Best Deals in Grand Rapids, MI... September 26, 2008

Everyone wants to know the Best Deals... Well, here you are!  Check back weekly for the latest deals and steals in West Michigan.  If you have any questions regarding these homes or any other ones, please call me at (616) 318-6101. Check my website at www.seegrhomes.com for the lastest updated version of the week!

 

ADDRESS	PRICE	SQ. FT	BED/BATH
1021 Butterworth Street SW	$34,000.00	1399	4/1
1564 Quarry Ave NW	$36,000.00	1445	3/2
321 Page Street NE	$47,790.00	2001	3/1.5
1039 Sheridan Ave SW	$60,000.00	1700	4/2
623 Layfayette Ave SE	$62,000.00	2315	4/3
1339 Anderson Pl NW	$70,000.00	1012	3/1.5

Real Estate Survival Guide

There are so many sites and so many places to look when trying to decide whether or not to buy or sell.  I've done some of the work for you and am providing a great link, that I think you'll love.  This one is called the REAL ESTATE SURVIVAL GUIDE. 

Get your Real Estate Survival Guide Information online and through this site.  Some really great videos and information to get you started.  My action plans to finish the job whether or not you are buying or selling!!

http://www.frontdoor.com/news/article/2127?nl=FD_v034_3

 

The Real Estate Perspective

 I had an interesting phone call from a lady I meant a little while ago.  She was discussing her home (normal conversation) and just before we get ready to say goodbye she makes a comment that just hit me.   She was trying to compliment me, but I was awestruck .  

The comment was something along this line.  "Tammy, I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you for losing all that weight.  It's tough when us females get older and you have done so well."  To which I reply, "Thank you and yes, I know" or something along those lines.

Honestly, at that point my mind was racing.  I'm trying to figure out exactly what she's talking about.  Remember, I met her only once and it was this year.  No, I haven't lost that much weight.  In fact, even though I'm not obese, I probably weigh more than I ever have.  (I just wear the right clothes to hide that fact!) 

Ding, ding, ding.  Oh yeah, the light bulb is going off now.  I gave her an old business card that I thought was fantastic but looking closely at it with it's pose, I guess she could assume that I was much "bigger" at that time.  Funny, how my perspective was that it was great and she saw something else.

iSN'T THAT HOW PERSPECTIVE WORKS ANYWAY?

 We can see things one way and someone else can see them from a totally opposite viewpoint to which none is the wiser.  Which bring me to the real estate market.  There is a lot of people doing a lot of complaining about the market (consumers, mortgage people, realtors) and oh yeah, there is me!  I was so falling into the trap of DOOM and GLOOM that I could hardly stand myself.  I know that people around me felt it too.

CAR CRASHES

 Maybe you've experienced some rough weeks.  Last week, was by far one of the toughest.  Looking back now that it's over, it's no big deal but at the time, it sucked!  If any of you follow me on facebook, you would know that I've been looking for a used car.  I had some bad luck where the back end of my car was hit by another car.  (I had the blinking yellow, they had the blinking red).  Regardless, it did so much damage to the car that it was totaled and I was looking for another car.  (BTW, everyone was fine which is a blessing!)  That was on Thursday.

On Monday, after bringing my husband to work so that I could use the minivan (5:30 a.m. is very early in the morning J), I go to some appointments, take some pictures of a new house I just listed and head back into town on 131N to pick up hubby from work.  Going 70 mph, I blow out the back tire of the minivan on the expressway.  Again, I'm fine but my main car wasn't.  Had a really nice trucker help me put on the spare and off I go again.

Tuesday, I try to register my daughter at a new school and find out that they don't have all the forms that they need including birth certificates, report cards etc... and by the way, it all has to be in by tomorrow which is the day that the only car is going to get new tires and a thorough inspection.  I'm calmly trying to get everyone to work together but I'm running into so many roadblocks.  Everything I touched last week was blocked... it seriously was like beating my head against a brick wall.  Oh yeah, to top it all off... my dog ran away too.  Life sucked!  I seriously was doing a lot of complaining about everything and then let me just give you my thoughts on the real estate market.  As you can guess, I had my opinion about everything and nothing was good!

FUNNY HOW LIFE CAN CHANGE YOUR PERSPECTIVE

So, why am I telling you about my crappy week.  

It's not so you feel sorry for me.  Believe me I already did that!  This week: Perspective has changed.  ENOUGH!  The market IS WHAT IT IS and all of us just have to adjust.  At least that's the way, I see it.  While I saw DOOM and GLOOM based on my circumstances, others see OPPORTUNITY.  The opportunity is there for those who want to take advantage of it.  I have never seen homes go this cheap!  Many investors are buying the homes, renting them out, and waiting to sell.  It's working for them and it could work for you!  

Sellers... I promise not to lie to you.  It's tough out there BUT homes are still selling.  Call me and I'll tell you what we need to do to get the home sold.  The real estate market is a cycle and it's all about your timing and what's right for you.  Having the right facts and perspective will help you sell your home.  It will get done, I promise!

Business Review and Green Realtors -Yup, I'm One of Them!

  Lately, I had the priviledge of being interviewed in the Business Review.  It's a little bit intimidating especially since you don't know exactly what or how your words were interpreted, but it came out pretty well.  I, of course, kept a copy of the newsprint for my records which contained my pretty little picture but thought you might want to read the online version (which doesn't have my pretty little picture but one of Kari Bliss, a great REALTOR for Bazzani that is also a GREEN REALTOR.)  Oh well, still a good article that I think you should read but of course, I would think that since it was a write up about me, right?  :)

Here's what you need to know. 

 Besides the normal continuing education courses that REALTORS are required to take, many of us do far more and are continuously being educated about the latest practices, legal actions, and other business parts that we want to specialize in.  Being a specialist with Green hasn't been an easy road as there is no set manual or to do list.  There are courses that would be smart to take and I'm in the process of doing that with my busy schedule but again, it's like going back to school.  Oh yeah, going back to school as a builder (wait a minute, I thought I was a REALTOR?) and knowing all the specifics in building.  The LEED designation is a difficult designation to get and has been compared to passing the bar exam as a lawyer.  So, you guessed it... I have my work cut out for me.  Wish me luck!

Here's the link for you to peruse: http://www.mlive.com/businessreview/western/index.ssf/2008/08/realtors_doing_their_homework.html