Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk

Opening today for the Michigan Wolverines is tomorrow. There is so much excitement living in Ann Arbor and a college town. Even if expectations are low around the country we are looking forward to a new era at University of Michigan.

We have a new coach, Rich Rodrigues, who runs the spread offence which is new and different at this Big 10 school, steeped in a running tradition. “Coach Rod” as he is called is the son of a coal miner from West Virginia, with blue-collar roots, he became a head coach at age 24.

Coach Rod is still not saying who will be the starting quarter-back. My guess is he will play both of them. Nick Sheridan is from Saline, who was the QB when my son Andrew played at Saline. Nick is a walk-on Red Shirt sophomore is competing with Steven Threet, from Adrian for the opening job. We open against Utah who also runs a spread offense and has their seasoned QB returning.In the past, Michigan has had a hard time defending against the spread offence, but now that we are defending it every day in practice, we should be much improved.

The Stadium is under construction with 49 suites (luxury boxes) not completed. Construction is due to be completed in 2010 and I have been watching the cranes and the steel around the Stadium all summer.

Here is a great air tour of what it will look like when completed.

Fans are asked to come early, due to the construction. Of course, all my kids and their girlfriends and boyfriends are going early like at 8:00 for a 3:30 kick-off. Christa will be running through the house, yelling, “get up, it’s game day” with the fight song playing in the background. About the only days of the year, she is the first one up.

The Victors Walk will begin 2 hours before the game, as the Wolverines walk 200 yards from the U of M. public safety building to stadium tunnel entrance and into the locker room.

So even with the QB situation not known, a stadium under construction, a new offense, and losing to Appalachian State last year in our season opener, this is still Michigan.

One of THE most winning college football schools in the country, full of pomp and tradition. A place where we sing, “Hail to the Victors” the best fight song known in the country and love every minute of it.

GO BLUE!!

window.fbAsyncInit = function() {
FB.init({appId: “258847270794016″, status: true, cookie: true,
xfbml: true});
};
(function() {
var e = document.createElement(“script”); e.async = true;
e.src = document.location.protocol +
“//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js”;
document.getElementById(“fb-root”).appendChild(e);
}());

Ann Arbor and Saline Both Score Big in Michigan Merit Exam (edit/delete)

The Michigan Merit Exam results are in and Saline and Ann Arbor both score high.

Both schools, Saline and Ann Arbor, posted results that were among the best in the state on the MME, a high school test which includes the ACT, commonly used by colleges in the admissions processes.

Saline Area Schools had the sixth-highest ACT composite score among school districts and public school academies in the state, school officials said.

The Ann Arbor Public Schools district had the 10-highest score among the same group, while local charter school Washtenaw Technical Middle College had the 14th highest score.

Washtenaw Technical Middle College is open to high school students that want to attend college instead of high school and obtain 2 years of college while in high school.

Ann Arbor’s Community High School came in with the second -highest composite score among individual schools in Ann Arbor. Community High School is a school of choice and students are now chosen by lottery and are fortunate to attend.

The Michigan Merit Exam usually is taken in the spring of a student’s junior year. Students who take the tests can qualify for up to $4,000 in state college scholarship money.

Good job Saline Area High Schools Students and Ann Arbor Students. The state average is 18.8, and Saline scored 23 and Ann Arbor 22.5, with Community High School scoring 25.1, the highest in the area.

To read the entire list of how all schools scored, click here.

window.fbAsyncInit = function() {
FB.init({appId: “258847270794016″, status: true, cookie: true,
xfbml: true});
};
(function() {
var e = document.createElement(“script”); e.async = true;
e.src = document.location.protocol +
“//connect.facebook.net/en_US/all.js”;
document.getElementById(“fb-root”).appendChild(e);
}());

Stonebridge in located on the South side of Ann Arbor and is divided into two school districts, Ann Arbor Public Schools and Saline Area Schools. It is a Planned Urban Development (PUD) with over 650 homes.

Stonebridge features executive homes, golf villas, condos, and single family residential homes. The Stonebridge Community is surrounded by the Stonebridge Golf Course, designed by Authur Hills. You can book T times on line and check out internet specials, or see a layout of the course all online.

There are currently 27 homes on the market in Stonebridge. Six of the 27 are under contract to purchase. Three in Saline side and three in the Ann Arbor side for schools. There are two homes currently for rent in Stonebridge for a rental price of $2850 and $3000.

All of Stonebridge is located in Pittsfield Township and all of Stonebridge has an Ann Arbor mailing address with a zip code of 48108.

The home under contract are:

5408 Pennacle Ct

2413 Moors Ct

2203 Stonebridge Dr

4484 Stonebridge Dr

2126 Stonebridge Dr

1764 Stonebridge Dr.

Prices are currently ranging in price from 314,000 to 1.2 M.

Last year between July 1st and December 31, 2007, 33 homes closed in Stonebridge. With the current inventory of 27 available, Stonebridge is homes have a low absorption rate. Which means the amount of homes available is equal to the amount that have sold.

There are 11 different associations in Stonebridge, each governed by their own homeowner associations. Their community web site is available for public viewing.