Navigation

Open Sunday 2-4PM 10+ Acres and Log Cabin

By on January 16, 2019 in Blog, BUYERS, New Featured Listings, Real Estate Updates, Sellers

WOW! This is the ”real deal” whole log cabin. Move-in-ready with incredible updates including brand new metal roof, new electric, new furnace, new water heater,new kitchen, new garage updated bathrooms and more. Set 10.3 acres with a lush mix of hardwoods and pines this a wonderful setting to call home. With granite counter tops, beautifully finished hardwood floors, large windows that let the natural light pour in, multiple amazing porches – this is a must see! Enjoy being away from it all while only a short drive for everyday amenities such as groceries, shopping, dining, entertainment, golfing, several area lakes for terrific fishing and more.

Click Here for 11770 Linda Lane Details

Golf Course Frontage Lot – now available

By on January 11, 2019 in Blog, BUYERS, New Featured Listings, Real Estate Updates, Sellers

Beautiful site for your new home. This lot offers excellent mix of mature hardwoods, and pines, with a gentle slope toward the access road – the ideal building site. The north end of the property borders golf course frontage on Brookside golf course. Excellent location allows for peace and quiet yet only minutes from several lakes, shopping, dining, and entertainment.

Click Here For More Details On The Linda Lane Lot

11770 Linda Lane – Log Cabin and 10.3 Acre Homestead

By on January 11, 2019 in Blog, BUYERS, New Featured Listings, Sellers

WOW! This is the ”real deal” whole log cabin. Move-in-ready with incredible updates including brand new metal roof, new electric, new furnace, new water heater,new kitchen, new garage updated bathrooms and more. Set 10.3 acres with a lush mix of hardwoods and pines this a wonderful setting to call home. With granite counter tops, beautifully finished hardwood floors, large windows that let the natural light pour in, multiple amazing porches – this is a must see! Enjoy being away from it all while only a short drive for everyday amenities such as groceries, shopping, dining, entertainment, golfing, several area lakes for terrific fishing and more.

Click Here for 11770 Linda Lane Details

Top Renovations to Complete Before You Sell Your House [INFOGRAPHIC]

By on January 9, 2019 in Blog, BUYERS, Real Estate Updates, Sellers

Top Renovations to Complete Before You Sell Your House [INFOGRAPHIC]

Top Renovations to Complete Before You Sell Your House [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Top Renovations to Complete Before You Sell Your House [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • If you are planning on listing your house for sale this year, here are the top four home improvement projects that will net you the most Return on Investment (ROI).
  • Minor bathroom renovations can go a long way toward improving the quality of your everyday life and/or impressing potential buyers.
  • Upgrading your landscaping or curb appeal helps get buyers in the door. These upgrades rank as the 2nd and 4th best renovations for returns on investment.

Curious how this can impact your specific property? Let’s talk:

MESSAGE JOHN

Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates

2810 Coit Ave NE – Riverside Park Area Move In Ready Home – Open Sunday 2-4PM

By on January 3, 2019 in Blog, BUYERS, New Featured Listings, Real Estate Updates, Sellers

Magnificent opportunity to own in the Riverside Park Area. This move-in condition home boasts numerous updates including newer roof, newer furnace, new AC, new siding, new driveway and more – incredible. The main floor with living room and large dining room offer beautiful hardwood floors, spacious kitchen with solid surface counter tops, excellent ”mud room” entry way, and main floor bedroom with on-suite bathroom. Lower level offers finished family room in the basement and office area, yet loads of storage space. Upstairs offers a 2nd full bath, 2 spacious rooms and ample walk-in closet space. Outside is a large fenced in back yard, deep garage, and over-sized driveway offering ample off-street parking. Open House Sunday Jan 6 2019 2-4PM. Offers due Monday Jan 7 2019 by 12noon.

Click here for more information on 2810 Coit Ave NE

4765 Rockvalley Move-in Ready Condo

By on January 3, 2019 in Blog, BUYERS, New Featured Listings, Sellers

Incredible opportunity to move right in and leave your snow shovels and lawn mowers in the past. This Rockhill condo offers many upgrades including over-sized master bedroom with walk-in closet, open floor plan with open kitchen and dining area, living room with cathedral ceilings, a beautiful sun room, 2 full bathrooms, attached garage and more. The view woods out each window offers peaceful scenery and privacy. Easy access to all the everyday amenities such as dining, shopping and entertainment. The superb location is just minutes from Downtown Grand Rapids, Knapp’s Corner, and several major highways.

Need a second bedroom? This condo originally had a main floor bedroom. By adding the wall and door back in, you could have 2 bedrooms again.

