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If you live in Ann Arbor or Washtenaw County, the question comes up:
When your house no longer suits you, you can move or remodel. Find out which big change is the right investment of your housing dollars.
Just about everything else—remodeling costs, the hassle of living in a construction zone, or the ability to live happily without one more bathroom–is a personal preference. After all, your home isn’t just your largest investment; it’s also the place where your family lives.
To make the right move-or-remodel decision, you have to know:
Then add the remodeling costs to the value of your home. If the number you get is more than 10% above the average value of homes in your neighborhood, you’re over-improving and probably won’t be able to sell for what you put into the remodel.
Here’s why: No one wants to buy the most expensive home on the block (your home) if they can spend the same money to get a similar home on a block of higher-priced homes. Would you pay $200,000 to live on a block where all the other homes are valued at $100,000? We hope not.
Make home improvements that are typical for the neighborhood. Don’t put granite countertops in a trailer, and don’t put laminate countertops in a Trump Tower condo. Your tour of open houses gives you a chance to verify that your planned remodel isn’t an over- or under-improvement for the neighborhood.
Want to keep your kids in the same school district, but can’t find or afford a bigger, better house? Love the neighbors? Have an easy commute to work? Stay put. If you’ve soured on the traffic, the neighborhood’s crime rate, or the nosy neighbors, move on.
If your remodeling plans include increasing the overall size of your home, the size of your lot may be the deciding factor in whether to move or remodel. If you live in a 1,500 sq. ft. ranch on a 3,000 sq. ft. lot, you might be able to add a second story to turn it into a 3,000 sq. ft. two-story, but you’re not likely to add 1,500 sq. ft. at ground level. And if you have a septic tank and well, the location of those will limit how and where you add onto your home (or cost you a bundle to move).
Consider these moving costs: sale costs for your existing home, shipping your household goods, buying window treatments and possibly furniture for the new house, costs to fix up your existing home before sale, higher utility costs (if your next house is bigger), insurance cost differences, and property taxes.
Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.
By: Dona DeZube
Published: August 24, 2010
© Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®
Townships and Villages Around Ann Arbor (annarborrealestatetalk.com)
Search the Ann Arbor Area MLS for active, up to date homes for sale.
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Ann Arbor Area includes many surrounding Villages and Townships throughout Washtenaw County.
If you are thinking of moving to the Ann Arbor Area and prefer to not be in the City then take a look at each of the following villages or townships that make up Washtenaw County.
Each Township, Village and City is unique so I encouraged you to spend a day eating breakfast in one, lunch in another and dinner in another one.
Finding a home more than a house, it is integrating into a community, meeting new friends, attending new schools and participating in a local church or synagogue. 
Village of Dexter
Manchester Village
The following are actual cities in Washtenaw County
Ann Arbor
Chelsea
Milan
Saline
Ypsilanti
If you love the peace of living in the country but close to all the things to do around a college town, check out some of the other areas that surrounding Ann Arbor.
Ann Arbor Area first time home buyers, are you waiting on your IRS Refund from the Tax Credit?
We have received a few calls lately from clients who have not yet received their up to $8000.00 tax credit from the IRS yet. When the 08 program first started people were getting their refunds in weeks, not months.
Here is an article I read today on Market Watch, a Wall Street Journal Division on what is taking so long.
No worries, it will be worth the wait. They are just doing their job and double checking.
Legislative changes in November 2009 expanded and extended the credit and also added documentation requirements for claiming the credit. Due to increased compliance checks by the IRS, failure to submit documentation will slow down the issuance of any applicable refund.
Because of the documentation requirements for claiming the credit, taxpayers who claim the credit on their 2009 tax return must file a paper — not electronic — return and attach Form 5405, First-Time Homebuyer Credit and Repayment of the Credit (see the instructions for help with the form), and a properly executed copy of a settlement statement used to complete the purchase.
Note Regarding Signatures: While the Form 5405 instructions indicate that a properly executed settlement statement should show the signatures of all parties, the IRS recognizes that the elements of the settlement document, often a Form HUD-1, may vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and may not reflect the signatures of the buyer and seller. The settlement statement that must be attached to the return is considered to be properly executed if it is complete and valid according to local law. In locations where signatures are not required the IRS encourages the buyer to sign the settlement statement prior to attaching it to the tax return even in cases where the settlement form does not include a signature line.
Long-Time Residents: The November 2009 legislation extends the credit to long-time residents of the same main home if they purchase a new main home. To qualify, eligible taxpayers must show that they lived in their old homes for a five-consecutive-year period during the eight-year period ending on the purchase date of the new home. For long-time residents claiming the credit, the IRS recommends attaching, in addition to the documents described above, any of the following documentation of the five-consecutive-year period:
It is still possible to claim the homebuyer credit for 2009 home purchases on 2008 tax returns. Homebuyers may use the December 2009 revision of the Form 5405 along with Form 1040X to amend their 2008 tax return.
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The chart below shows the medium price of homes in Ann Arbor continues to drop. With a peak in October the prices continue to come down.
I am asked all the time when will we hit the bottom? I wish I knew. In 2009 we sold the same amount of homes in the Ann Arbor Area, according to the Board of Realtors data. But….the prices were much lower.
Pricing your home to sell is the way to get it SOLD. Pricing above the market, or saying, “the buyers can always make an offer,” does not work. Buyer are looking for the best value.
Search homes and condo’s for Sale in Ann Arbor Area. There are some great opportunities for buyers right now.
