I look forward to the e mail updates from Active Rain and often go to the posts described.  I am one of the people who needs that little reminder to stop by and say hello.  I also hope it provides exposure to people who write but aren't as well know within the community. 

You can see I really am a fan of the e mail updates....but.....

I also think it would be a great thing to have a little button where you turn off the updates and then restart later.  I am headed on a vacation and know I will have a pile of e mails when I return, therefore I'd like to PAUSE the updates.

So here is my suggestion...create a little calendar of stop and start for the e mail notices and you just might find people like the notices even more than before.

This is just an idea. 

I stopped the e mails for now....I'm just not sure how to turn it back on when I return.  If anyone reads this and can make a suggestion where you do that I would appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,

Karen

If you are moving to Ann Arbor and love tennis; have no fears.  It doesn't matter where you live in our fair city - you and your kids can make Ann Arbor a fine home for yourselves and your tennis game.

My son plays for Pioneer High School and the cross town rivalry is Huron High School.  We also have the rocking hot bed for tennis:  Saline High School.  The regional tennis matches were this weekend and Huron came in first overall and Pioneer second and both are headed to state championship match this coming weekend.  Saline missed the cutoff by one point.

Greenhills High School is a private school and they are also headed to states in the lower division.  

No matter where you are...you can find some great tennis in the Ann Arbor area.

I'll be rooting for the Pioneers to surprise Huron...but time will tell.  Go PiHi and Go Robert!!

So it is the last quarter of 2009.                                                      

How is your year going? 

Is Business booming?

Are you doing about the same as last year? 

Business this year might be much less in dollar volume, but the same hard hours to keep the deals together for buyers and sellers?

It is the time of year to keep going strong and we all plan to keep pushing hard with the end of the First Time Home Buyer Credit...but how will we improve our business next year?

It is time to look at what we are doing correctly and what needs to improve and work on our business plan for 2010. 

Look for classes at your Board office or brokerage or here on Active Rain.  I found some very interesting views on the business plan:

http://activerain.com/blogsview/802487/world-s-best-uncomplicated-business-plan-for-2009  This is from Janna Rankin Scharf and a great read! 

http://activerain.com/blogsview/229645/Building-a-business-with  Todd Clark goes through many many important steps and I know I'm going to spend some time on his information. 

Thanks to both of these great posts which hold a ton of information and is a great place to start.

I also found this plan which is interesting: http://4entrepreneur.net/?p=624  It is for business plans for any business.

Keep pushing hard to end this year strong and make your business plan for 2010, so it is an even better year in 2010.

-------------------------------------

Karen Moorhead

(734) 660-4785

Keller Williams Realty

The image I created was using the website http://wordle.net

We are all witnessing the changing times and every day something new comes along.  Today the Ann Arbor News announced that it will no longer be publishing a daily paper after July and I am sorry to see it go.  There are employees who will move with the new on line source and will protect their jobs, but there are many more in production and delivery that will not be so lucky.

As much as we like to complain about our local paper, it is still an institution.  Which one of us doesn't remember the image of Dad coming home and sitting down to relax with the newspaper before dinner?  Yes, it might have been Mom from work and ourselves as well, but it is an image which will no longer be viable in Ann Arbor.  The paper boys and girls must find new sources for a bit of after work and income.

When it comes to the news we undoubtedly will search on GoogleNews and Twitter but I can't help wondering about the folks, who don't have Internet at home.  It is not often that this is the case, but what about these folks?  How will they get the news?  The only source will be the television? That would be a travesty!

Again, I wish all the employees of The Ann Arbor News the best with all of these changes and I'm sure your world is rocked today. 

I attended a seminar/discussion of the Home Counseling Department which is the support system for Washtenaw County. If you are a homeowner and concerned about your home payments, understand there are people who will assist you.

Kathy Grant is with Michigan State University Extension as a certified Housing Counselor and her office will council homeowners to assist in loan modification or help you to prepare a hardship letter for your creditors. The worse thing you can do is: NOTHING.

