Buyers Should Take Advantage of Low Interest Rates

Mortgage rates inched down again this week as investors worried about the shaky U.S. economy and kept their eyes on Europe's lingering debt problems.

The benchmark 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 3 basis points this week to 4.32 percent, according to the Bankrate.com national survey of large lenders. A basis point is one-hundredth of 1 percentage point. This is the lowest level the fixed rate has reached since Bankrate started the weekly mortgage survey nearly 26 years ago. The mortgages in this week's survey had an average total of 0.42 discount and origination points. One year ago, the mortgage index was 4.54 percent; four weeks ago, it was 4.45 percent.

The benchmark 15-year fixed-rate mortgage fell 4 basis points, to 3.44 percent. The benchmark 5/1 adjustable-rate mortgage fell 3 basis points, to 3.07 percent.


Rates are outstanding at this time. Combine that with lower priced homes and the market continues to create great opportunities for buyers. If you are considering a purchase and need an experienced Realtor, please contact me. You will have a fun home search experience.


SEARCH FOR HOMES HERE




Dave Rukkila
Edward Surovell Realtors
Cell (734) 646-6513
www.daverukkila.com
drukkila@surovell.com
2010 President’s Club Member

Mortgage Rate Update

30yr fxd – 4.125% APR – 4.182%
20yr fxd – 3.875% APR - 3.900%
15yr fxd – 3.250% APR – 3.332%
10yr fxd – 3.125% APR – 3..215%
30 yr fxd FHA – 3.875%% APR – 4.049%



Rates are based on a mortgage of $200,000, 80% LTV, no points and a credit score of 740 or higher.


Charles E. Chapell
Vice President Mortgage
United Bank and Trust
2723 South State Street, Suite 210
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Office: 734-214-2728
Email: cchapell@ubat.com

Alex Milshteyn and Kathy Jackson elected to 2012 Board of Directors

Edward Surovell Realtors is proud to announce that our Chelsea Sales Manager, Kathy Jackson and Associate Broker, Alex Milshteyn were elected by their peers to serve on the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors Board of Directors. The board of directors is responsible for making policy decisions that govern the association within the greater Ann Arbor area.


Kathy Jackson began her career as a Realtor at Edward Surovell Realtors in 1991, initially working in the Ann Arbor office. In 2007 she became a Real Estate Sales Manager for the Chelsea office as well as a recent Associate Broker’s designation holder. Kathy feels fortunate to have had the experience of working in both Ann Arbor as well as the outlying communities. Kathy feels that this position is the "heart of the business" and is thrilled to be involved in the future decision-making on behalf of the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors.




Alex Milshteyn began his career with Edward Surovell Realtors twelve years ago. Alex is an Associate Broker who ranks within the top 1% of Michigan Realtors. Serving as past President and previously on the Board of Directors of the Ann Arbor Area Board of Realtors, Alex was recently named in this year's 30 under 30 by Realtor Magazine. Milshteyn holds his Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from Eastern Michigan University, an Associates Degree in Marketing from Washtenaw Community College as well as his GRI (Graduate Realtor Institute) and ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative).

Mortgage Rate Update

30yr fxd – 4.125% APR – 4.182%
20yr fxd – 3.750% APR - 3.800%
15yr fxd – 3.375% APR – 3.494%
10yr fxd – 3.125% APR – 3..215%
30 yr fxd FHA – 3.875%% APR – 4.049%



Rates are based on a mortgage of $200,000, 80% LTV, no points and a credit score of 740 or higher.

Charles E. Chapell
Vice President Mortgage
United Bank and Trust
2723 South State Street, Suite 210
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Office: 734-214-2728
Email: cchapell@ubat.com

Tech Tuesday: What Are QR Codes?

What are QR Codes?

You may have noticed black symbols showing up on billboards and other marketing materials in recent months. These 2-D barcodes are known as QR codes (Quick Response codes) and are gaining in popularity thanks to the recent explosion of smartphones among consumers.




How QR codes are used

When smartphone users download QR code apps, they are able to take a picture of the code and get hidden content that marketers have programmed into the code. This content may include a website, business contact information, a coupon or other promotion. Promotions include discounts, codes for free shipping or merchandise, and downloads. Others are also using the codes to garner more participation on their Facebook page and building their e-mail marketing database.

The apps that are required to scan and read the QR codes are free and have been developed to work with Blackberry, iPhone and Andriod phones.

Some prefer apps such as Google Goggles, Barcode Scanner or QR Droid Private in terms of scanning QR codes.

How Edward Surovell Realtors Uses QR Codes


Every home that is listed with our company receives a complimentary QR Code. We use these codes in advertising your home. QR Codes drive more traffic to your home and immediately differentiates it from your competition. More and more consumers demand mobile technology in their efforts to gain information. Edward Surovell Realtors has made a commitment to meet this demand by offering a higher level of service to our home buyers and sellers.


LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SUROVELL ONLINE ADVANTAGE

Learn More About The Surovell Online Advantage

Surovell Online Advantage

How Can Enhanced Listings Sell My Home?

As a home seller, it is important to maximize your online exposure as over 87% of all home buyers begin their home search online. If you are thinking about putting your home on the market, you must align yourself with a Broker who has a competitive advantage when it comes to online marketing.

We have partnered with some of the largest real estate websites to offer a top notch service to our clients; Realtor.com, Trulia.com and Google

Realtor.com

When you list your home through an agent at Edward Surovell Realtors, your home is immediately enhanced through Realtor.com.

The Enhanced Listing Package includes:

•Up to 25 large color photos
•Virtual Tours
•Open House Alerts
•Animated Headlines
•Weekly Reports of online traffic
•Detailed property descriptions and much more!
Why is Realtor.com important to you as a home seller?

•On average consumers visit Realtor.com 18 million times a month During 2009, consumers spent 292% more time on Realtor.com than any other comparable site
•Of all the real estate sites, Realtor.com had the most pages viewed during 2009 – over 3.3 billion pages viewed

Trulia.com

Did you know that Edward Surovell Realtors also provides a Premium Listing spot for your home on Trulia.com?

Premium Listings ensures that your home rises to the top of Trulia’s search results! Also, your home will receive an optimized landing page, with contact form that increases inquiries by 5X! You cannot receive this level of optimization with any of our local competitor's.

What is Trulia?
•Revolutionized real estate search
•Offers a rich, intuitive user experience for the home search process
•Users can track local market trends
•Connect directly with real estate pro’s, buyers, sellers and enthusiasts
•Over 8.1 million unique visitors a month

Surovell.com

Once your home hits Surovell.com, it is syndicated to over 35,000 websites! The ongoing design and development of our website offers premium Internet Marketing Tools such as QR Codes per listing, SEO friendly listing pages for Google indexing, a state of the art local Map Search and much more!

The online marketing strategy at Edward Surovell Realtors is competitive and creative! We have over 170 tech savvy agents in Adrian, Ann Arbor, Carleton, Chelsea, Jackson, Manchester, Manitou Beach, Monroe, Northville and Tecumseh. We've worked hard at building a reputation for fairness, sound business ethics and first-rate service for buyers and sellers. If you are thinking of buying or selling, give us a call.


Are you thinking about selling your home? Edward Surovell Realtors offers an online Virtual Market Analyisis.

If you're thinking of selling, you can find out what comparable homes are listing for in your neighborhood. Get a real-time snapshot of buyer activity within your zip code.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION

Mortgage Rate Update

30yr fxd – 4.125% APR – 4.182%

20yr fxd – 3.875% APR - 3.90%

15yr fxd – 3.375% APR – 3.494%

10yr fxd – 3.125% APR – 3.215%

30 yr fxd FHA – 4.000% APR – 4.149%



Rates are based on a mortgage of $200,000, 80% LTV, no points and a credit score of 740 or higher.

Charles E. Chapell
Vice President Mortgage
United Bank and Trust
2723 South State Street, Suite 210
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Office: 734-214-2728
Email: cchapell@ubat.com

Fall Maintenance Tips

The best way to protect your home is to follow a routine maintenance schedule. Late summer to early fall is the perfect time for fall maintenance projects.





Here are just a few tasks that we recommend:


Exterior: Check the roof for any wear and tear, clean the gutters and downspouts. Be sure that downspouts are directed away from the foundation. Always insulate water pipes that are exposed.


Garage: Protect and cover lawn equipment and drain lawnmower of gasoline and oil. Check the weather stripping along the bottom of the garage door.


Heating & Cooling: Have your furnace serviced in advance! You don’t need a problem to arise on a cold winter’s day.


Interiors: Have ventilation ducts cleaned, inspected, and repaired, evaluate insulation and caulk where necessary. Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, replace batteries if needed.


Plumbing: Have septic tank professionally drained and cleaned every two years.


Doors & Windows: Check glazing putty on windows and check caulking for decay around doors, windows, corner boards and joints.



Plumbing: Drain exterior water lines, hose bibs, sprinklers and pool equipment. Check insulation wrapping on all water lines and drains exposed to weather.

Mortgage Rate Update

30yr fxd – 4.250% APR – 4.282%
20yr fxd – 3.875% APR - 3.90%
15yr fxd – 3.375% APR – 3.494%
10yr fxd – 3.250% APR – 3.315%
30 yr fxd FHA – 4.000% APR – 4.149%



Rates are based on a mortgage of $200,000, 80% LTV, no points and a credit score of 740 or higher.


Charles E. Chapell
Vice President Mortgage
United Bank and Trust
2723 South State Street, Suite 210
Ann Arbor, MI 48104
Office: 734-214-2728
Email: cchapell@ubat.com