Do you want to know what your home is worth?

Did you know that Realtor.com now has a feature that helps provide you, the homeowner, with valuable information about your home's value? Go to www.Realtor.com and, in the middle of the home page, look for "What's your home worth?". Type in your address and you will be shown the homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood. If you take the next step, you will receive, by e-mail, a customized report. This will include solds and actives in your area, as well as lots of other helpful data, i.e. average sale to list price, days on the market, etc. This report will often give you a decent snapshot of what the real estate scene is like around your home. The next step would be to have a REALTOR come to your home and provide you with a Comparative Market Analysis. This is a detailed report, taking into account the specifics of your home, as well as the homes that have sold and those that are on the market, that should give you a good idea what your home will sell for in today's market. I provide this service free of charge. If you are not quite ready for this last step, at least check out the service on www.Realtor.com . If you live in the zip codes of either 48105 or 48108, this service will be provided to you at no charge, courtesy of me! And, as always, please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Ann Arbor breaks all-time snow record!

The official start of spring doesn't really mean much in these parts! We technically celebrated the equinox last Thursday and then on Friday the white stuff started coming down again. We had a total of 7.5 inches by Saturday morning. I was rooting for a fair amount since we were so close to the record. If you are considering moving to Ann Arbor, don't let this scare you. This winter was actually quite pleasant. In my book, snow on the ground certainly beats gray/ brown wherever you look! The above image shows Black Pond Woods after one of our many snow storms this year. Pretty, huh? But, to be quite honest, I think now it's time to move on. After all, opening day is next Monday. Definitely time for spring. Go Tigers!

"Orangeburg" sewer piping

If you are planning on purchasing a home built between the early 1950s to the early 1970s, orangeburg piping is something you should learn about. Orangeburg is actually a brand name. It is the name of the company (and the town in which it was made) that manufactured bituminous fiber pipe. This type of piping has been found, in some cases, to deteriorate much faster than other types of sewer pipes. There are some neighborhoods in Ann Arbor in which this pipe is found frequently, for example the "Airy" built homes in the Wuerth subdivision off Stadium, near Pioneer High School. These are lovely brick ranches, but if you are planning on buying one, make sure that the sewer pipe from the house to the street has already been replaced. Many realtors identify this issue with particular neighborhoods and, while this is accurate in some respects, the real issue is the time period in which the home was built and whether or not that particular builder used this type of piping. If the seller does not know whether the home has orangeburg or whether it has been replaced, it is advisable to have an inspection done to determine whether this may become a problem in the future. This is not something that can be determined in a regular contractor's inspection. This particular inspection entails a company inserting a camera into the pipes to have a look. The cost is several hundred dollars, but it is several thousand dollars if your pipes are deteriorated and need replacing. The City of Ann Arbor has a very handy list of homes that have had sewer work done and what type of work it was. This can be helpful in making the decision whether it is worth spending money on the inspection, but I think I would advocate "better safe than sorry". You can have a look at this list here: http://www.a2gov.org/government/communityservices/planninganddevelopment/building/Documents/orangeburg%20list.pdf Happy House Hunting!

Computing your taxes and interpreting your property assessment

If you own a home in Ann Arbor you probably received your updated property assessment in the mail yesterday. (Homeowners in Ypsilanti received theirs earlier this week.) A client that I helped buy a home last year asked me to help interpret hers, and it occurred to me that it is a great time for a little tax tutorial. Let's say, for simplicity's sake, that last year you bought a home for $200,000. When you opened your envelope yesterday you learned that your new SEV (State Equalized Value) and Taxable Value are $100,000. Often these amounts are valued at approximately half the purchase price the year following the transfer of ownership, however, this is not always the case. It depends on your overall neighborhood market data. The State Equalized Value is thought to be half the market value of your home and adjusts yearly based on neighborhood sales. The Taxable Value, as a result of Proposal A, is capped at 5% per year or the rate of inflation, whichever is higher. This is why these two values are more different the longer one has owned their home. It is very important when you are preparing to buy a home that you are informed not about what the taxes are now, but what they will be when you buy the home. If the current sellers have owned the home for a long time it is likely that the taxes will go up quite a bit. Don't get into a situation in which you will be surprised when you get your first bill. Here's how you calculate your taxes: Take the Taxable Value (or if you are buying a home you can use 1/2 the list or purchase price to give you a rough idea) and multiply it by the tax mills in the community where the home is. Ann Arbor's 2007 tax rate, for example, is 46.0373 mills. In the example above, the home was purchased for $200,000. The Taxable Value will be approximatley half of that: $100,000, multiplied by .0460373. Your taxes will be approximately $4603.73 per year. Happy computing!

