Thursday, 05 March 2009

Kathy Toth of Keller Williams works with Pro Step Marketing to launch
a new Ann Arbor web site www.KathyToth.com

This real estate-focused marketing site provides clean search for condos, waterfront luxury properties, and multi family investments.  The Kathy Toth Team developed a comprehensive marketing strategy to expand their online presence. The results of this strategy include a custom website with advanced search tools and search engine-friendly content.

Visitors using the new custom website will find easy-to-follow navigation, video library, explanation of Your Home Sold Guaranteed Plan, community information and tours, helpful resource tools, monthly seminars, and advanced property searches. Available properties in Chelsea, Dexter, Ypsilanti, Saline and Ann Arbor, Michigan in the surrounding Washtenaw County area. Real estate markets are now easily accessible to site users – only one or two clicks away. Additionally, site visitors can search specifically for new homes in the Ann Arbor Real Estate Market.

A new search engine optimization program was also implemented that will eventually move the Ann Arbor Real Estate site up in the natural search engine rankings on such major search engines as Yahoo!, Google and MSN. This part of the marketing strategy will lead to more recognition throughout the community and on the Internet.

Kathy Toth and the Team are real estate professionals who go out of their way to assist buyers and sellers. Toth used Pro Step Marketing’s knowledge and experience to guide them through the development of the new website to better assist their clients.

About Kathy Toth and Team

Kathy Toth and Team have been helping clients for 20 years. They are among the top one percent of REALTORS nationally.  Kathy partners with listing partners and buyer representative partners to all client expectations to provide raving fans. Kathy is an associate broker, Accredited Seller Representative, Certified Commercial Investment Member Candidate.

Pro Step Marketing, located in North Carolina, provides web design, consultation and education services to real estate agents across the country. Pro Step Marketing has a team dedicated to pulling all the pieces together so the client Kathy Toth and Team can finally get the results they’ve always wanted from their Ann Arbor area real estate marketing strategy.

Related Links
www.KathyToth.com
Visit our website for everything you want to know about Ann Arbor Real Esate

Search all Ann Arbor Area Real Estate
Please visit our website to set up your personal search criteria

Click here to search all Ann Arbor area Michigan
homes and condos with pictures and tours – FREE!

Often Ann Arbor Home Sellers pay part of the Buyer’s closing costs or prepaid for their loan.  I’d like to start with an example.

If a house costs $300,000 and the seller pays $9,000 of the closing costs, the seller actually nets $291,000. This is done with the blessing of the lender and is disclosed on the HUD statement.  The seller is paying the closing costs, and this is a legal way for the buyer to roll them into the loan.

It is important to note that seller paying concessions are disclosed on the Ann Arbor Multiple Listing Service (MLS). So when the home in our example above is used to determine value for an appraisal on a nearby home, it would be given a sold value of $300,000 and noted concession of $9,000.  Appraisers and REALTORS have this information and can then calculate that $291,000 is the actual value of what the buyer paid for the property.

Before accepting an offer with these terms, it is important to assess the appraisal value of your Ann Arbor property.  If the property does not appraise for the full $300,000, then the buyer’s full loan will be denied.   Working with the appraiser becomes important and knowing what comparables support the property value is imperative.  After 19 years in the business, local lender knowledge is critical too.  Knowing  reputable lenders and their track record is key.  This is the human element of negotiating that supports my value to Sellers as an Accredited Sellers Representative.

Mary’s buyer for her Ann Arbor home had closing costs and she was pleased with her outcome:

Take a look at what some of our other Ann Arbor Home Buyers and Sellers are saying about Kathy Toth and Team!

It is very common for buyers to have sellers pay closing costs.  The main reason is because buyers are often strapped for cash due to the cost of moving, and of course down payment.  It is a Keller Williams philosophy and mine to negotiate a win-win scenario.  Packaging a deal that works for both parties is in all parties’ best interest.

Our buyers agents work closely with lenders before writing offers to know the allowable amounts to negotiate.  Please visit our comprehensive website if you are looking for Ann Arbor real estate information.

To give you an advantage, be sure to contact us or drop by our next Ann Arbor Home Buyer seminar Feb 10th at 6:30 pm.

Ann Arbor Home Sellers Say Goodnight To Home Selling and Good Morning to Home Shopping

Ann Arbor, Michigan

We are so proud to have moved 95 families year to date in 2008. Nothing goes perfectly and in fact when trouble brews that is when a true experienced expert Ann Arbor real estate agent pays off. 

