Homes Are Beginning To Move Quickly We recently listed 2 homes that received offers within 2 weeks, one of those homes even received multiple offers. As we see that the market is beginning to shift, more and more buyers are benefiting from local real estate conditions and these opportunites may not last as long as some buyers think!  In recent weeks we have seen interest rates climb and experts predict a steady increase through next year.  Home buyers should take advantage of this window of opportunity!  The Bouma Group provides a team of excellent Buyers Agents who provide a high level of service for their clients, to contact our office click here. Here Today, Gone Tomorrow Chances are that the same house you are interested in today and deciding to wait on, was previewed by another hom... 07/11/2008

Years ago I heard that expression, "Clean and Green".  It was uttered by a visiting lecturer at our son's preschool; he was talking about getting kids to do what you need them to do.  Keep it simple was his message.  Don't micromanage, at least in the beginning. He talked about giving his preteen son the chore of cutting the grass.  He instructed him and then left him with the memory phrase of "clean and green".  In that parent's mind, that covered it all, and he is probably quite right.  In cutting a lawn, the job must be done neatly, no wide rows with grass sticking up between the mower paths.  No skipping the edging detailsthat make all the difference.  No forgetting to rake up the grass piles, if that is a problem.  The green part requires a bit more knowledge and perhaps parental g... 07/10/2008

I get my data from Big House Data, a company in Ann Arbor, that compiles all their data from the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors. It varies somewhat from what the actual Ann Arbor Board of Realtors puts out. Either that or it is interpreted differently from the Ann Arbor News. The Ann Arbor News through MLive.com reported the average price home to sell was $223,802.00. This price is back to the 2000 prices of home sales. So in 8 years, poof.... the sellers have lost value in their homes. Big House data is reporting that the average price home sold for $195,886.00. The silver lining in the cloud that has hung over Ann Arbor Area homes is that the inventory has dropped by 27% from June 2007 to June 2008. For the entire year, listings are down 31%. Buyers are seeing the value in the buying a h... 07/10/2008

Yes, we are there again, with the sarcasm only partly in check.  These darn kids have a way of growing up and having minds of their own, no matter what we do! Tonight I was livid with my son for having lounged all day when chores had been assigned.  His summer job search has brought nothing - it is Michigan, with record unemployment.  His dad and I cheerfully stated that no paid work meant more free work at home to sustain his adequate lifestyle and that extra chores would be required.  There was agreement but time has shown that there is very little adherance to implied contract.  We should have gotten it in writing.... Anyway, today, there was a demand, a demand I say, for dinner, from him.  The ingredients were there and this is not someone who can't get around a kitchen.  Under sham... 07/08/2008

Now that you have all stopped rolling around on the floor laughing, please hear what I have to say.  I just did a very involved market analysis for a property I hope to list.  In the details I sent along in an email with comps attached I had to constantly state that "that is not allowed by our board's standards."  It was nearly impossible to pull up comps for an already difficult-to-comp property when so many agents were declaring their non-egress lower level bedrooms in their bedroom counts, for instance.  Or, another favorite, incorporating the square footage of a lower level into the total square footage of a property, with the side disclaimer that 1000 of the square footage is in the finished lower level.  I don't care!  You have a 2000 square foot home with an additional 1000 finis... 07/08/2008

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 locat... 07/08/2008

Oakbrook condominiums are quietly tucked away in a beautiful park.  This community of 54 condos is located on the south side of Ann Arbor and is close to just about everything!  Built by Guenther Building in 1991, this development offers both 2 and 3 bedroom townhouses and ranch models.  Many of these units have walkout basements and back up to a lovely park.  Highly acclaimed schools Ann Arbor schools include Bach Elementary, Forsythe Middle School and Pioneer High School. For more information on the location, a YouTube video specifically on Oakbrook, community ammenities and market conditions, click here If you would like to preview current listing and sold information at the Oakbrook Condominiums association, and download association bylaws and floorplans go to: www.condohotline.com 07/08/2008

