Jeff Lund's Michigan Real Estate Investor's Blog

Website Grader- learn more about your website and SEO!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 13:05:25 -0500

Hello everyone,

Just wanted to give you a website that grades your website. websitegrader.com analyzes what your website has (and what it doesn't), and spits out a great report that you can look at where your site needs work.

You can also type in additional websites (5 of your competitors) to compare to yours... try it out!

Keep in mind, getting a score that's over 90 out of 100 is a fantastic score, and very few sites score over 95...

Hope this helps,

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Director of Eduction and Technology

Investment Property Specialist

jefflund@grar.com

Collecting Prospective Tenants' Application Fees

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:33:54 -0500

Hello Everyone,

I just got an idea on collecting larger amounts of application fees... and making it easier.

Several times prospective tenants ask if there is an app fee, and I often waive the charge, in hopes to get more appicants to choose from. I have found that requiring a large fee upfront will sometimes cause an otherwise good tenant to not want to even show up.

When a tenant views a property, I tell them that there is a $20 application fee, to be collected when the lease is signed. This way I still get a fee charged, and I don't scare them away in the beginning.

Different areas do different things, so I would be curious as to how others charged, and how much.

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Investment Property Specialist

jefflund@grar.com

Satellite internet- not the best for realtors

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 05:40:09 -0500

Hello everyone,

I keep watching the ads on tv about Direcway (now called Hughes net) about how you can enjoy high speed internet access anywhere, as long as you have a view of the southern sky...

I had this sytem for years, and dropped it for the following reasons:

1) Ask them about upload speed, not just download speed. Upload speed is how fast you can send items such as emails with pictures. This system is very slow (comparative to dial-up), and in our business, this is important.

2) You lose connectivity when high winds or storms occur. We had great signal at all other times, unless we had heaavy rain or snow storms. I thought this was a fluke, but we have sat. tv also, and it is similar; but I'm not as worried about watching a tv show as compared to performing a CMA and losing all my data because of signal loss.

3) If you are looking for 'high speed internet', look into all other possibilities before you sign up... our connection speed averaged about 500kbps. You can check your internet connection speed at speedtest.net (upload and download). Thier system may have improved over the past year or 2 but it doesn't hurt to ask first.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

jefflund@grar.com

freelaptopnation.com... your get what you pay for?

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Mon, 26 May 2008 07:31:55 -0500

Hello everyone,

In our local area, there has been advertising on the radio about your chance to receive a free laptop... ok, what's the catch?

freelaptopnation.com is a legit site, but I read the program requirements, and it seems as though you are required to fullfill a vast amount of 'sponsor offers' and/or get someone elso to join in.

It seems to me that by the time you perform all of their requirments, you could have gone online or to the store and bought a laptop, saving you time and money in your business. How much is your time worth? Are you sure you are getting a laptop that will suit your real estate needs?

I looked at yahoo answers, and it seems as though I'm not alone in this thought.

I would be very interested in anyone who has gone through this process, and what they encountered, but at this time, I'm sticking to a reputable online or local store to buy my computers. It's a write-off anyways, right?

By the way, "the company may, at it's sole discretion, terminate any account and deny any gift without prior notice for any other reason at the discretion of the company" 'Paragraph 5'

Hmmm...

Jeff Lund

Director of Training and Technology

Five Star Real Estate

Having trouble typing? Try out Dragon Naturally Speaking, and talk your way through!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sat, 24 May 2008 20:03:20 -0500

Hello everyone,

I just wanted to tell you about a software program that helps you type faster... all you do is talk, and the words appear on your screen!

Last year, I was diagnosed with Transverse Myelitis, which slowed my abilities to type, which is an important part of my job! Check out my blog on T.M. here.

Dragon Naturally Speaking by the company Nuance is a great tool for handicapped, or someone that writes books, or just someone that can talk faster than type.

It takes a bit getting used to, but it's worth it! You actually have to 'train' the software to your voice, but it only gets better and better for you, and I see about a 93% accuracy rate (which is better that if I manually type).

