Ypsilanti Michigan Home Buying

Chatting With The Chutney Lady

2008-09-20T06:28:00.001-07:00

One of the great things about living around Ann Arbor is the Ann Arbor
Farmers Market.

One of the great things about the Farmers Market is what my wife calls
"The Chutney Lady".

She has a variety of chutney and jellies and wonderful home-made stuff. And my wife enjoys talking to her.

Her business is Kern Road Farm at www.kernroadfarm.com

My wife recommends the Pineapple Chutney which has pineapple, champagne, wine vinegar, curry, sugar, cardamon, cinnamon, ginger, and cloves as ingredients. YUMMMMM

Listing Broker "Administrative Fees" Challenged

2008-09-02T12:46:00.000-07:00

As the only real BUYER'S real estate company who is active in Ypsilanti we've watched some listing offices add fees to listings that they expect a buyer to pay in addition to the compensation they receive from the seller.

We've seen various opinions on the legality of these fees, but the bottom line is that they cause frustration for home buyers.

Well, the U.S. Court of apeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Atlanta) has decided that a admin fee suit could be certified as a class action suit. This makes it a much bigger deal and more likely to create a change.

The link above will take you to a realtor.org article on it.

Also check out the blog post on one of our other blog sites here: Admin fee suit

Ypsilanti Historical Blog

2008-08-20T03:51:00.000-07:00

I just ran across the blog linked above. It looks like it was just started this month, but it could be really nice if the author keeps going.

Nice Work!

The kind of thing a husband should not leave a wife if he dies

2008-08-01T07:52:00.000-07:00

I have been blessed with a good number of well qualified buyers, some
of them in the luxury category. For us that means priced over $550,000.

I was in an Ypsilanti home this month that could have been in this
value range if the owner/builder had ever finished it. Unfortunately
he passed away recently, leaving his wife with a home they had been
living in for five or six years that was never finished.

We are talking about a ~4,000 square foot home that is just past the
drywall stage.

So the wife now has to sell, and instead of being a dream come
True, it will probably sell for ~$300,000 and be a real hassle for her.

I wish her the best.

Jon Boyd
Broker / Manager
The Home Buyer's Agent of Ann Arbor
734-662-6240 buyersagentannarbor.com
1908 W. Stadium Blvd. Ann Arbor MI 48103

Top Of The Park 20080603

2008-06-21T17:29:00.000-07:00

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!

Important Free Class For First Time Buyers - How To Improve Your Credit Score By 100 Points

2008-06-20T07:11:00.000-07:00

"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.)

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.

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.

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.

And, we will see you Monday night!

Be careful with those concrete blocks!

2008-05-28T20:19:00.001-07:00

I've been really physically tired this week from taking down a pine tree and moving some concrete blocks around.

I found this video where some guys make styrofoam "blocks" and surprise people.

Falling Bricks - video powered by Metacafe

I thought it was worth sharing.

Good Structural Engineer For Those Extra Difficult Inspection Issues

2008-04-29T12:41:00.000-07:00

Sometimes after a home inspection the inspector just doesn't have the background knowledge to make a certain determination about a potential problem.

At those times we typically call in a professional structural engineer.

The link above will take you to a post on that topic at one of our other blogs.

Buying an Ypsilanti home built between the late 40's and the early 60's

2008-04-14T07:24:00.000-07:00

Example Sewer Line Video

If you are buying a home built between the late 40's and the early 60's in Ypsilanti it is a real good idea to have your sewer line inspected to determine its condition and what it is made of. "Orangeburg" material was popular during that time and much of it is failing these days.

The above link will take you to a video of an example inspection done at a home of this age. This home turned out to have a "Crock" type pipe.

Class for Ypsilanti first time buyers (Free and informative)

2008-03-31T20:08:00.000-07:00

Coming up on April 14th we have our Free "Buying a Home Without Losing Your Shirt" class.

The class is a fast moving 90 minutes on the preparation, evaluation, negotiation and location of a "home of your own".

Click on the link above to go to our website for more information.

Reservations are required.

How to choose a real estate agent if you are buying

2008-03-26T16:46:00.000-07:00

Here is an article that was published late last month on home buying and choosing a buyer agent.

Good reading, particularly if you are going to be buying a home in the Ypsilanti area.

How To Buy A Foreclosure Class a big Success

2008-03-25T14:03:00.000-07:00

Last night we had our first monthly "How To Buy A Foreclosure" class.

We had a packed house and the participants seemed very pleased with the content.

One of the participants recently purchased a foreclosed home for their daughter in another area and she commented on how difficult is was and how she wished she had come to our class first.

Our next class is scheduled for April 28th.

Visit our website for more information: http://buyersagentannarbor.com/classes

Update on fighting assessment in Pittsfield Township

2008-03-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

We have a past client who recently bought a home in Pittsfield Township who felt his assessment was too high.

Here is a link on his experience from our Saline Michigan Blog Fighting Assessment in Pittsfield Township Michigan

Taxes going up even with value going down

2008-02-18T17:22:00.000-08:00

I got a email from a past client who was concerned about his home's tax bill going up, even while his home's value wet down.

