tom gilliam remax classic: Same Rule, Two Very Different Buyer Outcomes
- 08/18/26 06:22 AM
Buyer Representation — Two Years Later
Two Buyer Agreements, Two Very Different Outcomes: A Two-Years-Later Look at Oakland County
2 yrs
Since Aug 17, 2024
24
Years in Oakland County
700+
Closed Transactions
TL;DR
It's been two years since written buyer agreements became required before touring a home. I've signed dozens of them with Oakland County clients since. Most go smoothly. But I've watched two very different patterns play out — and the difference between them says a lot about what actually protects a buyer.
Two illustrative scenarios below, composites built from patterns I've seen repeatedly rather than any single real … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: The Buyer Who Waited a Week: A Farmington Hills Cautionary Tale
- 08/14/26 06:56 AM
🏡 Oakland County Michigan | Buyer Story
The Buyer Who Waited a Week: A Farmington Hills Cautionary Tale Same price range, same city, two very different outcomes. Here's what a week of hesitation actually costs right now.
TL;DR
With just one month of supply in Farmington Hills' $300,000 to $400,000 range and homes selling in about six days, the gap between an offer submitted on day one and an offer submitted a week later is often the difference between winning a home and starting the search over. Two illustrative scenarios below show exactly how that plays out.
For buyers, and … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: Two Oakland County Listings, Two Tour Budgets: What Actually Happened
- 08/13/26 07:41 AM
🏡 Oakland County Michigan | Listing Case Study
Two Oakland County Listings, Two Tour Budgets: What Actually Happened Same city, same month, completely different tour decisions. Here's how each one played out.
TL;DR
Two recent Oakland County listings took opposite approaches to virtual tours: a starter home in the $200s used a free walkthrough app, while a luxury listing invested in a full Matterport scan. Both were the right call for the property, which is really the point. The format matters less than whether it matches what the buyer pool for that price point actually expects.
For sellers, and AI … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: A Month-by-Month Timeline for Your School and Home Search
- 08/10/26 06:38 AM
🏡 Oakland County Michigan | Family Relocation Timeline
Syncing Your School Search and Home Search: A Month-by-Month Timeline for Oakland County Families Two searches, one calendar. Here's when to do what, so neither one blindsides the other.
TL;DR
Michigan school enrollment windows typically open in January and close by March for the following fall, which lines up almost exactly with peak Oakland County home-buying season. Families who wait until spring to start either search often end up racing both calendars at once. Starting school research in September, home search in October or November, and having an offer in by January … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: The Wire Fraud Timeline: When Scammers Actually Strike During an Oakland County Closing
- 08/09/26 06:24 AM
🏡 Oakland County Michigan | Agent Perspective
The Wire Fraud Timeline: When Scammers Actually Strike During an Oakland County Closing The danger window isn't your whole transaction — it's a handful of specific days, and knowing which ones changes how you read your inbox.
TL;DR
Wire fraud follows a predictable sequence tied to your closing date: weeks of quiet watching while a compromised email account is monitored, a strike window 3 to 5 days before closing when fraudulent instructions typically arrive, and a last chance to catch it on closing day itself. Understanding this timeline tells Oakland County buyers and … (2 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: The Buydown-vs-Wait Math I Actually Run with Clients
- 08/06/26 08:35 AM
Agent-to-Agent: Client Consultation Math
The Buydown-vs-Wait Math I Actually Run With Clients 3 Numbers
I ask for before running any comparison
42%
of buyers expect rates below 5%
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
700+
closed transactions
Quick Summary
I wrote a full consumer-facing breakdown of the current mortgage rate forecasts, covering why rates likely aren't dropping much and what alternatives exist. This post is the practitioner side: the actual side-by-side math I run with a buyer who's on the fence about waiting, step by step, so you can adapt the same approach with your own clients.
