This beautiful ranch home features an open floor plan in a country setting. The main floor includes a living room, dining area, and kitchen under a cathedral ceiling. Master suite includes a full bath and walk-in closet. Two bedrooms and another full bath are located on the opposite end of the home from the master suite. There are lots of closets for storage, and main floor laundry.

The home sits on an unfinished walk-out basement, and is pre-plumbed for a future bathroom. A built in egress window allows for a future basement bedroom.With 1344 square feet of finishable basement space, this could become a 2600+ sqft home with 4 beds, 3 baths, and added living areas.

The exterior is maintenance free vinyl, and since everything is new, you don't need to fear having to replace the roof or furnace. Many of the home's products are still covered by manufacturer's warranties.

The two car attached garage includes an electric opener. Relax on the 10x12 deck and enjoy watching birds and deer. Lots of trees provide privacy. The deck has a retractable awning to provide shade on a summer day. The home sits on over 3 1/2 acres of land with lots of trees and a view of the neighboring pond.

Located just a few miles from Pentwater and Silver Lake, this home would make a great year round home or summer vacation getaway. The location is just a couple of mile from US-31, which is on the West Michigan Fall Color Tour circuit. At this new price, this one won't last long. To see more of the home, visit http://www.timwhitehomes.com

I have had several people ask me where they should be spending their time on the internet. This is the first in a series of blogs I am writing to help you get started in the social media world. I am skipping the background of social media, but if you want to know more about it, and how it can bring you business, see my earlier posts.

Below are ten buttons linking to ten different websites that I have built profiles on. Each one of these sites contain links back to my primary website, http://www.timwhitehomes.com. The goal here is to drive traffic to your website! You don't have to spend hours every day on these sites, just take a few minutes to create a profile on each, and you're started.

Here's a tip: Once you create a profile on one site, copy and paste it to a word document. Expand that word document to include your intro, your business history, some personal information (wife, kids, hobbies, etc.), and keep a running tally of your websites. Once you have it done it once, you can then copy and paste your information into the other sites. I do recommend going back later and switching up some stuff here and there, when you have time.

So, for today, click one of the buttons, say hello on my site, then create your own.

You don't have to add content to any of them yet, but if you have the time, do it.

Making the first one should take maybe thirty minutes, tops. After that, you should be able to add the other each in about 5 minutes by copying and pasting. So in a little over an hour, you can have ten more websites pointing back at your website.

Did someone say Search Engine Optimization?

This is designed to be a quick get in there and get some juice going post. We'll build on the other steps later, and explore what types of content will get you better search results.

Let the mushroom hunting begin!

It's official, morels have been spotted in West Michigan.

Don't bother asking where, as a good spot is worth more than gold to the avid mushroom hunter. I will tell you that Oceana County is a good place to start. Western and Northern Michigan is a great place to find these delicious little critters, and we take our mushroom hunting seriously.

A friend of mine here in the office was kind enough to rub it in my face this morning that she found some yesterday.

It's a bit early, but I suspect the big ones will be showing up soon.

You can get more information about morels at http://www.morelmushroom.info/index.html

In the spirit of mushroom hunting season, here's a recipe for the tasty little buggers I found at The Great Morel.

Sautéed Morels with Cream

This is a classic French preparation my husband learned years ago from working in a European cuisine restaurant. He is an Executive Chef trained in many styles of cooking. The ingredients are easy to find except for veal stock which must be made by roasting veal bones for hours, perhaps a good chicken stock could be used instead. Enjoy!

•   15-20 fresh morels or reconstituted dried, cut in half if large
• 1 large shallot chopped fine 
• 1 large clove garlic chopped fine
• 2 TBS butter (best with unsalted)
• 2 TBS olive oil
• 3/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream
• salt & fresh ground pepper to taste

Put olive oil in heated pan over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots, stir and sauté until softened but not brown. Add butter until melted then add morels. Stir and cook until mushrooms start to brown, about 4 min. Add chicken stock and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add cream and cook on low until reduced and thickened. Classically served on toast, but the best on grilled New York Strip steaks.