Make an appointment with Kathy Grant at (734) 997-1687. The other counselor attending the seminar was Artrella Cohn also available at (734) 997-1687. Heather Eleanor Mooney is in Foreclosure prevention with the Treasurer’s Office and she can be reached at (734) 222-6519. If you have past tax issues or questions Heather or her office can help you.

This is the website which has many many documents which might be of interest Foreclosure Prevention Information. You will find documents explaining the time line for foreclosure, as well as how to fight to keep your home and when foreclosure might be the right answer. If you have additional debt and want answers regarding bankruptcy Guy Conti is an Attorney at Law and he will provide a first meeting free of charge. Guy can be reached at (734) 272-4771.

Ann Arbor and surrounding communities are in Washtenaw County and there is a literacy group which reaches out to the support parents of little children within the county.  If you have a small child please contact http://www.washtenawsuccesby6.org to receive material on *Child Development *Literacy *Heath and *Family Life.  If you would like to call the "Success By 6" office, the phone number is 734-994-8100 ext 1277. 

This support for the smallest children in our community has been organized by four core support groups:  the Ann Arbor Area Community Foundation, Washtenaw County Government, Washtenaw Intermediate School District and Washtenaw United Way. They provide parenting packets, training for childcare providers, referrals to child related professionals and community events at area libraries to support the small children.

Supporting families with small children will help us all in the future and if you would like to volunteer please feel free to call 734-994-8100 ext 1277.

Donations are always welcome as well and the United Way of Washtenaw can apply your contribution to this great cause.  The smallest amoung us will benefit and we all will, as well.

Tomorrow is the meeting for the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors(R) and if you attend you will have the  opportunity to hear from one of our newest employers in the area. 

The speaker for the event is Charles Scrase is with Google and he is a manager of Online Sales and Operations and he will discuss our opportunities as real estate professionals and we have a chance to hear how Google will impact our area with new employees and potential for opportunities for us as well.

Hope to see you at Weber's at 8:00 a.m. and the business meeting starts at 9:00.

The local YMCA has the doors open, music playing and stationary bikes galore.  Come to the Y on Sundays between January to March between 10:00 and Noon and you can work out at your own pace.  It isn't a spinning class and you don't have to be a member of the Y to join in the fun.

Come and workout!

I hope to see you there this Sunday.  I volunteer and will have the room ready for you.

This weeks Inman's conference in New York has many people here at home taking part in the events via the social networking sites we all know like Twitter, Flickr and of course our own Active Rain guru Brad Andersohl. Check out this link to his very cool FeedFuze and then click into one of the many links and you can see short notes about meetings, photos and find new people to follow on Twitter.

This live feed is almost as good as being there.  Well, okay I'm the first to admit it really is much better to be there in person, but it is an excellent live blogging platform to keep all of us who are not there aware of the interesting topics and discussions. 

When you look at this list are you wondering how all this is pulled together?  The Tweets are pulled together with the hashtag and you see it in each of the messages.  You can make a hashtag of anything and it pulls every message with that same hashtag for anyone to view.  For example there is #icny which is for Inman Conference New York and there is #rebc which is for Real Estate Bar Camp.

The important message here is you can do hashtags for anything.  Search at the bottom of the Twitter page for anything with a hashtag and the notes for that item all come up.  If you search for #semire  then you will find South Eastern Michigan Real Estate. Anyone can post with this hashtag and then find the tweet even by people who don't currently follow you in Twitter.

You could do a hashtag about anything!

Get the word out that something has a hashtag with it then it can be searched and kept together via Twitter.

Twitter On Folks!

Karen Moorhead

Keller Williams Realty

(734) 660-4785

Follow me on Twitter: a2karen

If you are buying or selling your home you need to understand the areas of Ann Arbor as defined by the local Board of Realtors and our areas are not defined by zip code but instead by boundaries and schools.

