U. of Michigan Law School '11 Forum

[citric]

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[siberiak]

Wow, it's been a while! After the April ASW in Ann Arbor I am set on Michigan! In fact, I'm wearing my my Michigan Law T-shirt as I type this. Anyway, this is a bit of a subject change but does anyone know what the orientation week is all about? There is no details on the Michigan site. I heard from a Michigan alum that they host some sort of a crash course in law school for entering 1Ls where they going over briefing and studying and stuff like that. It sounds like the type of thing you pay $3000 to do at Princeton Review. I was wondering if that was the orientation week or if that was something else. Thanks.

Sorry for the long post. I guess I could have started a new thread but I figured my target audience is already on this thread. Thanks again.

[Alexandria]

Wow, it's been a while! After the April ASW in Ann Arbor I am set on Michigan! In fact, I'm wearing my my Michigan Law T-shirt as I type this. Anyway, this is a bit of a subject change but does anyone know what the orientation week is all about? There is no details on the Michigan site. I heard from a Michigan alum that they host some sort of a crash course in law school for entering 1Ls where they going over briefing and studying and stuff like that. It sounds like the type of thing you pay $3000 to do at Princeton Review. I was wondering if that was the orientation week or if that was something else. Thanks.

Sorry for the long post. I guess I could have started a new thread but I figured my target audience is already on this thread. Thanks again.

I think maybe they were talking about MAP pre-orientation, which is the week before orientation, though there's a bit of that in orientation, too. Honestly, once you've done MAP, orientation itself seems somewhat pointless, but MAP was so great that I wouldn't give it up due to the redundancy. You'll find out more about MAP sometime in early summer, I believe it was, when they send an email explaining it and give you the opportunity to sign up.

[cessy]

Thanks for all the responses. You guys are very helpful ... but it only makes me feel worse about my not being as informed haha...

I think I am going to sell my stuff or store it in NYC... moving just seems like it will be a hassle.

I am sending in my deposit tomorrow ! This is all so dream-like .... I can't beleive in a couple months I am going to start law school.... it's kind of overwhelming.

[scarletmuse]

I moved from NYC to Ann Arbor - I highly highly recommend ditching all/most of your furniture and repurchasing here. There's a great used furniture place in town that caters to students. I was able to get a full bedroom set (dresser, mirror, two nightstands) for about $150 from them, then I just bought a new mattress and box spring at a discount mattress place. Granted, that was nearly two years ago, but I doubt that the prices have gone up THAT much. Everything else I either put in storage or boxed up and shipped here in a U-Pack cube. Worked like a charm and was less than $1K (around $600, I think).

[bumblebeechewna]

I'm driving 8 hours with all my stuff (budget truck)-it won't be that bad, right?

[wolverine37]

Is anyone here still looking for a place to live in Ann Arbor over the summer? I've got a room available in my house for $290 per month (I went to undergrad here). I think it could be cool to live with another summer starter. The room has a private bathroom, and the house is something like an eight minute walk to the law school. If you're interested, send me a message.

For the food lovers...I think Red Hawk Grill is the place to go for a great burger. Personally, I like some of the cheap Korean restaurants near campus.

[msumike75]

Is anyone here still looking for a place to live in Ann Arbor over the summer? I've got a room available in my house for $290 per month (I went to undergrad here). I think it could be cool to live with another summer starter. The room has a private bathroom, and the house is something like an eight minute walk to the law school. If you're interested, send me a message.

For the food lovers...I think Red Hawk Grill is the place to go for a great burger. Personally, I like some of the cheap Korean restaurants near campus.

I would add No Thai as some good Asian food.

[littleone]

My favorite Asian places within walking distance of the law school are University Cafe (Korean), Sadako (Japanese) and Saigon Garden (Chinese/Vietnamese). I actually like Pizza House's burgers the best of what's on campus, although if I'm driving somewhere for a burger, I always go to Red Robin. Of all the restaurants in town, La Shish is my favorite. I didn't think I liked Middle Eastern food until I ate there, so I definitely recommend giving it a try.
I'm moving to Ann Arbor next week, so if anyone needs some help getting settled or doesn't have a car and needs to run some errands, just let me know!

[mildmannered]

this is a housing question:

So, because I'm a parent, I'm looking for a 2 bedroom place, within walking distance of the school, and in a fairly nice neighborhood. Does anyone on here already have enough experience with the housing market to give me an idea what that might cost in rent? From people I've already spoken to, I'm thinking something like $1,200 per month. Does that sound crazy? it seems so high, and would obviously be a HUGE part of my budget.

