In August of 1979, my
husband and I bought our
first home in Auburn,
Alabama.
It was a brand new home with 1300. S. F. for $39,000. We went FHA, and
my
parents, and grandparents helped us with the down-payment of 3%. It was
a cute
little house, with a corner fireplace, huge master-bedroom suite, walk
in
closets and I loved it. I never wanted to move.
In December of
1980, we had our first baby there, Christa,
who is now my Partner is Real Estate. In August that year, my husband
was
“called’ to Michigan. There were skid markets all the way
from the South to the
Mid-West with me dragging my feet.
When we
arrived and I shared with our Realtor what we were
coming from and what I hoped to find in a home.
She said,
“Well,
that will cost
$100,000. to buy in Ann Arbor.”
We
were paying $350.00 per
year in property
taxes in Auburn,
AL
and the taxes here were around $2,200.00 contributing to the lesser
amount of home we could buy.
After looking
for a month, in August of 1980, and HATING
everything we could afford, we moved in to a townhouse apartment, that
is
now a
condo conversion and sells for $160,000.
.
After
about 9
months of living there, our Realtor called us
to tell us, she thought she had found us a home that was listed at
$69,000.00
with a $3000.00 decorating allowance. The family was moving to TX. Mr.
Seller
was already there and school was out so Mrs. Seller was anxious to join
him.
They had reduced the home from 100K to 69K. So we took a
look…
Yuk, orange
and brown bold vinyl wall
paper, dated kitchen, brown
carpet. But, we bought it. I hated paying rent. The best news of all is
that
the owners would accept an 11%
land contract. Interest rates at the
time were
18%. So we
moved in, re-carpeted, painted the whole house, painted the
kitchen
and lived there for almost five years and one month shy of when the
land contract was due. I
sold it
by owner for full price. We made 36,000 on the house.
Then we moved
(can you believe this?) down the street into a
four bedroom home, where we also stayed for also 5 years.
That home was
in move
in condition. (It was hilarious to see our friends walking the swing
set down
the street.)
We loved it there and would not have
moved but baby number
5 was
on the way and we couldn’t get everyone around the kitchen
table in the nook.
We bought the home for $110,000.
Five years later, I sold the house
myself in one hour,
to another neighbor who lived on a street a block over. She
was helping her
daughter
with her paper route, when we put the sign in the yard. Then we were
able to
purchase a lot and build the home we are still in Saline, MI.
Ann
Arbor
has always had issue with “affordable
housing”. Many
people could not
afford to purchase homes in Ann Arbor so they would
start out in Ypsilanti,
Manchester, Milan or other smaller communities around Washtenaw
County.
Guess What?
Ann Arbor
is now affordable.
In the
1980’s, Michigan
and the rest of the country were going through a recession. Housing
prices were
coming down. It afforded us the opportunity to own a home in Michigan.
I grieve
everyday when I have to tell my sellers that their
home prices have come down. I have turned down so many listings that I
know I
can not sell for what they owe or want. It was getting so bad, I had
even
considered taking them over-priced and doing what many Realtors do,
keep asking
for price reductions. But, it is just not my nature to not tell them
the truth.
Bottom line
for us in Michigan, this has allowed many home
buyers to
purchase their first homes in Ann Arbor. Had it not
been for the recession
when we moved here, I may still be renting.
In
the midst of the current market conditions, there is a
silver lining for buyers.
There
is
“affordable
housing” in Ann Arbor
and Washtenaw
County.
***Photos courtesy of Flickr,
KCkellners for carpet,
RusselljSmith swing and SusannaK’s ugly wallpaper***
Missy Caulk & Team can be reached at 734-926-9797 or email: Missy@MissyCaulk.com
Our Team of 6 agents are available to help you relocate to Ann Arbor, Saline, Dexter, Chelsea, Milan, Ypsilanti Township, Clinton, Manchester, Whitmore Lake, or throughout Washtenaw County, MI.
