Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk

We are seeing this?

Condo’s that don’t qualify for financing FHA? Either they don’t have enough units finished or there are too many renters in there. If they are not on the approved condo list in Washtenaw County, then the condo association has to fill it out. In some cases they are charging $200.00 to fill out the form.

We, ( my daughter ) has written two offers for this Toyota Employee who is desperate to get in a condo, one condo community is not on the approved list. ( not finished yet and too many renters) One is not going to appraise. The listing agent is telling us she will get the sellers to meet the appraised value. hummm…..we’ll see.

We are seeing this?

Sellers are at rock bottom. They price at rock bottom. They accept an offer at rock bottom. They have no more money.

The inspections are done.

The radon is high.

The sellers have no money to mitigate. They feel the buyer has got their home for a steal. In many cases they have. They don’t have or want to put any more money into the house.

The buyers expect them too.

I’ve never had any problems with the sellers mitigating with radon high. Now I do, two offers at one time. One time on the buying side and one on the listing side.

Enough said

The day in the life of an Ann Arbor Real Estate TEAM.

Begin your Ann Arbor Home Search Here. 

We’ll hope it is FHA approved, appraises and has no radon.

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Everyone wants to know what they need to do to get their home sold in Ann Arbor in a buyers market. Homes  that are selling have done the 10 steps listed below. You have a part and the Realtor has a part. Together you can make it happen.

10 Easy Steps to Sell Your Home in Ann Arbor

1)  Hire a technology Realtor

2)  Curb Appeal

Make sure the first impression is a good one. Paint the front door, trim the hedges, plant some flowers. Simple really.

3)  Hire the Realtor that tells you the truth

4)  Price it right from the beginning.

Don’t reduce the price and chase the market down. Homes in Ann Arbor need to be priced  in the top 5 best homes to look at for buyers. Price it right in the beginning.

5)  Make sure your Realtor has a huge internet presence.

6)  Have your home professionally staged.

7)  Use a Realtor that gets the most exposure for your home.

8)  Use multiple photos and a virtual tour on every home, buyers want to see multiple photos. I can’t tell you the number of times I get called from my search site, which is a direct  feed from the MLS, with a buyer requesting more photos. Not my listing but they find it on line and want to see more. In this case there is never too many good photos.

9)  Make sure your Realtor uses a home search site to bring more buyers exposure to the market.

10)  De-clutter.

Throw away, pack it up, move it out. If your not using it then get rid of it. Take it to Salvation Army or Purple Heart.

***Notice any pattern in this ? Thought so...***

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This condo rocks…. it is clean and neat and sparkles. The nicest thing about it is the views. Oh my, hard to find such beautiful views and peaceful setting in Ann Arbor.

It is located at 2554 Traver Blvd. (off Green Road).

All new carpet, fresh paint, full finished walk-out basement with a study, extra 4th bedroom and a full bath.

Convenient to U of M. North Campus and the Medical Complexes.

Work hard, study hard and come home to 2554 Traver to relax.

Located across from Logan Elementary and walking distance to Clague Middle School. A perfect location.

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One of the things I have been doing in the current market is having all my sellers who need to move before their home sells is to have it Stagged.

It has been said that people buy with emotion and justify the price. When you walk in a empty, vacant house, there is NO EMOTIONS involved. The rooms looks cold and bare. Many buyers have a hard time visualizing how their furniture would fit in the room.

This is why when builders are developing a new subdivision they always have a model home. Did you know that most model homes are the ones people tend to build, even if they have floor plans and other elevations available?

True…

The model home is all stagged and they can imagine themselves living there. Therefore, stagging a home in Ann Arbor, Saline or anywhere in Washtenaw County helps the homes sell faster. Recently I listed a home that was originally listed my another agent. The dining room ceilings were ORANGE and below the chair rail was a different color of orange. The closets were filthy, the fireplace and family room were painted. Over it needed painting and stagging. So my seller agreed to have it done. We are closing on this home on May 16th.

Here are two separate shows on stagging one before and one after. Which would you rather see if you were looking. This home at 1258 Waterways is closing on May 16th too.

