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.

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)

Saline, Michigan Market Reports

When I think of the market in Saline, I like to see a comparison of where we are now vs where we were a year ago.

You can see from the chart below that our inventory is DOWN. That is a good thing, unless you are a buyer looking in a certain price point or neighborhood.

The other thing I like to look at is the price of homes, are they up or down?

When working with buyers looking to purchase a home in Saline, Michigan it is important to know if the community is consistent, down or increasing in value.

You can see from this graph that we hit a low ($192,000.) in March 2011 but now the price point is up to almost $220,000. This brings me back to the first point, inventory in Saline, Suppy vs Demand equals higher sale prices.

The next chart is done monthly by Affinity Valuations, a local appaiser that I have known for years and trust completely.

I like this chart because Pete graphs out for Saline, Michigan over a three year period. In this graph which Petes gleans from the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors, You can see the trend in price per square feet, number of sales each month.

The trend is price per square foot in Saline, Michigan has been consistent for the last three years.

On my Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk blog you can get monthly updates on the market in Saline, either by checking back monthly or signing up for Executive Reports to be emailed to you.

Originally posted Saline Market Report on Ann Arbor Real Estate Talk.

What a fantastic day was spent on Saturday at the University of Michigan Woman's Football Academy.

Besides over $100,000.00 raised for the Comprehensive Cancer Center, the Missy Caulk TEAM was able to contribute $750.00.

Thank you so much for all my past clients and blogging friends that were able to help us out.

The Schedule

In the mornings after introductions, everyone was divided into teams and each team rotated with a position coach where we learned the stances, and the proper technique's.

After about 15 minutes with each University of Michigan Coach and the players we rotated to the next position.

Before we rotate we would all get in a huddle and raise our hands together. The Coaches would yell, "BEAT" and we would yell back "OHIO"!

Believe it or not the kicking and the punting were the hardest. Although I did fall flat on my face zig zagging through the cones. Hey the grass was wet.

The Scrimmage

After lunch we got in our assigned teams. My team was coached by Coach Jeff Hecklinski, (Coach Heck) the Wide Receiver Coach.

Our team played against Coach Jerry Montgomery's team, who coaches the Defensive Line. Coach Heck, turned the actual plays over to Roy Roundtree, Wide Receiver and he wanted everyone to go long. Imagine that!

Coach Heck said the one thing he heard over and over again all day was, "OMG there is Denard!" Next year he suggested they just put Denard in the middle of the field and have everyone line up.

One of the most fun things was running through the tunnel and getting to scrimmage in the the BIG HOUSE.

I really enjoyed spending time with some the coaches wives as Christa and I helped them in obtaining a home in Ann Arbor.

Well a picture is worth a thousand words, so let the video show you have much fun we had at the U of M Woman's Football Academy.

If you would like to play on our team next year, let me know because I would love to be able to spend the day with you and help raise more money for the Comprehensive Cancer Center. GO BLUE!

This Saturday is the Annual University of Michigan Womans Football Academy.

This will be the second time I have played, attended it. The first time was in Summer of 2004 and I broke my pinkey finger catching a pass with Lloyd Carr looking on.

I was playing Wide Receiver in the afternoon scrimmage and and I was not suppose to be thrown a pass. It was a running play but the running back got tackled, the QB looked up and saw me open so through me the ball and I caught it. (breaking my finger)

I walked up to my Coach, who at the time was Braylon Edwards, and said, "I think I broke my finger."

"Nah," said Braylon, "Good catch, get back in there."

But, I walked off the field with my finger hanging and went into the locker room, where Paul Schmidt, Athletic Trainer for the Wolverines said, "Missy, get out to Saline Hospital and get an x-ray right away." (Paul is from Saline and knew me from there.) So I did...3 days later I had surgery and wore a halo cast for 3 months.

Now I am playing again!!

But, this time we signed Medical Release Forms. Wonder why?

My husband played QB in high school, and the Marines (anyone remember when the Marines had a team?) and all my 3 sons played in high school. NOT ONE of them ever had a serious injury, but mom goes out one day and OUCH!

Now even though we will have a lot of fun at the Womans U of M Football Camp, it does serve a higher purpse and that is to raise funds for the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center. Since its creation in 1999, the program has helped more than 15,000 cancer patients and their families.

I never have begged asked for support on my Ann Arbor Real Estate Blog, but TODAY I am.

Can you help us raise money for this worthy event by donating to The Missy Caulk TEAM's efforts for U of M Comprehensive Cancer Center?

Christa and I are excited to be helping them out and you know after reading my story about my broken finger I would not be doing this again, if not for a worthy cause.

If you are one of my 2430 friends on Facebook, or 3826 Followers on Twitter...or all my Activerain Friends and Subscribers.

...if eveyone could give $5.00 to $10.00, $50.00 or $100.00 we would be so very grateful.

DONATE HERE Thank you!!