Lee Morof's Real Estate Blog

When you are buying a new home, it is important to take into consideration the four-legged residents that will be living there, as well as the two-legged ones. What things should you keep in mind if you are house hunting and you own a pet?

Layout Of The House

When you are looking at the house layout, think about how it will accommodate your pet. If you have an old dog that can’t climb stairs very well, look for a home that is mostly one level.

Cats like to have little alcoves and quiet spaces where they can hide away. Think about where you would put the kitty litter box or the food bowls so that they would be practical and would not get in the way.

Be sure to also look at the yard. Is it fenced, so that you can let your dog outside to run around? Is there an outside hose that you can use for bathing your pet?

Is there room for a dog house? You might also want to avoid a house near a busy road, in case your pet escapes and runs into traffic.

Pet Friendly Neighborhood

Take a look around the rest of the neighborhood. Do you see that many other people have dogs and cats? Are there a lot of friendly people out walking their dogs? Is there a vet, a pet shop and a dog park nearby?

When they see your dog or cat, do people smile and say hello? A neighborhood full of pet-friendly people is a great place for you and your furry friend to live, because you will feel welcomed. You might even make some new friends to go on walks with!

City Ordinances

It is a good idea to know about the local city ordinances when it comes to cleaning up after your pet. In many places, failing to scoop up your dog’s droppings when taking him for a walk can lead to a very expensive fine! This is a mistake that you don’t want to make when you move into a new home.

Clarify The Rules For Unusual Pets

Most people have dogs and cats, but if your animal companions are a little less common, you might need to check the rules. If you own a goat, chicken, donkey, sheep or any other farm animal as a domestic pet, check with the proper officials about the zoning regulations and ordinances in the area you are buying your home.

These are just a few things to consider on behalf of your pet when you are buying a home. For more real estate advice, contact your real estate professional.  

When people are buying a home, one of the things that they sometimes forget to consider is the need to be able to accommodate guests. You likely have out of state relatives or friends who might come and visit you and you will probably want to be able to give them a place to sleep so that they don’t have to pay for a hotel.

You will also probably want to have your parents or your relatives stay over on special occasions such as Christmas. You might even need to host guests for long periods of time, such as if an aging parent needs to move in with you or you need to give a struggling friend some support while they get back on their feet.

Having a home that is well suited to having guests stay will make being a host a lot easier. Having someone sleep on a fold out couch in your living room can be inconvenient for both you and your guest, so what should you look for in a home so that hosting someone will be comfortable?

• If you have a small home, you might not have room for an extra guest bedroom that is only used occasionally. Instead, choose a home with a multi-purpose room that can be used as a home office, a storage space or a hobby room as well as a guest bedroom.
• You could use clever storage solutions and a Murphy bed or futon to make the transition into guest bedroom when your friends and relatives arrive. Another option is to choose a home with a finished attic, which can easily be turned into a great small bedroom for guests.

• Does the house have enough bathrooms for everyone? Waiting for the bathroom while someone else has a shower can get annoying really quickly when there are extra people in the house. A guest bedroom with its own ensuite is ideal.
• Have at least two or more “chill out” spaces so that everyone doesn’t have to enjoy the same activity. If some of your family members are watching a movie but a couple others want to have a quiet chat or play a board game, make sure that there is another spot where they can sit. It doesn’t have to be huge, just another set of chairs or a sofa somewhere.

• For the guest room, choose a bedroom that is furthest away from the rest of the main traffic areas in the home. This means that if you wake up earlier or get in later than your guests, you can cook or go about your daily chores without making a lot of noise right outside their door.

• Make sure that the dining area is big enough to accommodate a larger table to seat your extra guests.

These are just a few things to consider when choosing a home that will make hosting guests easy. For more info about buying a home, contact your trusted real estate professional. 

So you are looking at buying a home, but you are wondering whether or not it is worth it to pay a little extra for a home with one more bedroom.

It’s a tough decision to make, especially when balancing other factors such as location and the other features of the home. However, having one more bedroom than you think you need could end up being a good thing for a number of reasons.

Expanding Family

Perhaps you only planned on having two children, but a third one might come along as an unplanned surprise… will you have enough room for everyone?

One of your children’s friends might have a bad home situation and need a place to crash for a while. One of your elderly parents might need to live with you for a while.

There are many situations when the family living under your roof might expand, (even if it’s just having guests over the weekend) so make sure that you have the space to accommodate.

