Ann Arbor Home Buying

More fun at the Top Of The Park

2008-06-27T20:43:00.001-05:00

Balloon acrobatics tonight and big crowds in Ann Arbor!

Top Of The Park 20080603

2008-06-21T19:29:00.000-05:00

This is the scene at the Top of The Park at that Ann Arbor Summer
Festival tonight and we are having a blast!

Got-to-love the horn music!

Credit Repair For Ann Arbor Home Buyers - Free Class

2008-06-20T11:42:00.002-05:00

You know that your credit file is critical in determining what kind of home loans yu qualify for, but did you know that potential employers will check your credit? Did you know that your credit score has a dramatic impact on your insurance rates? Even renting an apartment is impacted by what is in your credit files.

How about this: Did you know that it is often really bad to just pay off a collection account notice on your credit report, even if it is correct, when you are thinking about buying a home or getting a car loan?

"How To Repair Your Credit & Boost Your Score By 100+ Points!" Is a class about dispelling some of the myths of credit and showing you exactly what is possible and why it is possible. (In terms of improving your credit file. REALLY improving your credit file. Like improving the score by over one hundred points.)

Why do we know so much about credit and how to improve it? Because as we have been looking out for the best interest of home buyers for close to 20 years, and that includes helping buyers with their credit files dating back for over 15 of those 20 years.

For example we have personally helped people remove negative student loan information. It isn't something you can do overnight, but it isn't brain surgery either.

So, come to the free class Monday night, June 23rd and find out all about what can be done to turn your credit around in the next six months.

Again the class is free, but pre-registration is required.

Call the voice mail system at 734-223-9831 and leave a message with the number of seats you would lie to reserve, your name(s), and a phone number we cal call to confirm your reservation.

When evergreens aren't green anymore

2008-05-31T15:42:00.001-05:00

This is a bit of a sad post both personally and for Ann Arbor's West
side.

We seem to be losing a lot of pine trees here. I've heard the disease
called pine wilt but I don't know much beyond that. Here is a picture
of one we lost in our yard.

Bless you pine tree, you will be missed!

Picnic pops

2008-05-19T00:50:00.001-05:00

Picnic pops is a festival of band and orchestra music from Pioneer and
Huron high schools.

The event started back in 1963 and has been held on the Pioneer school
grounds ever since.

Lots of fun!

New Grocer coming to Maple Dexter in Ann Arbor

2008-05-14T08:48:00.002-05:00

I just caught this yesterday.

National discount grocer Aldi is coming to Ann Arbor, right around the corner from where I grew up.

Interestingly, the Ann Arbor Aldi is a new prototype design that will be the most energy efficient in the company!

Plan For Additional North Campus Dorm Space Will Hurt Values

2008-04-30T17:09:00.003-05:00

The article I've linked to above is from the Michigan Daily from last year. But, it has the best description I've seen about the new North Campus Apartment project that will put almost 900 new bedrooms into the rental mix.

This will have a cooling effect on property values on the North side for a while, till the demand catches up to the new supply.

The new complex is called The Courtyards and it the developers hope to have rooms available soon.

West side traffic jams today

2008-04-29T13:59:00.002-05:00

This just in...

For the next week or so the Maple/Dexter intersection is going to be a mess because of construction.

Laura Fisher has post on her blog that gives a day-by-day update.

Just click the link above.

Declining Market Mortgage Problems

2008-04-18T14:14:00.003-05:00

Since this area has been labeled a "declining market" buy the secondary market investors, it has become much more difficult for a buyer to purchase a home with zero down payment. It has also become more expensive for buyers to purchase with a 5% or 10% down payment.

Here is a blog that shares insights from nationally recognized expert Dawn Davis from Rate One Mortgage on the issue: Declining Market Insights

Skeleton in the corner

2008-04-14T09:37:00.003-05:00

So I was out evaluating property with a couple last week and we walked into a "vacant" home, turned around, and saw this in the corner:

I was startled, and the wife was startled. Not a great way to display your home.

Gee, I wonder why the listing agent didn't include this picture

2008-04-08T11:49:00.003-05:00

I was out evaluating homes last week with a relocating couple and we ran across a home on the market with this kitchen ceiling.

The listing office and the seller must have been aware of it because the plaster that would have fallen to the floor was cleaned up.

Kind of funny...

Informative, Free, Home Buying Class in Ann Arbor

2008-03-31T21:17:00.002-05:00

Our first home buying class of the spring is scheduled for April 14th.

The participants in the last monthly class were quite happy with the content and presentations. One person said "My brain was about to explode with all the information".

If you are interested in learning more about buying your first home click the link above to visit our main office website.

