This week’s Spotlight isn’t on a local business or community leader. It's a change affecting real estate transactions across our area and the whole country. 📣 📅 Starting November 2, home appraisals are going to look very different. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are rolling out a major update to how residential appraisals are reported. It’s called UAD 3.6 (Uniform Appraisal Dataset), and it introduces a redesigned report known as the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report (URAR) . It’s one of the most significant changes to appraisal reporting in decades. 📋 The goal is better accuracy, consistency, and detail. But any big transition comes with a learning curve, and that can affect closing timelines. ⏳ 🔍 What’s Changing? Appraisers will document property characteristics in a much more detailed, structured format, including: 🏠 Interior and exterior condition: more detailed reporting, with separate assessments 🔨 Renovations and improvements: more information about updates and rem...
This Sunday, November 1, we turn our clocks back an hour. ⏰ The extra hour of sleep is nice. The early darkness that comes with it? Not so much. By next week, the sun will set before 5:30 p.m. here in Washtenaw County. If you're 50 or better, this is the perfect week to look at your home with winter in mind. 🏡 Maybe you plan to stay in your home for years to come. Maybe you're also keeping an eye on Mom or Dad's place. Either way, darker evenings, icy mornings, and more time indoors all arrive at once. Here's the good news: most winter safety fixes are simple and affordable, and many can be done in a weekend. Let the time change be your reminder. You're resetting the clocks anyway, so take 20 minutes to walk through the house with fresh eyes. ✅ Here's the checklist I share with clients and their families. ❄️ Why winter raises the stakes Falls are the leading cause of injury for adults 65 and older. According to the CDC, more than 14 million older adults, about ...