Lee Morof's Real Estate Blog

What is HARP 2.0?  HARP 2.0 is the revamped version of the Home Affordable Refinance Program.  It allows homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than their homes are worth to refinance into today’s low mortgage rates. Additionally, HARP 2.0 provides refinancing without high-priced closing costs and fees and appraisals are not even required in most cases.

Who qualifies?

To qualify for a HARP 2.0 refinance, you must meet these requirements:

1. Your mortgage must be owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
2. The mortgage must have been sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or before May 31, 2009.
3. You cannot have lender-paid mortgage insurance.
4. You must be current on your mortgage and have no late payments in the last six months.
5. You must have no more than one late payment in the past 12 months.
6. This must be your first refinance through HARP.
7. Your Southeast Michigan real estate’s current loan-to-value ratio must be greater than 80%.

What are the steps?

Here are four steps to refinance through HARP:

1. Determine who owns the mortgage on your Southeast Michigan real estate and if it is owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. To check if your mortgage is backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, visit http://www.fanniemae.com/loanlookup or https://ww3.freddiemac.com/corporate.
2. Find out if your mortgage is old enough. (See #2 above.) You can find your mortgage start date by looking at your closing paperwork. In the upper-right-hand corner of your settlement is your “funding date.” That’s the date you’re looking for.
3. Contact your current mortgage holder to inquire about HARP.
4. Compare rates and costs with other mortgage companies to ensure the best refinance terms. If you want to explore refinancing options for your Southeast Michigan real estate, contact a HUD-approved housing counselor at 1-888-995-HOPE (4673). HUD can design a plan for your individual situation.

For more information on HARP 2.0 or for answers to other real estate questions, call me at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com.

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com

Most property owners getting ready to sell their Bloomfield Hills real estate understand the importance of cleaning, de-cluttering, updating and staging in order to make a quick sale. However, there are also many other steps you can take to ensure your home appeals to potential buyers, draws them in and seals the deal.

Below are five tips to help you not only get your house in tip-top shape, but also make it extremely marketable:

1. Find a good Bloomfield Hills real estate agent. While many people think they can sell their home themselves and save money, they’re wrong. Relying on a professional’s expertise and experience has been proven to net you a bigger profit — and definitely reduce your stress and frustration.
2. Clean and de-clutter. While this goes without saying, we’re going to reiterate it anyway. Make sure your home is spotless and depersonalized. You also might want to consider hiring a staging professional to make it inviting and memorable.
3. Have your home inspected. Many sellers are getting their property pre-inspected so they can head off any potential deal breakers. If an inspector finds a major issue, you might want to hold off putting the home on the market until you get it fixed.
4. Offer a home warranty. Especially if you have an older home, you should consider sweetening the deal with this tempting proposition. While you know your water heater works perfectly fine, today’s buyers want everything new and might be wary of used appliances. So, set their minds at ease, even if it’s just for a year.
5. Develop a marketing strategy. Utilize your real estate agent and come up with a solid plan for marketing your home. Whether listing just on the web or also in local classifieds, you want to make sure as many eyes as possible see your home.

Don’t jump into the market without doing your homework! Follow these five tips and you’ll be on the way to setting up your Bloomfield Hills real estate for a quick sale.

If you’d like more strategies for getting your home in order before putting it up for sale, please call me at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com for more information.

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney 
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com

Economists say and statistics show that there are true signs of improvement in the most recent housing figures for U.S. and Bloomfield Hills real estate markets. Here are a few of those stats:

• Investors bought 1.23 million homes in 2011, up 64.5 percent over 2010, according to data from the National Association of REALTORS®.
• The median investment-home price was $100,000 in 2011, up 6.4 percent from $94,000 in 2010.
• Single-family home sales rose 3 percent in April.
• New home sales increased 3.3 percent in April, according to new Commerce Department data.
• Sales of existing homes rose in April, up 10 percent from April of 2011.
• Median existing nationwide home prices also moved upward to $177,400 from $164,800. This is the biggest year-to-year gain since January 2006.

In addition to good nationwide and Bloomfield Hills real estate news, there’s also good news about the economy:

• Economic growth is now projected to grow by 2.4 percent this year, up from a 2.2 percent forecast in February.
• The new job creation forecast, which is the most watched economic indicator, has also improved. The data now shows that 188,000 new jobs will be created each month this year, which is up from the 170,000 new jobs per month forecasted earlier this year.

