Gary White FlexIt Realty~Real Estate & Updates, Grand Rapids & West Michigan

301 Normandy, sometime you have one of those special listings.  This is one of them.  This beautiful home is priced well below market and has all the bells and whistles.  It is an executive home to be sure...but it could fit a large growing family and create an island for fun and relaxation for all to enjoy.

Walking up to this home gives you the sense of something special...going inside confirms it!

The kitchen is a chef delight with a walk-in pantry, double ovens, surround sound throughout the home to add inspiration...the list goes on.  This is a walkout ranch on 2.2 acres.

Look at the next photo with the kitchen you'll see why this is special.

Stainless appliances stay, double ovens, 48" custom cabinets and more!

See more of this beautiful home by visiting our website for a complete virtual tour.

This home is located in an upscale area of Grandville, Michigan, as you would expect.  See for yourself with a personal tour.  Follow the link below for the virtual tour and give us a call for your personal tour.

http://www.flexitrealty.com/Listing/VirtualTour.ashx?listingid=1773359

Call Toll Free: 877-667-4699  Email: FlexItRealty@comcast.net or Go to our website for "Free" reports that could save you thousand of dollars in your next real estate transaction.  Website: www.FlexItRealty.com

In case you didn't know Grand Rapids has a baseball team that won the 2007 championship.  The park has lots of activities but is a family based fun spot.

This shot only shows the entrance look at the photo below.

This is a great facility and there is more....

They have a great score board, concessions and give aways and much more.

Spectators are always close to the action with seating like the big parks.

If you want some low cost family fun...go to the ball park, enjoy a day with your family.

You'll have a great time.

For the latest in information and game schedule click this link: http://www.whitecaps-baseball.com/

Trust me you'll have a great time and just enjoy the outdoors in a great ball park.  They start the play off schedule in the first week of September.  Check the link for tickets, dates and times.

I sing the praises of any formats that works and creates new business.  Active Rain has created some very good leads for me from a variety of clients and other brokers as referrals.

Recently I have had two leads that have materialized into very positive experiences.  One was a referral by an Active Rain member...she doesn't know it...but I am sending Kris Wales a token of my appreciation because she gave me the name of another AR member to whom I referred a client.  It worked and I received a referral fee.

The other was from across the nation and I referred out the lead to one of my agents who subsequently sold a property to the referral client and we sent a referral check back in appreciation.

The third was a referral from another broken directly to me to help a relocating client.  All have worked out and were very appreciated.  One of the keys to this for me was the trust these individual (brokers and agents) placed in us without knowing more than our posts.

They felt, based on very little information, that we would do right by their clients and represent them as they would represent them as if they were here.

When you send referrals it does not always turn out the way we hope.  I have had a few times where the clients have called me and asked for another name.  Either the agent or broker that I referred did not contact them or just dropped the ball after a couple of showings.

I know there is two sides to every story but I also know that if there is an issue I would call the referring broker and let them know it wasn't working so they had a heads up.

So for those of you that have referred clients to us...I wanted you to know...we treat you clients like family and act as if you were there with them.  We appreciated the referrals.

For those of you that had doubts as to whom to send referrals have a little faith in AR members, you may be pleasantly surprised.

Congratulations to AR for having such an honorable interactive group that still believes in being responsible and engaging to client needs.

In today's market of foreclosures and short sales buyers tend to want answers right now on the offers they have submitted.  So what takes so long for the lender to respond? 

You can have several reasons why offers take so long before a lender will respond.  The number one reason is the backlog of properties to process.  The second largest reason is the offer was to low for the target sell price set by the lender.  The third reason is not all the paperwork on short sales has been filed with the lender.  The seller has to file a hardship letter and several other documents before a lender will consider a short sale.  On foreclosures the lender already owns the property and you are dealing direct with the seller (lender). 

Just like anything else there are procedures and processes to go through before a lender will respond.