You will want to be aware of these areas if you are searching for a home to purchase or if you are a seller searching what is for sale in your neighborhood.  The following is presented to give you an idea of what sold in each area in 2008 and looking ahead; what is for sale currently in 2009.

This map clarifies how the areas are divided.  Here is an overview map with the areas marked:

Area 81  NorthWest Ann Arbor  is

boarded on the East side by US 23 and to the south I94.

The range of pricing of current listings are the following:

$169,000  Elizabeth

$5,990,000 Country Club Drive

There were 38 homes which sold in 2008 in this area.

These homes are sometimes in the surrounding townships and children attend Abbott, Wines or Haisley elementary schools and Forsythe Middle School and Skyline High School.

Area 82 Westside of Ann Arbor South of M14:  Main Street is the boundary on the East side.

Homes for sale range from:

$103,900 Winewood

$1,300,000 Eagle

240 homes sold in 2008 in this area which includes the very desirable west side of Ann Arbor.

Children attend Bach, Eberwhite or Haisley for elementary school; Slauson or Forsythe for middle school (depends on location) and usually Pioneer High School.

Area 83 Ann Arbor Southwest Liberty to Main Street

Current homes for sale:

$154,900 Westfield

$1,299,000 2601 Waters Road

Elementary schools are Lawton, Bryant-Pattengill and Lakewood and the middle school is either Slauson or Tappan and location determines which.

Children attend Pioneer High School.

124 homes sold in this area and they were priced up to $739,900.

Area 84 Ann Arbor Briarwood to North Stadium

This is a smaller area and currently there are 29 homes for sale with the price range:

$119,000 3190 Dwight

$545,000 2660 Emerald Ave

Schools are Bryant-Pattengill and Allen for elementary and Tappan or Scarlett for Middle schools and Pioneer or Huron for the high school.

There were 42 homes which sold in this are in 2008 and the highest price was listed at $439,000.

Area 85 Ann Arbor Scarlett and East Pittsfield

This area has the Ypsilanti school district as the Eastern boarder and currently has 100 homes for sale with the following price range:

$44,000 Englewood

$329,000 4990 Gingko

This area has 25 homes priced between $45,000 and $125,000 and all in Ann Arbor schools. 

The schools are Pittsfield, Carpenter, Allen or Mitchell for elementary school and Tappan or Scarlett for middle school and Huron High.

Area 86 Ann Arbor East Geddes and Huron River Drive

This is the North Eastern section of the Ann Arbor schools including Superior township and the price range of homes currently on the market:

$159,900 2077 Chalmers Dr

$ 3,345,000 5288 Geddes

These homes have children who attend:  Allen, Thurston, King, Burns Park, Angell elementary schools.

Tappan or Clague are the middle schools and Huron High School.

74 homes sold in 2008.

Area 87 North East Ann Arbor and North Campus  

The homes in north campus are often within walking distance of the UM Medical Center and can be very desirable.  The area also goes East to Dixboro and 76 homes sold in 2008.

44 homes are currently listed and the price range is

$130,000 4004 Joy Road

$1,999,000  Hickory Hill

Children attend Northside, Thurston or Logan for elementary schools, Clague for Middle and Huron High or sometimes Skyline and this depends on location.

Area 88 Ann Arbor Downtown/Burns Park

Burns Park is south of the University and is a very desirable and walkable neighborhood.  The area currently has 26 homes for sale with the following range:

$120,000 200 South Summit

$1,295,000 South Main

Downtown/Burns Park had 46 sold in 2008.

Schools are Eberwhite, Bach and usually Burns Park for elementary schools.  The middle schools are Tappan and Slauson depending on location and Pioneer High School.

This analysis was prepared for you with the assistance of the Ann Arbor Board of Realtor maps of homes for sale and statistics.  If you have questions about the areas please feel free to contact me.

Prepared by Karen Moorhead

Keller Williams Realty

(734) 660-4785