Also, does anyone know much about the real estate market in AA? Has anyone else been thinking about buying instead of renting?I know that it is probably a buyer's market right now, but who is to say that that will have changed in 2.5 years, when I would be looking to sell?

[bumblebeechewna]

I don't know much about AA but I've spent 4 months looking for a place online and then visited recently (just drove around looking for housing). I found the area near the stadium to be really nice-definitely more for young prof and couples than the student ghetto-it has 2 parks nearby and I saw an elementary school
I think I will be paying $800 for a 2 bed-about 25 min walk...not sure if that's close enough
The housing there seems to be well maintained and in some instances completely renovated...if you need more info I can tell you of a few places I looked that might be worth it
hope that helps

[mildmannered]

It would be great to hear about the places you've looked. feel free to pm me. thanks.

[littleone]

It's definitely a buyer's market in Ann Arbor, but it's anyone's guess as to how low prices will continue to fall and what the market will be like when we graduate. The loss of Pfizer put a lot of houses on the market, and there still aren't any concrete plans for another company to come in and occupy the site and bring in more residents. Also, the taxes in Ann Arbor are pretty high. My fiance and I looked at some condos that had over $6K/year in taxes. If you get farther away from campus, you can pay Scio or Pittsfield Township taxes and still utilize the Ann Arbor school district. A good site to check out real estate in the area is Real Estate One.

[Rayster]

this is a housing question:

So, because I'm a parent, I'm looking for a 2 bedroom place, within walking distance of the school, and in a fairly nice neighborhood. Does anyone on here already have enough experience with the housing market to give me an idea what that might cost in rent? From people I've already spoken to, I'm thinking something like $1,200 per month. Does that sound crazy? it seems so high, and would obviously be a HUGE part of my budget.

Also, does anyone know much about the real estate market in AA? Has anyone else been thinking about buying instead of renting?I know that it is probably a buyer's market right now, but who is to say that that will have changed in 2.5 years, when I would be looking to sell?

I'm looking at buying a place as well, but it won't be in AA, it will be in Ypsi. In AA to find an affordable place you will have an interstate as a neighbor, the housing market in Ypsi is much better and there are many nice options.

[Mosel]

My gal and I were set on buying. We were looking at condos and small houses. The problem is, property tax in AA is waaaay more than it is nearly every where else in the state, and the more we crunch numbers, the more renting looks like it makes more sense.

We might just rent the first year, and then purchase the next year. Trying to buy a home from across the country is just a little stressful.

It seems like there are tons of available places. I was worried that everything would be snatched up, but it seems like the market is pretty good.

Happy hunting, everyone! And good luck to you Summer Starters. Make good outlines, because I'm going to be asking you for them.

[YoungFogey]

this is a housing question:

So, because I'm a parent, I'm looking for a 2 bedroom place, within walking distance of the school, and in a fairly nice neighborhood. Does anyone on here already have enough experience with the housing market to give me an idea what that might cost in rent? From people I've already spoken to, I'm thinking something like $1,200 per month. Does that sound crazy? it seems so high, and would obviously be a HUGE part of my budget.

Also, does anyone know much about the real estate market in AA? Has anyone else been thinking about buying instead of renting?I know that it is probably a buyer's market right now, but who is to say that that will have changed in 2.5 years, when I would be looking to sell?

Burns Park would be the first neighborhood I would target. It is a very family oriented neighborhood (especially the further south you head) but it has some homes that have been converted into apartments. I haven't looked at 2 br places in the area, so I don't know the prices. The Old West Side is another family friendly neighborhood, though not quite as close.

I would highly caution against buying in AA unless you buy something that could be flipped into a rental -- but if you are doing that, you aren't going to find much that is reasonable in price. AA has not been quite as beaten up in the market because it is a college town, but there is still a tremendous downward trend to the MI economy as a whole. Companies are still downsizing, more auto related job losses are on the horizon. This has effected the tax base which is having a huge ripple effect. MI's real estate, historically, doesn't appreciate very fast. I do not think it would rebound enough in 3 years to let you recoup closing costs and agent fees (and forget about "saving" on those -- if you do FSBO people just whack off what they know you're saving in their offers). With commissions at 6% you would have to have a pretty strong jump in the housing market within months of purchase to likely even break even. I seriously doubt that will happen, and wouldn't be surprised if prices continue to decline, as eventually the country will start to rebound and the Fed will raise interest rates which will make how much home people can afford diminish.

[Rayster]

this is a housing question:

So, because I'm a parent, I'm looking for a 2 bedroom place, within walking distance of the school, and in a fairly nice neighborhood. Does anyone on here already have enough experience with the housing market to give me an idea what that might cost in rent? From people I've already spoken to, I'm thinking something like $1,200 per month. Does that sound crazy? it seems so high, and would obviously be a HUGE part of my budget.

