Karen Moorhead's Blog

Vacation Hold for AR Updates

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:17:12 -0500

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

Tennis and Ann Arbor, Michigan

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 15:32:16 -0500

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!!

Last Quarter of 2009 - Planning for 2010

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:18:59 -0500

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

And so with sadness...The Ann Arbor Newspaper Dies

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:24:13 -0500

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.

Washtenaw County Support to Avoid Foreclosure

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 16:07:26 -0500

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.

Message to Ann Arbor's Smallest Among Us

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 08:26:05 -0600

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.

General Membership Meeting Tomorrow for Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors (R)

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 16:25:55 -0600

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.

Keeping Up With Your New Year's Commitment

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 06:38:45 -0600

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.

Twitter: What is That Crazy Sign "#"?

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:49:40 -0600

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

Ann Arbor Area: Understanding Our Areas for Real Estate Search

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 07:59:35 -0600

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

100% Total Goal of 2009! What a Success!

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 21:27:43 -0600

Here is a wonderful wonderful wish for a successful New Year and you are in great company here in AR if you chose to spend your time reading and writing.

I have started today with a workout (ya hoo!!) and worked on my database and even did a bit of paper organizing. The paper work part is huge because I don't like to do it...but they say to do what you like least early and get it out of the way.

Here is a wish for everyone to have a great New Year and set goals in WRITING, work on things you least like to do first and of course, if you work on sometime for 10 minutes a day everyday you will get better at it.

Here is wishing you a Successful 2009 to everyone here in Active Rain!

Scrapbookcodes.com™ | Click here for more New Year Scraps

UM Purchases the Pfizer Campus

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:07:32 -0600

The University of Michigan has purchased the Pfizer campus in North East Ann Arbor, Michigan and it is good to have the UM there and they could bring in as many as 2,000 people and jobs to the area.

It was sad to see it empty and although it decreases the tax base, it is better to have someone occupying the space rather than sit empty. It will be interesting to see the science businesses which take off from there.

Any time we bring jobs into the state of Michigan, we are very happy with the progress!

Ann Arbor Mayor Discusses Pfizer Purchase

"Telling the Story Is Just Good Business"

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 10:47:01 -0600

Christian Amanpour was interviewed on NPR and she has been one of my favorite reporters so I was all ears with her story. She was discussing being a correspondent for CNN and it was interesting that her message for reporters is the same as our real estate business, because if we "report the situation well" for our clients and readers we will be providing an excellent service. Christian Amanpour reports the world's news and we report the news for our clients via Active Rain; we have the status reports of the local real estate market as well as information about our towns and cities, schools and hospitals, parks and current events. Wow, what an opportunity we have to share and its a huge responsibility we should not take lightly. It is our opportunity to shine!

It is taking the photos of neighborhoods, schools, shops and current activites and reporting analysis of our local real estate market with graphs and interpretation that we have to opportunity to introduce our real estate market to the interested readers and future clients.

Chris Amanpour has the very important position of introducing the world and the events of the world to us; I found her story very inspiring and realize we also have the very important job of introducing our community to those who might be a part of that community in the future.

We will cover the all the important elements of moving to a new home and hope with our help our readers can decide if this decision to move to our city is right one for their family.

Christian Amanpour has a very important job and I know I do too. Telling the stories of Ann Arbor, Chelsea, Dexter and Saline, Michigan is my storyboard; what is yours?

Michigan Theater, a historic beauty in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 12:05:48 -0600

The Michigan Theater is a lovely historic theater in Ann Arbor on Liberty near State Street which has been remarkably preserved and continues to get the support of the Ann Arbor community, while it provides a lovely glimpse into the past and what the theater experience used to be for moviegoers. The organ playing was the norm in the old days and she is a beauty from the outside as well as the interior!

If you love the architecture of glorious buildings, look at the detail from the exterior of the building. I am keeping the photo large so you can see the beauty in true form.

If you would like to be a supporting member I would encourage you buy the CD which is available at Border's Stores throughout Ann Arbor. It is a great CD of live performances artists who came to town and played live. Great gift - great CD! The profit goes to support the Michigan Theater; how great is that?

Wonderful music for a beautiful landmark in our town!

This might give you a glimpse into why the Michigan Theater is so special. The organ being played before a film. What a treat!

Continuing Education with the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors(R)

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 13:26:15 -0600

We have some very exciting opportunities for continuing education for professionals in the real estate industry in the Ann Arbor. I would encourage any Realtor(R) or mortgage professional to consider either of these classes because the topics are important to helping you provide your clients with the best possible service.

If you would like to check your current continuing education credits for Real Estate Professionals in Michigan this is the link. You might want to take either of these classes even if you already have your education hours in for this year. Both of these would be good for any professional in real estate:

At Home With Diversity Thursday, December 4th at 179 Little Lake Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48003.

This class is more than just accepting many different cultures in your business as clients. This wonderful class provides guidelines for dealing with many different cultures and what is a common courtesy for that culture. To give an example, some cultures would rather you did not engage in eye contact particularly, until you get to know the person.