Click her to see the difference in a stagged and unstagged home.

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Today, is the first day of May, the weather is still chilly and the market is also chilly.

Last year from April 1st 2007 to April 30th, 2007, we had closed on 148 homes.

This April from April 1st to April 30th, 2008, we only closed on 29 homes. Now if that is not discouraging enough, of the 29 that sold, 9 were rentals and three were foreclosure’s.

This is discouraging for home sellers who have a home to sell in either Saline or Ann Arbor.

If you include the entire MLS for the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors, this would include all the way from Brooklyn in Lenawee County to Brighton, down through Western Wayne County, there were 373 closings in 2007 in the month of April and only 82 for April 2008.

This means that out of the 1000 Realtors in Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors, only 82 got a paycheck of any kind in the month of April.

The Missy Caulk TEAM had 9 of those closings in April, making us with about 11% of the total closings. Of the nine closing we had in April, three of the clients were referred to us, and six were buyers from the internet.

My thoughts are, if you are a Realtor and not working the internet you are missing out. Since 77% of all buyers are going on line to look for houses, you must have a STRONG internet presence. When I say strong, I don’t mean a web site. Everyone has a web-site. Your web presence must include PPC ( pay per click) campaigns, and a good follow up system to nurture those initial leads and most important a home search site that is so good the buyers come back again and again.

Good photos are a must. ( did I say good? ) Virtual tours are extremely important. I do a virtual tour on ALL my listings, regardless of price and even on rentals. I saw a photo the other day in our MLS with I guess the seller sitting in his back yard, and another one of a child watching TV. Now that really helps sell houses.What were those Realtors thinking?

Having trouble selling your Ann Arbor or Saline house?

Give us a call or visit us at our home search site.

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Well, the Spring market is FINALLY here in the Ann Arbor Area market. It has been a while since we have had this flurry of activity in Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Ypsilanti.

This past week, from April 18 to April 25th, we have had 71 homes go under contract in one week. Prices of homes under contract range in price from 49,000 to 499,000.

The condo market is a bit slower with only 10 condos going under contract. Those condo’s have been priced from 69,000 to 373,000.

If you are a seller, and not seeing activity on your home it is time to make a price adjustment, spruce up the yard, get new photos of the outside.

There is nothing more frustrating to potential buyers than to see, photos of your home in the snow.

First impressions matter, many times when I am out showing homes to a buyer if they don’t like the look of the outside, they say, ” no, let’s skip this one”. I hate that because I know the seller has spent time getting ready for a showing. But, when the buyers are on a mission to find a house, they don’t want to waste time going in one that doesn’t have look good from the outside.

My buyer agents have been writing competing offers these past two weeks. The homes selling the best are priced “below” market value. If you are a buyer, we know you are looking for a “bargain” and there are many homes listed and priced to sell. Don’t miss out. At the rate homes were moving this week the Spring Market is here.

You can begin your home search here at Search Ann Arbor Houses. All the homes in the MLS are available not only for Ann Arbor but the entire area of Washtenaw County.

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Lately, it has been all over the news about the amount of foreclosure’s throughout the United State’s. According to reports,foreclosed homes are up 57%. That figure is staggering. Keep in mind, it is not 57% of all homes being foreclosed on, it is 57% up from the normal amount of 3%.

Not good, but not as bad as the media would make it out to be. If you are in trouble with your mortgage, Call your lender ASAP. Don’t wait for the letters to start arriving at your door. Many times, once a home is foreclosed on when the Realtor goes in to see the home and get it on the market, in the kitchen drawer sits all the letters from the bank.

Open those letters.

Call your bank.

They don’t want your home. Many times they are able to adjust your interest rate or hold off the forclosure. But, you must open the letter, read it and call them.

The HUD website is a good resource to find out more tips to avoid foreclosure.

One other caution, BEWARE of ANYONE who offers to pay your back payments and PAY off your debt. You have probably seen signs driving around Ann Arbor, “we buy your home for cash.” Sounds good, huh?

