Jackie Hawley's Real Estate Blog for Southeast MI

Am I Overpaying? Is the listing overpriced? What is the house worth? All questions, or variations of questions, most buyers ask when buying a house in Clarkston, MI. They are valid questions with not easy or pat answer. The value of the home depends on your point of view. Webster defines "value" ...

Thinking of buying a new home in Clarkston or Lake Orion MI? You need to get that pre-approval from your lender very early in the process. Ideally before you even start looking, and for a variety of reasons. Of course there are the same reasons as always- need to know a price to perform an MLS se...

When a potential seller makes an appointment to meet with me about selling their Clarkston MI home I am typically asked "how long will this take?" and "are you going to take pictures?" There are two ways a listing can happen. The 1 step approach or 2 step. On the 1 step listing, I have comparable...

Short sales in Clarkston Michigan - click here for the very basics including my attempt to define exactly what a short sale is and the basic steps involved. Below is more about what to expect throughout the short sale transaction. Short sale listings can be some of the best bargains available in ...

I want to start out by stating this post IS NOT for the potential Clarkston short sale seller. Short sales, and what I like to call a normal sale, are 2 completely different animals. Most Clarkston MI short sale sellers NEED to sell and are upside down on their mortgage. The regular seller may or...

Low Ball to me means way under market value- NOT way under the asking price. As an experienced agent, I KNOW WHEN I HAVE AN OVERPRICED LISTING! But the point of this post is about coming in way under MARKET VALUE and insisting I jump and present in the next 2 hours because you, the buyer's agent,...

I'm not much of a re-blogger; I think this is my second attempt. But I couldn't have written about this new fee any better than Lenn Harley so why re-invent the wheel? Now that housing seems to be showing signs of recovery it will be looked at as a source of revenue (hidden in most cases). And th...

Do The Windows Really Need Replacing? I was showing an 18 year old house the other day, and the buyer mentioned it would need new windows. They looked fine and no evidence of broken seals. A home inspection should find any problems, but at this point there is no reason to think the windows have p...

Making an Offer on an Oakland County Michigan Short Sale Listing? The Asking Price Means Nothing! First a quick run down about how the short sale process works. Owner lists a house with a real estate agent. The owner owes more on the house than he can sell it for and is either unable or unwilling...

Attention Loan Officers- We are a team, working together. Keep up the snarky attitude and we can always change loan officers. I don’t know when selling real estate became so confrontational- almost a contact sport. Sometimes a simple real estate transaction feels more like a pissing contest with ...