Find Homes for Sale in Ann Arbor
Find Homes for Sale in Saline
Find Ann Arbor Real Estate Information
Get a FREE Home Evalutation of your Homes Value
Missy Caulk Ann Arbor REALTOR® Google Profile
Move In Nashville
Stay strong, stay faithful, stay honest, stay loving, stay true to who you are, most importantly stay true to who God is as you'll be who you are, and you'll be happy, you'll be you, you'll be free. -Jamie Caulk
Missy,
Your transparent but substantive way of 'telling the story' is refreshing and enlightening!!! :) Thanks, Fran
Missy, when we lived in Michigan, we were able to buy our first house in Chelsea. We couldn't afford Ann Arbor at the time, which is why we ended up in the "country." I guess it's nice to hear that Ann Arbor is affordable again, but if it is a symptom of the overall economy, you still have to have a job to be able to buy a house! Luckily, though, Ann Arbor is a vibrant college town which will always have appeal.
BTW, don't you love the Common Grill in Chelsea? We once saw the actor Jeff Daniels there, who (at least at that time) had a house in Chelsea.
Thanks Fran !
Kelly, I do love the Common Grill, go often and when I am out in Chelsea. Chelsea is a really cute town. Jeff is still there, he lives on Cavanaugh Lake and I've seen him there too. Reading a script with sunglasses and a baseball hat over his eyes. LOL His dad still owns and works at Chelsea Lumber. Very nice family. My daugher was a at basketball camp with their daughter years ago.
He is doing TV Spots to draw more people to MI and has the Purple Rose Theater which is always packed and he produces for MI playrites.
Missy, thank you for sharing a little bit of your past. I just got back from Wis. just outside St. Paul. What a different place it was than Ca. But, my relatives love it. AJ
What a wonderful story of your journey. No wonder your clients love you so much. You share the real life musings that capture their imagination and give them hope and comfort. Beautifully written and it captured me as well.
Sincerely,
William
Missy
Things have changed a bit in a couple years? I always enjoy your posts.
I am glad to see you are doing so well.
Sincerely
Tom Braatz
Missy- What a great story about your housing history! Sharing this story will touch the lives of buyers and sellers and will create a dose of reality for them.
Missy, I can relate to your situation. In 1980, I purchase my first investment property. We seem to move about every eight years. It is time to buy just hope that the lenders will do a little to help.
Nice story about "moving up" in Ann Arbor. I wish you the best in your challenging market.
Missy - I love the story of your "journey".. stepping stones for your children. Affordable housing is out there..you just have to have the right REALTOR to help you find it!
Missy, I did a photo collage for my network group of the properties we have purchased, including the mobile home when my husband was in the military - our first "home". We have traded up as you have many times and I tell the story to new home buyers to keep them motivated. I will say though, coming to Ann Arbor was a relief since we lived in London for two years prior - it felt like a bargain! You are right though; it is a bargain all around now. I hope buyers see the sense in buying now because it is looking like sellers will soon be calling the shots here once again.
Missy - Thanks for sharing your story, I am sure first time home buyers will be calling you because you come across as someone who understands and is caring.
Missy, boy you sure move a lot :). I'm a nest er...I've been in this house 17 years, and my other home I was in 17 years too. It's a good think most of my clients are more like you. Looking forward to seeing more of you in the contest, should be fun. Liz
Great story about the history. How many kids do you have?
Missy.... kind of funny. I read this yesterday and I just never commented.... lol I guess I was doing to many things yesterday at one time. I can usually multi-task. In any case, I enjoyed walking down memory lane with you, and how you upgraded from house to house. I hope your clients can appreciate your expertise and be able to someday repeat the same type of story in the future. And using your services each time.
Misty, this is a great example of what a great Ann Arbor Realtor can do for you! Loved the analogies!
Missy, thank you for so much fun. I enjoyed your article. It's really great story. And I've got something to recommend you. Hope, you'll find some useful information about Real Estate at this resource.