Tip: Getting a voice recognition-quality headset is a good idea also, as they offer more quality in the microphone.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Lund

Director of training and technology

Five Star Real Estate

Save on your water bills at apartments!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Thu, 22 May 2008 11:28:15 -0500

Hello everyone,

I heard this idea recently, so I thought I'd pass it along:

If you have the older 3 gallon tank toilets in your rentals and You pay the water bill, consider replacing them with a newer, 1.6 gallon toilet. This relatively small amount of expense will save lots of gallons of water, thus reducing your water bills, while helping to conserve water- GO GREEN!

Another even less expensive way- fill up a couple of 12 ounce pop bottles with rocks or marbles, cap it and place them inside the tank, thus making the water usage smaller inside the tank. Be careful on this one... you may not have enough water to flush down everything that needs to be flushed, so don't over-do it.

By the way, there are different sizes of traps inside of a newer toilet, so be sure to get the largest (something like 2 inches or more) to avoid plugs from your tenants, thus reducing your plumbing calls for stoppages.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Investment Property Specialist

jefflund@grar.com

Find the photo you need...

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sat, 03 May 2008 07:08:20 -0500

Hello everyone...

If you're looking for specific photos, you might want to try www.istockphoto.com , where you can purchase the rights to use photos for as little as $1.

We all know that the internet provides us with lots of photos that you can 'copy and paste' for our use, but copyright laws may come to a head. Using a site like this lets me sleep better at night.

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Investment Property Specialist

jefflund@grar.com

Is the snow gone until fall? Change the photo!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sat, 03 May 2008 06:58:41 -0500

Hello everyone,

Just a quick reminder-Photos need updating...

Yesterday I was setting up showings for today, and I noticed that 2 of the homes I was to set up had SNOW in the main picture on the mls... wow, we haven't had snow for at least a month now!

When I was calling the agents, I nicely mentioned this fact, and that it might be in thier interest to have a new photo uploaded. Either these 2 agents were(are) too busy, or this was just an oversight... but I figured that it would be better to hear this tip from a fellow agent, and not thier sellers.

I also offered to take a picture of the front of the home for them, and email it to them for thier use.

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Investment Property Specialist

jefllund@grar.com

Grand Rapids, nonprofit officials have plan to put HUD-foreclosed homes back on market

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Thu, 01 May 2008 06:08:30 -0500

Posted by Jim Harger | The Grand Rapids Press April 26, 2008 00:25AM

Categories: Breaking News View larger map | This map shows the location of HUD-foreclosed homes in Grand Rapids last December. Since then, some of the homes may have been sold to private owners and will no longer be available for resale by the city and local non-profit housing developers.

GRAND RAPIDS -- In today's crowded real estate market, the house at 936 McReynolds Ave. NW doesn't show very well.

The front porch could use some TLC. There are holes in the plaster and the addition out back is rough, with its plywood flooring and broken storm door. Graffiti scars the garage door.

The 123-year-old house, which hasn't seen a nibble from buyers in more than six months, has company. Next door, there's a boarded-up duplex. Across the street and a few doors down are two other vacant victims of the foreclosure epidemic.

City officials and nonprofit housing developers have a rescue plan for this and about 125 other houses that have been foreclosed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The plan calls for HUD to sell them to the city for $1 each. The city then would offer the houses to nonprofit developers, such as Lighthouse Communities or the Inner City Christian Federation, to fix up and re-sell at market prices.

"This is a very creative approach to an intractable problem," Mayor George Heartwell said.

Though details of the plan still are being worked out, local HUD officials are on board with it.

"The objective is to stabilize neighborhoods," said Louis Berra, head of the local HUD office.

Berra's office is holding the titles to about 125 homes whose federally backed mortgages went into foreclosure. All of them failed to sell after at least six months on the market.

Selling them to the city and getting them into the hands of non-profit developers is the best way to get families back in them as soon as possible, Berra said.

"We could hold the properties, but that's not going to help the neighborhood, either," he said.

Eric Soucey, a city economic development official, said city leaders want to get the houses back into the marketplace at a price that won't harm the market for other homes in the neighborhood.

"Our goal is to protect the value of the other private properties in the neighborhoods," he said.

Soucey also wants to make sure developers don't cherry-pick the best houses and stick the city with the worst ones. The houses will be divided into four categories and developers will be required to take from each, he said.

While some of the $1 homes will generate a profit for the developers, other homes in poor condition will require significant investment before they can be sold.