We hired Kathy Toth to sell our home in Saline and suggest you hire her Team.  They sold our house at list in a few weeks in a challenging market.  Communication was excellent, pictures and marketing were outstanding.  We know what poor service was with a previous agent.  Don’t make that mistake.  Just hire Kathy; you get superior systems and resources.  Now we get to shop with our buyer’s agent Vicki who we LOVE.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Contact Person: Kathy Toth
Company Name: Keller Williams Realty
Voice Phone Number: (734) 669-0337
Email Address: Info@KathyToth.com
Website URL: www.KathyToth.com

Ann Arbor Real Estate Team Creates Michigan Foreclosure/Short Sale RELIEF Division

Ups and downs in the economy are causing more people to go into foreclosure. In fact, the home foreclosure rate in Michigan is up 7.96 percent from September, but down 15.07 percent from October 2007. All told, there were 11,393 filings in the state of Michigan this October, or one for every 396 homes, according to RealtyTrac.com.

Michigan now ranks #7 in the country (behind Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California, Colorado and Georgia) for percentage of homes facing foreclosure filings. 7 out of 10 home owners have not taken action to avoid foreclosure. That’s why a group of local REALTORS® is teaming up to help folks avoid personal and financial ruin.

Jan Yarbrough just dodged the foreclosure bullet. Eighteen months ago, she moved up North to another house and listed her Ann Arbor area home for sale. Jan’s Ann Arbor area home had a $1,800-a-month mortgage and she was paying a second house payment for her other home up North.

Between both mortgages, things got tight and Jan worried about the future. “I was still able to make the bills, but I was living paycheck to paycheck. I had the house listed for a year and then I had to miss payments when it did not sell,” she says.

That’s why Jan turned to The Kathy Toth and Team of Keller Williams Foreclosure Relief Division. The team is made up of experienced REALTORS®, a lender, Title Company and CPA. The Toth Team analyzes each situation carefully to offer the home owner personalized advice. “We’re helping people save themselves from foreclosure. We’re saving neighborhoods, communities and families one home at a time,” says REALTOR® Kathy Toth.

Kathy and her team also helped Jan do a short sale to her bank, which assumed $21,000 in losses she had on the place. Many banks avoid legal fees when taking a short sale vs. a foreclosure. Now Jan and her son are relieved of a mortgage she worried could ruin her. “Plus, foreclosure stays with you forever,” she says, “It’s a permanent part of your credit records.” The short sale process is better on the credit score. She has kind words to say about the Toth Team.

So far this year, Kathy Toth and Team have moved 95 families. The process is confidential and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Best of all though, it’s free.  You can visit www.AnnArborShortSale.com to get started or call Kathy’s team at (734) 669-0337.

# # #

Kathy Toth & Team
www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty

Ups and downs in the economy are causing more people to go into foreclosure. In fact, the home foreclosure rate in Michigan is up 7.96 percent from September but down 15.07 percent from the October 2007. All told, there were 11,393 filings in the state in October, or one for every 396 homes, according to RealtyTrac.com.

Michigan now ranks No. 7 in the country for percentage of homes facing foreclosure filings, behind Nevada, Arizona, Florida, California, Colorado and Georgia.

That’s why we are teaming up to help folks avoid personal and financial ruin.  Seven out of ten home owners have not taken action to avoid foreclosure.

Jan Yarbrough just dodged the foreclosure bullet. Eighteen months ago, she moved up north to another house and listed her Ann Arbor area home.

Jan’s Ann Arbor area house had an $1800-a-month mortgage and another house payment up north.

Between both mortgages, things got tight and Jan worried about the future. “I was still able to make the bills, but I was living paycheck to paycheck,” she says.  I had the house listed for a year and then I had to miss payments when it did not sell.

That’s why Jan turned to the Kathy Toth and Team of Keller Williams foreclosure relief division. The team is made up of realtors, a lender, title company and CPA. They analyze your situation and offer personalized advice. “We’re helping people save themselves from foreclosure. We’re saving neighborhoods, communities and families one home at a time,” says realtor Kathy Toth. 

The team helped Jan do a short sale to her bank, which assumed $21,000 in losses she had on the place. Many banks avoid legal fees when taking a short sale vs. a foreclosure.

Now Jan and her son are relieved of a mortgage she worried could ruin her. “Plus, foreclosure stays with you forever,” she says, ”It’s a permanent part of your credit records.”  The short sale process is better on the credit score.  View the kind words she has to say about the Toth Team here.

So far we have moved 95 families. The process is confidential and there’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Best of all though, it’s free. You can visit http://www.annarborshortsale.com/ to get started.

Kathy Toth of Keller Williams Realty presents:
The Ann Arbor Real Estate Podcast

.

December 2008

This month’s edition covers Ann Arbor real estate market activity and then we’ll share three important tips for buying and selling in today’s holiday market.

..

Related Links
The Ann Arbor Real Estate Podcast | Click here
Visit our website to listen to previous podcasts

Selling Your Home During the Holidays | Click here
What can you do to sell FAST!

