Top Michigan Buyer Agents Meet in Florida

Stefan Scholl and I and a whole bunch of other top Exclusive Buyer
Agents met this week in Orlando for our National Association of
Exclusive Buyer Agents yearly conference.

A lot of sharing on a lot of topics that are crucial to home buyers.

Posted from my iPhone.

On the topic of buyer agents and loan choices ...

Here is a question to ask a buyer agent you might be interviewing: "How many of your past clients used option ARMS to buy houses?"

The answer should be zero.

Option ARMS were never a good choice because they were too risky. No buyers in our Ann Arbor buyer agent office ever chose an option ARM after we had a frank discussion about the negative aspects.

However based on the number of home buyers that are suffering with them right now it is clear that a lot of those buyers didn't get good advice from their "buyer agent".

Great, Informative Site on Mortgage Fraud and How to Recognize it

Every few months I try to visit the website called "FlippingFrenzy.com"

It has a lot of good information about mortgage fraud and mortgage officer con-games. (And making sure our buyers avoid them.)

The link above is to a very informative report on a particular purchase / Refinance nightmare.

Here is a part of the article:

Kim’s loan officer had her “sign lots of blank forms” and told her that he had to first “see what we could do and fill those in later.” In real estate fraud forensics, we call this ‘backing into the documents.’ With signed forms (that contain blank fields) in hand, a loan officer is able to manipulate the borrower’s loan documents to fit his commission-related needs.

Kim’s loan officer artificially inflated her income in order to help her qualify for her loan. This of course is against the law.

As noted by Kim above, her loan officer worked with an appraiser to secure an inflated appraisal on Kim’s property, thus allowing her to qualify for a higher loan that translated into a higher commission for the loan officer. Here again, the loan officer and appraiser broke the law.

As Kim already pointed, she was encouraged to borrow her father’s assets, which everyone should know by now is a highly improper way of determining one’s actual worth and ability to repay a loan. Any real estate industry professional that advises someone to borrow or rent assets is more likely than not up to no good.

Her loan officer promised to refinance Kim into a fixed loan within two years. Legally, no one can make that type of promise to a homeowner.

As you read in Kim’s account, when she arrived for the very first closing of her life, she learned that she had been placed into an adjustable rate mortgage that was only fixed for two years. When mortgage brokers and loan officers present the borrower with a product, specifying the terms, and then change the terms just prior to closing, that is called “bait and switch” and it makes the loan highly suspect and questionable.

Ann Arbor as a good neighbor to have

One of the great things about Canton is that you are half way between the big city life of Detroit and the college town life of Ann Arbor.
Often when we've helped families purchase in Canton they talk about going into Ann Arbor for some of the cultural entertainment (and college football games!).

Here is a video I noticed on another real estate broker's blog that shows some of what Ann Arbor has to offer:

Agency class misses the mark

Today I'm sitting in a class for real estate agents and brokers on
agency. Unfortunately many of the topics and responses are off the
mark. The most difficult part of agency for buyers and sellers is
designated agency. And when the first hard question came up the
instructor couldn't (didn't want to) answer.

Designated agency is very complicated. Just because agents don't
understand it doesn't mean it isn't real.

Sent from my iPhone

Aldi grocery store coming to Canton

The Mlive website just ran a story about International Grocery Store chain Aldi and how they are going to be expanding into Canton. The link above goes to the article.

I've read about Aldi and their unique service, I think they will be a great addition to the Ann Arbor, Canton, and Howell retail mix.

Important Inspection Tip for Canton Home Buyers

This link talks specifically about Ann Arbor home inspections but the advice is super important for anybody buying a home in Southeastern Michigan where the home has synthetic stucco exterior. (Sometimes called Drivit or EIFS or Exterior Insulation Finishing System)

Here again is the link: Canton Home Inspection Issue