David Allen, executive director of Lighthouse Communities, said his agency is willing to take between 50 to 100 of the houses. He wants to get them into the hands of families who have lost their previous homes to foreclosure.

Allen hopes to develop a lease-to-purchase program that will allow the families to live in the homes for up to three years while they restore their credit.

ICCF President Jonathan Bradford said his group can repair up to 10 houses a month and get them into the hands of low-to-moderate income families. ICCF may not completely remodel the homes, but they will install high-efficiency furnaces and make certain all parts of the home are in good condition, he said.

Bradford said the opportunity to acquire and fix up the foreclosed homes is a risk worth taking to protect the $13 million the ICCF already has invested in the city's housing.

"This is pretty big stuff," he said. "It requires a certain amount of guts on the city's part to be responsible for this amount of houses.

"It also requires a certain amount of optimism and fortitude on the part of the non-profits," he said. "But if you look at the alternatives, you just have to do it."

Grand Rapids Northwest 4 Bedroom Home

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 12:01:20 -0500

Just Listed- great 4 bedroom 2 bath home with appliances included! All of the interior has been remodeled, and included new windows on the outside.

Jeff Lund | Five Star Real Estate | 616-540-0044

1069 Bridge NW, Grand Rapids, MI

Grand Rapids Northwest 2 story accross from Lincoln Park! Appliances included, 4 bedrooms, immediate possession.

4 Bdrm Single Family House

offered at $89,900

Year Built	1904
Sq Footage	1,734
Bedrooms	4
Bathrooms	2 full, 0 partial
Floors	2
Parking	2 Car garage
Lot Size	3,800 sqft
HOA/Maint	$0 per month

DESCRIPTION

Move right into this remodeled 2 story that offers new windows, cabinets, flooring, light and plumbing fixtures, screened in porch, balcony from bedroom upstairs, garage, Upper Bath with Claw-Foot Tub, located on bus route, and more!

see additional photos below

PROPERTY FEATURES

Central heat	High/Vaulted ceiling	Walk-in closet
Living room	Dining room	Dishwasher
Refrigerator	Stove/Oven	Microwave
Basement	Laundry area - inside	Balcony, Deck, or Patio
Yard

COMMUNITY FEATURES

Garage parking

Storage space(s)

OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES

Main Floor Utility, balcony from Second Floor offers great view of Lincoln Park!

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Seller contact info:

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

616-540-0044

For sale by agent/broker

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: Apr 28, 2008, 7:48am PDT

Copper Pipe Theft- I just Got Robbed Last Night! Part 2- Arrest Made!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 14:47:38 -0500

Today I got a call from the detective handling the recent break-in of our rehab property... they made an arrest!

It seems that the copper thieves had been found to rob over 75 (that are known) properties in the Northwest Grand Rapids Area!

The bad news... there will be a slim chance of receiving any monetary compaensation, and I will never get back my charger/radio from these bad guys.

If the police are asking me if I have any other vacant homes in the area, that leads me to believe that this is just the tip of the iceberg that's happening.

Tip of the day: If you have a vacant house that has not been broken into, odds are that you are next... diminish all of the 'flags' that you can: cover easy viewing windows, turn on interior lights on at night, have exterior lighting, remove the newspapers piled up, etc.

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Hard work? Don't forget your loved ones!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 19:59:19 -0500

Just a quick reminder... no matter how hard you work, how many hours you may have to put into the week... don't forget to have a nice dinner with your loved one(s).

After a long week, my wife reminded me of what's really important over dinner tonight... spending time with her and the children. It seems that the children are growing up too fast, and sometimes I need to remember the big picture... why I work so hard in the first place: being able to enjoy time with my family.

Sometimes we prioritize other 'things' over the family, and in the end, what's it all about?

I guess I'm reflecting a bit on my life tonight, but I constantly remind myself this saying:

'A happy wife is a happy life'.

Jeff Lund

Reduce your costs on trash disposal during your next renovation!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 06:05:22 -0500

When I start remodeling either a flip or rental, I call up my favorite scrapper to come over and pick up what he feels he can scrap out (metals, mostly).

Since the cost at the dump is determined by the weight, I can save some valuable dollars by reducing the amount that I am bringing to the landfill. He takes the scrap to the recyclers to get a few extra bucks, and it turns out to be a win-win situation.