We had a 20 minute conversation, but here is an article that goes over the same information:
http://www.dailypressandargus.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071223/NEWS01/712230325

Relationship between a home's age and its value

2008-02-12T13:33:00.000-08:00

I've had a number of buyers ask me if a new home is always more expensive than an old one.

The short answer is no.

The more in depth answer is there is often no correlation between a home's age and its value.

Often the older homes are in more desirable areas so much of their value is in the actual dirt under the home.

On the other hand there are a lot of desirable features that are desirable today that were not even considered when older homes were built like 3 car garages and bubble tubs in the master bath. Even master baths were not a typical feature in homes built 60 years ago!

Important article to show seller in negotiation

2008-02-05T18:25:00.000-08:00

Here is a post about an article in MLive that could be very useful if you are negotiating on a home purchase:

Ann Arbor Home Buying: News article to share with sellers during negotiation

You probably will never see a regular real estate agent in Ypsilanti promoting an article like this because they represent sellers.

We are the big Exclusive Buyer's Brokage in the area and that is why we can talk about negotiation on the buying side!

Ypsilanti Down Town Development Plan on the way

2008-01-25T07:43:00.000-08:00

The Courier just had a good article on the Ypsilanti Michigan Down Town Development Authority and their plan to create a blueprint for the future of Downtown.

Ypsilanti downtown can be a fun place with some fun and interesting restaurants and shops, but it has seemed to suffer from having a bit of an unpredictable mix of businesses.

I think some serious long-term planning is exactly what we need.

Ypsilanti mailing, Pittsfield Township taxes, Ann Arbor schools

2008-01-06T17:53:00.000-08:00

Many home buyers don't know it, but there are hundreds of homes that are in the Ann Arbor school system that have an Ypsilanti mailing address.

Basically everything East of 23 has an Ypsilanti mailing address!

If you want to know how that effects you as a home buyer call our office and talk to one of our purchasing agents at 734-662-6240!

Ave Maria may be back on the tax rolls soon

2007-12-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

The former Ave Maria campus is being purchased by the Schoolpictures corporation.

Great news for two reasons:

1. It gets the the property back on the tax rolls.

2. It gets more folks into the Ypsi area.

Lower attendance at EMU pushing down house values?

2007-11-27T10:57:00.000-08:00

I thought this was an interesting article from the Michigan Daily.

It talks about U of M students who go for the cheaper houseing in Ypsilanti, and how the falling enrollement at Eastern is effecting the home prices. (A little bit of a stretch, but...)

Funny things you find when you look at a lot of homes

2007-06-24T20:19:00.000-07:00

This is from our national survey of exclusive buyer agents and what dumb things some home sellers do when their home is on the market.

Ypsilanti Buyer Agent Gets Interviewed

2007-04-12T17:33:00.000-07:00

The local Business Review did a short interview with me for their executive profile section.

If you are thinking about buying a home in Ypsilanti you might find this interesting:

http://blog.mlive.com/ann_arbor_business_review/2007/04/executive_profile_jon_boyd.html

Rising consumer confidence helps housing

2007-04-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Here is a "good news" article I saw on BankRate.com

It talks about hou the national economic situation is better than six months ago and that paints a better future for real estate: http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/reminiguide07/consumer-confidence-home-sales-a1.asp

Are there exclusive buyer's agents in Ypsilanti?

2007-03-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

It seems like I hear this question a couple times a year, usually after someone has read an article of book on home buying and heard about naeba.org.

Here is the deal: There are no Exclusive Buyer's Agents (EBAs) in the Ypsilanti, Belleville, or Canton areas. However, our office, based in Ann Arbor Michigan, serves those areas along with Washtenaw County, Western Wayne County, Western Oakland County, Livingston County, the far East side of Jackson County, NorthEast Lenawee County, and the Northwest end of Monroe County.

If you are not from the area and you don’t recognize the county names, I’ll list most of the cities and towns: Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Dexter, Saline, Whitmore Lake, Milan, Clinton, Tecumseh, Hamburg, Pinkney, Howell, Brighton, South Lyon, Canton, Novi, Northville, Plymouth, Bellville, and Willow Run.

If you want us to connect you with an EBA in one of the other areas you can call our office at 734-662-6240.

Another new construction story

2007-03-25T19:04:00.000-07:00

I was talking last week to a home owner who had his home built to him.

He mentioned that when it was being built he walked by and saw the siding being nailed on.

Unfortunately he also saw that there was no Tyvec wrap under the siding. He walked up to the guy putting up the siding and asked about the Tyvec, only to hear the siding installer say "Sometimes the builders put the Tyvec on the inside."

Well, that is a complete lie.

Fortunately the home buyer was suspicious and called the builder, who admitted the Tyvec should be over the sheething and under the siding. The builder called the siding guy and told him to take off the siding he had already put on.

From that point forward both the siding guy and the builder were very cold to the home buyer. Just because the buyer wanted the job done right!

The lesson here is that it is good to have other people on your team when you are buying from a builder.

In our office we can play the "bad guy" who points out to the builder that they've made a mistake. The builder can't get mad at you then, and they can't get too mad at us because they want to have future business.