I am a Marine who served in Iraq. I led a Marine company level intelligence cell in western Fallujah. I have seen firsthand the attitudes displayed by insurgents when threatened with the prospect of being interrogated by Coalition Forces. The most common response was laughter.

The insurgents know all too well how limited we are in what we can and cannot do to them, and they use it against us regularly. I remember one particular insurgent that we detained in Al Saqliwiyah.I knew he had information regarding a high value target I had been pursuing. He refused to cooperate, however, and practically begged us to send him to the CF detention facility. He told me that life in American prison was better than life in Al Anbar. He would get more sleep, more food, and better medical care. I would have had better luck using the prison threat as a bribe.

Now let me tell you why I wanted the information this guy had. I had been tracking his nephew for several months. The nephew specialized in recruiting adolescent males as suicide bombers. That January and February, three children detonated themselves outside of Iraqi Police checkpoints in our AO (area of operations). I received a tip that the nephew was back in the area, and the uncle (my detainee) knew where he was. Had I been able to use even some of the techniques Iraqi Police used, I most likely would have got the information. Instead, I was forced to release the detainee, and the nephew left the area shortly thereafter.

About a month later, three more young boys died when they detonated themselves following an attack on a local sheik. The sheik was friendly with coalition forces, and was killed in the attack also.

I've seen a lot of discussion about the latest witch hunt being conducted by liberals in Washington in blogs and on the news. I wonder, though, how much research anyone has really done on the subject. I researched the subject prior deployment, received training in it as we deployed, and learned a lot on the fly as we were pursuing terrorists across Iraq. I think a lot of people are confused as to what is really happening in the world.

The ACLU has issued a call to "Demand Accountability for Torture!" and has published the "torture memos" on their website. They seem to feel that by not pursuing and prosecuting the senior government officials that were in place at the time the memos were published, we (the American people) are in danger of losing our civil liberties.

Read the memos, please. I am certain that you will find the idea of prosecuting the authors as ridiculous as I do. The fact that law enforcement personnel have to request permission, IN WRITING, to slap a detainee is ridiculous. How can you expect our military and intelligence agencies to protect you if you handicap them at every turn?

I do not condone the use of torture. At least not in the sense that most sane people would define torture. Beating people with sticks, burning them with branding irons, breaking their fingers; these are all torture in my mind. I might add being forced to listen to Britney Spears albums to that list.

Anyone in the intelligence field will tell you that physical torture will only lead to bad information, as the subject will say anything to make it stop. But the techniques referenced in the memos are an entirely different matter. These techniques are routinely used on military members undergoing SERE training. Read this excerpt from one of the memos:

"These same techniques, with the exception of the insect in the cramped confined space, have been used and continue to be used on some members of our military personnel during their SERE training. Because of the use of these procedures in training our own military personnel to resist interrogations, you have consulted with various individuals who have extensive experience in the use of these techniques. You have done so in order to ensure that no prolonged mental harm would result from the use of these proposed procedures."

SERE stands for Survival Evasion Resistance Escape. It is training that selected military personnel undergo to learn to resist interrogation efforts. Our government is not condoning any activity or behavior in intelligence gathering that anyone with a military background finds dishonorable.

At the end of the day, THAT's what matters. When the ACLU straps on a flak jacket, goes condition one, and steps out to patrol in a combat zone, then, and ONLY then, will I lend any credence to their opinion of what is right and wrong in warfare.

Dear Mother Nature,

I am writing this letter to you to express my unhappiness with your selection of weather today. I gave two weeks notice that I was planning open houses this weekend for some highly valued clients. You have apparently either missed the notice, or you received the notice, and chose to quite literally rain on my parade anyway.

This is not cool. As I was driving to Grand Rapids this morning, the rain had stopped, and I began to think that maybe, just maybe, you had softened your heart. As I pulled into Avalon Pointe, there was still no precipitation. You seemed to have decided to be kind, and perhaps would allow some favorable weather.

