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Where Are Interest Rates Heading in Detroit?

There are many great Metro-Detroit area homes for sale. Click here to perform a full home search, or if you're thinking of selling your home, click here for a FREE Home Price Valuation so you know what buyers will pay for your home in today's market. You may also call me at (248) 425-5082 for a FREE home buying or selling consultation to answer any of your real estate questions.

Today, we have some great news for you. Over the last few weeks, interest rates have been coming down. If you've received a home loan sometime in the last few months, you've probably noticed that rates are hovering between 4.25% and 4.4%.

Let's say you have a $200,000 home loan with an interest rate of 4.25%. Your principal and interest payment would be roughly $989 a month on a 30-year fixed mortgage. Recently, I've seen closings with interest rates as low as 3.6%! If you locked in this rate now, instead of the 4.25% rate, your monthly payment would only be around $907, for a savings of about $80 a month! Over the course of a year you could save $960, and about $2,000 over two years!

If you have an FHA loan, we have some good news for you. FHA has lowered its basis points from 1.35% to .8%! This means that if you got an FHA rate sometime in the last three years, you're probably paying $120 to $150 a month in mortgage insurance. You could have it reduced to $65 to $110 a month if you refinanced! This is a $50-a-month savings per loan, which is fantastic. FHA also offers something called FHA Streamline, which allows you to obtain a loan without having to deal with appraisals, credit checks, and underwriting, all for $300.

We have several lenders we can refer you to if any of these opportunities interest you. Give us a call or shoot us an email - we would love to figure out whether now is the best time to make your move and discuss your options. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

5 More Questions to Ask a Prospective Agent

5 More Questions to Ask a Prospective Agent

Welcome back, everyone. Last time we gave you 5 questions that agents hate to be asked. The reason they hate to be asked these questions is that it requires them to be honest about their business and business practices. We are back again with 5 more questions for you to ask your agent, so you can determine if they will be able to meet your needs.

6. How many of your pending contracts close escrow?
This is more of an intricate question and speaks to Real estate is not a one man job anymore. minimizing the hassle of a transaction. If you are hearing numbers that are 95% or above, that is great. Our team's average is 96%. Anything less is not effective and probably won't lead to a very smooth sale.

7. What is your list-to-sale ratio?

10 questions agents hate to be asked Part 2

This is of supreme importance when you are selling a home. The national average is 92%, but an experienced team of agents like ourselves have a 98.2% average. We can get you more than 6% more money than an average agent.

8. How will you attract buyers to my property?
Your agent must have a written, applicable marketing plan. Putting a sign in the yard and putting it on the MLS isn't a plan. A plan must be a written, repeatable system that is in place, like our 151 point marketing system.

9. Do you assist with staging a property?
A few small moves can result in thousands more for your home sale. A certified home-stager, like the ones we work with, can sae you thousands with investments of only hundreds.

10. How many homes have you sold in the last 6 months, the last year?
For sellers ,this figure shows a track record of success. If you're a buyer a high number tells you that this agent may have access to some homes that are not on the MLS. We personally get about 5 deals a month from homes that aren't publicly listed.

Thanks for reading, If you have any questions, you can always give us a call or send us an email. We would be very glad to help.

What You Should be Asking Your Prospective Agent

What You Should be Asking Your Prospective Agent

Today we want to share with you 10 questions that real estate agents hate to be asked. These are great question to ask agents before hiring them, because it forces them to be honest and their answers will determine how good of an agent they are. We will cover the first 5 this week, they are:

1. Are you a full time agent?
This is a very important question to ask. You want to make sure the agent has the experience to handle all the issues in your real estate transaction.

2. Do you have a team to support you?
This is also very important, especially if you are buyer. If the right home comes up and there is no one else to help you besides your primary agent, you could miss out on the best homes in our market, which are typically selling within 24-48 hours. We have 13 buyer representatives that are always available to assist you with getting into homes and helping make offers. Real estate is not a one man job anymore.

3. Are the members of your team specifically trained for certain tasks?

10 questions agents hate to be asked part 1

It's important that each member of the team has a specific, defined role. A closing coordinator may not be the best negotiators. A good negotiators is not necessarily the best at marketing. Each person should know their job and be trained well to help close a transaction quickly and smoothly.

4. What level of communication can I expect?
This is of the utmost importance. For our sellers, we communicate with them a minimum of twice a week. For buyers, we will keep in touch at all times to let you know about new listings that match your criteria for a home. We cater to your communication needs and can communicate with you however you would like.

5. How do you rank in your firm, locally and nationally?
This is a great question to ask to gauge experience. If you work with an agent in the bottom 20%, they don't always have the pedigree to get your home sold or bought correctly. Our team is #2 in Michigan and #12 nationally.

