About Washtenaw County, MI

When folks relocate to the Ann Arbor Area they often wonder, where is the perfect Ann Arbor Area neighborhood for me to live in?

1) Suburban

2) Rural

3) Schools

4) Walking Distance

5) Local culture

6) Hip and fun

7) Fun for Kids

8) Small town or urban

Everyone has different needs and priorities and now this is a fantastic way to search.

I would have embed the widget here for you, but Activerain is not letting the java script or the WordPress short code go in, so you will have to click the link over to Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk to see the widget.

Look no further, here is a place to Search for your perfect neighborhoods in the Ann Arbor Area.

When I say Ann Arbor Area, I am including Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Ypsilanti, Whitmore Lake, Milan and all the area's in our MLS.

Let me know if you like it, it is also on my business page on Facebook.

****Hat tip to Debe Maxwell for introducing me to this wonderful Ann Arbor Real Estate perfect neighborhood search tool. ***

Let me know in the comments, what you think? If you like it Debe or I can hook you up with the developer. No, I am not getting paid to write this, just a cool tool I wanted to share.

Existing-home sales rose for a third consecutive month, according to a January report by the National Association of REALTORS (NAR). Existing-home sales, which include recently purchased single family, townhomes, condominiums, and co-ops were up 5 percent from the previous month, to a seasonally adjusted rate of 4.61 million units. In total, 2011 existing-home sales were up 1.7 percent from 2010, and reached 4.26 million units sold.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, believes the trend could point to a sustained recovery. “The pattern of home sales in recent months demonstrates a market in recovery,” he said. “Record low mortgage interest rates, job growth and bargain home prices are giving more consumers the confidence they need to enter the market.” YAHHHHHH!

National inventory for existing homes decreased by 9.2 percent in December, leaving 2.38 million units available for sale. This representing a 6.2 month supply of homes at today’s current sales pace. Existing-home inventories have been shrinking from their record levels of 4.04 million set in July 2007.

NAR President Moe Veissi anticipates even more buyers in the near future. “The American dream of homeownership is alive and well. We have a large pent-up demand, and household formation is likely to return to normal as the job market steadily improves,” he said. “More buyers coming into the market mean additional benefits for the overall economy. When people buy homes, they stimulate a lot of related goods and services.”

When you take out a loan, your lender will review your credit report from independent companies that monitor your credit. Your credit report is a compilation of three key factors: your credit history, information from employers, and financial information gathered from public records. Taken together, all this information is used to create your credit score, which is usually between 300 and 800. The higher your score, the more likely you will be to get favorable loan terms from your lender. Here are a few things to keep in mind to improve your credit score: be consistent and punctual when it comes to payments• Keep your balances well below the maximum. Accounts with high balances can hurt your credit score• Don’t take out more credit cards than you need. Be careful of opening or closing accounts near your closing date. Watch your credit to debt ratio.

So if you are looking to search for homes – even with your mobile device, look at www.HomeSearchAnnARbor.com

We are ready to serve you 734-669-0337.

Some solutions if Your Ann Arbor Home You Are Buying Does Not Appraise?

The first thing to do if the Ann Arbor home you are buying doesn’t appraise is to not panic.

You are excited and have made an offer on a home for sale in Ann Arbor, and now you are in the process of obtaining financing for your new Ann Arbor home. The bank or mortgage broker is going to want an appraisal on your home to guarantee that the home is worth what you are paying.

When we are representing buyers on a the purchase of the home in Ann Arbor, we write into the contract, “the purchase price must meet the appraised value of the home.” (even if you are paying cash.)

In this market, seriously… many homes do not come in at the Purchase price on the contract for Appraised Value.

How does a low appraisal affect you?

If the home does not appraise, then there is room for more negotiation with the sellers.

If the appraisal comes in lower than purchase price, you have some options

1) You can walk away from your Ann Arbor Home, because the appraisal contingency is part of the contract, and if the property does not appraise, that is a contingency that you can use to end the contract.

2) Another option for you would be to renegotiate the purchase price – by offering the sellers to pay the price that the property was appraised at. If you really want the property, that is a consideration. Offer the appraised value to the seller, and see what their response is.

3) You “may” want to consider paying more than purchase price – bring cash to close the deal. This is NOT something that I recommend for my buyers who are purchasing Ann Arbor Real Estate.

Keep in mind, if you are obtaining a loan on your property, then it is imperative that is appraises. Your lender will NOT loan you money to purchase the home if it doesn’t appraise at the agree upon purchase price.

Issues with Ann Arbor Appraisals

One of the biggest issues we have with homes appraising to the purchase price in the Ann Arbor Market Area is that appraisers are being hired by banks that do NOT live in the Ann Arbor area. Not knowing Ann Arbor, the schools, the taxes, (and a variety of other factors unique to the area) they often do not use the right home comparables.

This is not the market to pay over appraised value, and I would advise my clients against this. I would not recommend paying more for the property than it appraises for even "if" you can.

If I can answer any question about Ann Arbor homes for sale, or Ann Arbor real estate, please contact me. 734-926-9707

(originally posted at AnnArborRealEstateTalk.com)

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