Ann Arbor home buyers not that per Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac starting June 1^st on all new loan applications taken for conventional loans a credit report will not only be pulled at the beginning of the application but it will also be pulled 5 days before closing.

What does this mean for the conventional borrower?  It means you absolutely cannot take out any additional credit or even have an inquiry into your credit report from the time you start your loan application until after you close.

There’s a new product coming out called Compare that will clearly define the differences in the initial credit report and the re-pull before closing.

The re-pulling of credit will apply to conventional loans; FHA, VA and Rural loans (USDA) are exempt from credit re-pulls at this time.
Let’s summarize with a quick Do’s and Don’ts of getting a mortgage:

DON’T:

• Take out any new credit during your loan application and until after you close.
  • This means no furniture shopping, new window treatments and ‘especially’ no ‘buy now pay later’ type of accounts
  • Add to your current debt load as of time of application until after you close.

DO:

• Create paper trails for all deposits into your asset accounts.
• Write letters of explanations for anything out of the ordinary; e.g.:
  • For inquiries into your credit report – for any reason – over the last 90 days.
  • For Any derogatory credit issues
  • For any job gaps
  • Save money before, during and after; owning a home is not easy – it takes work, energy and money.

I have been in the Real Estate Industry for 15 years and am an expert in today’s mortgage market.  Please contact me to get your questions answered, to share ideas and learn and to apply for a mortgage – I’m ready to help!

Candace also hosts a Radio Show, ‘Local Lifestyle; Focus Ypsilanti’ the Last Saturday of Every Month from 12 – 1 PM on 1290 WLBY, www.1290wlby.com

Candace B. Pinaud
Leave No Stone Mortgage Lending
a division of Ann Arbor Mortgage
Leave No Stone Unturned
www.LeaveNoStone.com
734.476.3366
734.661.0379 Fax
 
Follow Candace B. Pinaud on Twitter:  http://twitter.com/candacepinaud
 
22 E. Cross Street  Historic Depot Town  Ypsilanti, MI 48198

So where do you want your homes exposed? As a seller, your home needs to be on REALTOR.com since consumers go there the most.

To get the most exposure for your home, you need your agent to have an enhanced web presence like the shot below from a Dexter home seller.

As an agent you need to provide the showcase, a tour and as many photos as possible.

As a home owner, you need to request to see how many visits your agent draws so you can find out if your home will get the best exposure. The report below shows my realtor.com site generates about 20,000 visits per week. My other sites generate sizable traffic, but more importantly they generate inquiries or leads for my sellers. Other sites include:

Finally, I provide other data so the Ann Arbor Area Real Estate seller knows and I know how many eyeballs have looked at the tours like below. It shows 1515 visits in April 2009 for this home.

If you think this is interesting, let me know. We have other reports we share with our Washtenaw County real estate clients. Keeping our Ann Arbor Real Estate sellers informed on market activity is critical in the changing market.

Search all listings in Michigan with pictures and tours…Free!

Kathy Toth & Team: Ann Arbor Area Real Estate Experts

www.KathyToth.com

Keller Williams Realty

We recently highlighted a video from Realtor Magazine outling tips for saving big $$$ on providing energy for your Ann Arbor home.  The US Department of Energy also provides tips from an interactive website – my favorite example is about lighting, they state:

“If every American home replaced just one light bulb with a CFL (compact fluorescent light) bulb, we would save almost six billion kWh per year – enough energy to light nearly three million homes.  We’d also save more than $600 million in annual energy costs and reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of nearly 750,000 cars.”

If you thought you couldn’t help make an impact, think again!  Now you can learn even more about saving energy in your homes.

Larry Kaufman from DTE Energy in concert with other energy experts, will be providing tips, suggestions, and general how-tos to help reduce energy costs at an upcoming Energy Savings Seminar!  The FREE event will be held at the Electrical Industry Training Center – Detroit JATC in Warren, MI on Saturday, March 14th from 9am to 11am.

Expect to learn how to cut your energy bills in half without giving up any of the comforts of home!

Register for the Energy Savings Seminar Online.
(You must register in advance)

Search all listings in Michigan with pictures and tours…Free!

Kathy Toth & Team: Ann Arbor Area Real Estate Experts

www.KathyToth.com

Keller Williams Realty

Ann Arbor home owners – Watch this energy audit video to get ideas for energy efficiency!

