randy ostrander: Life in a Snow Globe - 04/03/11 07:59 PM
This morning I was doing my morning ritual of coffee and Active Rain and enjoyed a beautiful pic in a Speechless Sunday post by Larry Brewer. It was a stunning picture of the golf course at the Augusta National. As I was reading I noticed outside the robins playing in my yard. I was thinking how great it was that spring was finally here.....enter Mother Nature. Less than an hour later we had two inches of snow and were under a winter weather advisory for whiteout conditions. This is what Life in a Snow Globe is like. We are not in Alaska, … (6 comments)

randy ostrander: YES...I Work Weekends!!! - 04/03/11 10:09 AM
Some things just don't make sense to me. Like when I hear downtown retail owners complain about lack of business and then close up shop at 5pm when everyone is getting out of work. Same in real estate. Why would you not work when everyone is out looking for properties? I get the whole 'need a day to myself" thing but you wouldn't sell umbrella's on a sunny day so why would you take the days off when people are most apt to be looking. In all honesty, I would say that 15 of my sales last year picked me because … (82 comments)

randy ostrander: US Goverment Finally Fixes the Housing Crisis!! - 04/01/11 08:37 AM
Of course it's an April Fools prank. They are still painfully pretending to be experts and creating new road blocks daily. lol. Have a great day and watch out for pranksters.

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randy ostrander: Altercare After Hours - 03/16/11 09:40 AM
This month's Business After Hours will be at Altercare on West Avenue. Every month the local Chamber of Commerce holds these events and they are perfect places for local businesses to network and learn more about what each other have to offer. This month Altercare of Big Rapids will be the host and will be spot lighted. This event will be on St. Patty's day so wear your green and come check one out. If your company is not already a member of the chamber let me know and I will make sure you get the info on becoming a member … (5 comments)

randy ostrander: Rise and Shine Paris, MI - 03/16/11 09:26 AM
Every month the Mecosta County Area Chamber of Commerce host a Rise and Shine Event for their members to recognize and celebrate an area business. This month we will be visiting the Paris Antique Shop located right on Northand Dr across from the Paris Fish Hatchery. March 24th at 7:30 Am we will get to take a peek at all of the new old stuff and hear a little info about the business and it's owner. See you there!
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randy ostrander: Nothing Says Springtime like a Nice Big Pothole. - 03/14/11 12:28 PM

Spring is in the air and with the singing birds and the warm temps we are entering Pothole Season. This year we should have a bumper crop with the budget cuts all but depleting road commission resources. Some potholes must have radar the way they seek out new tires and chew them up while they are on the way through. I have spoken to a few road crews who are really worried this will be a hard year and with funds low we need to be on the lookout and avoid if possible. Alaways try and report bad ones to … (5 comments)

randy ostrander: Time For a Change Almost Everywhere. - 03/13/11 09:34 AM

Today is the day we get to run through our list of clocks turning them ahead for Daylight Savings Time. I always am amused that even though I do it twice a year, I still sit in my vehicle for a few minutes trying to remember how I did it last time. Today I read a post by Gail Harris that mentioned Arizona NOT changing their clocks, which left me with way too many questions for a Sunday morning. For instance...California is an hour behind Arizona but for six months out of a year they are the same time? I looked … (3 comments)

randy ostrander: The Realities of a Foreclosure - 03/13/11 09:12 AM
Seems today, every phone call from a buyer is looking for foreclosures. They are everywhere so it isn't hard finding them a few to look at. Do you ever think about the dream that ended when the previous owners lost the house we are showing? When you go into a room that some little one was so excited to have their first room and being able to make their own only to have it snatched away? Seems everyone is so caught up in the low prices of a foreclosure, they don't always think about the family that lost the home we are looking at. I know … (5 comments)

randy ostrander: Learn From the Burn. I've been Yahoo'd. - 03/02/11 04:03 PM

We all have several email boxes that we use. I use Yahoo for larger files and most of my everyday mail as I can access it no matter where I am. A couple months ago my pc was running pretty slow and when I went into my Yahoo mail it said I had 0 sent files. Of course I had 5 years worth of files on there but it showed zero. I emailed Yahoo who think I probably deleted them accidentally. Ok...there is no delete "all" button on Yahoo so I would have had to hit delete over a thousand … (8 comments)

randy ostrander: Rise and Shine at MCMC in Big Rapids - 02/23/11 06:17 PM
One of the benefits of belonging to the Mecosta County Area Chamber of Commerce is the networking opportunities. Each month they host both a Business Rise and Shine and Business After Hours. These are great time to get together with other area businesses outside of your normal business setting. This month we will be visiting the Mecosta County Medical Center Auxiliary in the lobby of the MCMC. Besides the networking opportunities it gives us a chance to learn about area businesses and this month we get to see and hear about the inner workings of the Auxiliary. Besides the Gift Shop … (4 comments)

randy ostrander: Mongoose on a Mission! - 02/23/11 03:59 PM
When I first heard about Stefan Swanepoel's new book "Surviving Your Serengeti", I thought it would be yet another way to relieve me of my money but after checking out the first couple chapters I realized not only was I wrong but I had to buy the book. There are many ways to teach most any subject and until you hit the method that stirs you it will be tough learning. I immediately knew this was going to be good as I have always thought about the similarities between man and beast. Active Rain has a knack for getting us fresh … (6 comments)