A Home Office

If you are working from home or have your own business, a private space in the home to work can be worth its weight in gold. It’s really difficult to be productive when you are trying to work at the kitchen table with the rest of the family buzzing around you, so turn your extra bedroom into a home office.

Rental Income

An extra bedroom might be a great source of income, especially if it can be turned into a basement or attic suite. As long as you don’t mind the responsibility of being a landlord, you could rent out the room to a tenant and let their rent help you cover the mortgage payment.

Resale Value

Buying a slightly larger house with one more bedroom means that the home will be easier to sell in the future. This is especially true if all of the other homes in the area have similar amounts of bedrooms.

These are just a few reasons why an extra room can really come in handy. If you want to know more about home buying, you can contact me your trusted real estate professional.

The old real estate cliche’ about “location, location, location” is true, as the area of the city where your home is located will have an impact on its future value as well as your lifestyle.

So what factors should you consider when you are choosing which neighborhoods to house hunt within?

Proximity to Your Daily Needs

If you work downtown, living out in the suburbs means that you will be adding time for a commute onto your day.

While this might be worth the cheaper prices for properties out of the town center, it is something to consider when making your decision.

You will also need to consider whether the house is near shopping centers, schools, doctors, dentists and other services that you will need regularly.

Planned Developments

When you are choosing a neighborhood to buy in, do some research into what developments are planned in the future for that part of town.

For example, you might be able to get a cheap price on a home that is out of the way, but a new proposed highway leading straight into the town center that will be built in the next five years could increase property values considerably.

Overall Atmosphere

Take a walk around the neighborhood where you are considering buying and get a sense of the overall atmosphere. Are there a lot of families living there? Are there green places to relax? Are people friendly and saying hello to you?

You want to live in a place where you feel welcome and comfortable.

Property Values

Different neighborhoods will have a range of house prices and you will want to look for something with the right balance of value.

Some areas of town will be very expensive but very nice; other areas will have cheap house prices but might not be as pleasant to live in. Take the time to find the neighborhood that is in the middle, where you will find the right house, and neighborhood, at a good price.

These are just a few of the factors to consider so that you can choose the right neighborhood to buy in.

For more information about buying a Birmingham home, feel free to contact your trusted real estate professional today. 

If you have purchased a new home and are going to move in soon, what are the first few things that you will need to do upon moving into your new home?

Moving can be very stressful, but having a checklist can make your move effortless.

Here are 6 easy steps that can eliminate any frustration and help you feel safe and secure: 

Change Your Address

You will need to change your address for all magazine subscriptions, bills and other services. You can update your mailing address online or visit your local post office to find out what needs to be done.

Set Up The Utilities

When you move into a new home, you may get all of the contact information from the previous home owner or real estate agent for the utility companies. Be sure to change the services into your name before you move in, such as gas, cable, electricity, internet, telephone, sewer and water.

Change The Locks

You have no way of knowing who the old home owners gave a copy of the key to, so having the locks changed is something that you should do right away when you move into your new property.

Have The Carpets Cleaned

Get your life in the new house off to a fresh start by having the carpets steam cleaned before you move your furniture in. You could either rent a steam cleaner or pay a carpet cleaning service, but either way this will make the house feel really clean and new.

Figure Out Your Breaker Box

Another important first step to owning your new home is to figure out which breakers control each part of your home.

Knowing how the breaker box works will ensure that you can flip the right switch when you need to. You might need to ask someone to help you by standing in another part of the house and letting you know which lights come on or off when you flick the switches.

Check Your Smoke Alarms

The smoke alarms and CO monitors in your home might not have been checked recently, so make sure that they are functioning properly. Depending on how old they are, you might need to change the batteries. This is an important maintenance task for your own safety.

These are just a few of the important first steps that you should take when you first move into your brand new home.

For more information about buying a new home, feel free to contact your trusted real estate professional today.  

You’ve got a new job offer across the country and you are planning to pack your things, buy a home and make the big move.

However, when you tell your 17 year old daughter your plans, she lets out a mournful wail and cries that it is not fair. How can you possibly take her away from all of her friends, her favorite hangout spots and the cute boy she just started seeing?

Moving is a difficult transition and it is often even more traumatic for teenagers. The teenage years are an important stage where young adults establish their individuality and independence and during this time their social circle is extremely important to them.

Being removed from that against their will can make any teen feel sad, confused, angry and resentful. Also, fitting into a new social scene in a different location can be a challenge for a teen that might be singled out as the “new kid”.

How can you help your teen during this transition so that the experience will be easier on them?