I also look a reusing or donating items like sinks and cabinets to centers that will help others out by reselling them. I can claim donations, and lessens the amount of items in the landfill once again.

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Investment Property Specialist

Copper pipe theft- I just got robbed last night!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:14:27 -0500

Here's a blog that came too close to home last night... a rehab home we've been working on just got the water meter installed on Monday, and my worker called me this morning to tell me that a copper thief had broken into the home last night, trashing the back door, and searching for copper pipe.

Lesson to be learned: I had my plumber install plastic pipe (called Pex) throughout the house, instead of copper, and all they could take was the 4 feet of copper pipe connecting the pex to the water heater. Unfortunately, they damaged the new water heater, which will need to be replaced, and stole my 2 month-old jobsite radio/battery charger. Good news, they couldn't take all of the plumbing, (we usually use copper throughout) and they left other tools unharmed. Bad news, a new water heater, door, and radio are needed.

I have heard of horror stories about copper theft... and they are out there. Pex is more expensive sometimes, but it ended up saving me loads of time, money, and grief. Now, I'm sold on it. Forget the copper.

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Investment Property Specialist

jefflund@grar.com

New blog post- Technorati

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 12:31:28 -0500

Technorati Profile

Hello Everyone,

Here's a tch question for you:

I just joined www.technorati.com, which is supposed to enhance your blog postings... anyone had any experience whith that site? Have you found it helps? If so, how, and where do you find results? We are all looking for any way to have your blog found by buyers and sellers out there, so any feedback would b greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance,

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Investment Property Specialist

Technorati Profile

Ramp up your spring open house!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 07:28:37 -0500

Ah, spring is here, (at least on the calender) and that means holding open houses more than any other time of the year. Although we hold open houses sometimes to appease the seller, we also hold them to attract buyers. In this regard, here is a marketing tip that can help you capture more buyers:

In addition to having printed open house flyers, mortgage sheets and surveys etc., why not have them on a cd?

I've used this method for years, and I've found that buyers will take this home with them and look again at your property to familiarize themselves with that home, since they probably went through many that day.

Things to include are: the aboove mentioned items (please include links to your website and blog), any photos that you might have, virtual tour, seller's disclosure or any other documents, marketing materials for yourself and tips on buying a home. Be creative, and place them on a regular cd or mini cd in a format that most people can open (I like to use PDF formats).

Make a label on the front with a picture of the home and address, along with your website and email address.

Hope this helps,

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Keep your kids' names and ages off of your profiles for safety

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:51:31 -0500

Here's a post that my webmaster mentioned to me the other day, and I thought I'd pass it on.

On our company website www.fivestarmichigan.com, I had mentioned on my profile page that I had 2 children, and, as a proud father, I listed their ages and names.

Our web guru told me that this is a security issue, as mentioning names and ages make it even more easy for someone to go to their school and pick them up, posing as someone who was authorized to do so. I'm not too much of a paranoid person, or it might be that I just don't think those risks as much as I should, but I don't want to make it any easier on those krazy people out there.

I now have the names and ages off that site.

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Income Property Investment Specialist

jefflund@grar.com

Making a difference with a photo- wide angle lens shots

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:15:13 -0500

When I'm taking photos of a property, I use a wide angle lens on my digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera... it really makes a difference on what the interior rooms portray on the property.

True, a digital SLR costs more money to purchase than a regular point-and-shoot digital camera, and the special lens (wide angle) can cost almost as much as the camera body itself. I would suggest a lens with 20mm or less (on the low end) for a nice photo.

Give it a try! If you don't have the resources to upgrade your current camera, ask around the office and see if you can borrow one for your next photo shoot... see the difference!

Jeff Lund

Five Star Real Estate

Investment Property specialist

Finding Your Tenant that has Skipped Out for 28 cents!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 07:41:52 -0600

Have you ever had a tenant that has just left you holding the bag? How about leaving no forwarding address?

Here's an idea:

When you have the unit cleaned out, 99% of the time tenants will leave pennies or other coins on the floor from the move (I probably average 28 cents), have your cleaning people place the money in a sealed envelope, and give it to you.

