Have you ever taken a cooking class at Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor?

Well other than home economics in high school, this was my first class and boy; Zingermans did a great job from start to finish.   So if you are looking for a different date night, try this out.  All classes are booked through 2009, so look at the course schedule for next year. 

The class we enjoyed was cream puffs. Now mind you, it was not the subject matter that was important, but the experience of trying something new, meeting different people and participating in our local economy.  

Our instructor was Alejandro, assisted by 2 others who were on hand to give tools, clean up and assist.  Boy did I need help whisking.  I switched from lefty to righty and back trying to get pastry cream to the right consistency, smiling all the time.    And, oh by the way, the actual recipes are shared.  The point is to use all natural ingredients – flour unbromated, King Arthur is what they buy.  Who knew?

Ok, so we made pate a choux.  Yah I know it sounds so cool. “pot oh shoo”.  What was really interesting is the dough can be used for snack bites, salad crudités, donoughts, and cheese puffs by adding hard cheese.  We learned that the largest ingredient in buying chocolate should be cocoa not sugar.  We made a ganache to die for to coat éclairs.   

Then we sampled, we shared, and we gathered pastries to take home.  MMM, so the diet starts tomorrow and back to Ann Arbor Real Estate.

People come to me and the team with problems or opportunities regarding Ann Arbor Real Estate.  We try to help them prevent and resolve problems within rules.  We add value to the world by solving other people’s problems and needs: keeping the transactions legal, finding a dream home or investment, helping finance a purchase, and making the transaction seamless. 

We use a plethora of resources and networks to accomplish a HUGE life event, hopefully with minimal hassle.  It is the philosophy of the client first, the Disney mentality (no job is too small) that pervades our team culture.  We instill that into each other, the client, and to our vendors.  Welcome to our world.

Remember Turn your clocks 1 hour….BACK!

Last week we had 2 properties that had septic fields which passed the County Health Department with approval letters. Health Department written suggestions were made to maintain and even improve the field status.  One party chose to close, while the other party chose to walk.  Each situation brought to bear various resources and tools depending on the motivations. Problems or opportunities is why we are here.

Another closing last week entailed an arsenic level of 47 in Whitmore Lake.  If the home has a level of 50, a new well must be installed.  We created a Health Department approved escrow for the buyer to bring cash to closing to handle this situation after closing.  On this same property, we came up against zoning code changes around the lake which makes every lot nonconforming and any future improvements or tear downs must go to the zoning board of appeals.  We had a survey done to measure lot lines.  There was a lot of information gathering, discussions and negotiations. This played a big part in the buyer’s decision to close.

Also last week we had a female seller not want to sign the deed because she was not on the mortgage and as part of the short sale process, feared the banks could then come after her for the loss or deficiency.  She was OK with the banks coming after her husband and with him signing.  Since she has dower rights, she must sign the deed in Michigan, for the transfer to occur.  So we had discussions and suggested she consult an attorney to confirm the facts.

We had a buyer -A- whose house is contingent on closing on Turnberry, not appraise. So if their Turnberry house did not appraise for buyer -B, their Turnberry -B- buyer would not buy that Turnberry house and then they -A- could not proceed to buy our house on Winner.  I worked with the other agents to review the data and discover an appraisal error.  It got fixed and resubmitted! 

On our team, we had a member go down with mono, so the deals that she was working on got reassigned.  My mom always said, you don’t kick a man when down.  So the slack is picked up and we move forward. 

So far this year we have helped 80 families move – some problems solving skills must be working.  We are here to help you too. We also hope you had a great Halloween.

Stop in to 3134 Baker Rd Deter, MI 48130, Dexter Real Estate Experts or View Larger Map

09/29 Gestational Diabetes 9:00am
09/30 The Referral Club – Great Lakes Chapter 7:00am
09/30 Ann Arbor Farmers Market 7:00am
09/30 Kiwanis of Ann Arbor, Morning Edition 8:30am
09/30 Wednesday Bible Study 7:00pm
10/01 22nd Annual Update on Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
10/02 Referral business Alliance 7:00am
10/02 Adult Heart Transplant and LVAD Support Group 10:00am
10/02 Guided Imagery for Stress Relief 1:00pm
10/02 Guided Imagery for Stress Relief 1:30pm
10/02 22nd Annual Update on Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine
10/03 Ann Arbor Farmers Market 7:00am
10/03 Giant Tent Sale 10:00am
10/04 Sunday Worship Service 8:00am
10/04 Sunday Worship Service 9:30am
10/04 Sunday Worship Service 10:00am
10/04 Sunday Morning Worship Service 10:30am
10/04 Sunday Worship Service 11:00am
10/04 Sunday School 11:30am

As is often said in the news business – the silly season is upon us!