Click here for more details on 4765 Rockvalley

Positive Numbers To Wrap Up 2018

By on December 27, 2018 in BUYERS, Real Estate Updates, Sellers

Positive Numbers To Wrap Up 2018

24 Hours that Suddenly Improved the Market | Simplifying The Market

This year started strong for real estate.  Home inventory in the starter and move-up categories dwindled to almost nothing, mortgage rates were projected to rise. The lack of homes on the market caused a fast moving market but fewer sales.  Makes sense right? If you have 300 buyers and 10 homes for sale how many homes will sell? IT’s capped at 10 houses and the other 290 buyers remain ready to buy….

The news media took this information and made a negative spin out of it….making it sound like the market was slow…when in fact it was not a complete picture….

As the numbers rolled in for the last 2 months of the year…things seemed to change. On Wednesday, the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) revealed in their Existing Homes Sales Report that home sales had INCREASED for the second consecutive month. The next day, NAR’s economic research team announced that the percentage of first-time buyers in the market was higher than last month and even higher than a year ago.

So where are we now?

On the heels of NAR’s revelations, Zillow released their November Real Estate Market Report that explained:

“After nearly four years of annual declines in inventory, the number of homes for sale has now increased year-over-year for three straight months…”

Ending 2018, we now know two things:

  1. Listing inventory increased over the last three months
  2. Home sales increased over the last two months

Lack of inventory was the major challenge all along.

But, what about those pesky interest rates?

Last Thursday (the day after all of the above news), Freddie Mac announced that mortgage rates did not increase but instead decreased…again. From their release:

“The response to the recent decline in mortgage rates is already being felt in the housing market. After declining for six consecutive months, existing home sales finally rose in October and November and are essentially at the same level as during the summer months.

This modest rebound in sales indicates that homebuyers are very sensitive to mortgage rate changes – and given the further drop in rates we’ve seen this month, we expect to see a modest rebound in home sales as well.”

Bottom Line

We are headed in 2019 with strong indicators of a good market.

Let’s get together and discuss the best strategy for your next move:

Message John

Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates

How to Save Thousands of Dollars in Interest on Your Mortgage

By on December 27, 2018 in BUYERS, Real Estate Updates, Sellers

How to Save Thousands of Dollars in Interest on Your Mortgage

How to Save Thousands of Dollars in Interest on Your Mortgage | Simplifying The Market

One of the most common loans you can get to buy a home is a 30-year fixed rate mortgage. If the thought of paying for your home over the course of 30-years seems daunting, here are some easy ways to shorten that term which will actually end up saving you money over the life of your loan.

Any additional payments to the principal amount (the original sum of money borrowed in a loan), helps to cut down the amount of interest that you will pay over the life of your loan and can also help to shave years off the loan as well.

When you make ‘extra’ payments toward your loan, the key is to let your lender/bank know that you want the extra funds to go toward your principal balance as they will not automatically do this for you.

You don’t have to double your mortgage payment to make a big difference either!

If you have a 30-year mortgage on a median-priced home ($250,000) with a 5% interest rate, you’ll be responsible for a $1,342.05 monthly principal and interest payment. Over the course of the loan, if you pay your exact monthly payment, you will have paid $233,133.89 in interest alone!

Paying a Little Extra Can Pay Off Big

1. Pay an additional 1/12th of your mortgage payment every month

Benefit: In the example above, adding $111.84 to your monthly mortgage payment might not seem like a lot, but each year you will have paid one extra month’s worth of payments which will shorten the term of your loan by 4 years and 8 months, all while saving you $42,000 in interest!

2. Pay an additional $50 per month towards your mortgage

Benefit: Fifty dollars might not seem like enough to make a difference on the term of your loan, but that small amount will save you over $21,000 in interest and will take over 2 years off the end of your loan. Twenty-eight years from now, you’ll be happy to pay off your loan that much sooner!

3. Make one-time lump sum payments when you can

Benefit: If you find yourself with a little extra money after a yearly bonus, a tax return, or from investment dividends, paying that money towards the principal can cut your costs. This option, however, is less predictable than the extra monthly payments.

If you have higher interest debts, like credit cards, consider using any extra funds you have to pay those debts down before applying that money towards your mortgage. Also, if you do not plan on staying in your home for more than 10 years, paying extra toward your mortgage might not make sense.

Bottom Line

If you’re wondering what strategies would work best for you to shorten the term of your loan, let’s get together to answer your questions.

Message John

Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates

Buyers Are Looking for Your Home, Now [INFOGRAPHIC]

By on December 21, 2018 in Real Estate Updates

Buyers Are Looking for Your Home, Now [INFOGRAPHIC]

Buyers Are Looking for Your Home, Now [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Buyers Are Looking for Your Home, Now [INFOGRAPHIC] | Simplifying The Market

Some Highlights:

  • Existing home sales are currently at an annual pace of 5.32 million and have increased on a monthly basis for the last two months.
  • The inventory of existing homes for sale remains below the 6-months needed for a normal market and is now at a 3.9-month supply.
  • Inventory remains low due to high demand from buyers who are still looking for houses to buy!

What’s the next best step? Reach out and we can talk about your goals and from there we can put together the best plan.
Source: Michigan Real Estate Updates