Seven Important Buyer Tips – Work with a Buyer’s Rep When Purchasing a Home

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Interest rates at favorable levels and a good selection of homes provide an opportunity for Ann Arbor Area buyers. Here are a few things to for buyers to keep in mind:

1. Know what you can afford before you fall in love with your dream home.

2. Consider additional expenses that come with owning a home like property tax, insurance, and repairs.

3. Be flexible on the little things. It would be wonderful to find a home with everything you want, but those are hard to come by – distinguish nice-to-haves and must-haves early.

4. Have imagination and look beyond paint colors, wallpaper, or other easy and affordable things you can change.

5. Don’t compromise on the big things, such as enough bedrooms to accommodate additions to the family or space for an office if you work from home.

6. Always inspect even if the surface looks great; it’s important to know if anything major is wrong and what it will cost to fix.

7. Think about the future in regard to the neighborhoods, surroundings, schools, and developments. Be sure to check out our Ann Arbor Area neighborhoods with videos.

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Currently there are 375 Active Listings in just Ann Arbor alone.  They range in price from $55,900 to $2,500,000.  This is a perfect buyer’s market with low interest rates.  Don’t rent when you can buy!

Meet the Kathy Toth and Team Buyer Agents.  These professional REALTORS are available to help you find your  Area dream home. To purchase a home in Ann Arbor or the surrounding real estate market, contact one of the Kathy Toth and Team Accredited Buyer’s Representatives.  Marcia White, Linda Woodard or Michael Dailey will take you through the entire buying process from beginning to end providing expert assistance every step of the way. 

Marcia White  – Associate Broker — An Accredited Buyer’s representative in the business since 1984, Marcia has experience ranging from an escrow closing officer to a broker owner with an international franchise.  She excels at utilizing this wealth of knowledge helping people fulfill their dreams of home ownership.  Phone:  (734) 395-8983

Linda Woodard – Associate Broker – An Accredited Buyer’s Representative with 15 years in the business, Linda specializes in helping our buyers realize their real estate goals. Linda’s knowledge of the market and needs of the people she works with makes her your greatest advocate.  Phone:  (734) 216-6804

For further information on Buyer Representation contact the Kathy Toth and Team Members at  734-669-0337

Search for homes on the market in Ann Arbor and the surrounding area.

Real Estate Buyer Secrets Shared at Ann Arbor Buyer Roundtable Jan 25, Feb 29 or Mar 21, 2012

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Event:  Buyer Roundtable

Buyers can find out the latest mortgage programs that are best suited for them from Cole Mortgage – Patrick Sortor.  Ann Arbor buyers can learn the ins and outs of home buying and insider tips from Buyer Agent on  The Toth Team – Jennifer Graswick. Event will fill up – first come first serve. You will get a buyer book, $40.00 value, explaining the home buying process and free credit report.

Call Jennifer at 734-845-8888 or Register Below

Three Dates:  January 25, 2012   February 29, 2012    March 21, 2012

Time:  6 pm – 7:30 pm

Location:  Liberty Title Company, 1923 Packard St., Ann Arbor, MI  48104

Is this the perfect storm to quit renting?  Is renting hazardous to your wallet?  Is now the time to own a home?  Let’s look at costs to get into a house.  Compare those costs to renting.  Evaluate market trends with experts.  Historically a homeowner’s net worth has ranged from 31 to 46 times that of a renter according to National Association of REALTORS. Here in Ann Arbor, you can purchase a home for about the same as renting a home.  Don’t you want to find out if this is your opportunity knocking? Save your wallet from the hazard of renting!

First Time Home Buyers

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November US 2011 Market Update

While home sales in September were down slightly from a relatively strong month in August, they were up from a year ago, giving  encouraging signs of a strengthening market and potential for stabilizing, if  not appreciating, home prices. These signs include an increasing demand, shown  by the number of people shopping for homes, and the decreasing inventory of  homes for sale, in conjunction with some of the lowest levels of new housing  construction since the 1960s when the Beatles first came to the United States.

Of the 3.48 million homes sold in September, 32% were  first-time home buyers. With more and more people entering the market, the persisting obstacle for most is still the restrictive lending environment. In a
plea to banks and policy makers, NAR President Ron Phipps said, “We need  to remove the roadblocks to a housing recovery—not place more obstacles in the  way of financially qualified buyers.”

With an increasing demand and shrinking inventory, it is  hoped that banks will begin to see the market potential and start to lend to otherwise creditworthy home shoppers, opening the road to a more rapid  recovery. While consumer confidence still remains at all-time lows, retail  spending increased 1.1% last month, a positive sign of growth fueled by the approaching holiday season, which could propel the U.S. into a promising new year.

In Ann Arbor, we are experiencing shrinking inventory, 4  percent price appreciation through the third quarter.  We will see what the year end brings, but I bet it will be a total price increase of at least one percent like we had last
year.  We will post the Ann Arbor Real Estate Market Update this week.

Stay tuned for our First Time Home Buyer Round Tables in  January, February and March to be help at Liberty Title in Ann Arbor on Packard Rd.