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michigan: Get HELP, before you lose your home!
- 03/21/07 03:37 AM
I usually try not to add fuel to the pessimistic fire that has engulfed the housing market over the last year and a half, but some stories need to be told. According to a February 13 article in the Detroit News, by Louis Aguilar, Wayne County posted the highest rate of home foreclosures among major metro areas in the nation during the month of January. The foreclosure rate was so high in fact, that it was 7 times more than the national average. Oakland and Macomb Counties have been hit pretty badly as well, and when you combine the foreclosure rates … (6 comments)
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michigan: The Rebirth Of Cool: Detroit Real Estate - GAR Building Next To Be Rennovated
- 02/18/07 01:27 AM
Olympia Development has been selected to refurbish and renovate the long-mothballed Grand Army of the Republic building in downtown Detroit.
In 1866 Benjamin Franklin Stephenson and The Rev. W.J. Rutledge founded the first chapter of the Grand Army of the Republic in Decatur, Ill., with 13 fellow soldiers. At its height in the 1890s the organization boasted more than 400,000 members. Detroit was home to several flourishing and colorful Posts of the GAR. The GAR was a wonderful organization where Union Veterans of the Civil War could not only socialize with their fellow veterans, but also could perpetuate the memory of … (4 comments)
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michigan: True Lies: Stated Income Loan Gets Originator Indicted
- 01/24/07 04:23 AM
Stated Income Loans Gets Originator Indicted - That was the eye catching title of a December 20th 2006 article by a staff writer at the Originator Times. Was I shocked, or I was appalled, and sick to my stomach... and just a little bit curious.
While the few kindred spirits of Active Rain who know me, and actually take valuable time out of their day to read some of my long and exhausting blog posts probably already know my feelings about the mortgage industry's growing problem that is stated income loans, I was still slightly shocked, and a little bit frightened, … (35 comments)
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michigan: Private Mortgage Insurance to become Tax Deductable...for next year at least
- 01/18/07 01:54 PM
Who doesn't hate private mortgage insurance? For years lenders have charged PMI fees to borrowers who couldn't afford to put 20% down when purchasing their home, and why not? Private Mortgage Insurance or PMI makes complete sense from a lenders perspective. When they agree to lend money to borrowers with little or nothing down, they are assuming all the risk on a loan, and when a borrower doesn't put any of their own money into a transaction, that risk can be great. Enter Private Mortgage Insurance. Companies like Radian and Genworth Financial offer Private Mortgage Insurance Policies to banks that cover … (4 comments)
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michigan: The Rebirth of Cool: The 2007 Detroit Auto Show (NAIAS)
- 01/16/07 02:43 PM
Well it's that time of year again and if you grew up in the Motor City, then you should already know what I'm talking about. Saturday marked the public opening of the 2007 North American International Auto Show at Cobo Hall in downtown Detroit, Michigan. The auto show is the premier annual event for the city. This is a post I really wanted to get out earlier considering I have been lucky enough to have a sneak peak at the 2007 NAIAS for the past 2 weeks but I have been so busy it just didn't happen until today.
Some of … (4 comments)
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michigan: The Rebirth of Cool: Special Edition To Commemorate The Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday
- 01/15/07 06:11 AM
Martin Luther King, Jr., an African-American clergyman, is considered a great American because of his tireless efforts to win civil rights for all people through nonviolent means. Since his assassination in 1968, memorial services have marked his birthday on January 15. In 1986, that day was replaced by the third Monday of January, which was declared a national holiday. --
From the Speech at the Great March On Detroit: June 23, 1963
"And so I go back to the South not in despair. I go back to the South not with a … (2 comments)
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michigan: Just Ask Josh: Is it really possible to get a no cost loan? Isn't there no such thing as a free lunch
- 01/15/07 05:58 AM
This weeks question for Just Ask Josh comes to us from Maureen Francis, Birmingham Michigan's leading Realtor and author of the mioaklandcounty blog. We've been hanging onto this question for a while, waiting for a good week to post it.
"Our mortgage bank just sent a letter that they will give us a refi loan with no fees and no closing costs. Is that really possible, or am I just paying through a higher interest rate or something? Isn't there "no such thing as a free lunch?"
Maureen,
This is a very good question, because in this situation, like many others, … (19 comments)
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michigan: Are First Time Homebuyers Being Left Out Of The Current Housing Market?
- 12/19/06 01:57 PM
I came across an article by the associated press in the MSNBC Real Estate Section, back in October entitled "First-time homebuyers being left out." The article went on to quote a poll stating that "Eighty percent of Americans believe it is difficult for most first-time buyers to afford a home, according to an AP-AOL Real Estate poll. Many people - 59 percent - believe the situation is worse now than five years ago." Even in the Midwest, the real estate market in my own backyard, over 50 percent of those first time homebuyers surveyed feel it is more difficult for first-time … (4 comments)
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michigan: Do Not Pass Go...Do Not Collect $200
- 12/13/06 02:23 PM
"It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker, that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our necessities but of their advantages."
Adam Smith
The Wealth of Nations
I have been so busy in the last few weeks that I haven't been browsing the Active Rain Blogs as religiously as I used to. Because of my hiatus, I am not really sure if anybody has addressed this yet, there may have been somebody … (21 comments)
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michigan: The Rebirth of Cool: Detroit Real Estate
- 12/07/06 04:19 AM
Designed in 1923 by architect Louis Kamper, the Book Cadillac Hotel is one of the most famous buildings in the city of Detroit. The history of the Book Cadillac Hotel is almost as significant as its list of past guests. Baseball greats like Joe DiMaggio and Babe Ruth have stayed in the hotel, as well as Katherine Hepburn and Martin Luther King. It is a place where President John F. Kennedy spoke and "generations of Detroiters celebrated weddings, bar-mitzvahs, retirements, and other milestones."
