Tony Robbins Offers Tip on How to Weather the Economic Storm

Tony Robbins, who has worked as a personal adviser to some of the world's top financial leaders, encourages people to be smart about the financial decisions they make in the coming months and years. "This is a season called winter and it doesn't last forever. Winter's followed by spring. There will be another great set of opportunities," says Robbins. "It'll probably take longer than we want, but if you're smart and don't let things stop you, you can see where these opportunities are."
The Huffinton Post has included his video on this subject and is truely work watching: Tony Robbins Video http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/11/how-to-weather-the-econom_n_677769.html

MICHIGAN'S ECONOMY CONTINUES TO GROW-SLOWLY

In an article from Crain's Detroit Business, Shawn Wright discusses some postive news for Southeast Michigan's economy. At its lowest point in January, the PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) showed a 45.2. Over the last six months, the index has indicated a consistently expanding economy to July's level of 56.7. As we see sustained growth in the economy, purchasing managers should become more comfortable with hiring once again. And, as people feel more confident in their job security, the economy, and housing prices, we should see some leveling off of the real estate market.

For Shawn's complete article, click here

MICHIGAN APPLIANCE REBATE PROGRAM EXPANDED!

According to a recent story by reporter John Lund of WILX-TV, Michigan will now add furnances & hot water heaters to the list of appliances available for rebates from the State of Michigan. It is another effort to stimulate the economy & help homeowners upgrade their inefficient appliances to more energy saving versions.

Rebate Website

Starting Aug. 1, the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth will offer rebates on hot-water heaters and furnaces. But those products are just the new addition to the Michigan Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program.
"Most of our rebates- we've given out 62,000 rebates, and most of them have been for refrigerators, clothes washers and dish washers," said Department of Energy's manager of technical assistance, John Sarver.
The program, part of the Federal Economic Recovery Program, has been around since February. It is like last year's Cash for Clunkers in the automobile industry. Except, this time, it's major appliances.
"This is most likely a one-shot deal, from the federal government," Sarver said. "These are federal dollars administered by the state to save energy, but also stimulate the economy."
The Michigan Trade Up program is similar to others around the country. But analysts say that Michigan is giving out more rebates than any other state.
"If we stay on the schedule, we should give out about 115 to 120,000 in rebates and that's about 13 times the amount of rebates other states will give out by the end of our program," said Stephanie Epps, appliance analyst for the Department of Energy.
Available at retailers wherever appliances are sold, the new eligible appliances are rated "energy star" or better, and are strictly for residential usage. Over $2 million is available for the furnace and hot water trade-ins, while $6.6 million is available for fridges and washers.
"Quite a bit of money available, but we're thinking that with the addition of the natural gas furnaces and hot water heaters, that the money will go fairly quickly," Sarver said.
Sarver estimates that the programs funds will be depleted by November.
FULL STORY

Lani's July 2010 Real Estate Update

Optimism – “a disposition or tendency to look on the more favorable side of events or conditions and to expect the most favorable outcome"  As the economy recovers, so does the real estate market, buyer optimism and our biggest investment – our homes. This month’s News You Can Use! newsletter contains articles about a glass half full!  To view the newsletter, click on: http://www.lanisussman.com/

To Subscribe to Lani's Monthly Newsletter: respond to lani@maxbroock.com

Our Current Real Estate Market

Sales of Houses in Birmingham, Bloomfield Hills,

Franklin, & W. Bloomfield

JULY 2010 -- 110 Houses Sold - 29% Were Forclosures/Short Sales
Lowest: 2250 Island View - List $35,00 -- Sold $35,250
Highest: 1016 Lake Park - List - $2,748,000 --Sold-$2,450,000
JULY 2009 -- 121 Houses Sold - 54% Were Forclosures/Short Sales
Lowest: 6725 Cooley Lake - List $43,500 -- Sold $34,000
Highest: 360 Woodbridge - List - $2,999,000 --Sold-$2,350,000

THE 2% RULE

The "2% Rule" states that you should never refinance your mortgage unless your new mortgage rate is at least 2% lower than your existing home loan’s rate. That no longer applies. Deciding to refinance a mortgage should be done on a cost/savings basis.
Evaluating your refinancing options tells you how long it will take to recoup your expenses and makes it easier to recognize and avoid junk fees. How do figure out how long it will take to recoup your expenses when refinancing?
1. Figure out what your new monthly payment will be using a basic home mortgage refinance calculator.
2. Subtract your new lower payment from your old payment and you’ve got your monthly savings .
3. Total up all of your closing costs including any loan origination fees you’re paying the person arranging your new mortgage.
4. Divide this total by your savings and you’ve got the number of months it will take you to recoup your expenses from taking out a new mortgage loan.

HIGHER END HOMES BRING MULTIPLE OFFERS

Metro Detroit buyers in the $500,000 plus market are finding in hard to buy "move-in" ready homes. Houses in good condition often bring multiple offers. If they are persistant, they can find a house with all the "extras", but in many cased these houses need some work. The inventory includes many foreclosed and short sales house where the fixtures have been stripped or the condition of the house requires some work. For a great article on this subject, visit "Good deals are at the high end, but finding them takes some work"

What You Should Know Before You Refinance Your Mortgage

It all depends on three factors on a sliding scale:
1. How much you can reduce your interest rate.
2. How much you’ll pay in closing costs.
3. How long you plan to live in the home.
The real key is the break-even point. That’s the number of months you should plan to keep the home after refinancing in order to recover your closing costs. For example, if you pay $3,000 in closing costs and you manage to lower your mortgage payments by $150 a month, you would reach the break-even point in 20 months. As long as you plan to live in the home longer than that, refinancing could be worthwhile. It’s a sliding scale. The smaller your savings, the longer you need to stay put.
There are a couple strategies to tweak the sliding scale by minimizing the price of closing costs when you refinance.
1. Ask your current lender to refinance you. In order to keep your business, your lender may be willing to waive certain closing costs.
2. Ask for the "reissue rate" on your title insurance, a savings of 40 to 50 percent.
3. Ask for an automated or drive-by appraisal, which is cheaper than a full-fledged one.
4. Get your lender to skip the credit check. After all, the company is intimately familiar with your payment record.

REFINANCING - How to Make It Work

If you have decided that refinancing makes sense for you, follow these tips to make sure you do it wisely:
1. Shop around for interest rates. The Internet is a good place to comparison shop, but be wary of unknown companies.
2. Hold the line on closing costs. Some lenders are taking advantage of low interest rates to jack up their closing costs.

3. Start with the bank that currently holds your mortgage. They may give you a good deal just to keep your business.
4. Avoid paying points. When you refinance, you can deduct only a portion of the points each year.
5. Don’t try to outsmart the market and wait for interest rates to hit their low point. If the numbers make sense, jump in!

ZERO COST REFINANCING

Don’t have the ready cash to close on a refinanced loan? Ask the lender to absorb your closing costs by raising your interest rate by an eighth or quarter percentage.
Benefits are:

1. No upfront costs.

2. Immediately cut interest rate & monthly payment with no out-of-pocket expense.
Drawback:
You don’t get lowest possible interest rate.