Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk

Ann Arbor folks looking to rent BEWARE!

Craigslist scammers are out in full force advertising our homes for sale in Ann Arbor and posting them as rentals.

I had three calls this week, from really nice folks looking at one of my homes for sale that they found on craigslist for rent.

For rent for $700.00

It is not for rent.

It is a “short sale.”

I immediately went over and found the home. Reported it, yea that did a lot of good. Then I emailed the person as his email address was front and center.I told him to “Take down the ad.”

In speaking to the people that called, he wanted them to wire the money to Nigeria then he would send them the key. Thank goodness they called me and I was able to tell them it was not for rent.

He told them he did have it listed for sale, with a local Realtor, but decided to rent it. NOT!

Here is what he was sending out when people ask him about the house.

Hello,
I resided in the house with my family, my wife and my only son. Presently we have moved out due to my transfer. Presently my house is still available for rent for $700 (rent already includes utilities).More so Now,I’m currently in Lagos,Nigeria for a missionary work.
As soon as we settled down here, I had a thought of selling the house so I had to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my wife advised against that. So I contacted the agent back and requested for my keys and documents.Later we decided to have the house rented out because of maintenance, we would have given the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with me later if I let him or her know that I’m letting it out because of maintenance.If you notice, you will discover that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the maintenance. Plans has already been made to remove the for sale sign and take it off the market. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won’t be able to see physical before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space. But I just have a feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is mandatory, so if you belief you can take good care of the house and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the house.
The house is available for rent at the moment so you are free to move in as soon as you wish to…A Deposit of $700 (which happens to be the security deposit) is required before moving in…..Feel free to call me for more information and arrangements on how to get the keys and other necessary documents delivered to you.Please if you are ready now to occupy the house and believe you can assist us in maintaining the house, kindly provide the information below for record purpose..

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
Application Form
Full Name__________________________________________________
Home Phone (        ) ________________________
Date of Birth_________________________________
Other Phone (       ) ___________________
Current Address_______________________________Apt#________ City__________________ State______ Zip________
Reasons for Leaving____________________________Rent $__________Phone (       ) ____________________________
Are you married____________________________
How many people will be living in the house____________________________
Do you have a pet____________________________
Do you have a car____________________________
Occupation____________________________
Your Exact move in date____________________________
How soon can you make the deposit payment________________________
How soon do you want to receive the keys and documents of the house________________________

For more inquiries, please feel free to reach me on any of the numbers below
( +234-703-345-1866 OR 011-234-703-345-1866 OR +234-709-521-3144)

Yesterday the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors sent out this notice:

This is one reason I use SentriLock lockboxes on all my listings.

Please be careful, you can search for rentals in Ann Arbor and the surrounding areas on my home search site.

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Ann Arbor homeowners

Washtenaw County has pockets of high radon, so we always have our buyers check during the inspections. If radon is over 4.0 then we ask the sellers to install a Radon Mitigation System. They are between 750.00 t0 800.00 installed.

When you get it installed you can have a meter put on the inside pipe to take a peak at it periodically.

Homes for sale in Ann Arbor

One question we get asked at the Missy Caulk TEAM in Ann Arbor occurs when we are working with a buyer purchasing a foreclosed home.

Buyers ask, “Can I Mark Out Something on a Bank Addendum”?

After your buyer’s offer is accepted on a foreclosure the bank will send over their own addendum’s. It can range from 10-48 pages of Bank Addendum’s.

We strongly encourage our buyers to have their Real Estate Attorney review the bank addendum’s before signing.

Most of the attorneys here in Ann Arbor that I work with are quite familiar with the addendums. Sometimes the buyers would like to mark out a paragraph or change some wording.

We tell them that the bank will not accept scratch throughs or mark-ups and the Attorneys confirm this.

Banks are selling foreclosed houses all over the United States and they have their own forms to make it consistent for them.

Typically the one big hang-up for buyers is the paragraph about not closing on time and the per diem rate if they fail to do so.

The buyers feel out of control and can’t do anything about the promptness of their lender getting it closed on time.

So they ask if they can mark that sentence out?

Nope

“Just stay on top of your lender, make sure all the paper work they ask for it sent to them promptly. Tell them to go ahead and order the appraisal.”

The listing agents on the foreclosed properties say that banks don’t impose the per diem rate “if” it is only a few days late, but there is no guarantees.

There are many advantages in terms of price when purchasing a foreclosed home in Ann Arbor .Not being able to change the bank addendum’s is one area that the buyers must be willing to accept.

I am submitting an offer(?) in the AM for a foreclosed home. It is basically a one page document, more like an application. (Now that is a first for me.)

The listing agent said they will review the application, and if we are chosen, give us 7 days to do inspections. During the 7 days they will not entertain any other offers. If the inspection is fine, then they will send over their bank addendums for us to sign.

Will we be able to change the Bank Addendum’s?

Guess what we will tell them?

Related articles

• Who Chooses the Title Company to Close in Ann Arbor? (annarborrealestatetalk.com)
• Mailing List for Short Sales & Foreclosures in Ann Arbor (annarborrealestatetalk.com)

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Would you like to be on our mailing list to be notified of new Short Sales and Foreclosures in the Ann Arbor Area?

