Welcome to my blog about Livonia Michigan Houses for Sale.  Going into 2009 I am very excited for the potential home buyers in Livonia Michigan this year.  Inventory is still high (but does seem to be reducing) while pricing compared to a few years ago is very low.  Livonia offers a great selection of housing opportunities from executive style two story homes, starter houses, condominiums and most styles in between.  Feel free to visit my Livonia Michigan Real Estate web-page for more information on local housing and city information.  Today there is well over 600 available Livonia homes to start your searching with.  It is a great idea to narrow down your search criteria by price range, location, home style, etc.  I would also advise that you start to narrow down and pick who you think... 01/14/2009

'and a few other things too. Earlier this fall I made a resolution. I live in Michigan and I choose to live in Michigan, so this year, I wasn't going to gripe about the cold. Even more, I was going to do everything I could to enjoy it. I've never been much of a winter sports fan, except from my couch. I don't ski. ice fish or play hockey, almost sacrilege in Detroit. Still I was determined to make the best of 6 months of my life. I grew up across the Mississippi River from St Louis. While it's not Florida, it doesn't have the winters of the great white north. Let me tell you, this morning almost broke my resolve! I had to start the car a lot earlier to make sure the fluids would move. I had to stop my kids from walking out of the house half naked. Then it took me extra time to get to my... 01/14/2009

I was told the other day that you can wish poeple a Happy New Year up to the 10th of the month, after that it's passe. Sounds good to me but what about those clients I haven't called yet? Oh, you haven't called yours either? Is it too late for us? I don't think so. There's news to pass on to those clients and the news is called Market Stats! O.k. wake up. Sorry to bore you but this is a great way to let your clients know you're still alive. Check your MLS and call your clients with what you find out. It's fun, sort of liek hide-and-seek but with numbers. And believe me, you sound so impressive when you slip in words like inventory and active to sale ratio. Here's an example. In Livonia, Mi, where I live, inventory has gone down quite a bit. A year and a half ago, three bedroom ranches w... 01/12/2009

This morning I answered a question on a popular real estate site about how a Livonia MI home could sell so cheaply ($90K) in an area of expensive homes without being listed for sale. Turns out the home in question was in a new subdivision of about 70 homes so it was purchased through the builder. Upon further investigation, I discovered that after the transaction closed, only the sale of the parcel of land was recorded as the real estate 'sale' on public records. Also recorded was mortgage for over $300K. That doesn't account for how much the Buyer might have paid as a down payment. It's become so easy to do home value research online through sites like Zillow and Trulia. However, until each municipality standardizes how new construction transactions are to be recorded, data will contin... 01/04/2009

Are you a first time homebuyer?  Have you ever done any repairs on a home?  Are you handy?  How much extra money will you have after the closing? Those questions should determine what time of home you should buy.  If you have no skills and little money you should not be looking at those bargain basement Metro Detroit foreclosures that need a ton of work.  If those Metro Detroit foreclosures need all new carpeting, major drywall work, a kitchen redone, new windows, or a new roof you should be crossing those homes off your list. You should be concentrating on homes that are more move in ready.  Homes that you can move into and you can live in.  Yes there may be Metro Detroit foreclosures that need very little work and still be a bargain. Yes there may be even bargains in homes that are mo... 01/04/2009

You see them everyday; they are incredibly valuable!  So why are you passing them up?   Troy, MI - Speckled Sheep are houses, large or small; all with something wrong with them.  They're ugly, stinky or financially upside down; no one wants speckled sheep...or do they?   Speckled sheep can be found everywhere, in enormous herds and their population is growing.  Chris Allred is an expert at herding speckled sheep; he will show real estate investors the huge opportunities available at a weekend conference in February.  Chris will join a panel of real estate and business experts who will address the concerns of today's troubled economy and show how to make money in a depressed market.   Chris Allred is a serial entrepreneur, real estate investor, consultant, and an agent of change.  He wil... 12/28/2008

 Livonia MI St. Mary Mercy Hospital St Mary's is located in western Wayne County in Livonia at 5 Mile Rd and Levan.    So many Livonia residents and Wayne County residents depend on St Mary Mercy Hospital for quality health care and emergency services. St. Mary Mercy Hospital(SMMH) in Livonia joined Saint Joseph Mercy Health System in February 2008. It is a 304-bed acute-care hospital providing the highest quality services with leading-edge technology. St. Mary Mercy has been named a Top 100 Hospital by Thomson Reuters; a Bariatric Surgery Center of   the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS); is a member of the Michigan Stroke Network as well as the Clinical Community Oncology Program (CCOP) for clinical research trials. St. Mary's also earned the 2008 and 2009 H... 12/19/2008