Then, call the emergency contact person on the application, and let them know that you are trying to reach your past tenant because you have an 'undisclosed amount of money' that your cleaning crew has found. (I really wouldn't know, as it is a sealed envelope)

You will find that your previous tenant will be very motivated to contact you very soon, and tell them that you will be happy to drop off the money, and if you could get thier adddress, since you don't want to mail money.

Once you see them at the door, hand them the envelope and walk away. You now have their address to mail/serve money judgements for any damages or outstanding bills.

Give it a try,

Jeff Lund

Allowing Cats in your Apartment

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 07:25:46 -0600

If you decide to allow cats in one of your rentals, you may want to require the prospective tenant to prove that the cat is fixed, and also de-clawed. To take it one step further, require that they prove (in writing) that these procedures have been performed on that pet.

I do allow pets in some of my units, as it sometimes is easier to get them rented out, but you'll want to check with the current landlord as to the condition of the condition of the unit, and any impact the cat has made.

I also let the tenant know that I will be performing at least a quarterly visual inspection on the unit, because of the pet, as well as having a pet agreement.

Grand Rapids Rental Property Owners Association holding Conference and Expo

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:22:35 -0600

ACCELERATING REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT & LANDLORDING TO THE MAXIMUM

This is the theme of the 2008 RPOA-REI Annual Conference & Expo that will be held on Saturday, February 23, 2008 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. at DeVos Place. National Guest Speakers include: Don DeRosa (Buying Foreclosures Specialist), Larry Goins (Wholesaling Wizard), and Marko Rubel (Finding Motivated Buyers & Sellers). Other presentations will include: Exit Strategies Using 1031 Exchanges; Padding Your Pocket with Extra Cash Now; Marketing & Screening to Find Paying Tenants; and more. Plus, over 30 local business exhibitors. Please click here to learn more.

Save the tub, and money!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 12:11:37 -0600

Many of you recieve questions from clients as to if they should swap out thier pepto-bismol pink colored tub before they sell.

Tub reglazing is a great alternative which will save time and money. Usually in 1 day, workers can come in and prepare the existing tub, prime, and spray a new coat that looks very nice and almost like new.

We all know that kitchen and baths are a great place to spend money on updates, and this sometimes works to completely change a look in a bathroom.

In the re-hab side, I just had a claw foot tub reglazed, and it looks great! For a few hundred dollars, it might be a good technique to consider.

Grand Rapids Michigan Foreclosure/short sales start off year at nearly 50% of all sales.

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 09:18:31 -0600

Recent statistics from the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors are reflecting a change in the marketplace in regards to forclosures and short sale closings.

The 2007 year began with January's percentage of sales that involved a short sale or REO/forclosure documents were 14.85%. In December, the region closed out the year at 40.23%

As of January 2008 (today), the percentage has increased to 48.94%.

The current trend has increased each month, in 2007, except for the months of April and May.

Now more than ever, undertanding the market and educating the sellers will be critical during your listing presentation for getting thier home priced accurately.

Source-Grand Rapids Association of Realtors

tenants too noisy?

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 06:27:45 -0600

This blog is intended to find out what a landlord does to combat/deter tenants that play music too loud, or in the middle of the night, disturbing other tenants in the building, or nieghbors.

Other than having terms placed in the lease, I was curious on what others did in the form of actual actions and procedures when the complaints come in...

Please give me your thoughts: how many warnings do you give them? When do you give them something in writing? What is your tolerance level?

Let's make this blog a true interactive post, in order for everyone to learn some helpful tips!

Thank you in advance for your participation,

Jeff Lund

For easy cleanup of an apartment- don't paint- erase it by magic!

Jeff Lund-Income Property Specialist-Five Star Real Estate — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 16:34:19 -0600

I have found that when one of my units become vacant, there are usually some marks left on the walls from moving, or other reasons. I look to see the need for painting first, but I then look to try a less expensive alternative... Mr. Clean's Magic Erasers. You can go to thier website and recieve coupons and other offers on thier products.

I use them on lots of different items around the household unit; walls, stoves(better than oven cleaner), refrigerators, doors, and more!

The erasers sometimes remove paint on the wall, also, so be careful. It's well worth a try before you spend hours and paint on a touch up.

I also carry some in my truck for open house use, if I see a mark on the wall that really stands out.

Jeff