However with Jon Stewart’s Daily Show, this season is year round! Perhaps you would all enjoy this Real Estate humor? We all need to smile and laugh from time to time!

What this video demonstrates, albeit in a humorous style, is that there is a real importance in pricing your home correctly & competitively for the present market and that it is necessary to work with a good experienced agent & team who are completely in tune with what the local real estate market is doing. (See our blog post about what you should ask your agent when you sell)

The video shows that it is pointless overpricing your house in the hope that you will get lucky. Some people suggest that this is a sensible steady strategy to ensure you get top dollar for you property, however in reality it is foolish, as your home will likely sit, overpriced for the neighborhood, on the market waiting for buyers that never come!

It is far better to discuss your expectations with an experienced agent who will perform a detailed, in depth comparative market analysis of the area your property is located in and then come up with a realistic listing price. Remember to work with your agent as they are the key to your selling success!

(For the record, this clip is already out of date with market changes! As we have written about, CNN.com puts the level of home sales as increasing at a record rate!)

Click here to search Ann Arbor Real Estate using our complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate MLS Search service. Alternatively please contact Kathy Toth and the team if you need more specific assistance in your Ann Arbor Real Estate needs.

www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty

Kathy Toth & Michael Russer at Star Power

Many years ago I took a class from Mr Internet in Chicago where niche marketing was preached. My eyes were opened to the possibility of increasing traffic to my sites, and thus to my Ann Arbor Real Estate clients’ homes. The evolution of my sites from 1995 to now has been dramatic with increasing technology and increasing need to dominate the market for eyeballs.

Last night at Star Power, I had the privilege to sit down with Michael Russer and talk about the future of REVA and his e-team program. Pictured (above)vare Michael Russer and Kathy Toth.

Stay tuned to participate with Michael who is leading the pack to dance with the upcoming real estate market and marketing changes.

www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty

Kathy Toth, Panelist at Keller Williams Awards

I am just writing about our Keller Williams Annual Awards banquet which was moderated by Tony Dicello this year. Our team had a great time learning from the panelists. I was a fortunate panelist and felt blessed to be included. What I do differently from most agents is the guarantee program. Each of us spoke about our approaches.

Since real estate is such a personal experience, each Ann Arbor Real Estate transaction is tailored to the clients. How we market, how we track, spend, everything is done differently by the top agents. What we all know is those who have the leads, manage the leads, convert the leads will last. So our team has a money phone which is answered all the time and we hawk the emails and we return phone calls to make sure the leads are treated with respect. Pictured below is the team and myself at the event.

Kathy Toth and Team at Keller Williams awardsKathy on panel with Keller Williams

This week I am going to sharpen my saw with Howard Brinton and other top producers from North America in Denver. As my Dad would say, “If you want to be an eagle, soar with the eagles.”  So I will concentrate on the classes and networking.

What I am most excited about is meeting my sorority sisters from University of Colorado on Tues night and seeing some relatives on Sat night.

I will be back soon enough to enjoy the rest of our perfect summer weather! Until then, it will be our pleasure to help you search for homes to buy in the Ann Arbor area.

I am here at Howard Brinton Star Power to sharpen the saw for myself and my Ann Arbor Real Estate clients.
With new trends and technologies constantly being introduced, the web is the most vital media format in the history of mankind. Studies, technological innovations and constant testing are shaping (daily) how “best practices” for web marketing are evolving. That’s why it’s essential I periodically ensure that my team is not falling behind the curve. So I attended the Real Pro Users Group after an informative day with Corcoran Coaching and Consulting. Below is a brief video of two speakers, Mike Parker and Sam Miller. Both agents are tech savvy and well know in the real estate industry so I was all ears.

