Dmitry & Maureen: Moving Metro Detroit

Tightened credit markets and sluggish real estate sales in Oakland County MI have sellers looking for ways to seal the deal. This week I saw a Birmingham builder do what he could to take control of the situation and set his properties apart. His answer: the land contract.

Not only is he offering land contracts, he's offering them at rates better than you will get at the bank. Today he advertised 4%! What's not to like about 4% money, especially since his homes sell at prices where the buyer is likely to need a more expensive jumbo mortgage. Other advantages of land contracts:

I think this sounds like a great incentive for buyers. Kudos to this seller for thinking outside the box and looking for a new source of buyers.

Intrigued? Take a look.

Maureen Francis is a top producing Realtor with SKBK Sotheby's International Realty in Birmingham, MI.  Visit her award winning Oakland County Real Estate blog.  Free Metro Detroit Home Search.

2008 has certainly provided for lots of unexpected surprises for Metro Detroit.  In January we will be rolling out a new series of posts for Metro Detroiters on how to deal with the challenges in today’s real estate market.  The good news: there are previously unseen opportunities for buyers.  Sellers, you are not left out, there are ways for you to get your home sold in 2009.

Dmitry and I started this year with one of the most intense personal challenges of my life.  Along with our young daughter, we moved in with my parents to help care for my dying father in his final months.  We put most business aside and purely focused on our family.  I am thankful that real estate allowed us to make that choice, and our clients understood.  We miss my dad enormously, but we feel so fortunate to have been there when we were most needed.

Perhaps Dad was looking out for us.  2008 presented us with professional opportunities like we had never seen before.  In the summer it seemed like I was going on 3 or 4 listing appointments a week.  The best news was that we sold most of the houses we listed, and quickly!  We finished the year far surpassing any previous year we’ve had in the business since we started in 2001, both in terms of units sold and dollar volume.

I tell you this for a couple of reasons.  First, I think the economic doom and gloom around us is paralyzing people and then it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy.  We had a great year and we will have another great year in 2009.  People need to hear the good things that are going on out there, and they certainly aren’t finding it in the main stream media.  I have almost completely stopped reading the newspaper and watching the evening news.

I am finishing 2008 and starting 2009 by saying thank you.  Thank you to our clients for trusting us.  Thank you to our blog readers for your interest in Metro Detroit real estate.  Thank you to Marianne Sweet and Ken Mascia for all of the great articles this year, and for the wonderful resources you have been for our mutual clients.

Wishing you all the best in 2009.

PS.  2009 is a great year to buy a house and an American car.  Call me. 

this post appears courtesy of miOaklandCounty.com