant a tree is twenty years ago. The next best time is today.

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