We had a major headline this week that put appraisers on the defensive. Well some of them...because they felt a bit exposed. Michigan hit another dubious milestone as the 5th worst state for appraiser fraud. Let me see....if you have mortgage fraud do you think someone else in the food chain ha
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08/23/2008
Dower Rights, would you like to give up your claim to Dower Rights? Some states like Michigan have Dower Rights others have Curtsy rights and some have both. This week I had an agent make a unique request. The agent wanted a release form for Dower Rights. I said are you sure you want that fo
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08/23/2008
The Internet has given may buyers and sellers the thought that they can buy and sell without a Realtor. Well the truth is they can....the other truth is they also take on all the liability for the paperwork, proper disclosures, negotiating the sale and purchase price and any errors and omissions
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08/23/2008
This week we reached out to our old neighbors in Melbourne Florida to see how they faired with the recent hurricane rainfall. We lived through 3 hurricanes in a five year period while living there. Our single day rain total was 10" while we were there, this last storm dumped 22" in less than 24
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08/23/2008
Choosing the right Realtor® Does experience matter when choosing a Realtor? National statistics tell us a different consumer story. Consumers look at very few things about the Realtor® they choose to represent them when going through the selection process. They, sellers and buyers, look at physi
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08/22/2008
The number one mistake made by sellers is pricing their homes to high for the market. This is the number one mistake by FSBO sellers too. Everyone including me thinks our home is worth what we paid for the home and then look at all the things we have added. The truth is in Michigan in our marke
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08/22/2008
Effective advertising is always a challenge unless you know where and how to generate buyer leads. I see many agents using newspapers with small one line recurring ads. This may help the agent generate a specific type of prospect but it may not help his overall business as effectively as other
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08/20/2008
I was just watching a update on the woes of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae...the losses they are sustaining and all you can say is....it is going to get worse before it gets better. Anyway that is the way it looks and the stock market, housing market and GNP are all going to take hits. I looked at i
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08/20/2008
I have been getting a calls for my car warranty, I get a fog horn and some captain says welcome aboard to your new car and boat insurance. My in-laws are getting calls from a life insurance company. A few years ago they filled out a post card for more information for supplemental insurance to t
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08/16/2008
Here is something that most never consider other than noise issues when purchasing a home in a flight path of an airport. Here in Grand Rapids, Michigan we have an international airport. The Michigan Department of Transportation handles the rules and guidelines for airports here in Michigan. Ho
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08/16/2008