Also, does anyone know much about the real estate market in AA? Has anyone else been thinking about buying instead of renting?I know that it is probably a buyer's market right now, but who is to say that that will have changed in 2.5 years, when I would be looking to sell?

Burns Park would be the first neighborhood I would target. It is a very family oriented neighborhood (especially the further south you head) but it has some homes that have been converted into apartments. I haven't looked at 2 br places in the area, so I don't know the prices. The Old West Side is another family friendly neighborhood, though not quite as close.

I would highly caution against buying in AA unless you buy something that could be flipped into a rental -- but if you are doing that, you aren't going to find much that is reasonable in price. AA has not been quite as beaten up in the market because it is a college town, but there is still a tremendous downward trend to the MI economy as a whole. Companies are still downsizing, more auto related job losses are on the horizon. This has effected the tax base which is having a huge ripple effect. MI's real estate, historically, doesn't appreciate very fast. I do not think it would rebound enough in 3 years to let you recoup closing costs and agent fees (and forget about "saving" on those -- if you do FSBO people just whack off what they know you're saving in their offers). With commissions at 6% you would have to have a pretty strong jump in the housing market within months of purchase to likely even break even. I seriously doubt that will happen, and wouldn't be surprised if prices continue to decline, as eventually the country will start to rebound and the Fed will raise interest rates which will make how much home people can afford diminish.

I agree with your analysis, but for some it is necessary (given details of living situation) to take the financial hit later. Also, the housing market has already been hit very hard in the neighboring communities, and given the level of housing people our age can generally afford (~100k) it is difficult to push those prices down much further. The largest potential loss after three years will be $6,000 in closing costs (given no appreciation, and that the market at this pricepoint is near the bottom of its sliding scale). If that loss was too harsh, the house could always be rented out.

[Rayster]

I have a stupid but practical question. Does Michigan give off-campus students a place to store things while they are on campus (such as a winter coat and books)?

[tl]

I'm driving somewhere for a burger, I always go to Red Robin.

There's a Red Robin in Ann Arbor??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

YES!

[mildmannered]

Rayster - I believe that they issue lockers during orientation

[viv]

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[Alexandria]

Rayster - I believe that they issue lockers during orientation

Yeah, we have lockers, and there are also locking coat hooks. They don't exactly issue them, though... you just go claim one by putting a lock on it and then filing a form saying which locker number, your name, and the combination.

So summer starters will have first pick, and then fall starters who do MAP are around a week before everyone else, so we mostly claimed ours then.

[YoungFogey]

I agree with your analysis, but for some it is necessary (given details of living situation) to take the financial hit later. Also, the housing market has already been hit very hard in the neighboring communities, and given the level of housing people our age can generally afford (~100k) it is difficult to push those prices down much further. The largest potential loss after three years will be $6,000 in closing costs (given no appreciation, and that the market at this pricepoint is near the bottom of its sliding scale). If that loss was too harsh, the house could always be rented out.

Yeah, moving losses around can definitely be a motivation. I just wouldn't want people to dive in thinking they are going to wind up in the positive column. If you have never owned a home, they are expensive to maintain. I can't tell you how much I end up putting into my house without ever doing remodeling. Our AC died the year after we moved in. Expensive. Hot water heater busted too. Ditto. When you sell you also have real estate transfer taxes, and if you are buying in the ~$100,000 range you'll likely end up selling to FHA buyers, which will whack off another 3% of the purchase price.

Again, if you are looking at deferring losses into the future, it can make sense, but the amount of money you will typically lock up in a home purchase will generally put you out more than if you paid a little more in rent for a couple of years.

[Rayster]

Rayster - I believe that they issue lockers during orientation

Yeah, we have lockers, and there are also locking coat hooks. They don't exactly issue them, though... you just go claim one by putting a lock on it and then filing a form saying which locker number, your name, and the combination.

So summer starters will have first pick, and then fall starters who do MAP are around a week before everyone else, so we mostly claimed ours then.

Can anyone do MAP? I saw it mentioned above, but it wasn't very clear what it was, or who it was directed at. Could I just show up a week or so in advance to claim a "choice" locker? Are some really better?

[msumike75]

I'm driving somewhere for a burger, I always go to Red Robin.

There's a Red Robin in Ann Arbor??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

YES!

Technically Ypsi, but yes. I actually used to work there in high school.

As for the AA housing market, it isn't as cheap as it is elsewhere in the state.