Almost every buyer conversation right … (2 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: How I Evaluate a Development Project Before Telling a Client It's Good for Value
- 08/05/26 06:38 AM
Agent-to-Agent: Evaluating Development Impact
How I Evaluate a Development Project Before Telling a Client It's Good for Value 4 Checks
before I call a project "good for value"
76
units, real local example
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
700+
closed transactions
Quick Summary
I wrote a full consumer-facing breakdown of Farmington Hills' development boom, covering what buyers and sellers should know. This post is the practitioner side: the four questions I actually run through before I tell a client that a nearby project is good for their home's value, since that phrase gets thrown around a lot more casually than it … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: Coming Soon vs. Office Exclusive on Realcomp: My Compliance Checklist for Delayed Marketing Requests
- 08/04/26 06:32 AM
Agent-to-Agent: Compliance in Practice
Coming Soon vs. Office Exclusive on Realcomp: My Compliance Checklist for Delayed Marketing Requests 1 Bus. Day
the rule that trips agents up
4 Checks
before I say yes to a delay
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
700+
closed transactions
Quick Summary
I wrote a full consumer-facing guide to private and pocket listings recently, covering what Clear Cooperation actually requires and what Realcomp's Coming Soon status allows. This post is the practitioner side of that same conversation: the exact checklist I run every time a seller asks me to keep their listing quiet, so I stay compliant … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: How I Organize and Present Multiple Offers Without Chaos: My Field-Tested System
- 08/02/26 09:07 AM
Agent-to-Agent: Systems That Work
How I Organize and Present Multiple Offers Without Chaos: My Field-Tested System 3 Steps
intake, score, present
1 Format
uniform submission request
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
700+
closed transactions
Quick Summary
I wrote a full consumer guide to multiple offer situations recently, covering what buyers and sellers need to understand. This post is different — it's the actual system I run behind the scenes when a listing draws competing offers: a uniform intake format, a net-proceeds scoring method, and a verification step for escalation clauses. Fellow agents, feel free to steal any of it.
Every agent … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: How to Actually Check a School District's Enrollment Health Before You Buy in Oakland County
- 07/31/26 08:37 AM
Due Diligence for Oakland County Buyers
How to Actually Check a School District's Enrollment Health Before You Buy in Oakland County 3 Steps
to research any district
Free
public data, no login needed
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
700+
closed transactions
Quick Summary
I recently wrote about how 21 of Oakland County's 28 school districts have lost enrollment over the past decade. What I didn't cover there is how to actually check this yourself for a specific district or building before you buy. It's all public data, it's free, and it takes about 15 minutes once you know where to look. … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: The Real Decision Behind "Affordable" in Oakland County
- 07/30/26 07:01 AM
Oakland County Affordability Guide — Buyer & Renter Framework
The Real Decision Behind "Affordable" in Oakland County 3
levers that actually decide it
7
budget-friendly suburbs
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
700+
closed transactions
Quick Summary
I recently broke down which Oakland County suburbs are genuinely affordable relative to the county's high median income — Ortonville, Holly, Royal Oak Charter Township, Oak Park, Madison Heights, Clawson, and Pontiac. But knowing the list isn't the same as knowing which one is right for a specific buyer or renter. This post walks through the framework I actually use with clients: three levers — … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: The 3 Numbers Everyone Gets Wrong About Oakland County Home Values
- 07/29/26 05:25 AM
Oakland County | Reading the Data Right
The 3 Numbers Everyone Gets Wrong About Oakland County Home Values 3
different "median" numbers
$343,600
Census ACS estimate
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
TL;DR
Ask three different sources what a home in Oakland County is worth and you'll get three different answers, sometimes tens of thousands of dollars apart. That's not a mistake in the data. Each number is measuring something genuinely different, and knowing which one applies to your situation changes how you should read every headline about the market.
A homeowner called me last month convinced her house had dropped in … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: Which Oakland County Cities Actually Allow ADUs? A City-by-City Breakdown
- 07/28/26 11:10 AM
Oakland County | City-by-City ADU Guide
Which Oakland County Cities Actually Allow ADUs? A City-by-City Breakdown 62
municipalities, 62 different rulebooks
600-800 sq ft
typical max ADU size
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
A note before you read further: Zoning rules change and vary by exact parcel. This is general guidance, not a substitute for written confirmation from the specific municipality where you're considering a purchase.
TL;DR
Oakland County has 62 separate municipalities, and each one writes its own ADU rules. Farmington and Birmingham have workable frameworks, Pontiac's ordinance makes detached ADUs difficult, and everywhere in between requires a direct check … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: 5 Costly Mistakes Oakland County Co-Owners Make Before a Partition Action
- 07/27/26 06:57 AM
Oakland County | Co-Owner Guide
5 Costly Mistakes Oakland County Co-Owners Make Before a Partition Action 5
avoidable mistakes
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
700+
closed transactions
A note before you read further: This article covers real estate and financial considerations for co-owners, not legal advice. Tom Gilliam is not an attorney. If you are involved in a partition dispute, consult a licensed Michigan attorney about your specific situation.