Livonia hospitalsSt. Mary's Hospital is located right in Livonia MI on 5 mile Rd.  If you don't want to use St. Mary's there are several hospitals within 20 minutes, Providence Hospital in Novi, Garden City hospital in Garden City, and Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn.  Many doctors, and dentist make Livonia home making it easy for you to locate a family practitioner close by.The city has good police force and good firemen that have worked hard to keep Livonia ranked in the top of the nation's safest cities. As the City´s motto proclaims, "People Come First" in Livonia.  With a population of over 100,000, Livonia is the:  2nd Largest City in Wayne County   the 8th Largest City in Michigan the 242nd Largest City in the United States. Livonia is recognized as the 7th Safest City in the countr... 12/12/2008

Real estate term explanation "Chasing the market down" If you price your Wayne County home high you will be chasing the market down.  What I mean by that is by the time you realize that you are overpriced you will lower it a little bit.  But by then the Metro Detroit real estate market value will have dropped.  So then even though you dropped your price you will be over priced for the Metro Detroit real estate market again.  This will happen over and over as you chase the market down.  You will finally get tired of chasing the market down.  You will either pull the house off the market or you will end up letting your Michigan home go for much less than what you originally listed it at. Let's do a general example with a Livonia home.  Currently most Livonia colonials are selling for abou... 12/09/2008

The cold winter months are quickly approaching here in Livonia and Northville Michigan.  With all the shake up with our big businesses lately it's hard to imagine much real estate relocation happening at all.  I would like to say that for me and my team we generally experience a bit of an upswing with corporate relocation buyers and sellers during the months of January through March.  It is still early December and we have two buyer's relocating here from other area's.  One found the home they love and are writing an offer this weekend and the other has their home search narrowed down but not in as big of a hurry.  We are just one small group of Livonia/Northville real estate agents so I imagine there are others experiencing the same thing.  If you are going to be selling your Northvill... 12/05/2008

There has never been a better time to buy your first home than right now. Given the current economy, you probably think I'm crazy, but hear me out. First of all, interest rates are still really great and there are rumbles about them getting better. Second is the first time homebuyer tax credit passed this year. And third, the mortgage is likely to be cheaper than paying rent. Case in point, my daughter. After she graduated from college in May, we started running some numbers in preparation for her leaving the nest. She was looking at between $600-750 per month for a small apartment. Based on what I was seeing on the market, I suggested we investigate foreclosed & HUD homes. Long story short...we found a really great 3 bedroom, 2 bath brick ranch with finished basement, fenced yard and 2... 12/04/2008

I spent time in the Military and being away from the family during the holidays is always a lonely time.  Instead of a real turkey being carved you usually got a slice of white turkey meat.  One thing I can say the military cooks were good.  I had quite a few good meals in the military.  Sure they were not gourmet but they were good. I give thanks to all those men and women protecting us around the world far from there families and friends.  To them I raise a drumstick salute.  May you stay safe and return to your family.  May you return soon so you can spend next Thanksgiving with your family. As a Realtor you know we are an independent group.  We don't like a nine to five cubicle.  We don't like being told when to be there or what to do.  But that is what the military is.  The militar... 11/26/2008

Bush, Bridge Loan, Bailout...lots of "B" words are being bantered about the cause of our current financial crisis and possible solutions. We here in Michigan never really enjoyed the recovery after 9/11 the way the rest of the country did. Now with the meltdown of the economy, the auto industry has taken a huge hit. Unfortunately, Congress adjourned for the Thanksgiving holiday without making a decision on assistance for the automakers. Mixed feelings aside about what the best course of action should be, I thought Rep. Thaddeus McCotter stated Michigan's case pretty well. 11/23/2008

  Re: For Attendees and Activerain members who attended the Monthly Internet Roundtable at College   To all Our Friends from the Internet Marketing Roundtable,   I was just speaking with Mark Maupin when we realize it’s already been a very busy week since the Internet Marketing Roundtable Monthly last Thursday.  And we were wondering how much action is being taken out there, how much is actually getting done.  Then I thought we’d better send out a reminder, something to keep all the generously shared Internet Marketing Secrets used by Mark, Kevin, Al, Brother Bedford, and Myself alive in your head and help move you into action.  Specifically, let me recap for you 4 Key Strategies to Implement for Your Internet / Web / Online Business Marketing Program.   While each of the following Sear... 11/21/2008