Local Exclusive Buyer's Broker quoted in the Los Angeles Times

2008-03-25T16:16:00.002-05:00

A local home buying expert was quoted in this story in the LA Times on staging.

http://www.calendarlive.com/tv/radio/cl-re-staging16mar16,0,903663.story

(The local expert happens to be me, in my role as past president of our national organization.)

The important things to remember for buyers:

1. Don't get emotionally attached to the decor, furnishings, lighting or presentation.
2. A well staged home is not necessarily a well maintained home.
3. If you like a color scheme or furniture layout you can probably use it in whatever home you buy.
4. Try to look past the staging, because it won't be there when they hand you the keys.
5. Staging is sometimes used to cover up defects.

"How To Buy A Foreclosure" Class packed with participants

2008-03-25T16:07:00.003-05:00

We had our first monthly "How to Buy a Foreclosure" class last night and it was very well received.

We covered foreclosure terminology, the timeline, short-sales and then we reviewed actual example transactions.

All of the participants seemed pleased with the material and what they learned.

If you are interested in a future class visit our website: http://buyersagentannarbor.com/classes

Good article on potential use of the Pfizer site,

2008-03-16T22:51:00.002-05:00

MLive had a good article this week on the potential usage of the Pfizer site.

If somebody picks up the site it will change the face of local residential real estate again.

Boneheaded Buyer Move

2008-02-16T11:53:00.002-05:00

If you are buying something as expensive as real estate it can be very worthwhile to get educated on negotiation before you start the process.

Here is a post discussing a problem a buyer had created for themselves before they came into our office: Bad Buyer Move

Structuring a Repair Credit During a Home Purchase

2008-02-16T11:47:00.002-05:00

Here is a post from our Pinckney home buying blog about structuring a repair credit when you are buying a home and the inspection shows a serious problem.

Repair Credit Post

Also, here is a link to the article I was quoted in from the Detroit Free Press: http://buyersagentannarbor.com/newsroom/20040704detroitnews.htm

Someone else picked up on Fake Buyer Agents

2008-02-13T15:00:00.002-05:00

A home buying expert out of Columbus Ohio named Mike Marshal has also been concerned about fake buyer agents. He's even found a nationally syndicated article on the topic.

Check out his "Home Buyer's Advocate" site here:
Home Buyer's Advocate Mike

Post on Ummel home buying case

2008-02-09T19:50:00.000-05:00

One of our other Blogs has a post about the Ummel case in California.

(It is actually a about a press release that NAEBA did about the case. NAEBA is the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, the standard setting organization for buyer agents.)

I'm not sure if I might have a linking problem so I'm going to repeat the link from the title line above here: Howell Real Estate Blog with link to Exclusive Buyer Agent article

The listing agent said "the seller was insulted....."

2008-02-06T22:53:00.000-05:00

Here is a post in one of our other blogs that I thought I would share.

Post on insulting sellers

It isn't really about insulting anybody, but it is about negotiation.

Joining Technorati

2008-02-06T21:10:00.000-05:00

Technorati Profile

Technorati is a website/tool that is helpful for understanding and tracking blog sites.

Most incompetent attorney in town?

2008-01-24T22:34:00.000-05:00

A couple years ago we had an interesting transaction in the office.

The buyer was from out of state and she was a little confused about the purchasing process and instead of listening to us she was taking the advice of her accountant back in New Jersey. Unfortunately real estate is a local business, and her New Jersey friend was giving her really dumb advice.

To make matters worse, when she decided on the home she wanted to purchase here in Ann Arbor, she used an attorney that was getting senile.

So here is the general story on the attorney:

1. He held up having the buyer sign a negotiated agreement for 4 days because he wanted the buyer's middle initial added and he wanted condominium spelled out where it was abbreviated "condo".

2. He wanted me to add a radon test contingency to the contract even though he was told it was a 2nd story unit.

3. He told the buyer and me that I should draw a floor plan of the condo for the inspector so he would know where the rooms were. (This was a 1,200 sq. ft., 2 bedroom condo. I would hope that an inspector could find the rooms.)

4. He had the buyer send a $10,000 earnest money deposit to the listing office, telling the buyer to make the check out to the listing office, even though the contract had our office holding the funds.

5. He did a couple of other things that would have really embarrassed the buyer if she had known about them, and the listing agent thought he was quite creepy.

In the end the buyer was able to close and move into her condo so things turned out OK.

I shutter to think what kind of legal fees the poor buyer paid, and both the listing agent and I thought about filling a complaint with the local bar association, but since the attorney wasn't actually working for either of us, we didn't have standing to file a complaint.

The learning point here is: Use a local real estate attorney when you buy your home!