Due to the amount of homeowners in trouble, the scam artists are out in full force.

They may call you up, knock on your door with a pile of papers and have you sign documents that will give THEM the deed to your home. They look professional, act professional and seem like the “answers to your prayers”. They are not. They are wolves in sheeps clothing.

I had a lady call me a few weeks ago, because this had happened to her. She signed papers she did not understand, looking for relief, she gave her home away. They didn’t make the mortgage payments like they had promised.

Call your lender, should this happen to you. There is also a hotline number to call 1–800–4FRAUD8.

Here is a video to show you what to be aware of:

***The past two weeks, several of my buyer agents have been writing offers on foreclosed homes throughout Washtenaw County, they are competing with other offers in most every situation. The foreclosed homes are going quickly. If you need a list of foreclosed homes in Ann Arbor or Washtenaw County contact the Missy Caulk Team at 734–821–0757. ***

Next post… What is a “short sale” and how can this help me avoid foreclosure.

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Attorney General Mike Cox issued an important opinion this week clarifying the proper application of an obscure exemption contained in the Michigan Transfer Tax Act. The opinion, arising out of a request from Representative Martin Griffin (D-Jackson), should afford certain home sellers immediate financial relief as Michigan’s real estate market continues its road to recovery.

Exemption “t”, as designated in the Michigan Transfer Tax Act, sets forth that a seller may seek an exemption from paying the state transfer tax if the following criteria are met:

1. The property must have been occupied as a principle residence, classified as homestead property;
2. The property’s State Equalized Value (“SEV”) for the calendar year in which the transfer is made must be less than or equal to the property’s SEV for the calendar year in which the transferor acquired the property; and
3. The property cannot be transferred for consideration exceeding its true cash value for the year of the transfer.

With property values and corresponding SEV declining due to the struggling economy, home owners and real estate agents first took notice of the exemptions possible applicability under the State Transfer Tax. However, absent an official interpretation, there was little awareness of its proper application.

The opinion from the Attorney General uses examples to show how the application would apply. One example illustrating application provides:

If the SEV of the principle residence when acquired in 2006 is $74,000.00 and the SEV when transferred in 2008 is $72,000.00 then criteria one and two above are satisfied. You can establish the true cash value by doubling the SEV at the time of transfer. In this case the true cash value is $144,000. If the sale price in 2008 is $140,000.00 then the sale does not exceed its true cash value. All three criteria are satisfied and the exemption would apply.

The Attorney General’s opinion provides immediate relief to home sellers already faced with the reality of declining value on their single greatest asset.

Sellers should be cautioned that a request for the exemption that fails to meet all three criteria could bring a penalty equal to 20% of the tax assessed in addition to the tax due.

Additionally, no similar exemption exists in the County Real Estate Transfer Tax Act.

This is good information for Michigan homeowners that are in the process of selling and afford them some relief.

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I’ve been helping my past clients and neighbors fight their tax assessments for the last month throughout ALL Washtenaw County.  I was so encouraged when I received this email from one of my clients:

Hi Missy & Betty–  ( Betty is my assistant)

I wanted to thank you both again for the all the help and information you provided regarding our property tax appeal. Steve & I made an appointment and went before the township board armed with the comps you pulled and a letter requesting that our taxable and assessed value be reduced to what we paid (50% of $425K). We were being assessed/taxed on 50% of $549K. I am happy to report that WE WON!! Quite a savings in future taxes!

Thanks again,

XXXXX

This client lives in York Township.

I live in Hunters Ridge Subdivision in Saline, MI  and have for 15 years. One of my neighbors Chris asked me to collect the data for him in Hunters Ridge and I was glad to do so. First, we live in a neighborhood in Saline Schools, Pittsfield Township Taxes. We rarely have much turnover, which is why their is not much data. Seems like the same few homes sell over and over again as you will see in the graph.

When we refinanced in 2001, the appraisal for my home was 449,900. This December we refinanced again and it was 380,000.

See we are all in this together. When you received your property assessments did you SEV go down but your taxes go up? Yes, mine did.

Search All the Listings in Saline, MI here.

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