Elizabeth Martin's Blog

It was announced today that the Ann Arbor News will be closing it's doors in July after being the Ann Arbor Area's daily newspaper for 174 years.  They will be shifting their focus towards the Internet to AnnArbor.com just as real estate professionals have been doing for years.  Although most hom...

HAPPY Do you have superstitious clients, too? I have had several clients make comments about not wanting to do anything real estate related on Friday the 13th.  I usually encourage my buyers to close on Friday so that the taxes are paid through the weekend by the seller, but one of my buyers refu...

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act was signed into law February 17, 2009 So what's in it for you?  $8,000 Federal Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers You are eligible for the tax credit if you purchase your first home before December 1, 2009.* The tax credit is $8,000 or 10% of the purch...

In case there are other Harry Potter fans out there, I just found out that there is going to be a museum exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago starting April 30th. As we can hardly wait for part one of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince to come out in July, I know that we'l...

I received my sixth pay check today!  It was the second time that I represented the buyer in a foreclosure deal and boy are those work!  Now I figure I need some short sale experience :). I know that six deals in 2008 is a small feat and that many agents close over six deals in a month but this i...

A member of my family recently passed away and left his house to his children in a will and not through a trust.  I know that leaving a house in a trust is the best thing to do, but I can't remember why.  I know that you avoid fees by leaving the house through a trust but what do the fees entail ...

I have a buyer who has been approved for a FHA mortgage who is interested in purchasing a foreclosure property.  However, my client does not have much cash and needs downpayment assistance and closing costs to be paid for.  If we offered close to the asking price do you think that the selling ins...

Food from the Heart: Help us restock area food pantries during the month of FebruaryFebruary 1-29, 2008 Edward Surovell RealtorsOur company is having a canned food drive in the month of February to help restock local food pantries.  We are taking donations at the following offices:•          1898...

I spent last weekend in Toronto and had a fabulous time.  It was the first time that I have taken a vacation outside of Michigan since I became a Realtor, and I really wanted to learn about the real estate industry in Toronto.  I was lucky that there was a house for sale on the same street that I...

Here is an article by NAR about first time homeowners that I thought you may be interested in.This may be helpful to know if you are farming first time homeowners as I am!http://www.realtor.org/reinsights.nsf/pages/marketintelligence?opendocument