How and When to Bid Low on a Home - Wall Street Journal

2008-01-09T10:16:00.001-05:00

Important Wall Street Journal article by Amy Hoak on negotiation in today's real estate market. The full article is available at the link above:

By AMY HOAK

".....Pat O'Heron was able to negotiate a steep discount with a seller who relocated for a job, in a neighborhood in Ann Arbor, Mich., that had two year's worth of inventory on the market.

Mr. O'Heron says before he even made an offer, the asking price had already dropped by about $80,000. He eventually bought the home for $270,400, with about $11,000 in other credits. The price ended up being $115,000 below the initial asking price.

Mr. O'Heron was able to take advantage of a market in which buyers decidedly hold the upper hand, with its excessive for-sale inventory due, in large part, to job losses in the area.

But even though housing is in a slump in many parts of the U.S., those tactics won't work in markets that remain healthy. And there's always an inherent danger in going too low. A low offer could insult the seller to the point that they'll refuse to counter, Realtors say. And the seller could easily make the assumption that the buyer isn't committed to making a deal.

"When you're making the offer," says Jon Boyd, Mr. O'Heron's agent and president of the National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents, "if you justify that offer with outside data, then it's much less likely to be perceived as being an insult or [the buyer] not as serious."

Here are three guidelines on how -- and when -- to make an aggressive bid:

1. Learn how motivated the seller is to make a deal.

Certain sellers are going to be more willing than others to negotiate a low offer -- and there are several giveaways that might indicate more leeway on price.

For instance, if the sellers have already purchased another home and that sale has closed, they're likely to be more willing to make a deal, says Dick Gaylord, president elect of the National Association of Realtors and a broker with Re/Max Real Estate Specialists in Long Beach, Calif.

If the property has been on the market for a long time, sellers will be interested in entertaining any offers, he adds.

Mr. Gaylord says he talks to the seller's agent to get as many details as possible about how motivated the seller is.

Overall local market conditions also play a role. The housing market in which Mr. O'Heron bought, for example, was sluggish. The home he purchased had been on the market for about a year.

Because of the job relocation, the seller needed to move and wasn't in the position to take the home off the market until conditions were more favorable, Mr. O'Heron says.

2. Make your case with hard facts.

When putting together an aggressive offer for a client, Mr. Boyd doesn't just hand the seller a purchase agreement with the price the buyer is willing to pay -- he creates a cover letter explaining exactly where that number came from.

In addition to citing comparable sales in making the offer, it also could be important to include details regarding the amount of inventory in the immediate surrounding area, he says.

"If we just looked at the relative values of the houses that sold, we would end up paying too much for that house because we know that the values are going to fall," Mr. Boyd says. "If we see two years' worth of inventory, we should be buying 5%, potentially 10% less than what houses have sold for in the past year in the neighborhood."

Buyers may even personally write a letter to the sellers to make their point, as they did when the market was hot and they aimed to stand out from the crowd, Mr. Gaylord says. That way, they can detail what they like about the house but express their fear of future dropping values.

3. Prepare for the possibility of rejection or negotiation.

Ultimately, a real-estate agent working on behalf of a buyer needs to honor and facilitate the offer that the buyer wishes to make -- even if it seems to be too low.

Mr. Gaylord warns buyers making very low offers that the seller might refuse to negotiate. On a "super aggressive offer," Mr. Boyd says he might tell a client "there's a one in five chance there will be a positive response."

Still, there's that potential for a seller to make a counteroffer, especially if there haven't been many other bids.

Danielle Kennedy, a real-estate sales coach and author based in Pacific Palisades, Calif., advises sellers not to think of a low offer as an insult but as "a sign of interest."

It "begins the dialogue regarding the purchase of your house," she says.

Not all hope is lost even if a seller doesn't bite immediately.

Sometimes after time elapses, the seller comes around and decides to negotiate, Mr. Boyd says. New information -- such as the sale of a comparable home at a lower price -- also can nudge a seller to give an aggressive offer a second look and open the negotiation process."

Thanks Amy, Great article!

News article to share with sellers during negotiation

2008-01-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

Area foreclosures have jumped about 90% last year, and some economists predict there will be more this year.

This is critical information to include in your negotiations if you make an offer on a home this next month.

Especcially if your seller is out of the area.

Contact us if you are interested in other important negotiating tools when you buy a home. (Most of which you will never hear about from designated/dual type buyer agents.)

MLive hits one million visitor mark

2008-01-03T10:46:00.000-05:00

Local news site MLive.com has become the major force in news for the Ann Arbor area. It is actually the home of eight daily newspapers including the Ann Arbor News.

So, as the newspapers shrink as a source for news, mlive.com has become the local source.

Congratulations MLive!