Current Local Market Conditions | Click here
See what is going on in the Ann Arbor Market

Following is a testimonial from a recent closing where I represented the seller who sold their lake home on the Hi-Land Chain-of-Lake so they could move into their dream home (a foreclosure).

Hi-Land Lake Home

Kristi and Steve Delongchamp

Our family has utilized Kathy’s services in the past, so she and her Team were a natural choice.

How would all this ever work? Her staff negotiated one offer and those buyers walked from the deal based on an inspection issue. They came back and we renegotiated a sound deal. All through the process she and her staff returned endless emails and constant phone calls. We closed on time despite a couple obstacles. Even after we closed, Kathy continued to look after our needs by helping us. Kathy and her Team are exceptional – we know the difference. If you ever buy or sell your property let her handle it…because she will. And well, incredibly well, trust us on that. Kristi and Steve Delongchamp

In this tiny lake community just outside of Hell, Michigan you will see people you know everywhere you go. It is truly a micro-town experience, which has a lot to offer. Come visit soon!

Why move to the Hi-Land Chain-of-Lakes? No traffic, no smog, nice people, relaxing commute, fishing, skiing, hiking on the Potawatomie Trail, bird watching, laying on the beach, kayaking, wind surfing, boating, hunting, rafting, no drought, spectacular fresh water … boat into 7 lakes

Should Ann Arbor Home Owners Stay or Remodel?  

2008 Cost vs. Value Report has answers

Many of my older Ann Arbor Seller clients have to remodel because the cost of downsizing is too great based on real estate taxes.  Often we discuss the remodel project cost vs. the new home/condo purchase and weigh many factors.  This report which has been published 11 years is a sound starting point.

According to the annual report conducted by Remodeling in cooperation with The National Association of Realtors® remodeling projects are holding their own.

Replacement projects that boost curb appeal—siding, windows, and decks—give you the greatest chance of recouping your money. Inside, only kitchen remodels can compare, at least on a national level.

Top 10 Project Paybacks 

1. Upscale fiber cement siding (86.7%)

2. Midrange wood deck (81.8%)

3. Midrange vinyl siding (80.7%)

4. Upscale foam-backed vinyl (80.4%)

5. Midrange minor kitchen remodel (79.5%) 

6. Upscale vinyl window replacement (79.2%)

7. Midrange wood window replacement (77.7%)

8. Midrange vinyl window replacement (77.2%)

9. Upscale wood window replacement (76.5%)

10. Midrange major kitchen remodel (76.0%)

To see the complete reports with full project descriptions, as well as national, regional and local project data for the 79 cities covered, check out www.costvsvalue.com.  If you are weighing your options and want a sounding board, let us help you talk about your options.  Sometimes factors other than economics are more important.  We are here to help you with all the information you may need regarding your Ann Arbor Real Estate choices.

Kathy Toth and Team
www.KathyToth.com
Keller Williams Realty

Part of my Ann Arbor real estate team  is the title company I choose.  I need to make certain that my clients get the best service and advice possible.  So I partner with Tom Richardson of Liberty Title. In this video, he describes what title insurance is.  Simply put, it is information and insurance.

1 Insurance
The insurance portion of title insurance is fairly small. Your title policy basically protects you against a specified category of risks relating to “defects” in the title to the property you are purchasing. These include forgery, mental incompetence of a party, and lack of access to a public right of way or a lien or claim of interest in the property that was not disclosed to you. Your policy covers you for actual financial loss as well as legal fees incurred in defending your title.

(For additional information on title policies, click here to go to links page where you’ll find a link to the American Land Title Association’s Website as well as Liberty’s underwriter’s websites.)

2 Information
Information is the main component of your title work for your Ann Arbor Real Estate. Public records are searched to discover the status of the title to the property–who owns it, any mortgages or liens that encumber the title, the presence of building restrictions or easements that limit the properties use and the status and amount of the property taxes. These records are scattered among county, township, city and village offices. (Over 40 in Washtenaw County!) It is made even more difficult by the fact that documents affecting title to land can be over 100 years old, necessitating a lengthy search through dusty records!

Title research is integrated with your purchase and mortgage commitment documents in a document called the “Commitment for Title Insurance”. The Commitment is a road map to closing. It sets out the specific steps that must be taken (record Deed, record Mortgage, release existing Mortgage, pay taxes etc.) in order to close and insure your transaction. The Commitment also discloses items that affect your use and enjoyment of the property–such as building and use restrictions and easements. The title research and legal analysis contained in your Commitment are a great value – because of specialized experience, LibertyTitle.com can prepare these documents for a fraction of what it would cost to have an attorney do the same work!

If you would like to learn more about this or search Ann Arbor Real Estate, or just request your free EBook..  We are eager to help you with all your Ann Arbor Real Estate questions and needs.

