Winning design announced for former J.L. Hudson site

A winning design was announced today for the former J.L. Hudson Co. department store site.
Davide Marchetti and Erin Pellegrino of Rome, Italy, took first place in the "Redesigning Detroit: A New Vision for an Iconic Site" competition and the $15,000 prize that comes along with it.

The contest was sponsored by Rock Ventures LLC through its Opportunity Detroit campaign.
A team of five architects and planning experts were judges for the competition. They finished judging Friday, and the public voted on the entries on Saturday and Sunday, with cash prizes going to the top three vote-getters.

Quicken Loans founder Dan Gilbert has announced plans to build a residential development on the portion of the former J.L. Hudson department store site on Woodward Avenue immediately north of the Compuware Building.

Celebrity Pads~ Featuring Lakers coach Mike Brown

While on the hunt for a new team, former Lakers coach Mike Brown is selling his Anaheim mansion for a cool $3.75 million. Brown is currently in talks to reunite with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and put his luxurious abode on the market. 

The 9,500 square foot home features 6-bedrooms, 9-bathrooms, chef's kitchen, a sports bar, media center and 350-gallon aquarium. There's also a full sized gym, spacious master suite, and private balcony.

While the inside of the home is nice, it doesn't even compare to the lush backyard, which mimics a spa with its own rock waterfall, pool, water slide, grotto and swim-up bar.

What should you expect when you're INSPECTING?

If you’re a first-time buyer who just nabbed your first place, you’re likely in one of the scarier places in the real estate transaction. After weeks or months of looking, your new home is becoming a reality.

But before you can pick out the paint colors and decide how you’ll redo the basement, the property needs to be inspected.

A property inspection is one of the most important parts of the purchasing process, yet many buyers don’t know what to expect from the various players involved. Here’s a guide to the roles and responsibilities each of the players has during a typical property inspection.

You, the buyer

You’re there to learn as much about the property as possible. But you should have already done your homework before the big day.

Prior to the inspection, review the seller’s property disclosures and know up front what questions you have for the inspector. Things may have come up during the marketing or during a walk-through that concerned you. Or maybe the seller disclosed that some unpermitted work was done in the basement years ago. Before you release your inspection contingency, know exactly what you’re getting into and that there aren’t any surprises down the road.

Block out a few hours on the day of the inspection, depending on the size of the home. Nearly everyone from the transaction will be present, and these few hours can be critical. Most inspections go smoothly, but some can be the beginning of tough negotiations.

The buyer’s agent

Your agent should  be standing by your side to walk you through the inspection. Good agents have been through dozens of inspections and know how they work. They should have basic knowledge of what to look for. Most importantly, they know what’s important and what matters in the big picture. If you’re getting a really good price on the home, your agent would likely advise you not to bother the seller for small fixes. If you’re paying top dollar and discover serious flaws, your agent can guide you on how to best proceed after the inspection.

The listing agent

For many reasons, the seller won’t be present during the inspection. But the seller’s listing agent will be front and center as the eyes and ears of the property inspection.

By this point, the listing agent should be familiar with the property and is there to address anything that comes up. For the seller and the listing agent, the inspection is one of the last hurdles to get through and a big unknown. Issues, questions or concerns could arise during the inspection, which 
could kill the sale or affect the property’s value.  That’s why many agents advise sellers to get a property inspection before going on the market, to prevent any last-minute unknowns or red flags.

Sometimes, it seems as though the listing agent is there to “defend” the property against the buyer, her agent and their chosen inspector. Some feel the inspection is a “three against one” situation. It shouldn’t be.

Though the listing agent is there to be an advocate for the seller, everyone should come with the same goal in mind: to facilitate a clean sales transaction.

The inspector

As the buyer, you hire the property inspector, who should be licensed by the state. You sign an agreement with and pay the inspector. Most buyers get a referral for an inspector from their real estate agent.

The inspector is not a contractor, though some inspectors were contractors in their previous careers. While they may be able to shed light on what you can or can’t do to a property and its potential costs, their main purpose is to inspect the property, its systems and the overall state of the home.

A good inspector will remain impartial and not be an alarmist, though they will point out things to be addressed. The inspector isn’t a part of the transaction and shouldn’t get into the nitty-gritty of your deal, nor would they want to.

The inspector should look around, make notes and provide you with a detailed report as well as some feedback on future maintenance. Be sure to walk through the property with the inspector. Whenever possible, go where the inspector goes. Get on the roof, go into the basement, venture into the crawlspace. It will be helpful for the inspector to point things out to you in real-time and demonstrate where the systems are and how they work. Also, some things are better understood in person than read about in a report later.