The continuing economic destabilization and deterioration of Detroit following World War II and leading into the 1980s took … (6 comments)
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michigan: Active Rain Success Stories
- 10/16/06 01:12 PM
Here is another reason why AR is a great website...I have been getting a lot of attention from possible consumers who have been coming across my blogs on cyberspace. This is an excellent tool to reach our audiences and provide information to consumers. Here is a question I received online via active rain.
My name is M and wanted to ask you a couple questions. I came across your name on the Internet.
My husband and I lost our house to foreclosure in 6/2005. We tried everything from borrowing money to filing Bankruptcy. Things got too hard with deaths in the … (19 comments)
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michigan: True Lies
- 10/11/06 01:36 PM
In case you missed it, Ken Harney had a great article in the Washington Post at the end of September and anybody in the Real Estate Industry, especially mortgage professionals need to take note of what is coming down the pipe.
Starting last week, it just got a lot more difficult for borrowers to lie about their income on their mortgage applications. The Internal Revenue Service has announced that it is overhauling a key income verification tool used by lenders. It is now going to be much easier to pull up electronically a borrower’s confidential income tax information. This new process will revolutionize and replace … (25 comments)
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michigan: It’s 5 O’clock Somewhere
- 09/19/06 03:49 PM
This one goes out to Brian Brady.
Active Rain is great. It is an unbelievable community, and I get a lot out of posting, reading, absorbing the best practices of others, and meeting new friends. But as great as this community and every new trend of the minute is in the real estate industry, we must always remember that Real Estate is a “Sales Job,” and sales jobs involve people, and are usually done best by Salesmen who understand how to relate to other people. I recall a post by Brian Brady a few months ago entitled Doesn’t Anyone … (9 comments)
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michigan: Sometimes it takes a bigger man to turn and walk away...
- 09/17/06 05:20 PM
I am in the mortgage business to make money...as a general rule of thumb, but I know the reason why I am successful, but not incredibly rich, is because I have a problem doing things for the pure motivation of money. I still am motivated every day to be the best mortgage professional I can be, I am motivated to create a good name for myself and to actually help people. I am motivated to provide a service, but to actually help my customers. Maybe I will never be rich because of it, but at least I can sleep at night. … (19 comments)
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michigan: ARM youself: Understanding Adjustable Rate Mortgages
- 09/14/06 01:34 PM
Throughout the last couple years, adjustable rate mortgages have become a very popular option for American consumers. It has been suggested by some analysts that adjustable rate mortgages currently make up close to a trillion dollars of the country's outstanding mortgage debt. A large portion of these loans were originated in 2003 and 2004 during the height of the last refinance boom and are set to adjust or reset in the coming year. (if they haven't already) A recent article by Mark Davis of the Kansas City Star explains; "some estimates suggest when this occurs, a borrower's potential house payments will … (12 comments)
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michigan: The Rebirth of Cool: Detroit Real Estate
- 09/11/06 02:26 PM
I don’t read W magazine, but when this month’s issue hit news stands, I was eager to get a look inside. The overly thick edition of the magazine features a glam cover shot of actress Christina Ricci. What’s so big about Christina Ricci you might ask? Sorry to disappoint, but nothing. The real treasure of this month’s issue is what’s inside. A 54-page fashion spread featuring Kate Moss shot in Detroit by famed photographer Bruce Weber. The spread shows Moss at many historic Motor City spots: from Belle Isle to Kronk Gym to the Diego Rivera mural at the Detroit Institute … (2 comments)
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michigan: Study Warns of Pending "Rate Shock" for Homeowners
- 09/08/06 09:13 AM
STUDY WARNS OF PENDING "RATE SHOCK" FOR HOMEOWNERSPredatory Lending has been a major concern lately, but law makers and watch groups have mostly concentrated their attention on predatory practices such as pre-payment penalties, excessive fees, high interest rates, flipping, excessive yield spread premiums and balloon payments. Until this year their has been very little recognition of the prevalence of adjustable rate mortgages in the subprime market. I consider the following very interesting: According to the ACORN study, "while ARM loans account for about 24 percent of all home loans nationwide...in 2005 ARMs made up 75 percent of all subprime loans, a … (2 comments)
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michigan: The Rumors of My Demise Have Been Greatly Exaggerated
- 09/05/06 06:04 AM
Was it a ploy for sympathy...perhaps, a moment of weakness, maybe? It may even be part of some larger secret plan for me to solidify the number 3 spot in Michigan with a surprise guerrilla assault. Personally I think the whole thing was fabricated by Birmingham area Realtor Sara Lipnitz to paint me in a negative light and rally more support for her cause. (I suspect she might really not even care about winning. Much Like Screech from Saved by the Bell, this whole sad charade may just be a ploy for her and fellow Birmingham Area Realtor Maureen Francis to … (10 comments)
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michigan: Saturday is Tour Day in Detroit
- 09/04/06 03:30 PM
Saturday is tour day in Detroit! City Living Detroit, Preservation Wayne and the Tourism Economic Development Council have partnered to provide unique and distinct tours occurring every Saturday of the month. These great tours depart from the "Point of Origin" in Campus Martius Park throughout May, June, July, August and September.
Every Saturday Leaving from Campus Martius Park at 10 A.M. and 1P.M. Click Here For More Details!
… (2 comments)
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