Ask a Realtor

1429 Roy Rd Oxford, MI

$85,000

2 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms

For more information on this property feel free to contact me at 810-441-5777 or send me an email to JeffDavisRealtor@Gmail.Com

Click on the picture below for a larger view

If you find that this is not a home that you are interested in and would like to see more homes, I would like to offer my Buyer's Agent services at no extra charge to you.  I also would like to invite you to check out my FREE list of Foreclosures  This list will give you every listing, customized to YOU and it updates you daily so your finding the homes faster then the average buyer.

STOP Harassment by Collection Agencies

Everything you are about to read is stuff I have learned from Dave Ramsey, you can visit his site at DaveRamsey.com to learn more about getting out of debt and staying debt free.  I took his class and HIGHLY recommend it even if your not in debt but especially if you are in debt.

I have never had creditors call me but when I heard Dave Ramsey's lesson titled "Credit Sharks In Suits" and the crazy tactics that they use, I was completely appalled and wanted to help Mr. Ramsey purge this business practice.  So I thought I would blog it and tell everyone, that I could, what I have learned.

Like Mr. Ramsey says, there are good legitimate collection agencies out there, like your first mortgage, the local collection agencies-the ones that are collecting for local businesses.  Credit card collection agencies seem to be really really bad and these are the ones you need to guard yourself against. 

The Federal Law Regarding Collection Practices

I want to start with the Federal Government's "Fair Debt Collection Practices Act" This is a Federal law regarding collections practices, what the debt collectors can and can't do.  It is a very powerful tool and you need to know it if you or someone you know is not paying bills and is or is about to be called by collection agencies.  I am going to do my best to tell you some of the things I learned about this law but you should read through it yourself, don't just go on what I am saying.

* This law only applies to debt collectors and NOT our government and NOT Federally funded student loans.

* They are not allowed to knowingly lie to you (so again know the law and know your rights).

* They cannot garnish your wadges until they sue you and win, then they have to wait 30 days after that.

* They are only allowed to call you between 8:00 am and 9:00 pm and that's your time zone not theirs.

* They are not allowed to harass you.

* You can stop them from calling you at work by notifying them in writing that your employer wishes for them to stop. Send it certified mail.

* You can also stop them from contacting you at all except to notify you of court proceedings.  However this will most likely trigger them to sue you.

Dealing With Collection Agencies

Mr. Ramsey has a few, well, several tips for handling or dealing with collection agencies.  These tips are so good that when I heard them I decided right then that I needed to blog this and let you know what I was learning.

* Pay debts with a plan, don't ignore them, take control of what you can take control of.

* They are not your friend. They only have one purpose, get money. They don't care about you and your situation and anything that sounds like they care it is a technique to get you to pay.

* Never give them access to your bank account and don't give them post dated checks.

* Don't be intimidated by them.

* 85% of collectors are gone in a year, the collection agencies have an annual turn over rate of 85%. The person calling doesn't stay at that job for very long so they don't have much experience in this job.  Keep this in mind when your talking with them.

* They are taught to evoke strong emotions, fear and anger.

* One of their techniques is, "pull the rug"- They will say "tell me what is going on and why your not able to pay" while your answering they will scream "I don't care, pay your bill"  Again they just trying to anger you. 

* Always pay your necessities first- food, mortgage, utilities, transportation (car payment) etc, then pay your other bills/debts with the left over money.

* Continue to talk with them and let them know you will continue to talk with them as long as they don't violate the law.

* Tell them you will talk with them once every two weeks, not any more then that.

* They data base everything, they collect information and enter it into their computer and keep track of everything.  So do what you said you will do.

* This data base can work for you, like when you say I will talk you only talk with them every 14 days, stick with that and they will start to learn this.

* They are looking for your hot button, when they find it they will put that into their data base and use it over and over again, again to try to evoke a strong emotion.

* This is a big one - Record every phone call, keep copies of everything and get any deal they offer in writing.  Then keep all of this stuff FOREVER they may call again in 10 years after you have already paid them, you will have to prove that you paid them.  Being a former Private Investigator I do have to warn you, if you are going to record a conversation you have to notify all recorded parties that they are going to be recorded before they say anything on tape. So when you answer the phone to the collector say "you are being recorded, this is (state your name) then say the date and time (your time, of course)

For more tips on dealing with collection agencies visit DaveRamsey.com and take one of his Financial Peace classes.  Again this is a great class, well worth the money, which is not very much.  If you have questions you can ask me, there is a comment section below.  Ask your question and I'll get right with you.

 Realtor Jeff's Famous Home Made Pizza

Cheaper and better then Lil Squeezers

Way Before You Start

When at all possible I let the dough that I use sit in the refrigerator for 2 days from frozen. The pizza dough needs to rise. This has caused scheduling problems before with me, being a Realtor its hard to turn down a client because I have to make a pizza. I have tried just putting the dough on the counter to rise at room temperature about 3-4 hours before dinner. This worked, but my most regular customer, Eva my wife and Realtor's assistant, says it's just not as good but I don't remember a difference.

