Executive Home, Grandville Michigan, built for entertaining but great for just relaxing, 301 Normandy - 07/27/08 08:51 AM
301 Normandy, sometime you have one of those special listings.  This is one of them.  This beautiful home is priced well below market and has all the bells and whistles.  It is an executive home to be sure...but it could fit a large growing family and create an island for fun and relaxation for all to enjoy.
Walking up to this home gives you the sense of something special...going inside confirms it!
The kitchen is a chef delight with a walk-in pantry, double ovens, surround sound throughout the home to add inspiration...the list goes on.  This is a walkout ranch on … (9 comments)

5th Third Ball Park home of the West Michigan White Caps - 07/26/08 09:22 PM
In case you didn't know Grand Rapids has a baseball team that won the 2007 championship.  The park has lots of activities but is a family based fun spot.

This shot only shows the entrance look at the photo below.
This is a great facility and there is more....

They have a great score board, concessions and give aways and much more.
Spectators are always close to the action with seating like the big parks.
If you want some low cost family fun...go to the ball park, enjoy a day with your family.
You'll have a great time.
 
… (4 comments)

Active Rain strikes again. - 07/26/08 07:25 PM
I sing the praises of any formats that works and creates new business.  Active Rain has created some very good leads for me from a variety of clients and other brokers as referrals.
Recently I have had two leads that have materialized into very positive experiences.  One was a referral by an Active Rain member...she doesn't know it...but I am sending Kris Wales a token of my appreciation because she gave me the name of another AR member to whom I referred a client.  It worked and I received a referral fee.
The other was from across the nation and I referred out the lead … (9 comments)

Dualing offers, can buyers safely make multiple offers and pick the one they want? - 07/26/08 10:09 AM
In today's market of foreclosures and short sales buyers tend to want answers right now on the offers they have submitted.  So what takes so long for the lender to respond? 
You can have several reasons why offers take so long before a lender will respond.  The number one reason is the backlog of properties to process.  The second largest reason is the offer was to low for the target sell price set by the lender.  The third reason is not all the paperwork on short sales has been filed with the lender.  The seller has to file a hardship letter … (10 comments)

Understanding the demographics of your listings, does it matter? - 07/25/08 08:34 PM
Sellers may not think of the demographics of where they live but marketing a property depends on understanding the demographics.
Anyway that is my theory, demographics is an integral part of the marketing strategy.  The demographics leads you to buyers.  Now did that get your attention?  That is right knowing who lives in the area, what the average income is and what the schools have to offer is part of the neighborhood and selling features that attracts buying within the demographic segment. 
Income issues are a leading indicator of who will live in a specific area.  Just like family size, age … (1 comments)

100 year old post cards of Grand Rapids Michigan - 07/19/08 07:52 PM
Many of you have been following the inclusion of 100 year old post cards I found after the passing of my mother.  These have been in the family and now I am the keeper for the next generations to enjoy.  I thought with scanning you could enjoy them too and see what Grand Rapids looked like a hundred years ago. 
Here is a photo postcard that my father-in-law was surprised to see.  He is know as the "Hot Dog" man in Grand Rapids.  He likes the name too!  He hands out with other volunteers over 600 hot dog rain or shine … (16 comments)

100 year old post cards Grand Rapids Michigan, John Ball Park zoo - 07/19/08 07:35 PM
In going through some family possessions after the death of my mother we found these post cards.  The printer and manufacturers are long since gone but the magic of what they captured is still with us.
Here is what John Ball Park looked like in the early years.

Here is a closer look with a slightly different shot.

Note they say looking forward to the city!  The city surrounds the park in present day.  It looks to be a peaceful carriage ride from the city.
Here is a couple more photos of the grounds.

Another ground photo showing … (5 comments)

100 year old post cards, Chicago at the turn of the Century - 07/19/08 07:19 PM
Here is Grand Central Station.  This is hard to believe.  I grew up as a youngster in Chicago.  I lived on the near North Side as it was...more affectionately called Old Town.  I was only a few blocks from the Lincoln Park zoo.  As a kid I was able to see the largest gorilla in captivity at the time....Bushman.  He is now on display in the Science and Industry musiem by Soldier's Field.
Of course as many know it does not look like this any more...but just the same very interesting.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
… (0 comments)

Video showings, are you showing 50 properties? - 07/19/08 07:44 AM
I can not tell you how many gallons of gas agents are burning showing properties.  I decided to see if we could reduce the number of showings with a video.
We looked at a way to reduce the number of showings and this is not happening to all agents...but a larger percentage than ever are showing a huge number of homes.  Large to me is over 15 and when the number approaches 50 I can hardly believe an agent would do that!
So here is one of our new practices that is working and might work for you too.  I have produced … (14 comments)

Who said I had to do your paperwork? - 07/18/08 09:11 PM
Paperwork can be one of those necessary evils...but remember the alternative of not doing the paperwork is no commission with a sale that falls through. Or is that the result?
One of the things that makes me boil is having an agent on the other side of the transaction that does sloppy work.  Missing documents, no signature, time frames missed and then expects me to pick up the slack with helping them with information.  Even his clients at the closing have said we wished we had you!  That is very nice of them to say...but I represent my clients interests always.  So … (4 comments)

Waiting for the market bottom to buy? - 07/18/08 01:11 PM
Are you waiting for the market to hit bottom?  Here is a couple of thoughts that may change you mind on waiting.  What would you think if I told you the market has hit bottom?
In a usual buyers market or sellers market the changes are slight and gradual.  Nobody knows when the market has hit bottom until it starts going back up and then it is to late.  If I knew exactly when the market was going to hit bottom I would publish a book and it would be a best seller with one page, the date the market changes.
… (3 comments)

