Realtor, Author & Neighbor: Battle Creek, Michigan

I have sold many foreclosures in my market area of Battle Creek Michigan in the past several years.  There are some common myths or ‘misconceptions' new home buyers seem to have about the process of buying such a home.  There tends to be a rumor line riddled with some false information that circu...

When you find murals and other kinds of wall paintings inside a home, are they a creative appealing enhancement of a home or a decorating faux pas?  I have taken some photos recently of some very creative wall murals inside some foreclosed homes that look like they took quite some time to create....

I came across this sign while looking at a house for a client.  The homeowners have seven acres close just a little North of downtown Battle Creek, and they of course have a hen house where they sell eggs.  I unfortunately did not have time to inquire if I could buy some eggs when I visited, as I...

If you are interested in buying a foreclosed home in the Battle Creek area, there are certain points about the negotiating process you should become familiar with.  Despite the importance of being organized, as I have stressed in my other blog posts, such as this one on 'Basic Steps to Buying a F...

I recently attended my first Kalamazoo Wings Hockey game at Wings Stadium.  Being a fan of active team sports, and enjoying making a good video now and then, I took my camera with me to the game and put together a video which you can see below.  The Kalamazoo Wings (known locally as the K-Wings) ...

On the evening of Sunday, February 20th, 2011 my wife and I had several guests over for dinner.  She cooked a magnificent meal, and we had some great conversation with our guests.  In fact, one of our guests is an ex-NFL player who played with the Dallas Cowboys in the mid 90's, and he was tellin...

Tonight I am without power at home from an ice storm that hit Southwest Michigan last night.  I am currently working out of my Real Estate brokerage office, as opposed to my home office due to the outage.  I have lived in Michigan 10 years+ now, and consider it fortunate that this is the first ti...

Whenever you are in the market to buy a foreclosed home, whether it is for your own personal use or as an investment property, you should be prepared for the eventuality of possibly being in a multiple offer situation.  What is a ‘Multiple Offer Situation'?  It is where there is more that one buy...

There are a lot of aspects to negotiating a foreclosure sale.  When one is looking to acquire a foreclosure, one must first come to realize that the seller is an unemotional entity that you are dealing with.  Foreclosures are held by Banks, Credit Unions and Mortgage companies.  They seized the p...

I took this photo last week before the weather warmed up and finally melted all the snow.  I kind of thought this was an interesting set of monuments on this ladies front yard.  It kind of reminded me of Sancho Panza in the story of Don Quixote.  I thought I would pass this along to share with my...