Look at the facts.  Cash for Clunkers amounted to taxpayers giving people with old cars a $10,000 check to buy mostly foriegn cars.  I know you are going to say it was only $4,000, but that was before you added the government's overhead. 

First Time Buyer Credit is another prime example.  People making over $75,000 don't qualify!  So what we have is people in the lower income tier, who don't really contribute to the tax revenue proportionately anyway, are getting a check from the taxpayers who are excluded from the program.

Let's talk about loan mods and the endless array of second chance programs to keep people in their homes.  When the banks fail because they are drowning in toxic assets, who is going to come to the rescue?  Right again, the good old American taxpayer as represented by the biggest bunch or morons in the history of government.

When are we going to wake up and smell the reality of what is happening.  Our government isn't governing or leading, or winning any wars for that matter.  All they are doing is looking for ways to take money away from one group of Americans and give to another group, after adding their percentage of course, which is about 300%. 

Can we expect the patient to be cured if all we do is continue to inject him with tainted blood transfussions and force feed medicines that are contaminated with the same virus that made him sick in the first place?

Maybe we should think about how we really got here and how much longer we can continue to do the same thing expecting different results?  THIS IS INSANITY!  

At the highest level, there are only three things that effect the process of obtaining a signed sales agreement for a residential or condominum style home.  They are 1) PRICE 2) PRESENTATION AND 3) EXPOSURE.  You have to look at these factors from a global perspective and understand that all activity, short of negotiating the contract, fits into one of these three categories.  Today I want to talk about price, moreover what to do when a seller insists on pricing the home higher than what is realistic for the current market.  Many times it can be a mistake to take this kind of listing.  When the seller insists on pricing the property above the market it often turns out to be a total waste of time for everyone and a significant waste of money for the Agent and Broker who put out dollars for advertising, signage, color fliers, post cards, staging and fancy hors d'oeu⋅vre and wine parties.  On the other hand I see every listing as an opportunity to make something positive happen.  I do very well with people who meet me face to face and a listing, even one that is overpriced, increases the likelihood of connecting with a buyer or another seller.  Ann Arbor real estate is no walk in the park.  I have to compete with dozens of big-name agents who racked up millions and millions of residential home sales before I even took my pre-license training.  One of the major benefits of working with a Prudential Broker (Prudential Snyder & Company in Ann Arbor, Michigan) and an excellent way of differentiating our company is the On-line Seller's Advantage program.  This program is like sending the seller a CMA everyday based on real time date.  The system notifies sellers of how much Internet traffic their property is getting on sites such as Trulia, Zillow, Front Door, Oodle, Yahoo Real Estate, Cyber Homes and of course Prudential Real Estate.  They are told how many times their home was returned in the search results and how often the detailed listing was viewed.  They even know if buyers are saving their property to a personal portfolio. It also shows the specific homes that are competing for buyers based on a profile I establish.  When emails are received by the seller they are professionally branded with Prudential, the individual Broker and the listing Agent's contact information.  Unlike alerts that come through the MLS, OSA emails show the competing homes on a map view and the client can click on any one of them to see the full details of the listing.  When the client sees that other competing homes are progressing to Pending and Sold status, often they call me to suggest a price reduction.  Don't get me wrong about working hard even when the property is overpriced.  I give 100% effort to listings regardless of the seller's misconceptions about the market.  In the meantime, however I am busy prospecting and using the subject listing as a chance to build synergy with other sellers.  If the house sits on the market for a long time I can then use the experience (without revealing any confidential client information) as an example of what not to do.  I make a practice of getting feedback from every showing and I plot the showing activity on an Excel Spreadsheet.  Doing this involves extra work for me but it gives the seller factual information not just my gut level opinion.  I find that most sellers are pretty reasonable when you give then honest and relavent information about the market and where other homes are selling.  I never create a situation where the seller is made to feel like they were unrealsitic or that there was something wrong with their beloved home.  There just may be a silver lining to an overpriced listing afterall, as long as the agent is willing to go the extra mile and do the right thing to accomplish the clients objectives.

People looking for Ann Arbor Real Estate should be up on the latest developments in the mortgage industry.  I know, things change almost constantly but this is why you must establish a good working relationship with a Bank or Savings and Loan mortgage representative.  Mortgage Brokers (people who take your application and then look for a lender to loan you the money) can be good too, but not necessarily.  A great deal of the blame concerning the sub prime mortgage crisis of the past few years unfortunately falls on brokers.  Use a broker if you can find one who you are sure you can trust to do the right thing for you.  Your circumstances should dictate the loan parameters, not the commission the rep is going to collect from any particular loan they sell.  For every home buyer who was caught in the mortgage crisis, there is a matching loan rep who thought only about pocketing his/her commission.  Never ever use an Internet Lender.  If you cannot make an appointment and sit down across the desk from you representative, find someone else.  Also don't forget to ask for a Good Faith Estimate of the loan costs, in writing.  The cost of the loan is only a portion of the money you will have to raise to purchase a home.  In addition to the down-payment there are tax prorations that you pay to compensate the seller for the taxes that were paid in advance.  You will also be required to purchase mortgage insurance for the lender and pay a closing fee to the institution who prepares and closes the transaction. 

What about the $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers?  Well to start with you don't have to be a first time buyer as long as you haven't owned a home for the past three years.  The amount of the credit is limited to 10% of the purchase price so if you are buying a home for $50,000 you can only get a $5,000 credit.  There was talk that you could "monetize" the credit in order to use it for downpayment but lenders have not really put that into practice, at least as of this date.  What it boils down to is that you apply the credit to your Federal Income Tax filing thus reducing your tax liability by the amount your home purchase earns.  (If you generally get a check back from the government you might want to change your withholding status to reduce the deductions.  The home purchase credit on top of your normal refund can be money that is better utilized than sitting in Uncle Sam's pocket.)

Do you know your credit score?  Your lender will and the trouble is that a credit score that used to qualify you for a home loan may no longer be sufficient because of the tighter requirements.  This is a good reason to plan ahead and do whatever you can to increase your score before you go out looking at homes.  As an Ann Arbor area real estate professional I can tell you that it is very disappointing when someone talks to a lender after they have found a home that they really want, only to find out they cannot have it.  Small things like how many department store credit cards you have or how often you were "just a few days late" on a credit card payment can negatively impact your score.  Be smart, be proactive. 

For additional information about the Mortgage Industry and related topics visit the Mortgage Bankers Association website at http://www.mbaa.org  

Buyers considering the purchase of a "new construction" home must be knowledgeable when it comes to the length and type of warranty protection they will receive.  Warranties fall into three general categories:

• Statutory - These are required by state law and protect the consumer by mandating that the builder stands behind the product.  The length can vary from two years for workmanship and materials to ten years for structural defects.
• Implied - These are warranties inferred by legal precedent set in past lawsuits.  Most states have case law to protect against faulty workmanship.  A common implied warranty is the  implied warranty of habitability.  This means the house should be free of defects that would substantially reduce its use adnd enjoyment. 
• Express - These are written warranties provided by the builder.  Often these warranties are written into the sales contract.  Express warranties should not be used by the builder to disclaim implied warranties.  For example the builder may offer a five year warranty on structural defects to "disclaim" a longer implied warranty for the same condition.  In these cases courts usually rule that a disclaimer of implied warranty is void since it defeats the original purpose of the implied warranty.

Express warranties typically only cover the first owner but implied warranties may pass to the second or third owner if they have not expired.  With warranties it is good judgement to have your attorney review the specifics so that there are no surprises down the road.