Last week we received an email from our Team Leader, Chet Hill at Keller Williams Ann Arbor. He wanted us to attend the weekly office meeting. Now I'm not much on meetings unless I know what they are going to say. However, Chet said he had a Big Announcement to make. So I went and took my little FlipVideo Camera, which has become my new best friend. Basically, in a bad market (according to the media) Keller Williams had its best month in history. Now I don't agree with the media that it is a bad market. it is a different market. Sales are being made, homes are being bought, buyers are happy....You just have to adjust the way you do business. It is not sellers market, it is a buyers market. We have many clients thrilled to get into a home in Ann Arbor that was once unaffordable to many p... 07/07/2008

 So you want to move to Ann Arbor? Did you know Ann Arbor is "25 miles surrounded by reality?" Didn't think so, you have to live here a little while to know that little tid-bit.  You will find out soon enough when you live here. Ann Arbor the only place in the United States with the name Ann Arbor. If you Google Ann Arbor, it knows what you are looking for. Pretty cool, huh?   Speaking of Google.... Google opened their ad words division in Ann Arbor last year. This is also where they are digitalizing the library of all the books allowed without copyright violations.     Ann Arbor is known as "Tree town", with the city having over 50,000 trees lining the streets. Nichols Arboretum, affectionally called "the Arb" is a park with over 123 acres. It is a fun place to visit and walk through i... 06/28/2008

  In Ann Arbor real estate most of the commercial landlords I've delt with are fairly on-the-ball. They want to provide space for businesses and businesses want to rent space. Everything works out. Obviously our office, The Home Buyer's Agent of Ann Arbor, specializes in helping home buyers, but a couple times a year we get a request from one of our past clients or someone who sees our activity on a national basis who contacts us and asks for help in leasing an office. So, we had a client who was looking for some class A office space in a nice downtown area and we worked with a local company to negotiate a lease and they asked for our compensation to be paid when the tenant moves in.  (We are normally paid at signing of the lease, because that is when the tenant leaves the deposit, but ... 06/17/2008

  Loan Fraud   The link above is to an article in the Columbus Dispatch today about a guilty plea from a loan officer who worked for a national mortgage lender based in Ann Arbor. She, along with nine others, might be responsible for about 25 million in bad loans. The funny thing is that at the bottom of the article you see another loan officer who hasn't been to trial yet named Jonathan Boyd. (My name.) Don't worry. He is from Columbus and I've never worked for ABN Ambro. No relation. Never heard of the guy. (Although I did one time have a nut-case named Tom accused me of doing illegal refinances. I think he got some medical help so he seems to be doing better.)   Anyway, it struck me as kind of funny. 06/17/2008

So many topics to cover since it was deja vu all over again, receiving a call to do BPOs from a lender who had been very good to me in the past, until my contact there was promoted and a licensed realtor took his place.  A very good deal became zero without notice at all.  I have fond memories of those days three years ago - the bounty dropped in my lap that at minimum paid my office bill with months of credit in advance and at maximum gave me a double dip no-effort sale and a listing that spawned at least a dozen closed deals beyond the listing itself, plus more opportunity.  (I believe I could turn that experience into a "Pursuit of Happiness"-like movie, but I just don't have the time...) Today, completely out of the blue, I received a call from the same lender, new contact.  The ran... 06/06/2008

  I can not comprehend the current asking prices of a couple of luxury homes in our market. Here is the background, tell me if it makes any sense to you: 1. Luxury neighborhood in a nice area about 10 minutes West of Ann Arbor. 2. Asking prices for existing homes in the neighborhood are from about $600K to $1.3M. 3. There is a builder that is now offering new construction homes in the subdivision in the $400K range. 4. Ann Arbor home prices in general have dropped about 15% in the last two years with luxury homes hit worse than commodity homes. 5. Right now there is more than three years of inventory of homes like the subject homes.   Here is the issue: There are two different homes in the neighborhood where the sellers have decided that their homes have gone up in value 20% to 30% from... 06/04/2008

  Monday, June 9th ∙ 7-8 pm ∙ 3879 Packard Rd ∙ Ann Arbor, Mi 48108 Free Seminar: How to Buy Your First Home Featured Topics: ž FHA Loans ž Rural Development Loans ž Conventional Mortgage Loans   Here's What You'll Learn in this FREE Seminar: ž Can I qualify for a home mortgage loan? ž What does my credit report say, and how will a mortgage banker look at it? ž How much home can I afford to buy? ž How should I go about finding the right home?   FREE CREDIT ANALYSIS! When you attend this FREE, ONE-HOUR SEMINAR, you will also receive a FREE, CONFIDENTIAL CREDIT ANALYSIS, which will help you find out whether you can qualify for a home mortgage loan. SEATING IS LIMITED - RESERVATIONS REQUIRED! CALL 734-971-2300 TO REGISTER RSVP to Dan at ext.265 or Christian at ext.222. Remember, there is ... 06/04/2008