Then, just as I exited my car, and was putting out my sign, you felt the need to release a downpour of rather cold water from the sky. I am now soaked, and will remain so for the duration of this open house. Gee, thanks.

In case you haven't been watching Fox News, "Mother", the real estate market is already plenty full of challenges. There are lots of homes for sale in Grand Rapids, and the prices are low. As a Realtor, I am working harder than ever, and overcoming these challenges one at a time. I do not need you placing additional obstacles in the way of my success.

For future reference, kindly save your inclement weather fits for Wednesdays. That day works for me, and I have no problem with you throwing a meteorological fit on that day. In addition, because I am thoughtful and generous, I would have no objection to you throwing a thunderstorm tantrum between the hours of 9pm and 5am Eastern Standard Time.

Please take this message to heart, and rethink your actions. Should you not, I shall have no further recourse but to begin buying Styrofoam dinnerware, stop recycling plastic, go back to buying AquaNet hairspray loaded with CVC's (despite my rapid hair loss), and attempt to annoy you in general.

Get your act together, and behave accordingly.

Sincerely,

Tim White - Realtor, Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt, Hart, Michigan

First time home buyer activity is on the rise in Oceana County. A significant reason for this is the number of bank owned properties currently for sale in the Hart, Shelby, New Era, and Pentwater areas. Bank owned properties, often referred to as foreclosures, are often sold well below market value, and create unique opportunities for first time home buyers.

I recently had the pleasure of writing an accepted offer for a young engaged couple from Hart, MI. They are getting married this summer, and wanted to start looking for a home now. They have decent credit, but relatively low income, and the majority of what they could afford consisted of manufactured housing, which they hoped to avoid if at all possible.

I sent them to one of my preferred lenders, and had them prequalified. Prequalification is vital when attempting to purchase a bank owned home. Once the lender had them preapproved and through underwriting, and we had established a monthly payment that was affordable and comfortable for them, I began my search in earnest.

I was looking for a home that would meet their needs, and their budget of about $60,000. I ran searches daily, as I knew that when the right one came up, it wouldn't last wrong. I searched for about three weeks, in which time we looked at a handful of bank owned properties. The majority of these properties were going to require too much work to make them livable, so I continued to search.

Last week, I found a listing that was just unbelievable. It was a bank owned property in New Era, listed for $60,000. I was familiar with the home, and the location was perfect for what my buyers were looking for. I made a phone call, and told my clients that we needed to act fast, and see the home that night.

My buyers rearranged their schedules, and we went to see the home. The curb appeal was great. The home was less than ten years old, and was in great shape. The yard was just over an acre, and even had privacy fence built along the neighbor’s property line. This was a three bedroom home with a two car attached garage, and 1300 square feet of clean, well kept living space.

My buyers were instantly excited, and quite frankly, so was I. This was exactly what we had been praying to find, and we immediately submitted a full price offer. Since I already had them preapproved and through underwriting, our offer was solid and attractive. As it turned out, there was another offer made the same day, so we submitted an addendum offering to bump our price by $1100.

Earlier this week, I found out that that little bump sealed the deal. Our offer was accepted, and this previously bank owned home will soon be owned by two wonderful people. When they return from their honeymoon, they'll be coming home to a home that they own. They also qualify for $6110 in federal tax credits under the 2009 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Program. I couldn't be happier for them.

I appreciate my wife, Amy, everyday, but Thursdays, and today in particular, make me appreciate her even more.

Amy has to go out of town on Thursdays, and I inherit the duties of chauferring our three kids around to their never ending stream of after school events. It's a frenzy of non-stop running back and forth.

I would never be able to do all the things I get done in a day if I had to keep up with the kids by myself. One of the greatest reasons I have been successful in my career is because Amy is so supportive. I could never succeed as a realtor if I didn't have Amy in my corner. We're a team, and a pretty darn good one if I do say so myself.

I'm sure all wives feel unappreciated at some point. I know I don't tell Amy often enough how much she means to me, and how I would be lost without her. Well, here it is in writing!