Related Posts:

 Ann Arbor State Bank Plans to Excel During Credit Crisis

Why Review the Preliminary Title Evidence When Buying a Home in Ann Arbor, Michigan?

Words from Dan Elsea, Real Estate One.com State of the Ann Arbor Real Estate Market

Secrets to a Successful Move to Ann Arbor

When Your Neighbor’s Tree Is on Your Ann Arbor Property

Buyer Tip: Get Home Warranty Funded by Ann Arbor Seller

Tips for Ann Arbor Sellers in a Nervous Market

Ann Arbor Santa

Holiday festivities are plentiful in Ann Arbor right now - it is one of my favorite times of year.  If your Ann Arbor area home is on the market, your holiday celebrations may feel constrained by the need to keep your home ready for a showing at a moment’s notice. You may have even had to replace some of your favorite holiday decorations with some less traditional, more neutral winter décor. Fortunately, your efforts to reach out to potential Ann Arbor real estate buyers could definitely pay off in the long run!  Did you know that wintertime home staging can be a key factor in selling your house faster and for more money?  We can help – our team has a talented and accredited Ann Arbor home staging professional on staff who can help ease this burden for you.

Ann Arbor Christmas

During the time leading up to the winter holidays, many of us refocus our priorities on home and family.  We experience a warm feeling of well being that is not always present throughout the year. The arrival of the New Year brings a sense of starting over.  Consequently, most of our Ann Arbor sellers and our agents who have sold a home during the holiday season remember the experience as a positive one.

We often find that real estate buyers in the Ann Arbor area are in short supply during this time of year, not only because of the holidays, but also because of the cold Michigan weather and snow.  However, some people have no choice but to purchase a home due to relocation or family changes – these buyers are serious.  My team has always found that Ann Arbor home sellers benefit by placing or keeping their home on the Michigan market during the winter months.  Sellers however may need to be more flexible in pricing and other areas of the negotiations, because buyers are in such high demand as there are far fewer homes on the Ann Arbor real estate market during the winter holiday season. The net result of all these combined factors really depends on the home and the potential buyer.  When your home offers the features and amenities that a potential buyer is looking for, you are more likely to sell it quickly in the winter than during the spring or summer buying season.

Ann Arbor Christmas Pointsetta

Your Ann Arbor home could just be looking its best this time of year.  Exterior blemishes might be hidden by a layer of fluffy snow and many of our front doors are probably adorned with a festive holiday wreath.  Imagine a beautiful Christmas tree peeking through your front windows and a fire crackling in the fireplace.  Or the delicious and traditional aromas of baking, pine, and other holiday aromas.  Over the years we have found that there is no better time to show your home to potential buyers than when you already are paying careful attention to your home’s appearance.  Think of it as doing half the work that you would need to do during the summer.

One great trick for selling your Ann Arbor area home during the winter is to use incentives.  If you can cover the buyer’s closing costs, or a portion thereof, you may attract potential buyers to your home by advertising this information.  We often advise winter sellers to offer a “decorating allowance” (a.k.a., a cash bonus) as an incentive for buyers during the winter months.  This is even sometimes referred to as a “landscaping allowance,” since the buyer will be unable to view the home’s landscaping until spring thaws the layer of snow that covers it.

Childs hand made Christmas Tree

The best news for Ann Arbor sellers who decide to place or leave their home on the market during the winter holiday season is that people rarely “browse” homes at this time of year. Most of our potential home buyers would prefer to be at home with family or out enjoying the many activities that Ann Arbor has to offer this time of year, so those who do visit your home are serious about buying it and are often in a hurry to do so.

This simplifies your job as a seller.  With serious buyers and an already festive décor, you are well on the road to selling your Ann Arbor area home!

Ask us for valuable insights and staging tips about wintertime selling in the Ann Arbor real estate market, we can also provide tips that can be useful for preparing your home for sale regardless of the season. Here at Kathy Toth and Team, we have experience with home sales throughout the year and know what attracts buyers in the Ann Arbor area.  If you are currently in the market for an expert in the Ann Arbor Real Estate Market, let us know, we can help!  We will be at our Keller Williams party Dec. 10th; wishing you good cheer.

Kathy Toth of Keller Williams Realty presents:
The Ann Arbor Real Estate Podcast

December 2008

This month’s edition covers Ann Arbor real estate market activity and then we’ll share three important tips for buying and selling in today’s holiday market.

.

Related Links
Sellers Guarantee | Click here
Your Home Sold at a Price Acceptable to You or I’ll Buy It
Sellers Preferred Service| Click here
Receive red carpet treatment as you prepare to sell your home
How To Stage Your Home to Sell| Click here
Staging your home may get you up to 17% more