The newly proposed development of the former "University Village" now titled "601 Forest" is going to be larger than previously thought.  From the rendering below, it will be enormous.  I thought the project was not a bad idea originally, but I've changed my mind.  This looks like a project for Chicago or Manhattan, but not the campus area of Ann Arbor.  Now is the chance to wise up the decision makers so they realise Ann Arbor does not have the necessary critical mass in that area to make sense of this without destroying what is already there. The Planning Commission meeting it tonight June 3rd at 7 PM in City Hall, 2nd Floor, 100 N. Fifth Ave., Ann Arbor.  This is the chance to have your voice heard. Below is the recent Ann Arbor News Article: Plans for South University Avenue tower i... 06/03/2008

Recently I blogged about a teasing letter we received at our home regarding awards night at Saline High School that suggested our son was up for an award and strongly encouraged our attendance.  Friends of his had received the same letter but they were actually LIKELY to receive awards so we were just confused.  My son and I attended anyway, just in case. Kevin is a kid who has learned extraordinarily well, has avoided the typical temptations of youth, besides computer games (death to computer games!) and a senior year girlfriend (we like her - she is motivated, technical like him,  success-oriented no matter what it takes, and adorable).  He has endured psychological testing to determine that he is decidedly not ADD and that his only real problem is boredom and "you can't make me do it... 06/02/2008

In a massive procrastination move the other day, I decided to rearrange my home office furniture and all the electronic equipment.  It was a very big job and only required the occasional request for help to reposition heavy furniture, so it was fairly successful.  I threw a lot of useless stuff away. My son, perhaps the strongest and most fit person in the family, was AWOL during the entire process and arrived late at night to express his opinion.  After noting the improved flow, in which I had eliminated a 12 drawer dresser and downsized to a 4 drawer dresser to hold office supplies, he commented on the desk. "That is one power desk!" he said.  First, yes it is.  It is massive and if I were a person comfortable working at a desk, I am sure it would be very useful.  I prefer to work in ... 05/31/2008

I have become a huge fan of some blogs in my hometown.  These are folks I met through Twitter and have since met in person.  They are very cool people and their blogs may not be on the top 5 blog list anywhere but they might be nice for each of us to review and learn something from. Here are some of the most popular blogs: http://annarborisoverrated.com (I strongly disagree with most of this blog but its success can not be denied. I think A2 is highly rated because it is a great place to live.) This blog is so well known that if you Google aaio you come up with this website!  Wow that is success.  The author was just announced because she is leaving A2.  She should sell it, but its her creation and I doubt she will do so.  I recommend this read for a few minutes of your time.  Look at h... 05/26/2008

Peeved is a great word when trying to avoid cursing, isn't it? I recently commented on a couple of blogs and returned to see what others had to say.  One blogger had a lengthy negative response to my comment, but fortunately there was another commenter coming to my defense, sort of.  I am also curious as to why a Florida realtor cares about a politician in Minneapolis - points?  The rest of the comments struck me as ambiguous so I didn't really know what they were saying.  Poop or get off the pot!  (Another curse avoidance, I am afraid.)  So it was bad, then good.  I commented again so it is probably really bad now.  It was a political blog and at this point in election time things are really critical, lines being drawn in the sand. That old axiom about never talking about religion, sex... 05/24/2008

Today I had some really disturbing news from one of my buyers.  He had been in the neighborhood where we are scheduled to close on a property next Friday.  The deal has been up and down, extended this long since an early March contract date for very legitimate reasons beyond the buyers' control.  Today however, in talking to some neighbors, he learned that the previous owner had committed suicide in the garage. When I heard this in a phone call from the buyer this afternoon, he asked if the bank was required to disclose this.  It is a bank-owned property, surprise!  No, the bank is not required to disclose this, and in Michigan, nor are realtors since it is a non-material fact of the real estate.  Of course, had I known it, I would have disclosed it, and in talking to the listing agent,... 05/22/2008