Real Estate Investing: What's the Right Option for You?Getting started in real estate investing starts with learning the basics of the types of properties available and how an investor can use them to make money. Like any potential venture, an investor will take on some degree of risk—no matter how fool-proof an opportunity seems. Learn more about the common terms of investment, how land can be used, and what tips to keep in mind before plunging in.

For informational purposes only. Always consult with a licensed real estate professional before proceeding with any real estate transaction.

The Language

The lingo of real estate can get pretty complicated, but it's good to start with a few definitions:

  • Residential: A broad category that refers to condos, town homes, single-family homes,…

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Why You Should Always Pay for a Home InspectionWhen buying a property, home buyers are not always required to get a home inspection. And if that is the case, many people elect to skip them altogether since they are an extra expense and can extend the closing date. That is almost always a bad idea, however, as it makes the purchase quite a gamble. Here's a look at why getting a new home inspection is always a smart move.

Learn About Maintenance Needs

During a property inspection, inspectors look from the roof to foundation for potential problems. They mark down all the imperfections they come across, including:

  • Water leaks
  • Foundation cracks
  • Holes in the siding
  • Missing caulk around windows and doors
  • Hanging gutters
  • Rotting deck boards
  • Loose railings
  • Signs of pests
…

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Wondering what steps you need to find the perfect accessible home? Well, you don’t need to wonder about the process any longer. Because as long as you follow these essential tips, finding and purchasing your new accessible home shouldn’t be a hassle. 

Check-In With Your Finances First

Looking at new homes can be so thrilling! Before you get too excited about your actual home search, however, you need to make sure you have thoroughly researched your financial options for buying your dream home. Some financial steps to focus on first include reviewing your credit report and score, organizing your financial paperwork for lenders, and figuring out how much home you can afford. 

As you work through these financial steps, you may also want to see…

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Hello to Family, Friends, Clients and Past Clients.  Everyone.

We're one week into the Shelter in Place order given by our Governor.  I trust you and your family are staying safe and inside as much as possible.  It's been a trying time for everyone and I've received many many calls and questions about my thoughts on COVID-19 from past clients, family members, agents, brokers and more.

On a personal note, I'm afraid mostly for my parents — especially my mother.  For those that know me, you probably know my mother has Multiple Sclerosis. There's no known cure and treatments have varying degrees of success only at abating the symptoms.  I won't get into the details. I will say that along with it comes a compromised immune system. Mild colds for people…

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Here’s an exclusive offer to save time and money when you spruce up your yard come springtime.

  

 It’s February, which means that we’ll soon be seeing sunlight, and sometime within the next 18 to 24 months, we’ll be able to leave this cold weather behind and finally go outside again. 

More importantly, the arrival of spring weather means you’ll be able to attend to your yard and spruce up your landscaping. However, before you get to that point, you need to do a little spring clean-up first.

Remove any debris like branches, leaves, and rocks from your plant beds. This is one of my least favorite parts of planting flowers, so if you’re the same way, here’s some great news:

The Perna Team has partnered with not one, not two, but three…

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Can you smell it?! Fall is upon us, whether we want it to be or not.

And, as people living in the state of Michigan already know, few things compare to the fun-filled experience offered by the region's famous Cider Mills. After all, who wants to miss out on the pre-Thanksgiving tradition of having that hot cup of cider along with a caramel apple?

Many of Michigan's best cider mills have also been upgraded to fuse age-old traditions with contemporary expectations, ensuring that visitors have an all-inclusive recreational experience.

As a proud native, I can say with confidence that the metro Detroit area has some of the absolute best cider mills in the world. Period. (I have a lot of pride about where I live).

In fact, I'd say that…

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Today I’ll walk you through five myths and five truths about selling your home in this real estate market. Stay tuned.

  

I’ve gotten a lot of very specific questions lately from people who are thinking about putting their home on the market. What should they do? What shouldn’t they do? Today I’ll discuss five myths and five truths about selling in our market that will help potential sellers better understand the process.

Myth No. 1: You should redo your kitchens and bathrooms before listing.

There’s an old saying in real estate that says you can’t flip your own home, and that’s definitely true. The National Association of Realtors, the National Association of Home Stagers, and our own 18 years of experience selling 5,000 houses all say…

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 Don't Feed the Ewoks

I remember as a kid, lazy Saturday afternoon summers, my mother, as so many did at the time, chasing us out of the house, on to our bikes and shooing us down the street in a way we can't with our kids today.  All the neighbors counted on to watch us.  It took a village, a village we had.  As the summer turned to fall, which tends to happen, leaves fall, the chill creeps up, bikes are ridden less and a few afternoons here are there, on particularly blustery days, those bikes traded for a TV, and on that tv? 

Star Wars.  

One of the few stories that could be picked up and put down at any point, both because we’ve seen it that many times & of course, George Lucas, started the story with episode IV.  It had all the elements…

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An overwhelming majority of buyers begin their home search online, so taking your listing photos now, while your landscaping looks its best, is a must. Let’s discuss why.

  

Your home’s listing photos are massively important to the success of your sale for one very good reason: 96% of today’s buyers start their search online, so these photos will likely serve as their first impression of your home. 

So whether you’re planning on listing next week or next year, the time to take these listing photos is right now. Why? Well, homes tend to look best when the yard is still green and the trees still have their leaves. And as we progress into fall, the gorgeous colors that fill the landscape through this season are sure to set the perfect backdrop…

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Supply is down and demand is up in our market this September.

  

Every year around September, the market tends to get a little sleepy, but is this still true for the market in 2019?

At the moment, it is for sellers. Over the first three weeks of August, inventory dropped 9.9%. In other words, one out of every 10 homes a buyer could choose from last month isn’t there anymore. Sellers aren’t bringing as many properties to the market, and I know exactly why. For one thing, they assume the buyers who weren’t able to move before the start of the school year are gone. Also, they assume most people don’t want to move during the winter.

The fact is, though, that money motivates. Interest rates have dropped significantly, and the Federal Reserve…

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