It is an excellent class and you can sign up for this class via the Board of Realtors (R) for Ann Arbor area by calling (734) 822-2284.

Blogging Basics and Blogging Ethics Thursday, December 11th Location to be determined

This is presented by Active Rain's own Lola Andu and I am thrilled she is coming to Ann Arbor to cover basics but also ethical considerations for blogging as well the ever important considerations for protecting your content and proper use of other's content. Please be sure and call to register your place in her class!

734-822-2284 is the number to call for Lola class and I know you can take it even if you are not a member of the Board in Ann Arbor.

Our Own Local Celebrity: Jeff Daniels is Live at The Michigan Theater

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 14:40:15 -0600

Saturday evening Ann Arbor is a special evening for all folk music fans and the area’s most famous actor is going to perform. Consider yourself lucky if you get tickets to see Jeff Daniels & Company; he does a famous job of celebrating Michigan in song and has many local performers with him. He started this show a few years ago and always plays Saturday after Thanksgiving. People have said he is funny on stage and can play a mean guitar.

I’m sure most people think of Jeff Daniels from his acting career but he is from Chelsea, Michigan and continued to live here and has raised his children here as well as supporting the arts in this area. Jeff Daniel is also a playwright and his productions can be viewed at the Purple Rose Theater in Chelsea.

He is playing at the Michigan Theater at 8 p.m. on November 29, 2008 and the tickets are priced $27.50 to $75.00 and are available from the Michigan Union Ticket office or by calling 734-763-TKTS.

Google Calendar PUBLIC view: Helpful Hint

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:58:44 -0600

I am happy to be a part of the Women's Council of REALTORS® Washtenaw County Chapter and am currently working on a calendar for our members. I have been working with the Google Calendar and hope you might find some use for this. I am going to use it for the WCR but it could be used for any calendar that you would like to make public. I think of volunteer organizations, church events, school or classroom events.

If you would like to explore it for your use I have put together some page screens to help explain how to set it up and use the Calendars.

When you go to the homepage for Google you search for the drop down screen and it will look like this:

From there you click on Calendar and then you can create a calendar which is private or public. This calendar is for WCR so I have made it public and anyone can search for WCR Ann Arbor and find it.

Once you have entered your dates, events you end up with a page that looks like this:

You can add every member of your organization to the list and the best part, in my opinion are the automatic reminds you set up. This is the current list of reminders I have for this group:

If you have any questions about how to use the calendar please feel free to ask and I hope I might have helped someone with this calendar for organization.

I find these calendars extremely helpful with family events for our private calendar. Each person gets their own color and updates and we share the calendar.

Now I have also explored the Google Calendar for a volunteer organization and I hope you might find this useful as I do.

A Sign of the Times: Library Rebuild On Hold

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 09:55:59 -0600

It is with sadness, but not surprise that I share the announcement that the Ann Arbor Public Library is postponing the rebuilding of the downtown library. This is a great plan and very exciting but I must say I'm happy that the board has realized we can not afford this building at this time.

The plan is wonderful, exciting but very expensive and we are going to wait until our market turns around before they move forward. The public library will continue to support the downtown library so we don't need to worry about failure for our vibrant downtown in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It will remain a wonderful place to visit and in the future there will be exciting plans for the downtown library.

HealthMedia of Ann Arbor, Purchased by Johnson & Johnson

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:11:52 -0500

HealthMedia of Ann Arbor, Michigan has been purchased by Johnson & Johnson.

Ann Arbor, Michigan is home to Google and now Johnson & Johnson. The head of the local company will be retained and "operate on a focus of international growth".

Growth is what the state of Michigan needs and this is not a situation where we will lose jobs. Crain's covered the press release and it is all good for Ann Arbor, Michigan. Jobs are NOT expected to be lost.

HealthMedia is located at 130 First Street and we wish them continued success!!

Welcome Johnson & Johnson.

Dexter, Michigan Fall Fun for all ages

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:48:32 -0500

Dexter, Michigan is a lovely village just West of Ann Arbor and one of the fun fall events is to head out to Jenny's Market and take a horse carriage ride to pick your pumpkin.

There are many items to enjoy like apple cider, pumpkin pie and apple doughnuts.

There is so much fun for the kids at Jenny's Market; it might last at least a half a day. There are mini's to pet, hay bales to climb and jump and a fun maze to explore. Just head West on Ann Arbor Dexter road, under the railroad tracks to the corner lot and you have arrived to the fun!

You might wonder if this is horse country and you would certainly be right about that. Wonderful country feel within minutes of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Blogging Seminar with Bob Stewart of Active Rain & Missy Caulk of Ann Arbor, MI

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 21:08:55 -0500

Thank you to Missy Caulk and Bob Stewart for putting on a great blogging seminar at the Keller Williams Ann Arbor Market Center.

This was a motivating presentation, whether you have been in the rain for a while or if you are just starting out. The information was excellent and provided great inspiration.