Preparing Your Pizza Dough

When removing your dough from the bag, cut the bag open with scissors and use flour covered hands to carefully peel away bag. It is very important to not handle the dough too much even when stretching it. It should only take about 30-45 seconds to size your pizza dough, any longer and you may be over working it. Cover your ball of dough in a thin layer of flour and with both hands stretch the dough in one direction pulling it apart, then in the other directions trying to make it round, not square. As you stretch, keep in mind that your dough should be a consistent thickness. You do not need to make the out side rim thicker for the crust handle (refer to Sauce It). There are many ways to stretch pizza dough and whichever way you do it, don't over work it, don't press or squish and don't use a rolling pin. If you are using the same dough that I am using, stretch you pizza to about 12”-13”, larger and you'll have a thinner crust and smaller you'll have an extra, extra thick crust and your cook time and temperature will have to be adjusted. When the dough is sized, I gently place it on a pizza screen that you maybe able to pick up on Ebay or buy a used one from a local pizzeria. You could use a cookie sheet but you will have to play with your cook time and temperature to get the pizza to turn out right.

Sauce It

Before you start putting anything on your pizza dough you need to know two things. One, do not push down on your dough or it will stick to your screen. Two, the more weight you have on your dough the more likely your dough will stick to the screen and the dough rises as it cooks so the more weight the less your dough will rise and it will not be as fluffy. Use the biggest spoon you can find, put a little sauce in the center of your pizza, gentle lay your spoon down and in a circular pattern, spread the sauce out on your dough. The amount of sauce is more of a visual thing, look at my picture, this is how much sauce to use. You want to be able to see through the sauce to the dough but just barely. Spread the sauce out to about a quarter to half inch from the edge, this will create the crust handle.

Cheese It

Similar to the sauce, just enough to cover but still be able to see through it a little. If you are making just a cheese pizza you will want to completely cover the sauce. It will seem like you have not put enough cheese on it and you will be tempted to put more on but you don't have to (see Top It)

Top It

This part is really easy, just cover evenly, again keeping in mind that the more weight you have the less your crust will rise. Then throw some more cheese over your toppings making sure no sauce can be seen and that you can still see your toppings a little. If you completely cover your toppings, the pizza becomes hard to eat with the cheese pulling off most of the time.  When using meat toppings, make sure that they are fully cooked.  If you are going to use fruit or vegetable toppings try to have these as close to the top as possible.  Fruit and vegetable toppings will have a lot of water in them and having on the very top will allow the water to escape easier.

Cook It

Pre-heat to 400 degrees. The top rack will cook the top of your pizza faster then the bottom and the middle rack will cook the bottom faster then the top. I usually make two pizzas and some bread sticks. I put the bread and one pizza on the top and the other pizza on the middle rack. Cook for about 18 minutes and then switch the bottom pizza to the top and vise versa. Cook for another 5-6 minutes or until the bottoms of the pizzas are just starting to brown. Remove bread at the same time you remove the first/both pizzas. Cut with a pizza cutter from center out to the edge and serve.

Bread sticks

Stretch dough into a rectangle making sure to have a consistent thickness. Cut with a pizza cutter into small strips, about 1”x3” and about 1/2”-3/4” thick (tall). Melt 4 tbs of butter, mix in garlic, oregano and salt (personal taste) I cover a toaster oven sized cookie sheet in foil and spray it with an olive oil spray. Place the bread sticks close to each other, they can touch, then brush your butter sauce onto the tops of your bread sticks. The bread sticks will cook for as long as the pizzas or until only golden brown on edges. Put another coat of your butter sauce on the tops and add Parmesan cheese.

Tiseo's Frozen Pizza Dough $1.39

Meijer 14oz Pizza Sauce $0.89 (makes 2 pizzas with extra for bread sticks) $0.45 ea

Meijer 6oz Pepperoni $1.89 (makes 4 pizzas) $0.47 ea.

Meijer 32oz Mozzarella Cheese $7.49 (makes 4 pizzas) $1.87 ea.

Cost for one pizza - $4.18

Cost for Bread sticks - $1.60 (including butter sauce)

Miscellaneous Supply Items- Garlic Powder, Salt, Butter, Oregano, Pizza Cutter, Flour, Sauce Brush, Spatula, Parmesan Cheese, Pizza Cooking Screen, Small Cookie Sheet, Pam Olive Oil Spray

An example of my free list of homes, foreclosures, vacant land, commercial etc....

Oakland County (updated 11-11-09)

If you would like to have a list like the one below emailed to you with daily updates, send me an email to JeffDavisRealtor@Gmail.com and let me know what your criteria is for a new home.  If you'd like more information on this list Click Here.

Click Here for a list of homes with the following criteria.  Follow the link then for a more detailed page on the home click on the picture of the house.

Location: All of Oakland County

Price range: $90,000 - $100,000

# of beds: 3

# of baths: 1+

# of square feet: All

# of acres (optional): All

Basement?: Yes

Garage?: Yes

Any special likes or dislikes: Nothing specified