I was working on my websites today, and came across this picture of Amy and me at the Marine Corps Ball last fall. She looked amazing, and a friend captured this shot of us, giggling and laughing like we did when we were teenagers. I love this pic, and I made it my Facebook profile pic for the day.

How much does your significant other impact your ablility to be successful? When was the last time you told him/her how much their support means to you? We have Mother's Day and Father's Day, but we really don't have a Husband/Wife Day. Maybe that's because we should be observing it everyday.

I'm out of time. There's another kid waiting to be picked up or delivered somewhere. On the way, I think I'll stop and pick up something nice to make for dinner, to show my appreciation. What can you do to show your appreciation today? I bet you'll think of something, you're obviously brilliant, as evidenced by the fact that you're reading this!

Have you made a Google Profile page yet? If not, stop what you're doing, and go do it now.

When pushing for SEO (Search Engine Optimization), it is common wisdom that you want to please Google. What better way to please them than by using their products?

What's more, if you fill in your profile information completely, you can be eligible for featured status, and will get first page Google results. I have been working hard to bump my Google search results for the last month or so. Once I completed my profile last night, I was instantly front page.

Google has added their own profile spot to the bottom of the first page, and whoever has the most information updated on the profile gets that spot. Once I completed my profile last night, I was instantly front page.

The profile also makes it easy to link to all your other sites as well.

I was driving east on Ocean Dr. in Hart, Michigan today when I saw this little gem sitting alongside the road. I had my camera with me, like any good realtor should, and I just couldn't resist blogging about it.

Michigan is widely held to be a left leaning, liberal state. So much so, in fact, that Senator McCain's campaign withdrew from the state early during the election runoffs of 2008. John, I think you gave up on us too quickly.

You see, there are strong pockets of conservatism in West Michigan. The recent Tea Parties have sounded a clarion call to the formerly "Silent Majority", and I wouldn't be surprised to see more of these types of displays.

Even if you're a liberal, you have to admit this is pretty clever.

The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) is considering expanding a down-payment assistance program that, when combined with the 2009 $8000 Federal Tax Credit, would provide more than $15,000 in help for first-time home buyers.

The MSHDA program offers down payment assistance up to $7500. Currently, however, your household income must be below $55,000 to be eligible. I've sold many homes with this program in Grand Rapids, but was often unable to help families with incomes that exceeded the limit.

This may be about to change, however. If MSHDA's new plan is approved, MSHDA would raise its limits on the household income for buyers eligible for the $7,500 loan from the current level of $55,000 to more than $100,000. This would open the door to a lot more potential homeowners.

MSHDA Loans are commonly referred to as a "piggy-back" type loan. "Piggy-back" loans are not stand alone mortgage products, but instead can be used in conjunction with other loans. When paired with another mortgage plan, like an FHA loan, for example, buyers can get enhanced benefits in their mortgage choices.

Combining the Federal First Time Homeowner's Tax Credit of up to $8000 with MSHDA's $7500 plan means that homeowners could get more than $15,000 in savings on a new home. The state loans can be used for homes worth up to $224,500.

The MSHDA Loan is different from the $8000 Federal Tax Credit in several ways. It is not a credit, but rather an interest free loan. The loans do not have to be paid back until the home is sold or the mortgage refinanced or paid in full. There are no monthly payments on the loan. Unlike the $8000 Federal Tax Credit, you can use the money at closing, rather than waiting until you file your tax return. The MSHDA loan can be used for closing costs, expenses such as setting up escrow accounts, or down payments.

If you've been thinking about buying a home, but don't think you can afford the down payment, think again. There are loan programs out there, but you have to know about them. Contact your lender for more information about MSHDA/FHA, MSHDA/RD, and other MSHDA combo loans.

Prices are the lowest we've seen in years, and interest rates are at historic lows. 8 out of 10 economists predict that home prices will rise within the next five years. What more reason do you need to consider buying a home today? Contact me or your local real estate professional to find out how you can fulfill your dream of home ownership.

You can get more information about the $8000 Federal Tax Credit here.