ABOUT ME
AT YOUR SERVICE IN BUSINESS SINCE 1996
MY SPECIALTIES First-Time Homebuyers Residential Sales Existing Home Sales Corporate Relocation Short Sales HUD Homes Bank Owned Homes Vacant Land Sales Move Up & Downsize Buyers
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Graduate of the Real Estate Institute (gri)
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Graduate of the e-Pro Technology Certification Program (e-Pro)
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Certified as an Accredited Buyers Representative (abr)
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Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource Specialist (sfr)
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Pricing Strategy Advisor (psa)
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Real Estate Negotiation Expert (rene)
WHAT MY CLIENTS ARE SAYING “Thank you for moving so quickly when I did decide to sell the property. It’s easy to see that selling that property would have been much more difficult after these events. Gratitude for you in helping me make my way through all that to a very successful and timely conclusion. Grateful for your rapid response and help!!” - S.B. “Best Realtor ever! Anyone looking for an amazing Realtor!! Linda Fruin is the one you need ! She is very knowledgeable and very hard working!! She knows what she is doing! And is always there to help out and be there for you!” - T. F. “We wish we had a million people we knew that needed a realtor; because, we would definitely have them use Linda. She has every detail covered and always
stays on-top of all the nuances of selling/ buying. It is always a pleasure working with her, we can’t say enough!!”- Donald & Beth Hauck “Linda Fruin is very good, always does the best for you!” - P.A. “I’ve just closed on my house with Linda and I can’t thank her enough! This was completely new territory for me and she explained each stage to me and was there for my constant questions. She’s so great in helping between choices and is professional at all times! She has the best interest of her clients at all times and will be recommending her to all my friends in the market for a new home. Thank you Linda!” - CP “Linda responds promptly, conducts
herself professionally, and is always congenial and available. Thank you for your services.”- Elizabeth Wolfe “Knowledgeable, professional and was available for our needs and also was able to recommend professional persons needed, IE: services we needed within the community.” - Gerry & Marirose “Wonderful to work with, she is knowledgeable, organized, dependable and uses technology tools well to simplify the whole process!” - Ben & Brenda “Linda is a professional and knows real estate and her market well; it was a pleasure working with her again!” - Rick & Karen
Linda Fruin, realtor®
ce
Yo i u r S er v
At
Associate Broker, GRI, e-Pro, ABR, SFR, PSA, RENE 269.217.4354 lfruin@jaquarealtors.com
269.341.4300 jaquarealtors.com 221 S Drake Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49009
My goal is to provide all things one expects in a REALTOR®: honesty, quality, service and commitment
SAFETY FIRST PROTOCOL GUIDELINES Guidelines for buyers during Covid-19
CLEAN AND DISINFECT before & after each showing
OPEN ALL doors and cabinets before showings
DO NOT ALLOW showings if you or someone in your house is or feels sick
TURN ON ALL lights before showings
Linda Fruin, realtor® ce
Yo i u r S er v
At
Associate Broker, GRI, e-Pro, ABR, SFR, PSA, RENE 269.217.4354 lfruin@jaquarealtors.com
269.341.4300 jaquarealtors.com 221 S Drake Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49009
HOW OFFERS WORK Once an offer is submitted (has left Linda’s email box), it is deemed delivered to the seller’s agent.
The seller(s) have the following options: 1 Accept the offer as written 2 Reject the offer 3 Counter the original offer 4 Do nothing (the seller is not obligated by law to respond to any offer or acknowledge receipt of an offer)
Once an offer is accepted, the offer is not fully binding until the seller has signed the offer. If the offer is signed electronically or by wet signature, it is deemed delivered to the buyer even if you have not received a paper copy. An offer is NOT binding if we receive a verbal acceptance or text acceptance
COUNTER OFFERS The seller(s) may revoke their counter offer at anytime prior to you accepting that counter offer. If you receive a counter offer from the seller, they still may receive and accept another buyer’s offer even if the deadline on your counter offer expires. If negotiating verbally with a seller, even if there are several days of back and forth negotiations and a verbal acceptance has been reached, the seller still may receive and accept another offer prior to ALL parties signing an updated offer.
- ALL offers must be signed by ALL parties to be binding and in full effect.