What I did learn is that I need to keep the users on www.BuyAnnArborHomes.com rather than sending them to www.youtube.com/kahtytothteam to see our approximately 100 community, property and testimonial videos. So I will change that next week. Real Pro has been easy to work with so they will be hearing from me.

Landscaping is important in any home with a decent sized yard, planting and layout should be governed not just by aesthetic quality, but by the local climate and water table.

As a recent article by Realty Times states, a nice green lawn may look nice and homeowners think that it will help sell their home, however it is predicted that in 36 states there will be water shortages (in part due to the in effect doubling of the US population between 1950 and 2000) and also due to poor local planning in some states.

This constitutes a problem – how do you keep an attractive yard?

The answer may come from this: The American Nursery & Landscape Association (ANLA) released information about a study on the “Impact of Improved Landscape Quality and Tree Cover on the Price of Single-Family Homes” that was published in Horticulture Research Institute Journal of Environmental Horticulture, which stated that approximately 30 percent of the increase in sale value was accounted for by added tree cover. The results show that each $1.00 invested in upgrading an average landscape to excellent quality returns $1.35 in added property value.

Also, if you have a modest yard, just a single tree can add up to 2 percent to the property value, according to the study. Hedges, walls, landscaped curbs, and dense vegetation can each add 2 percent to 4 percent to the property value. And if your home has more trees than nearby homes, the value shoots up by about 7 percent.

Trees may also lower you heating and cooling costs as they provide shade in the summer months and shelter in winter and some trees use less water than grass!

So with the summer here why not re-plan the yard and its landscaping to help you lower your energy bill and water bill and help you sell your home!

Click here to search Ann Arbor Real Estate using our complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate MLS Search service. Alternatively please contact Kathy Toth and the team if you need more specific assistance in your Ann Arbor Real Estate needs.

www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty

40 years ago today mankind walked on the moon. The Apollo 11 mission is one of the most iconic moments of the 20th Century and marked a kind of summit of the “Space Race” and inspired generations of would be aviators and astronauts.

July 20th 1969 is a date those old enough will remember for a lifetime and something which school children for years will be taught about.

It is a great and proud moment for our nation as well as for the history of the planet. Nationally, NASA is releasing updated and cleaned up video of the moon landings (click here to view more information) and there have been several specials on different news channels worldwide marking the occasion.

Locally the event is being marked by many individuals and businesses. However one national company, which employs around 25,000 people and who is headquartered in Ann Arbor, Borders Inc, the bookseller, (who also owns Waldenbooks) will be celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Moon Landing with Kids Space Camp Event on Saturday July 25th 2009 in its stores!

The event, which kicks off at 2 p.m. will feature a host of activities that could vary by store, including:

• Space camp storytime and storytelling (ideal for ages 6 -12)
• Space camp games (ideal for ages 3 -7)
• Moonwalk trivia (ideal for ages 8-12)
• Craft projects
• Face painting

Great fun for kids and adults too!

Borders is not alone, UM is getting in on the celebrations too!

Through September, the University of Michigan’s Exhibit Museum of Natural History in Ann Arbor will offer a special space exhibit featuring vintage coverage of the 1969 event as well as models of the Lunar Rover and the Saturn V rocket. Museum admission is free.

So a little bit of “space fever” has hit Ann Arbor! Enjoy the celebrations!

Click here to search Ann Arbor Real Estate using our complimentary Ann Arbor Real Estate MLS Search service. Alternatively please contact Kathy Toth and the team if you need more specific assistance in your Ann Arbor Real Estate needs.

www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty

I have been a great fan of Seth Godin since I read Permission Marketing. This quote below actually embodies everything I do regarding the Ann Arbor Real Estate market and my personal life. But the picture that goes with it speaks volumes about the work ethic I derived from my parents.

“The thing is, we still live in a world that’s filled with opportunity. In fact, we have more than an opportunity — we have an obligation. An obligation to spend our time doing great things. To find ideas that matter and to share them.

To push ourselves and the people around us to demonstrate gratitude, insight, and inspiration. To take risks and to make the world better by being amazing.… You get to make a choice. You can remake that choice every day, in fact. It’s never too late to choose optimism, to choose action, to choose excellence. The best thing is that it only takes a moment — just one second — to decide.”

- Seth Godin