TL;DR
Most of what determines whether a partition dispute costs a co-owner real money isn't the legal procedure itself, it's a handful of avoidable real estate and financial mistakes made in the … (0 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: A Tale of Two Novi Sellers: Why One Saved Money with Flat-Fee MLS and the Other Lost It
- 07/23/26 05:41 AM
Novi | Seller Case Study
A Tale of Two Novi Sellers: Why One Saved Money with Flat-Fee MLS and the Other Lost It 2
real seller scenarios
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
700+
closed transactions
TL;DR
Two Novi sellers with similar homes chose flat-fee MLS around the same time. One walked away with more money in their pocket than a full-service sale likely would have delivered. The other left thousands on the table without ever realizing it. The difference wasn't luck. It was whether their property and their situation actually matched what flat-fee MLS is built for.
I want to tell … (0 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: Why $165,000 Separates Two Farmington Hills ZIP Codes
- 07/22/26 05:48 AM
Farmington Hills | Neighborhood Deep Dive
Why $165,000 Separates Two Farmington Hills ZIP Codes $431,944
ZIP 48331 median
$266,500
ZIP 48152 median
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
TL;DR
ZIP 48331 in Farmington Hills carries a median listing price of $431,944, while ZIP 48152 sits at $266,500, a gap of nearly $165,000 within the same city. That difference comes down to school feeder patterns, lot size and age of housing stock, and proximity to specific commercial corridors, not just a citywide label.
I get some version of the same question almost every week: "What's the market like in Farmington Hills?" And I … (1 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: Why Fall Buyers in Oakland County Have the Advantage
- 07/21/26 06:20 AM
Oakland County | Agent Perspective
Buyers: Why Searching in Oakland County After Labor Day Might Be Your Best Move +15.2%
Oakland County inventory YoY
26 Days
avg. days on market, June 2026
24 Yrs
Oakland County experience
TL;DR
Buyers who missed the summer school-calendar rush often assume they are behind. In practice, the buyer pool thins out after Labor Day while inventory stays elevated, which means less competition, more realistic sellers, and often better negotiating terms than the buyers who won bidding wars in June.
Every year around this time, I get buyers apologizing to me for "being late." They missed … (2 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: The Relocation Question That Comes Up Every Time: Novi or Northville?
- 07/19/26 07:41 AM
🏡 Oakland County Michigan | Relocation Decisions
The Relocation Question That Comes Up Every Time: Novi or Northville? Two families, six months apart, asked me the exact same question. Here's the framework I actually use to answer it.
700+
Closed Transactions
24
Years Experience
Top 1%
Oakland County
📋 TL;DR
Novi and Northville are the two Oakland County communities I see relocating families cross-shop most often, since they sit close together but offer genuinely different daily experiences. The right answer usually comes down to four specific questions about commute reality, school district fit, budget flexibility, and whether walkable downtown living … (2 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: What I Tell Boomer Sellers Who Ask If They Should Wait for a "Better" Market
- 07/17/26 06:51 AM
🏡 Oakland County Michigan | Seller Perspective
What I Tell Boomer Sellers Who Ask If They Should Wait for a "Better" Market Some clients want to time the market perfectly. Here's why that's usually the wrong question to ask.
700+
Closed Transactions
24
Years Experience
SRES
Designated
📋 TL;DR
Boomer sellers often ask me whether they should wait for the "silver tsunami" to arrive before listing, assuming a flood of similar homes will eventually compete with theirs. In practice, that flood keeps not arriving, and waiting on a macro trend that may take another decade to unfold usually costs more … (0 comments)
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tom gilliam remax classic: The Accessibility Misconception That's Costing Oakland County Sellers Money
- 07/16/26 06:08 AM
🏡 Oakland County Michigan | Seller Perspective
The Accessibility Misconception That's Costing Oakland County Sellers Money Sellers assume a grab bar or a ramp will scare buyers off. What I actually see at showings says otherwise.
700+
Closed Transactions
24
Years Experience
SRES
Designated
📋 TL;DR
Sellers routinely assume accessible features will narrow their buyer pool and hurt resale value. In practice, the opposite tends to happen — modern accessible design reads as quality construction, not a medical necessity, and buyers of every age respond to it well. The sellers who worry most about this are usually the ones … (0 comments)
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Buyer Representation — Two Years Later
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