Macomb County MI real estate - 1st time home buyers info & advice

Oh, the wonderful world of bank owned properties!

Let's see, first the sellers disclosure is stamped:  "Exempt" or some such other language.  The bank owners have never lived in the home so they surely cannot attest to the condition of the home unless they have inspected it.  I get it.  My buyers get it.

What I don't "get" is this:  The Federally mandated lead base paint disclosure form is sent to buyers agents blank.  Not a bit of wording on it, not even the catch all: "Sorry, I don't know, have never tested the home, do your own due diligance."

I don't know about anyone else, but handing my buyer clients a blank form that is important to any purchase transaction in the US to just sign, date and initial willy nilly gives me the wilies.

What I have done since I first saw this blank lead based paint disclosure is this - I write the following language above the spot for the buyer clients to sign:

"As of the date of purchasers signature the sellers have not provided disclosure and purchasers are signing an incomplete form."

They are then given the opportunity to indicate whether they are waiving the right to have a lead based paint inspection, or whether they wish to conduct one. 

How do all of you handle this when you see it?  Surely it cannot be something that is typical only in my area.

I don't know if everyone is aware of it or not, but there are big changes coming to the way  FHA will insure condos as of October 1st.

After reading HUD mortgagee letter a couple of things stand out that  I know will affect my  Macomb County MI condo buyers, and they may or may not affect your local condo buyers:





**"...  the lender must avoid or mitigate the following conditions before completing its review process..:


1.    The project is located in a Special Flood Hazard Area designated on a Federal Emergency Management Agency flood map.

2.    Potential noise issues, where the property is located within 1000 feet of a highway, freeway, or heavily traveled road, within 3000 feet of a railroad, or within one mile of an airport or five miles of a military airfield."

Oh my.  Talk about throwing a monkey wrench in to condo buying (and selling a condo!)  You can't move a military base or an airport, and you surely can't move a whole condo complex.   In my area we have Selfridge ANG (photo above)  as well as DTW (Detroit Metropolitan Airport).

We have hundreds if not thousands of miles of heavily traveled roads.  

As Michigan is the Great Lakes State we also have many areas within the FEMA designated flood plains. 

The months after October 1st are going to be very interesting as the mortgage lenders and buyers agents try to figure out which condo complexes will pass FHA muster and how to help our buyers purchase a condo with financing other than FHA.

We may want to sit down with our mortgage lenders prior to the end of September to go over other options for our home buyers.



**Quote courtesy of HUD from their Mortgagee Letter 2009-19**


                                               Kris Wales - Macomb County MI real estate
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