5 Tips To Help Your Teen Move More Smoothly

Here are some tips that will make the experience of moving a little bit easier on your teenager:

• Give them as much notice as possible so that they have time to adjust to the idea of moving. They will feel like they have enough time to say goodbye to their friends and close a chapter of their lives.

• Try to schedule the move around the school calendar, as moving in the summer is much less disruptive to your teen’s life than relocating in the middle of the school year.

• Make sure that they have ample time to spend with their close friends before they leave and once you arrive, understand that they might go through a grieving process of missing their old pals.

• When you get to your new home, make sure that your teen has plenty of ways to keep in touch with their old friends, such as an internet connection and a cell phone plan.

• Encourage your teen to get involved in the community of your new hometown, like joining sports clubs or attending events. This can help them to make new friends.

Moving to a new city is always exciting but offers challenges like this one for families. For more advice on moving to a new Bloomfield Hills home, contact your trusted real estate agent today.

Are you buying a property as your second home? Perhaps you are looking for a small cottage or apartment where you can escape to for your vacations, or maybe you want to have another home closer to your relatives?

Maybe you want to rent out your second property and make a steady income from your investment. Whatever the reason, a second piece of real estate can be a fantastic investment. However, sometimes getting a mortgage on your second home can present a challenge.

Generally, a mortgage lender will have tougher standards for vacation home — or second home — loans than primary home loans. This is because usually when you are buying a second home your finances will be stretched thinner and you will have less money to spare due to already paying a mortgage on your primary home.

This additional risk may mean that your second home mortgage can be more difficult to close and likely could carry a higher interest rate.

Here are three tips to keep in mind that will help you to get the best mortgage on your second property:

Build up a decent amount of savings.

Your mortgage lender will want to be able to see that you have a large amount of savings in reserve so that you will have enough to pay for the mortgage even if you were to lose your job or other income source.

Pay off any credit card or installment debt.

Many lenders will be hesitant to approve your second home mortgage if they see that you have a lot of debt on your credit card. They will want to see that you have a low debt to income ratio so that you will be able to pay back the loan.

Use your primary home as a resource.

If you have always made your payments on time and you are well on your way through paying off your first house, you may have equity to borrow against for some or all of your second home purchase. Be careful here though.  There is a little known IRS regulation that requires the second home be financed under it’s own home loan within 90 days of closing to get the best tax advantages.

These are just a few tips to keep in mind in order to make getting a mortgage for your second property as easy as possible.

To find out more about investing in a second home or vacation property, contact your trusted real estate professional today. 

Whether you’re looking to buy a new house this month or do a little remodeling, take advantage of the opportunity to give the mom in your life a present she’ll appreciate every day.

Below are a few ideas for housing priorities and renovation projects that typically rate high on women’s wish lists for their homes.

Open Living Areas

The open floor plan is usually a big plus for any mother. They want to be able to cook dinner in the kitchen while monitoring their children’s schoolwork at the dining table.

So look for a house that affords this visual luxury or consider the generous gift of getting dirty and knocking down some walls.

Large Closets

What woman doesn’t need more room for her clothes, shoes and purses? If you’re looking at houses, keep in mind how much closet space will work for your wife or mother.

If it’s not enough, see if there’s another area you could convert to create a custom closet. Another great gift would be to upgrade your mom’s closet with a new shelving and organizing storage system.

And great storage doesn’t stop in the bedroom. Most women like to keep the family’s things organized and put away, so think about upgrading some of the other cupboards and closets in the home as well.

Low-Maintenance Living

Some women are expert gardeners or love home-improvement projects; however, many just want to leave those tasks to someone else.

Many moms love easy-to-wipe-down granite counters and hardwood floors.  These can be beautiful and functional home upgrades all at the same time.

And especially if you’re shopping real estate for an elderly mother, consider looking at Bloomfield Hills homes that are new construction, have easy-to-care-for landscaping and maintenance-free siding or brick.

Easy-to-Use Security System

While security is important to everyone, it ranks high on most women’s list of priorities. As a Mother’s Day gift, research providers and have a security system installed.

Whether your mother is living alone or your wife is worried about the family’s safety, this practical present will give everyone peace of mind.

Make a big gesture this Mother’s Day by giving the woman in your life that renovation project she’s been pining over.

And, if looking at buying a new home, keep in mind what’s important to Mom. 

Finally, if you’d like more tips on Mother’s Day home shopping or upgrades, call your favorite real estate professional for the best advice.