randy ostrander: Big Rapids Welcomes Dr Zeilinger! - 02/23/11 07:48 AM
February 22, 2011 we had another ribbon cutting here in Big Rapids as the Mecosta County Area Chamber of Commerce welcomed Dr Zeilinger to his new office. Located at 123 Warren, they are easily accessible from most anywhere in town. Dr Zeilinger is a Chiropractor who offers a full-service chiropractic clinic and specialize in personal, hands on care for your every need. He is certified in 7 different techniques and offers a massage therapy service in addition to his chiropractic services to provide complete care. Whether you are suffering from lower back pain and seek relief or you need a routine adjustment Dr Zeilinger is … (1 comments)

randy ostrander: House VS Health Insurance - 02/15/11 09:37 PM
Recently we received a letter from our health insurance carrier that due to the Obama Care our health insurance would be going through a few minor changes. First, of course, price went up. I know if wasn't supposed to happen but it did. Next we went from zero deductible to $750 per person deductible. Next we went from no out of pocket to 80/20 at best. All of theses changes (Thank you Mr. President) forced us to look at other plans. To get even close to the coverage we had before the White House helped the working public out we would be paying … (6 comments)

randy ostrander: Big Rapids Homes - 02/03/11 08:51 AM
Lake and Lodge Realty has launched a new website for people looking for Big Rapids Homes. The domain name can make all the difference in SEO for a website so I almost freaked when I noticed www.bigrapidshomes.comwas about to expire. I contacted the company that had it and sure enough they were letting it go back. After a few minutes we negotiated and the domain name was mine. There is a lesson here. A few years ago domain names were big business so companies went out and bought them all up but with the economy the way it is they are … (2 comments)

randy ostrander: Alltel's New HTC Wildfire - 01/30/11 05:18 PM
I have been mulling over the idea of joining the Android users but have been waiting for Alltel to bring us the Droid. I noticed we now are offered an HTC Wildfire which has Android capabilities. Anyone out there have any feedback before I jump in and can't get back? My local Alltel rep told me how great the Quantico was and I am not remotely happy with it so their credibility has dropped a bit but I still have faith in the rain so let me have it...good, bad and the ugly.
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randy ostrander: Moving Pains....from PC to PC. - 01/30/11 04:47 PM
I honestly think I had less issues changinghomes than when I decided to upgrade my PC. At least I picked one with the same operating system but all the little programs we don't think about stop working. Usually because the passwords were left behind. Not a hard fix but a time consumer. The worse part is it sneaks up on you. You think your are set and then you go to answer an email and ...oh yeah, all my emails are over there. Photoshop...gone. Excel....gone. Makes me wonder if it wouldn't have been easier to upgrade my memory and add a hard … (6 comments)

randy ostrander: So your lender is friends with the seller? - 01/28/11 03:33 PM
Everyone in real estate knows we have to spread our sphere of influence as far reaching as we can but sometimes it creates conflicts of interest for us. Recently I had a buyer working with a lender that was a referral by a cousin. After inspection the home required a few repairs and the lender calls our client and says she knows the sellers won't pay for repairs. Odd...so I called the lender direct so nothing was lost in translation. Turns out the lender is quite close with the seller and when the seller was at the lenders house for dinner … (7 comments)

randy ostrander: 200,000 Points and Lovin it! - 01/25/11 07:40 PM
With this post I will have hit the 200,000 points here on the Rain and I am more lovin it than ever. I have learned so much by just daily reading the posts. It is now part of my morning ritual but I have learned you really need to check back throughout the day as there are just so many good posts you are sure to miss one. I remember early on thinking re-bloggers were just too lazy to write their own but now I really appreciate someone bringing back a good post I have missed. Thanks to everyone who has … (11 comments)

randy ostrander: Business After Hours at Michigan College of Optometry - 01/19/11 10:49 AM
This month the Mecosta County Area Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours will be held at Ferris State University's Michigan College of Optometry. This will give our members a chance to see what $27 Million looks like from the inside. Using state of the art technology and the public having access make this a great addition to Ferris. The Michigan College of Optometry (MCO) at Ferris State University belongs to a group of only 20 schools and colleges of optometry in the United States and is the only college of optometry in the state of Michigan. The Business After Hours event … (1 comments)

randy ostrander: Putting Agent Contact Info in Public Remarks - 01/16/11 08:53 PM
Our small Board of Realtors in it's infinite wisdom joined a large MLS site called SWMRIC, which was going to allow our agents access to the listings for most of the Western half of the Lower Peninsula here in Michigan. Sounds great on the surface but one minor detail. While all of these Boards have shared access to listings they still have their own rules. In our Board we do not allow Agent Contact info in the public remarks section of the listing but in a few of the Southern Boards it is fine. So if I send my client a listing sheet from their … (4 comments)

 
Greenrandy Rainmaker_large

Randy Ostrander-Real Estate Broker, Serving Big Rapids and West Central MI

Big Rapids, MI

More about me…

Lake and Lodge Realty LLC

Address: 107 N. Michigan Suite B, Big Rapids, MI, 49307

Office Phone: (231) 796-5253

Cell Phone: (231) 250-9802

Email Me

<!---- start copying here ----->Author Bio: Randy Ostrander, Broker/Owner of Lake and Lodge Realty in Big Rapids, MI covers all of West Central Michigan. He does work weekends so he can be there wheneve you are ready to handle all of your real estate needs. <!-- insert your own bio between the <p> tags ---->


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