What do sellers expect from a real estate agent in a difficult market? - 07/18/08 03:45 AM
How many times have you been asked by clients, what are you going to do for me?  I get asked that question very seldom actually.  I think the reason is my listing presentation method.
Listings are easy to get as sellers are moving from one agent and brokerage to another.  They move faster when the listing agent does not communicate.  Sellers move faster when they do not feel connected to the process of selling. 
Some sellers wipe their hands to the selling process...I like sellers involvement.  I want them to know the market conditions, I want them to know what I see as I … (77 comments)

100 year old post cards to show some of Michigan's history - 07/12/08 04:48 PM
I  have been showing off some of the family post cards that have been in the family for over 100 years in some cases.  Most are the turn of the century.  They are very interesting to me because I had never seen them until my mother passed away.  We didn't know she had them.
The other thing that makes them interesting is have lived in the area and seen these locations from a modern day perspective.
These will send you back to era that was just as hard as today without all the handy expressway or delivery systems.  Maybe it was … (11 comments)

Renter's at Risk....how can renter's protect themselves? - 07/11/08 08:45 AM
We recently had a foreclosure that hit families at the worst time.  The economy is down, many are struggling to keep their jobs and make ends meet and the landlord gets foreclosed on without notice to the tenants.
The tenants think their rent money is being used to pay the mortgage on the building.  It wasn't the owner of the building was keeping the money and was not making payments.  They get served with an eviction notice!  They have 15 days to vacate.  It is not binding but the bank is going to court to get a court order on the … (12 comments)

Year gone by Grand Rapids Michigan, Post Card History - 07/10/08 07:58 PM
Here is some more post cards from our family collection.  This is quite interesting to those that have gone through the area and are new to the area.  Many of the residents have never seen Grand Rapids from any other view than from what they have known growing up here.
The stories that have been pasted down all make sense once they see some of these photos.  My wife's parents now in their early 70's (my mother-in-law made me put that!  She said, no more cookies if I told the truth!) they were looking over the post cards and were amazed … (2 comments)

We said it was going to get worse before it gets better...it got worse! - 07/10/08 07:03 PM
We said it was going to get worse before it gets better....it got worse!
According to a Bloomberg article this morning the Foreclosure rate hit 53% from only a year ago with reposessions almost tripling.  This is a direct result of deteriorating property values, mortage rates adjusting and the overall economy.
This is one of those articles that hits you right in the face.  One of the economists predicts that the current problem of foreclosures could be with us into the next decade!  When I read that I thought you have to be kidding, people will suffer with this problem that long?  … (8 comments)

The ever changing city of Grand Rapids Michigan - 07/07/08 06:21 PM
I took a few photos the other day from a rooftop downtown to show the changes in the Medical Mile.  Michiganders know that Grand Rapids is the second largest city in Michigan...but many do not know the heritage of the city.
Grand Rapids Michigan started as a logging town that soon developed into the mecca of wood furniture making.  As the automotive industry grew in Detroit so did the furniture manufacturing on this side of the state.  Some of the key office furniture manufacturers turned into giants of the industry.  Steelcase, Herman Miller and Hayworth are still position as the go to … (20 comments)

Networking to gain market share and business - 07/05/08 01:30 PM
Have you considered how you are networking or are you?  This little part of our marketing is sometimes given less priority because the return is not always immediate.
Look at where you are spending your networking dollars.  Are you spending your time with other Realtors?  If you are not in the recruiting business for Realtors why are you spending your time there?
Have you looked at where you can gain more referrals because of a membership?  Have you considered public service organizations that do specialized community events?  These can pay big dividends in with referrals.
Have you considered board memberships or … (3 comments)

Staying positive in an economy that screams....trouble for everyone! - 07/04/08 11:55 AM
Staying positive in an economy that screams trouble when you have your home listed can be a bit more than some folks can handle.
Here is a few of the headlines that create the minds-eye image.
Stock Market slips into bear territory Los Angles Times to cut 250 jobs Lead Negotiator retires Dallas, American Airlines to trim 900 jobs Factory orders sluggish Paper Plant Closing Fewer Homes on Market Reason for Hope Homeowners and Real Estate agents have a common line drawn in the sand...they both want the same goal but do not always work in concert to reach those goals.  … (8 comments)

Dealing with the emotional values! - 07/04/08 09:43 AM
Six months ago my mother passed of accidental injuries through a fall in her home.  I have two sisters so I let them go through her things.  It is amazing how your perception is different than reality. 
I think that real estate is the same way.  We have perceptions instead of facts or being open to the events as they unfold in front of us and dealing with them to keep the flow of communication going.
It was no different for me with my mother's belongings.  The girls would be better suited going through her private belongings.  I myself only had … (7 comments)

 
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Gary White~Grand Rapids Home Selling Pro Call: 616-784-2360

Grand Rapids, MI

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Flexit Realty "Flexible Home Selling Solutions"

Address: Grand Rapids, MI, 49505

Office Phone: (800) 336-5124 x 0

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Grand Rapids Real Estate & West Michigan real estate markets, trends and issues discussed. Technical and personal thoughts pertaining to buying and selling real estate. How-to information, view 1000's of active listings. Go to our website for over 30 Free Reports that could save you thousands. For immediate service... Call: 616-784-2360 or Email: GaryWhite@FlexitRealty.com Flexit Realty® offers "Flexible Real Estate Home Selling Options"


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