Your Uncle Bob

Finally, it’s important to understand why having Uncle Bob on hand during the inspection isn’t necessarily a good idea. While it may seem logical to bring a relative or close friend who is a contractor, be mindful that these people aren’t licensed property inspectors. Sometimes, the most well-intended people can end up causing harmful consequences. Uncle Bob may feel it’s important to point out as many negative things as possible, just to seem helpful. He’s far from impartial, however, and you run the risk of raising red flags when they don’t need to be.

Time for a huddle

After the inspection, you and your agent will likely huddle to talk about what went on and to strategize next steps. Hopefully, the inspection was flawless and you are one step closer to picking out your new paint colors.

Or some additional negotiations may be needed after the inspection.

Either way, it helps to know what to expect going in and to be prepared for anything.

TOP 10 Real Estate Tax Deductions for Homeowners

As April 15 is rapidly approaching I thought we would talk about one of the biggest advantages to owning a home...TAX DEDUCTIONS! Here are the top 10.

1.  Mortgage Interest Deduction

The mortgage interest deduction has always been the most-beloved tax benefit of home buyers in the U.S.  New homeowners’ monthly mortgage payments are made up almost entirely by interest for the first few years. Their ability to deduct that interest can result in a healthy reduction in tax liability. Affordability for first-time home buyers is directly linked to their ability to deduct the interest on their mortgage.

Homeowners who itemize their deductions can deduct the interest paid on a mortgage with a balance of up to $1 million. While there is some movement to limit the total itemized deductions for taxpayers with higher incomes (over $400,000), the current deductions holds for all tax brackets. Americans save around $100 million every year by deducting mortgage interest on their tax returns.

2.  Home Improvement Loan Interest Deduction

The interest on home equity loans used for “capital improvements” to a home can also be a tax deduction. On loans with balances of up to $100,000, the interest is tax-deductible for a homeowner who uses the loan to make improvements to the home such as adding square footage, upgrading the components of the home, or repairing damage from a natural disaster. Maintenance items like changing the carpet and painting a home are usually not included as capital improvement projects.

3.  Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) Deduction

Homeowners who make a down payment of less than 20% are usually paying some sort of Private Mortgage Insurance. PMI (sometimes abbreviated MIP or just MI), can be a few dollars to hundreds of dollars per month, and it is a large portion of many homeowners’ mortgage payments.

If your mortgage was originated after Jan 1, 2007, and you have PMI, it can be a tax deduction. The deduction is phased out, 10% per $1,000, for taxpayers who have an adjusted gross income between $100,000-$109,000 and those above that level do not qualify. The extension of this tax deduction in 2013 was one of many last-second saves by real estate industry advocates.

4. Mortgage Points/Origination Deduction

Homeowners who paid points on their home purchase or refinance can often deduct those points on their tax returns. Points, often called origination fees, are usually percentage-based fees which a lender charges to originate a loan. A one percent fee on a $100,000 loan would be one point, or $1,000.

On a home purchase loan, taxpayers can deduct the entirety of the points that they paid in the same year. On a refinance loan, the points must be deducted as an amortization over the life of the loan. Many taxpayers forget about this amortized benefit over time, so it’s important to keep good records on the deduction of points on a refinance.

5. Energy Efficiency Upgrades/Repairs Deduction

Homeowners can deduct the cost of the building materials used for energy efficiency upgrades to their home. This is actually a tax credit, one which is applied as a direct reduction of how much tax you owe, not just a reduction in your taxable income.

10 percent of the total bill for energy-efficient materials can be used as a tax credit, up to a maximum $500 credit. Insulation, doors, new roofs, and many other items qualify for the energy efficiency credit. There are also individual limits for certain items, such as $150 for furnaces, $200 for windows, and $300 for air conditioners and heat pumps.

6. Profit on Sale of Real Estate Deduction

If you’ve sold a home in the past year, you’re likely aware that individuals can claim up to $250,000 of profit from the sale tax-free, and married couples can claim up to $500,000 tax-free. Of course, there are some requirements to escaping the capital gains tax on this profit.

The home must be a primary residence. This means that you must have lived in the home, as your primary residence, for two of the past five years. You could rent it out for years one, three, and five, while living in it for years two and four. In this way, a homeowner could potentially claim this tax break on multiple homes within a fairly short time frame, but each tax-free sale must occur at least two years apart from the previous tax-free transaction.

7. Real Estate Selling Cost Deduction

For those lucky folks whose profits on the sale of their home might exceed the $250k/$500k limits, there are still some ways to reduce the tax burden.  The costs of selling the home can be significant, and those in themselves can be claimed as tax deductions.