As you can tell from this data, if you want to buy Bloomfield Hills real estate while prices are at their lowest, don’t wait a minute longer. Give me a call today at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com to get started!

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com

It’s always difficult to find the perfect gift for your father to express how much he means to you. However, this Father’s Day, with just a little bit of money, effort and time, you can show your father you care by helping him stage his Royal Oak Michigan home for sale.

While fathers might be good at fixing broken appliances and taking care of lawns, most are uninterested in making a house feel welcoming. Below are five inexpensive ways to give a little back to your dad and help him stage his Royal Oak Michigan home for sale so it sells faster.

1. Evict the pack rat. Decluttering and cleaning should go without saying. While this personal issue might be touchy, your father will thank you later. Be strong and carry on.
2. Replace kitchen hardware. Your father has a good point when he says, “Those drawer pulls work perfectly fine.” However, you can give a kitchen an immediate facelift with modern hardware that is easy to install.
3. Display fresh cut flowers. Whether from your garden or the supermarket, add flowers around the house, especially when it is being shown. The scent and beauty of the flowers make rooms feel brighter and cause potential buyers to smile.
4. Fluff up the bathrooms. Again, most men don’t seem to notice the dingy bathmat or pilled towels. Buy a set of fluffy, new towels and bathmats to put out when buyers are walking through. It’ll make your dad’s bathroom feel fresh and clean. And he can take the towels and bathmats with him to his new place.
5. Add a pop of color. If your dad’s house feels a little drab, find some inexpensive throw pillows, blankets or picture frames to give each room a memorable note.

With a little bit of time and money, you can give your dad the perfect Father’s Day gift. If you’d like more information on how to stage a Royal Oak Michigan home for sale, please call me at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com.

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney 
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com

If you’re getting ready to put your Royal Oak Michigan home up for sale, it’s time to make all those repairs that have been simmering on the back burner.  When buyers come looking, they want things in tip-top shape, otherwise they think you have not been taking care of the property.

Here are your ten must-do repairs before putting your Royal Oak Michigan home up for sale:

1. Repair the roof.  Maintaining a sound roof literally tops the list of crucial home repairs. Replace missing shingles and fix damaged shingles.
2. Clean, clear and caulk gutters.  When the weather is dry, get on a ladder and clean out all the leaves and debris from the gutters.  Check their condition, repair any loose sections and caulk around the end caps.
3. Fix sagging screen doors and other front-of-the-home problems.  This is what a buyer sees first, therefore, these are must-do repairs.  Approach your home as a potential buyer and see it from his or her eyes. Fix everything that looks shabby.
4. Patch nail holes.  Walk through all the rooms, and fill in all nail holes with lightweight putty.  Wait for it to dry, and then paint the walls.
5. Eliminate odors.  The last things buyers want to smell are mold, a cat box and smoke in the house.  Using scented candles and plug-in room fresheners just smells of cover-up.  Deep clean bathrooms with bleach.  Wash walls with ammonia-type cleaners.  Paint with a Kilz primer to seal cigarette smoke in and on walls.  Then cover with a fresh coat of paint.
6. Repair or replace damaged flooring.  If you have vinyl flooring, check for holes, tears and discoloring.  Get a professional to replace flooring, if necessary.
7. Reseal the toilet.  If the toilet rocks when you sit down on it, the seal needs to be replaced.  You do not have to call in a professional to do this; just make sure you have a friend handy who can help you lift it.
8. Stop faucet drips.  Dripping faucets are easy to repair.  Turn off the water under the sink. (While under there, look for any moisture problems.)  Dismantle the hot and cold handles, take them to the hardware store and buy new parts.  Reassemble at home and turn the water back on.
9. Renew dinged baseboards.  Clean them to remove scrapes and smudges from pets and children’s toys.  Fill in dents, sand smooth and repaint.
10. Fill in cabinet scratches.  Old English scratch cover or a scratch stick work wonders here.

If you’re ready to put your Royal Oak Michigan home up for sale, I can help. Give me a call today at 248-514-2640 or email me at info@NorthWoodwardHomes.com for more information.

Lee Morof
Associate Broker/Certified Distressed Property Expert/Attorney 
RE/MAX Showcase Homes, Birmingham, Michigan
www.NorthWoodwardHomes.com