Linda Fruin, realtor® ce
Yo i u r S er v
At
Associate Broker, GRI, e-Pro, ABR, SFR, PSA, RENE 269.217.4354 lfruin@jaquarealtors.com
269.341.4300 jaquarealtors.com 221 S Drake Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49009
STATE EQUALIZED VALUE VS. TAXABLE VALUE Many of us either currently own a home or are thinking about purchasing a home. One of the terms you hear about or will hear about is SEV or State Equalized Value. The SEV of a home is how a property is valued for tax purposes. Assessed Value is defined by state law as 50% of the market value of the property as of December 31st of the preceding year. An example would be if a home has a SEV of $86,000, the market value is $172,000 (or in easier terms, take the SEV and double it to arrive at the market value). The local assessor uses specific formulas and assessments to derive the SEV for each and every property using a mass appraisal technique (calculated to Michigan State Tax Commission standards) which takes into account the current cost to replicate the home and then depreciates that cost based on the age of the home. It is then adjusted to market value by comparing the depreciated cost of the homes that have sold in your area to their sales price. Each year the local assessor is required by law to analyze sales by economic neighborhoods using a 1 to 2 year sales study to adjust that
neighborhood so that assessed values are at least 50% of market value By law, a home’s assessed value is not half the of the purchase price, but half the market value. The assessor is not allowed to “chase the sale” which means he/she cannot assess the home based on the sale price of a home only. Many times when I review a listing, one of the first things that I look for is the SEV of the property and then I compare the SEV to the asking price. If the asking price is much higher than the SEV, I then try to determine if there were many improvements made to the property such as a new deck, new windows, etc. In today’s current market, many homes are selling for well over twice the SEV.
Value as a way to keep property taxes from going up more than the rate of inflation. Most properties taxable values will be different from the SEV. This is because the property taxes for a property cannot be increased more than the rate of inflation or no more than 5% each year, but SEV can go up (or down) with no limits. Very often we see wide gaps between the Taxable Value and SEV. In most cases when a property sells, the Taxable Value can be uncapped and brought up to the SEV amount for one year, then we usually see the SEV go up faster than the Taxable Value based on the rate of inflation or no more than 5% per year. The SEV will never be less than the Taxable Value. So if the SEV and Taxable Value are equal and the SEV goes down, the Taxable Value will stay equal to the SEV.
Taxable Value is the what the taxes for a property are based on. In 1994, Michigan State Government designed Taxable
If you, a neighbor, friend or relative have any questions about any of these items, please contact me, I would be happy to help.
Linda Fruin, realtor® ce
Yo i u r S er v
At
Associate Broker, GRI, e-Pro, ABR, SFR, PSA, RENE 269.217.4354 lfruin@jaquarealtors.com
269.341.4300 jaquarealtors.com 221 S Drake Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49009
HOMESTEAD VS. NON-HOMESTEAD TAX One other term you hear about in real estate transactions and home ownership is Principle Residence Exemption (PRE) or also formerly known as Homestead Tax Exemption. A Principle Residence Exemption is when a property is exempt from NonHomestead Property taxes. A property is either 100% Homesteaded or is NonHomestead. This simply means that if you use your home and property as your primary residence, your property tax is figured at a rate of approximately 20% to 30% less than a Non- Principle residence property, but a Principle Residence Tax Exemption form must be filed on the property. At the closing of your new home, you are provided with a Principle Residence Property Tax Exemption form that you will fill out. This form is usually submitted to the city or township where your property is located, on your behalf by the lender’s closing department or the title office that you will use to close your transaction. When selling your home, a form rescinding the 100% Principle Residence Property Tax Exemption is provided to the seller at closing. This must be filled out and filed at the
city or township especially if the seller is purchasing a new primary residence. There are a few exceptions when the Taxable Value would not be uncapped and raised to the SEV at a sale or transfer of property. One example would be when a property is transferred from a parent to a child. Your Notice of Assessment, Taxable Valuation and Property Tax Classification is mailed to each property owner once each year for that calendar year. You can expect to receive this in early to midFebruary of each year. If you receive an assessment and you do not agree with the SEV, Taxable Value or Property Classification, there are instructions to appeal these items before the Local Board of Review and the dates and times of the hearings. These hearings take place in March of the
calendar year of the new assessment. It is always a good idea to review your Parcel Card data at your local assessors office just to make sure all of the information regarding your property on the card is correct. If you are a seller, at the time of sale, the county and state government will collect a Transfer Tax, (on your closing statement you would see this charge listed as State Tax Stamp and County Tax Stamp). It is recommended to check the SEV for the year you purchased your property. If the SEV is lower in the year you sell your property than the SEV was in the year you purchased, you may not have to pay a transfer tax. Your local assessor, clerk or treasurer can assist you with this information. If you have sold your home in the last 3 to 4 years and were charged a transfer tax, you will want to check with your local assessor, clerk or treasurer to see if your SEV at the time of sale was lower than your SEV at the time of your purchase. If this is the case, you may be entitled to a refund of the transfer tax. Time is of the essence because you have 4 years 15 days from the date of the sale to apply for the refund.
If you, a neighbor, friend or relative have any questions about any of these items, please contact me, I would be happy to help.
Linda Fruin, realtor® ce
Yo i u r S er v
At
Associate Broker, GRI, e-Pro, ABR, SFR, PSA, RENE 269.217.4354 lfruin@jaquarealtors.com
269.341.4300 jaquarealtors.com 221 S Drake Road, Kalamazoo, MI 49009