One of the questions I always like my clients to ask themselves is can you really afford this.  In this market we are seeing thousands of Michigan foreclosures.  People that took chances, people that did questionable mortgages.  Most of these home buyers never could have predicted the events that caused some of these foreclosures. Some lost jobs, got divorced and could sell their Michigan home. But there was a percentage of Metro Detroit home buyers that never thought beyond buying that new home.  Some buyers stretched themselves into the home. That is what I don't want you to do.  I don't want to ask you " can you really afford this"  That is not my place.  You are old enough and responsible enough to make that decision.  It is none of my business.  I just want to keep the Livonia Home... 11/12/2008

A lot of online marketers like to write articles to generate credibility for themselves or to market themselves as experts in their field.  A good article is one that grabs your attention and keeps you interested while you read it.  No one likes to read an article that drones on and on about how great and knowledgeable the writer is.  Short paragraphs with lots of good information will hold a reader's attention.  Adding some humor helps too, if it is appropriate for the subject in which you are writing about.  Here are some tips about writing each of the essential parts of an article.   The Title   The heading is important.  It should be something that catches a reader's attention and clearly describes what the article will be about.  The title should contain 25 to 65 characters; not to... 11/08/2008

LIVONIA MICHIGAN HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE/ELECTRONIC WASTE COLLECTION Wayne County will be conducting a Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off Day on Saturday, November 8th from 8:00am to 2:00pm at the Westland DPW Yard.  (37137 Marquette - East of Newburgh Rd, 1/2 mile south of Ford Rd).The November 8th drop-off event is your final opportunity in 2008 to rid your garage, basement and shed of unwanted and potentially hazardous waste; including paints, stains, dyes, lawn & garden chemicals, antifreeze, motor oil, gasoline, etc.  Electronic waste will also be collected including computers, monitors, keyboards, printers, scanners, cell phones, fax machines, copiers, televisions, etc.This event is open only to the residents of Wayne County, Michigan.  For questions regarding household hazardou... 11/07/2008

I had a prospective client email about putting an offer in on a Livonia Home for sale based on State Equalized property.  I emailed them back and told them to put Michigan's property tax assesment out of their head.  The reason I said this is that all Michigan homes most likely have SEV's (state equalized values) that are higher than what the Michigan home is worth.  Whether it s a Canton home, Livonia home, or Farmington Hills home for sale their actual current market value is lower than the SEV. It doesn't matter what the house was worth 3 years ago or what the State Equalized Value (SEV) was.  What you have to do is realize the current market is totally different.  Home values are dramatically lower! You have to look at the recent homes that have sold for.  They have to be close in s... 10/30/2008

The historic Wilson Barn is the site of Livonia's Pumpkin Fest being held Fridays through Sundays, October 17-19 and 24-26, and Wednesday and Thursday, October 29-30. Decked out in Halloween haunting style, the barn has been transformed and children aged 12 and under are invited to journey through the spooky historical horse stalls for lots of chills and thrills. Other activites include a pony ride, bounce house, and pumpkin patch. Cider & donuts are available in the Barn to get you in the seasonal spirit. Held 5:30 - 8:00 PM on the above dates, admission is $.50/person/trip through the haunted barn. 10/15/2008

What are the homes like in this Livonia subdivision?  How many homes are in the sub?  What are the home styles like.  See the latest Livonia homes for sale, and the recent sold Livonia homes in the subdivision. Here are some Livonia subdivisions.  If you have a Michigan relocation in your future and Livonia Michigan is on your short list this information may help you.  Click on the Livinia subdivision below:Blue Grass Farms SubdivisionBurton Hollow Estates SubdivisionBurton Hollow Woods SubdivisionCaliburn Estates SubdivisionCaliburn Manor SubdivisionCastle GardensSubdivision Compton Village SubdivisionCountry Homes Estates SubdivisionCoventry Gardens SubdivisionDeer Creek SubdivisionDenmar Estates SubdivisionFairway Farms SubdivisionFrancavilla SubdivisionGolf View Meadows SubdivisionG... 10/04/2008