You can fill out the form below and we will send them to you daily as they come on the market. (use the scroll bar to fill in the all the fields and we will get started today)

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Ann Arbor Area Buyers, have you heard of the Energy Efficient Mortgages?

Energy Efficient Mortgages lack of popularity is not because it’s a bad type of loan, but because many loan officers and or lenders don’t know much about them. One could easily associate this type of mortgage with a FHA 203-k loan. But that would be a very bad assumption, because there isn’t much more to an energy efficient mortgage, known as an EEM loan, as opposed to the paperwork and understanding that goes into a 203-k loan.

Money being thrown out the window? Unless you are having a new home built that could be an energy efficient home, in many cases, the older home probably won’t be up to the current standards, which could cost you hundreds of dollars monthly.

Quick history about EEM’s -  HUD states that Congress started a pilot program in 1992 demonstrating the use of energy efficient mortgages, known as EEM’s. (Energy Efficient Mortgages) EEM’s recognize that reduced utility expenses will allow a homeowner to pay a higher mortgage payment to cover the cost of the energy improvements that were financed into the mortgage. A main reason behind the EEM’s program, it offers homeowners who couldn’t initially afford the cost of these energy saving improvements out of pocket, giving them the chance to finance them. These loans can be both done when purchasing a new home or when refinancing. FHA has adopted this into their financing options which allows a borrower to :

• save money monthly
• incorporate the improvement costs into the mortgage
• these improvements are installed after the loan closes
• this program allows you to use normal FHA guidelines with FHA mortgages

How does the Energy Efficient Mortgage program work?

The maximum amount of the portion of the EEM for energy improvements is the lesser of 5% of:

• the value of the property
• 115% of the median area price of a single family dwelling
• 150% of the conforming Freddie Mac limit.

.Eligibility Requirements

• Properties that are eligible are One to Four unit existing and new construction properties.
• Borrowers are approved through the normal FHA mortgage guidelines for obtaining a mortgage.
• The cost of the energy-efficient improvements that may be eligible for financing into the mortgage is the lesser of 5 percent of the property’s value, depending on 3 different equations. Please refer to these changes above.
• To be eligible for this mortgage, the energy efficient-improvements must be cost effective, meaning that the total cost of improvements is less than the total present value of the energy saved.
• The cost of the energy improvements and the energy savings must be determined by a home energy rating report which is done by a home energy rating system (HERS) or energy consultant. The HERS report usually costs from $250 to $350 and can be paid by the seller, the buyer, or sometimes included into the mortgage.
• The energy improvements are installed after the loan closes. The money is placed into an escrow account and is released once an inspection verifies the improvements are completed and that the savings will be achieved.
• Because of this program, the final loan amount can exceed the maximum mortgage limit by the amount of the energy-efficient improvements. Here is a list of the FHA max mortgage limits.

.EXAMPLE :

***I am not using a particular credit score and all closing costs are the same for either loan example.***

As you can see, it’s not a huge savings, but it does add up. Just in 1 year you saved $1,135.20. And the cost of the energy improvements that were added onto your mortgage now become a tax write-off.

**** My examples in the cost of improvements and your monthly bills, will vary depending on several different factors, such as age of air conditioner or heating, lighting fixtures, etc, etc. And also depending on what you pay per month. I only used these figures as examples.****

Reminder :There are special and certain tax credits both nationally and locally. For tax purposes, there is a $1,500 tax credit until the end of the year. Not sure if the government is going to extend this. There are also state credits and sometimes credits given by your utility companies. Just be careful though, because sometimes you have to use those they recommend when doing the energy inspection report.

Here is a link to a list of the past mortgagee letters for everything about Energy Efficient Mortgages.  FHA Energy Efficient Mortgages – Mortgagee Letters

Energy Efficient Mortgages – EEM loans – Part 1 of 2 – FHA loans going ‘Green’

Energy Efficient Mortgages – EEM loans – Part 2 of 2 – VA loans going ‘Green’

***Posted with permission from Jeff Belonger, a fantastic lender in N.J. Yes he does loans in Michigan.***

In Ann Arbor, both a buyer and a seller have the choice of which Title company to use for the closing or settlement.

When I list a home for sale in Ann Arbor or the surrounding area’s, I always order a Pre-Committment Title policy upfront. I do this so my sellers can review it and give to an attorney to review. (Anything that needs cleaning up can occur during the listing period.)

If the sellers have a preferred title company then I use that one. All of the local title companies in Ann Arbor are excellent.

When an offer is accepted it is perfectly OK for the buyer to decide which title company they want to use.  The only exception to this is many banks that are working with Michigan Servicing Companies for foreclosures will make you use their title company. (Not always but many times.)

If you are a buyer in Ann Arbor it is best to write that into the original offer that you will be using your own title company.

In Ann Arbor and all of Michigan, buyers and sellers split the cost of the Title Policy. The sellers pay what is called a Owners Policy and is based on the sales price of the home.

The buyers pay their portion of the Title Insurance based on the price of the mortgage they are obtaining.

Example: Contract price of home is 200,000.

The seller provides an owners policy on 200K.

The buyers is putting down 50,000. His portion of the title insurance is based on the amount of the loan which would be 150,000.

Both Buyer and Seller can choose their own title company.

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