Foreclosure help

I attended a fantastic foreclosure prevention workshop on Wednesday. There was a panel of experts, including Catherine McClary, the Washtenaw County Treasurer, Tery Allon, Prevention Foreclosure Specialist at the Housing Bureau for Seniors and Rachael Holmes from Legal Services of South Central Michigan. Despite the fact that Washtenaw County has been hard hit with foreclosures this past year, I left feeling grateful for these women and their hard work and the fact that there would have been many more foreclosures if it weren't for them and others like them. If you are facing problems paying your mortgage each month or if you are behind in paying your property taxes, get help! I was surprised to learn (in a previous training, actually) that more than 50% of people who lose their homes never even speak with their lender. Avoidance and denial can be powerful defense mechanisms, I understand, but they don't save your home! Many banks are willing to work out plans to avoid foreclosure. Loan modification is one example. This might entail the bank agreeing to change the terms of your loan, including your interest rate. Remember, it is in their best interest to save your home too. Housing Specialists at the Treasurer's office are happy to give you advice on these issues. The phone # is 734-222-6000. Maybe the most remarkable thing I heard at the workshop was that Catherine McClary has never had to do a tax foreclosure on a home that is still occupied. She has achieved this by doing everything in her power to reach the owners and work out a plan. I will certainly vote for her to be re-elected in November! The Ann Arbor Observer also just ran an article about foreclosures in their March addition which is very informative. If you are in trouble, don't hesitate to get help!

Orchard Place Condominiums

When I first began this blog I promised that I would occasionally feature different neighborhoods in the Ann Arbor area. I just recently got this beautiful home (above) under contract. Orchard Place Condominiums are site condos, which means that they are free standing homes that have an association fee each month/ year for maintenance of common areas. This subdivision was built in the 1990's so these contemporary homes are much newer than surrounding ones. This is not a "cookie cutter" neighborhood. In fact, the homes vary quite a bit from each other. There are traditional colonials (with a contemporary flair) and there are homes with very open floor plans. The people that live in this sub love it. It is on the north side of town and includes part of Brookside Drive and all of Tibbitt's Court. Tibbitt's Court backs up to Black Pond Woods, which is a gorgeous place to walk any time of year. I walk my pup, Maggie, in these woods almost every day. On the other side of the woods lies Leslie Science Center, which is a wonderful place for kids. They host all sorts of programs for children to learn about nature and environmental science. My son has attended numerous day camps there. They even have raptors! The schools for this subdivision are Northside elementary (only a short walk), Clague and the high school that will open this fall, Skyline. There are plenty of kids in this neighborhood. The north side of Ann Arbor is very close to the UM campus and even closer to the UM hospital. Many people in this area also walk or bike to their jobs downtown. The Huron River is very close by and offers wonderful recreational opportunites, including canoeing, kayaking and hiking on trails along its banks. There is even a crew club if you want to learn to row!

Plum Market opens!

After much waiting, Plum Market finally opened recently in Ann Arbor. It is a quality food mart dedicated to selling natural, organic and local products. I love that Ann Arbor can support so many of these types of businesses. I love that the people here put thought into how they spend their money and the implications of their choices. The market is great! When you first walk in you are greeted by stacks of Zingerman's delicious pies at a ridiculously low price to entice you. I highly recommend the pecan pie. There is also a Zingerman's coffee shop in the building. Quite the bonus! During my first trip to the store, it was packed with people since it was opening day. The second time I went it was a little easier to take some time to really browse. Oh, and I didn't have my 9 year old son with me either! I would highly recommend checking it out. If you'd like to take a look at the web site first, go to http://www.plummarket.com .