The Department of Energy also provides an interactive website that gives you ideas for saving energy for each appliance/system within your home.  Find out how you can easily make everyday – Earth Day!  Here’s a stunning example of how a very simple change can make a HUGE difference if we all pitch in:

From the US Dept of Energy “If every American home replaced just one light bulb with a CFL (compact flourescent light) bulb, we would save almost six billion kWh per year – enough evergy to light nearly three million homes.  We’d also save more than $600 million in annual evergy costs and reduce greenhouse gases by the equivalent of nearly 750,000 cars.  The average CFL lasts 6,000 to 15,000 hours, and when you replace it, you can recycle it!”

Here at Kathy Toth and Team, we always ask for utility information from each seller and upload the information to each MLS and online page for our listings.  Future Ann Arbor home owners/home buyers often want to know how much it will cost to operate a home.

Search all listings in Michigan with pictures and tours…Free!

Kathy Toth & Team: Ann Arbor Area Real Estate Experts

www.KathyToth.com

Keller Williams Realty

OK, without my Health, Ann Arbor Real Estate does not matter, Right?

http://www.motionbox.com/videos/0a9fdfb0181ee6c487

Every cell in our bodies requires energy ― whether it’s delivering nutrients to our brains, pumping oxygen from our lungs to our muscles during power walks, or producing infection-fighting white blood cells deep in our bone marrow. Our body converts calories in food to energy (blood sugar) to perform these and many other functions. So I admit – I am in need of a cooking make over. Thus, the cooking class.

My husband and I took a cooking class which is more vegan than we realized. I got to try almond, soy and rice milk.  This was like a Napa wine bar experience. (Ok, so Larry was not in love with soy.)  Jan cooked during all the classes and we sampled diligently.  Yes, and kale was a new experience.  I even bought some kale at Plum market.  (Don’t ask if I ever cooked it.)

There are many of you making resolutions about diet and losing weight. We just got a head start and had a great time learning new recipes. My family is home for the Holidays and yes, I am trying out another soup recipe today.  We love soups.  My bread maker is on over drive.  I just wish I could evoke the smell for you.

If you are in the neighborhood, drop by for supper.  We can give you a bird’s eye view of the Chain of Lakes or tour you through our area.  Most of the lakes are in Pinckney. (See the bottom of the page for all area tours.)  We welcome you and would be happy to give you a boat tour in the summer or hey, while Kevin is home, you can ice fish any day!

Cheers and Best wishes,

Kathy

Related post:
Hello To You From The Beautiful Chain-of-Lakes

Search all listings in Michigan with pictures and tours…Free!

Kathy Toth & Team: Ann Arbor Area Real Estate Experts

www.KathyToth.com

Keller Williams Realty

NORAD has been tracking Santa since 1955

Ann Arbor Santa Claus

NORAD, the North American Air Defense Command has been tracking Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve ever since a misprinted phone number was placed in a Sears Roebuck advertisement. This “wrong number” put boys and girls through to the Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline”. The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup had his staff use their radar to begin checking Santa’s progress from the North Pole and they have been providing this service to kids everywhere ever since.

This year you can also track Santa from your mobile phone using Google Maps for mobile. If you have an iPhone, T-Mobile G1, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, or Nokia phone with Google Maps, just search for “norad santa” to see Santa’s location. (Note that you’ll have to resubmit your query whenever you want to update Santa’s location).

Santa

If you have a supported phone but do not yet have Google Maps, you can download it for free at the Norad website or from the above Google link.

If you’d like also like to follow Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve go to this website http://www.noradsanta.org/ to follow the action.

Search all listings in Michigan with pictures and tours…Free!

Kathy Toth & Team: Ann Arbor Area Real Estate Experts

www.KathyToth.com

Keller Williams Realty

hear-no-evil

I am so exhausted from the news negativity!  Walk on the positive side with me and my friend Jay Kinder.Read on and tell me what you think:

‘Not a chance that they will succeed. The tower is too high!’

The tiny frogs began collapsing. One by one…. Except for those, who in a fresh tempo, were climbing higher and higher. The crowd continued to yell, ‘It is too difficult!!! No one will make it!’

More tiny frogs got tired and gave up….

But ONE continued higher and higher and higher….

This one wouldn’t give up! At the end everyone else had given up climbing the tower. Except for the
one tiny frog who, after a big effort, was the only one who reached the top!

THEN all of the other tiny frogs naturally wanted to know how this one frog managed to do it?

A contestant asked the tiny frog how he had found the strength to succeed and reach the goal?

It turned out …. that the winner was DEAF!!!!

The wisdom of this story is:  Never listen to other people’s tendencies to be negative or pessimistic…. because they take your most wonderful dreams and wishes away from you — the ones you have in your heart! Always think of the power words have. Because everything you hear and read will affect your actions!

Therefore:  ALWAYS be …. POSITIVE!