By adding up all of the fees paid at closing, capital improvements made to the home while you owned it, money spent to make repairs to damaged property, and marketing costs necessary to sell the home, you can add a significant figure to the cost basis of your home.  This basically raises the original price you paid for the home.  Your cost basis begins with the original price of the home, and then adds in the improvement and selling costs.  When the new cost basis price is compared to your selling price, it reduces your potentially-taxable profit on the home significantly.

8. Home Office Deduction

The home office tax deduction is often cited as a deduction that increases your likelihood of being audited.While the raw numbers might add some credibility to that perception, it’s really the way a home office is deducted that gets some taxpayers into audit purgatory.

This deduction, when used correctly, is just as safe as any other.  Homeowners deduct a percentage of their mortgage, utilities, and repair bills in direct proportion to the amount of their home that is dedicated office space.

There are a few hard and fast rules to live by when deducting the costs of your home office. The home office must be your principal place of business (the primary office location where you get the majority of your work done).  It needs to be exclusively used for business (it can’t be your kitchen by day and office by night).  You need to be realistic with its size and use (unless you enjoy audits).

9. Property Tax Deduction

New homeowners often don’t know that their property taxes are deductible.  While it may sound strange to have a tax-deductible tax, the overall effect is that you don’t pay income tax on money that was spent on property taxes.

Homeowners should be careful to only deduct the amount of property tax actually paid to their local municipality for the year. This is not necessarily the amount you paid to your escrow account, and should not include any other city/county fees that might potentially be on the same bill as your property taxes.

10. Loan Forgiveness Deduction

The Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act of 2007 was created when short sales were becoming a new and growing part of the real estate market. An underwater homeowner might convince their lender to agree to a short sale of their home at $100,000, even though they owe $150,000 on their mortgage. While the lender forgives the extra $50,000 owed after the short sale, the government views it as $50,000 in taxable income (a gift from the lender to the borrower).

The Debt Forgiveness Act temporarily relieved the taxpayer of that burden, but was set to expire this year. Through much effort, it was extended along with many other homeowner tax relief measures this year and homeowners can continue to claim this tax relief in 2013.

(This is only a informational summary of current tax issues in the news.  If you need tax advice, contact your tax attorney or CPA.)

~Kandiss

NEW HOME permits up 46 percent in Metro Detroit

New home permits rose by 46 percent in February over a year ago in four metro Detroit counties, according to the West Bloomfield Township-based Home Builders Association of Southeastern Michigan.

There were 277 new single-family home permits issued in February in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb and St. Clair counties, up from 189 in February 2012.

There were 118 issued in Oakland County and 99 issued in Wayne County in February. Sixty were issued in Macomb County.

No single-family home permits were issued in St. Clair County in February.

With a rebound in home sales prices, buyers feel more financially capable of building a new home after selling their current one, said Michael Stoskopf, CEO of the association.

Plans for former NOVI EXPO CENTER

A 25-acre tract where the Novi Expo Center was demolished last year is set to be redeveloped with a commercial building and hotel.

Details of the $100-million project, along with artist renderings, were announced this morning on the property at I-96 and Novi Road.

Kevin Adell, who is leading the project, said he has been in talks with hotel chains – including Hyatt, Hilton and Marriott – and the Cleveland Clinic, about becoming tenants.

Plans for the development, dubbed Adell Towers, call for twin 8-10 story buildings, each about 176,000 square feet. Adell said he envisions a medical center and offices, including his own, in one tower – and a hotel in the other.

Before its demolition, the expo center had been vacant since 2005, when the center's event management company was moved into what is now the Suburban Collection Showplace at 46100 Grand River Ave. in Novi.

Before the expo center opened in 1992, the property was headquarters of Adell Industries, a maker of automotive door guards, and later a Kahlua manufacturing center for Mohawk Liqueur Corp.

How does your CREDIT SCORE affect your home loan?

 A better CREDIT SCORE generally means you can qualify for a lower rate, which can save you hundreds of dollars a month and thousands over the life of your loan.

When you order your FREE credit score, really examine your credit report.  If there is anything on your credit report that is wrong or simply shouldn’t be there contact the lender reporting the error to clean up your report.  An accurate and cleaned up credit report can translate into higher credit scores.  Remember to pay down any outstanding balances that you can afford to pay before you shop for a mortgage.  And never close any accounts before you buy or refinance as it may harm your credit score.

While credit scores are important, they are not the only thing a home loan expert will take into consideration when approving a mortgage.  If you have a large down payment, high cash reserves or an overall low debt-to-income ratio, you could qualify for a mortgage and possibly a rate that satisfies your needs.  With our current market of record low mortgage rates, it’s important that you never assume you can’t qualify.  Talk to a home loan expert and evaluate your options with them.  With so many great programs available today, you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised.

There are many, many options! Let's talk about it!

Kandiss

248-875-5868