Missy is very generous with her knowledge and this one slide is the essence of her thoughts about posts. Share who you are to the public and let them get to know you!

The other aspect to how totally cool this was the group of people who attended and how they found out about the event. One of my favorite local bloggers who has nothing to do with real estate, attended and that was because Maureen Francis wrote a tweet this morning that we had Bob Stewart of Active Rain in town today. So Ed Vielmetti attended just to see what we are doing on the net and how we do it. (Ed thanks for attending!)

Point here: Get on Twitter! Post important events on Twitter and who knows who will show up at your meetings.

We were also lucky enough to have Debra Drummond and Todd Waller as well as many others. (There will be posts with photos of others I'm sure!)

Stay active in the Rain. If someone does a presentation on blogging - attend this meeting. I think you will find friends who you haven't met in person, but it is just a wonderful experience to put a face with a name.

Most importantly Missy's message was an excellent one and that is to blog to get business. It is how people find her and decide to work with her.

Bob Stewart talked about all the places which no one as covered as yet. The opportunities are huge! Take your own photos and write about the neighborhoods, unless you have so much business you can't handle any more. If you need to grow your business then having an Active Rain voice will help get you where you want to go.

You might also find some friends along the way.

As much as I love these photos, the meeting was even better!

Missy Caulk, Bob Stewart and Chet Hill were all helpful in pulling this event together.

Thank you!

Education with the Ann Arbor Board of Realtors (R)

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 08:36:07 -0500

I am fortunate to sit on the education committee for the local board of Realtors(R) and given the current economic situation it would be prudent to schedule a couple hours for education in your schedule for leader discussions.

Date: October 22, 2008

Time: 10 a.m. to Noon

Location to be determined.

The following professionals are scheduled to speak:

Kevin Salley of the Bank of Ann Arbor

Craig Roth of Gold Star Mortgage Financial

Teresa Myers of Midwest Financial Credit Union

The topics to be discussed: reverse mortgages, FHS and the stimulus package, rehab loans, investor financing and mortgage pitfalls.

When times are difficult, it is extremely important to stay on top of the news and this is your opportunity to ask questions to lending professionals.

Big Heart Big House Run in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 10:26:09 -0500

What a great weekend ahead in Ann Arbor, Michigan. We have the UM home game Saturday and just as exciting is the 5K run on Sunday morning. The run is special for a few reasons:

1. YOU decide on your favorite charity (this is the Big Heart part of the run).

2. YOU finish at the 50 yard line in the Big House (we all know this is the UM Football stadium).

There is a 5K run through Burns Park or a 1 Mile Fun Walk as well and both finish with your finish on the scoreboard for everyone to enjoy.

If you want to support this terrific event they can always use volunteers so please feel free to email: nancy@runningfit.com.

The best news is wonderful weather for Sunday as well!

Take a Fall Trip to the Lovely Town of Dexter, Michigan

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 13:49:01 -0500

I would like to introduce you to Dexter, Michigan.

Welcome to fall and I hope you make the trip to a lovely town just west of Ann Arbor, Michigan.

It is a short drive or bike ride along a couple lovely routes. You can take Ann Arbor-Dexter Road or Huron River Drive and you arrive 8 miles later to this lovely town which has a wonderful cider mill. The Dexter Cider Mill is currently open with their wonderful donuts, cider, apples and homemade apple pie.

Wonderful memories are made this way!

I personally know the road and want to let you know that the Dexter-Ann Arbor Road has been repaved and is ready for your bike today!

The apples change as the farmers grow them and just stop by to see which are currently available. I checked on one of my favorite apple for pies: Northern Spy but alas they will probably not come in this year. I learned they are a bi-annual apple. This is another wonderful aspect of visiting the cider mill: you are supporting local farmers!

Enjoy fall today!!

It's Not Called Dead Rain or Sometimes Rain...It's ACTIVE Rain

Karen Moorhead Ann Arbor Area Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 07:07:00 -0500

Hi everyone,

I have been a bit swamped with work, family and other normal obligations and my time here recently has been limited. I admit very limited. If your inbox at Active Rain looks like this:

Oh My Goodness I have been away wayyyyy toooo long. All of my messages are group messages and that's because I haven't been writing nor commenting on others. Yikes, it has been way too long.

Please don't do as I have.

Be consistant in your blogging.

I have a ton of catch up work to do and it is always self directed. No one I know has a broker saying, "Blog baby Blog".

People do it for many reasons but the bottomline is that the AR blog it is a vital part of your marketing plan.

To be that vital part, it should also be consistant.

Anyway I have been updating my photos at Flickr, dropping by Twitter and now my most important element in "CyberKaren" part of this is my Active Rain blog.

Don't do as I have done...make it consistant and if you see your inbox looking like mine, with lots of group messages and nothing that you have written or commented, its probably time to get back into the Rain and become Active Rain...it's certainly not called Dead Rain or Sometimes Rain. It is ACTIVE Rain for a reason.