Maureen Francis

Beverly Hills MI doesn’t have a downtown, but the closest thing we have to it is the strip of retail stores and offices that run along Southfield Road and 13 Mile. Recently we got a few nice additions in the area. Detroit Deli and Catering, 31645 Southfield Road, (248) 723-3354.  I have not been in [...]

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When you are a landlord with a house to rent, it is so tempting to bite when you think you have a hot lead for a tenant. Last week I placed an ad on Craig’s List for our Beverly Hills rental home, in addition to our other marketing activities. The ad snared an interested party [...]

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The Real Estate Tomato and Inman are having a contest and awarding a blog makeover. miOaklandCounty needs the help! Here is our entry. Stay tuned to the very end for a very special guest appearance from a loyal supporter of Detroit and this blog. Written by Maureen FrancisSKBK Sotheby’s International Realty, 248.430.4450 Visit WebsiteSearch for [...]

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I am not usually one to “reprint”, but the future of the auto industry impacts every one of us and our clients.  It is not just Detroit that will feel the pain of the failure of the Big 3, but the nation. Please take a look at this letter from Chrysler’s CEO, Bob Nardelli, and contact the Whitehouse if [...]

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From the doom and gloom we are hearing around town these days, I bet most Michiganders would be surprised to know that RealtyTrac said we were 5th in foreclosures in November.  1 in 309 Michigan homes is in foreclosure, compared to the nation’s leader, Nevada, where 1 in 76 homes is in foreclosure. A few [...]

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This week I have gotten a flurry of phone calls from people who found super exciting homes “on the internet.”  Actually, they all found homes on Trulia or on Realtor.com and then they called me to ask to see them.  Amazing bargains waiting to be snatched up by eager buyers. I like Trulia a lot.  They [...]

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Image via Wikipedia Would you be surprised to know that a house in Metro Detroit sold for nearly $10,000,000 this summer?  That’s a whole lotta cash, by just about anyone’s standards.  According to information from Realcomp II, 21000 Turnberry Lane in Novi, sold for $9,800,000 in August.  It wasn’t even officially on the market when [...]

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This is actually an old post of mine from 2006, but the advice still holds true today. I’m pulling it out and dusting it off for those end of the year home sellers who might have missed it the first time around.” With Thanksgiving here to kick off the winter holiday season, there are a [...]

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Yes, It is true.  Our listing at 6847 Alden was reduced by $200,000 yesterday and it wasn’t a Black Friday Sale.  You can still take advantage today. This special Green Lake front home is down to $900,000 and it is ready for a new owner. Take a look Written by Maureen FrancisSKBK Sotheby’s International Realty, [...]

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Birmingham Michigan Birmingham Michigan I had been meaning to use my new flip video to put together a little video of Birmingham this fall.  Never got around to it and now I am glad I didn’t because my effort would have looked very amatuerish next to this clip. At about 34 seconds into the piece [...]

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When I lived in Ukraine, I had some of my most memorable Thanksgivings.  Thanksgiving, of course, is not a Ukrainian holiday, so we few Americans who wanted to celebrate the holiday had to really make a concerted effort to recreate it in a country without Butterball, Pepperidge Farms and Ocean Spray.  The meal became less [...]

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