Thanks for checking out our first set of questions. We will be back in a few weeks with the final 5 questions, so stay tuned! If you have any questions in the meantime, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We'd be glad to help!

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Why Hire The Perna Team?

The Perna Team is an extension of Keller Williams Realty. Keller Williams Realty has been in business since 1983. The Perna Team itself has been in business since 2001. Mike Perna is the head of the Perna Team. Mike Perna has had his real estate license since 2001. The Perna Team has sold over 320 homes just in the past 12 months. The Perna Team ranks #18 out of 82,000 real estate agents throughout the United States. (Based on transmittals received for the First Quarter 2013 (Jan 2013 through March 2013)). THe Perna Team is one of the top real estate teams in the entire state of Michigan. It ranks #2 in the whole state. The Perna Team is located in Novi, Michigan. We are an ever growing company that strives to get families into their dream home.

Michael Perna
The Perna Team
Keller Williams Realty
200 N. Center Street
Northville, MI 48167
248-886-4450
michaelperna@kw.com

What our happy Oakland clients have to say

"Mike Perna and his team are very knowledgeable, friendly and skilled at what they do. They sold my home in less than 52 days! The Perna Teams communication skills are phenomenal! They use text messages, e-mail ,fax, phone and in -person communication to get the job done! Mike and his team always kept me in the loop as to what was going on with my home sale progress. I would highly recommend the Perna Team to sell your home!"

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"Mike Perna is the sole reason that we now own the House of our Dreams. Mike was willing to put in the time and effort way above and beyond the other agents we interacted with when we first started looking at homes. He is extremely knowledgeable and willing to answer any and all questions you may have. I know this because I asked him everything I possibly could to educate myself because I like being an informed buyer especially when it is the largest purchase you will ever make!

The knowledge he has pertaining to the local area was very valuable in assisting us in our search. He did a phenomenal job negotiating the price and seeing us through the process. This may sound like a minute thing, but he returns phone calls, emails and texts very promptly and always makes himself available for you. As if you are his only client, and as a client, nothing is better!

I could go on and on about Mike simply because he is worth it. I will recommend him to anyone who is interested in looking for a house or even has a basic question.

Mike Perna and his staff are the right Real Estate professional for you!"

Click here to read more reviews

The Perna Team Testimonials

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testimonials from happy clients

Danah - "I got the optimum result in that my home sold in about 2 weeks. This is the first time I’ve sold a home on my own and I was surprised in how quickly they began showing my home. The first time I met them and signed the paperwork was on a Thursday and they started showing my house that Saturday."

Thom - "I had someone whom I’ve known for about 30 years come and appraise my house and they told me what they thought it was worth. I disagreed with the appraisal so I put the house up on Zillow myself. I got a call from a lady at The Perna Team and she said that she’d like to talk to me about the house and that she’d like to see it. I liked her so she came out and looked at it and said that she thought we could do this. We put it up, got 2 offers on it of which I took the 2ndoffer, and I was just pleased with the whole process!"

Dick - "Our house sold in 4 days so we had excellent results! She did a fantastic job with the pictures and write ups and I really think that helped it sell. Mary Jo stepped up and really looked out for our interests when the buyer’s finances were shaky. I have nothing but good things to say about Mary Jo and the Perna Team!"

Valentia - "We got 3 offers on our home, 2 of them were above asking price and then the 3rd, which I chose, was an all cash sale. I couldn’t be happier! Mary Jo did everything possible and I don’t think anybody could have found any fault with what she did. She was extremely professional, helpful, responsive, and she just did a fabulous job. I’m was extremely happy!"

Jamie - "We had very positive results with the Perna Team. Our house sold in a couple days and our agent, Mary Jo was really great to work with! She was very informative and everything was very straight forward. She pushed for the best deal possible for us and because of her persistence, we actually got a cash offer in the end."

Joella - "They were awesome! My house was sold quickly and efficiently and they were always there if I had a question. The whole process was very smooth! The buyer didn’t have the funds wire transferred on the day of closing so Mary Jo was willing to drive to my house the next day to bring me my check. They were all just really great!"

Clarice - "We got very quick results. The Perna Team was very professional and showed a lot of interest in helping us. We had 4 showings and 4 offers within 26 hours. There was an instance where there was an error and someone forgot to take a showing off after the sale was pending and our alarm went off. It was on a Sunday and I was travelling but I was able to call Mary Jo and she took care of it. She always kept us updated on the transaction too which I really appreciated!"

Nick - "The Perna Team was very efficient. Mary Jo delivered on everything she said she would. The level of professionalism with the photos and everything just made it a quick sale. It was listed on a Thursday at 2 o’clock and we had an accepted signed offer in our hands 26 hours later that Friday. We couldn’t have been happier!"

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Where Are Interest Rates Heading in Detroit?

5 More Questions to Ask a Prospective Agent

What You Should be Asking Your Prospective Agent