Real Estate Transactions

Title disputes or zoning violations can make real estate transactions more complicated than they need to be, as shown in one such case in Michigan. The St. Clair Inn opened in 1926 as the first hotel in the country to have central air conditioning, but almost a century later, the

The Muskegon Board of Education has entered into an agreement to sell its long-closed Froebel School for $1,000 to Blue Lake Holdings. The company intends to establish a women’s shelter on the property. The holding company consists of six investors — one that has worked in banking and another that

Residents of Michigan who may be interested in buying or selling a home in 2014 are paying attention to the changes in the real estate market that many experts are predicting for the year. Although it is expected that real estate purchases and sales in 2014 will continue to improve

On Dec. 4, a number of residents of Bay City, Michigan voiced their displeasure at a proposed development that would sit along the Saginaw River. The $8.6-million West Side project would serve as low-income housing for veterans and others, but construction disputes arose because some who already live in the

The city of Muskegon Heights has found a way to handle its zoning issues temporarily by contracting them to the city of Muskegon. With the addition of a new drain commissioner, the city of Muskegon is prepared to handle all of the zoning problems facing its sister city, including rulings

The University of Michigan will pay $12.8 million for the Edwards Brothers 2500 State Street property, announced a University official recently. According to the announcement, if finalized the purchase will give the University flexibility in that the 16.7 acre property is adjacent to the University’s athletic complex and near one

Before the housing crisis, only about 10 percent of U.S. real estate transactions across the country failed to close. Now, with the tightened reins of the lending industry, it is more common for about a third of purchases and sales to fall through. One of the most common reasons for

Oakland County residents may have heard that Triton Properties Company, a real-estate investment firm based in Denver, announced on Nov. 11 that it had purchased four apartment buildings in the Riverfront section of Detroit. A spokesperson from the company was quoted as saying that the firm’s first step would be

As Michigan investment firms begins to roll out new forms of financing intended to give the commercial real estate market a much-needed boost, many developers might wonder if they are affordable. Several firms have announced plans to start up mezzanine funds, but this type of debt financing can carry interest

Michigan residents may want to know about the real estate practices of some of the wealthiest brothers of Singapore. The Kwee brothers have a net worth of $5.2 billion, and they currently serve as Singapore’s fifth most wealthy family. The four brothers now are embarking on a new venture to

The Houghton City Council has scheduled two hearings to discuss issues that have arisen with regard to an apartment complex that a developer wishes to build on the site of the former Good Will Farm. The developer seeks to build a 138-bedroom apartment complex. However, zoning issues have caused delays.

Michigan investors may continue to find real estate investment trusts attractive when it comes to long-term income. This is spite of the fact that mid-2013 interest rates had been taking a bigger bite of commercial real estate prices than in earlier months. For an illustrative example of this trend, one

The Dearborn Planning Commission approved the expansion of the new St. Kateri Tekakwitha Catholic Church on Rotunda Drive on Oct. 7. The expansion plan calls for a new meeting hall, office space, restrooms and an enlarged parking lot. The new lot on the east side will also have a driveway

The owners of NEW Life Enterprises are hoping to build a new garment-making factory in the north side of Flint. Expected to create 100 jobs, the proposed development project could potentially help to revitalize the Civic Park Neighborhood. Before the project can get underway, however, there are a few zoning

Basketball star Magic Johnson and a team of other investors are seeking permission to buy and redevelop the abandoned Michigan State Fairgrounds in Detroit. This real estate transaction could be approved by the Michigan Land Bank Fast Track Authority in the near future. Johnson and his co-developers plan to utilize

In the wake of the wave of foreclosures that affected homeowners in Michigan and across the country, some analysts predicted a similar crash would hit the business market. However, although commercial real estate prices did fall by about 40 percent, a disaster such as that suffered by the housing market

A Michigan real-estate development company, Moceri Cos., will start work on a $46 million residential development in Auburn Hills during the spring of 2014. The project is expected to include 76 townhomes, 72 flats, a 160-unit center for housing for the elderly and a 2-acre public park. The homes are

For people here in Oakland County, we know that our cities may not always approve of the businesses that set up shop here. In some cases, it’s because they’re too large and take business away from the mom-and-pop stores we hold so dear. In other cases it’s because of the

Since the housing market bubble burst, Michigan’s own real estate maket has suffered greatly and taken almost a year before showing any signs of recovery.  But now with it on the slow climb back up, some real estate experts think the recovery could be short lived if banks and homeowners

James Konecny had lived in Northern Michigan all his life, but a chance job opportunity took him and his family away from an area he always promised to return to. While searching for a vacation property recently though he found something even better: an investment. Konecny discovered that the Nugent

If you’ve ever been to Holland in the southwest corner of Michigan, you were probably struck by the beauty of the area and its old-world feel.  If you ventured into the history of the area you would have learned that if it hadn’t been for the Holland Furnace Co., once

Nearly everyone in the state of Michigan has been watching the state of the economy for the past several years. When it dipped into the worst of the recession, many people wondered if it would ever recuperate to its former glory and many became concerned about whether the stock market

When it comes to buying your first home, many Michigan families worry most about the headaches generally associated with first homes. Whether it’s the expense of remodeling or replacing the entire roof after the first week of moving in, most people would rather forego these headaches and buy a new

It’s been a long time coming but the real estate market may finally put a smile on the faces of people trying to sell their homes in Michigan. Many residents across the state anxiously looked on as home prices plummeted to all time lows during the recession and there was

Our blog readers know how closely we’ve been following the housing market since the recession ended. Would it rebound as quickly as we hoped it would? Would prices ever reach acceptable levels again? How would both the personal and commercial real estate markets change in the New Year? We’ve not

Even though the National Association of Realtors announced this month that it has noticed a 1.0 percent drop in existing home sales last month, many real estate experts say that this probably won’t affect the overall growth the housing market has witnessed in the past few months. What’s the reason

An uninhabited, private island, wedged in Florida’s Intracoastal Waterway, could be yours for only $459,000! Sound too good to be true? That’s what many Michigan residents think as news sources have picked up the story of the bizarre property sale down in Florida. But the sale of the island isn’t

In a December post, readers of our blog received a brief-albeit it uncertain-answer to the question: can you avoid falling over the fiscal cliff with a short sale? The answer to this question hinged on whether Congress could come to a consensus on what to do with many of the

If there is one thing that has the entire nation on edge it’s the uncertainty of the fiscal cliff. With the federal budget still in limbo, homeowners who are still paying on mortgages they may not be able to afford fear that soon, the coming of the New Year could

An interesting story out of Minnesota may give readers of our blog here in Michigan more information about real estate transactions and how property can be transferred from private ownership to public ownership. In Minnesota’s Dakota County sits a sprawling 60 acre chunk of land that boasts a “unique oasis”