This causes a buyer to get anxious...wondering what happened, why is the lender not responding.  Sometimes it is a matter of the lender looking at the low ball offer and saying, "I am going to sit on this until a better offer comes in", so they don't respond, you hear nothing.  The agent can call the lender, and the lender just says, "we are considering your offer."  So the buyer thinks the agent is not doing his job.  The buyer or seller in a "short sale" also thinks the bank or lender is being unreasonable...but if the offer had been right and not so low that it would make the Christmas Grinch flinch!  The response would have been faster.

So when buyers get anxious they sometimes make foolish requests that is the responsibility of the agent to inform them of the consequences.  We recently had a buyer want to make two offers on different properties!

I have had buyers resubmit a higher offer on the same property, make counter offers high on a property they were bidding on .... but two offers on two different properties?  The decided that the first property was the one they wanted but if that one fell through they would have a backup or a bid in on the second best property.

Here is the how the deal laid out:  The first property is a "short sale".  It is broadcast on the MLS as a "short sale" and states that the lender must approve any offer.  Pay attention there is going to be a quiz!

The agent writes an offer on behalf of the buyer.  The seller of the short sale accepts.  The contract is forwarded to the lender for approval.  The lender has not responded after two weeks.  The unknown is what the lender had on the books for a target sell price that would be acceptable.  The other issue is if the selling agent actually processed the paperwork for the "short sale" in advance.

So the buyer gets anxious and tells his agent I want to submit another offer on a different home, "this is taking to long".  The agent informs the buyer that he could end up owning two homes!  I made the agent put in writing and have the buyer sign that they were informed of the potential results of their actions.

How long do you think the wait had been for a response?  Two Weeks!  That is like nothing in my book...but it was something for this buyer.  Many times we are not seeing a response for three or four weeks so two weeks is still within an acceptable time frame.

So, the second bid was written on a different property and the buyer wanted to be released from the first bid. 

Now here is your question:
Is the buyer bound to the first bid since the lender had not signed the offer and had not responded?

Answer:  The offer was between the buyer and seller.  The seller accepted the offer and the lender is considered a contingency not an authorizing party to accepting the sale.  I know, it can't be sold without the banks approval.  Wrong!  The seller can bring money to close and make up any deficit from the accepted purchase price and the amount owed on the mortgage.

I had the answer reviewed by legal counsel before I discussed the options with my agent.  Now you know what to do when a buyer asks to put in multiple offers.

Have you had this scenario happen to you?

If you live in Michigan and are looking for a "Short Sale" or "Forclosed" property give me a call, authroized HUD broker and Short Sale Specialist"  Make sure your offer is processed and followed to get the results you want...an accepted offer!

Call "Toll Free" 877-667-4699
Email: FlexItRealty@comcast.net
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Visit www.FSBOMICH.info for "HOW TO" help. 

Sellers may not think of the demographics of where they live but marketing a property depends on understanding the demographics.

Anyway that is my theory, demographics is an integral part of the marketing strategy.  The demographics leads you to buyers.  Now did that get your attention?  That is right knowing who lives in the area, what the average income is and what the schools have to offer is part of the neighborhood and selling features that attracts buying within the demographic segment. 

Income issues are a leading indicator of who will live in a specific area.  Just like family size, age of occupants and whether the neighborhood is new, declining or well established.

Here are a few examples:

• Established neighborhoods have a core of residents that have lived in them a long time and the overall maintenance of the yards and homes is usually well kept.  Established neighborhoods have pride that only long term ownership brings.  These neighborhoods tend to be a blend of elderly and younger new families.  The square footage tends to be 1000-1400 per home, above grade.  Home values tend to be flat or just nudging upward.  This is where many starter homes are sold to young families.
• Declining neighborhoods tend to have many of the original residents moving out, most homes are starting to show need of repair.  Homes are being converted into rentals.  Crime is on the rise in these areas.  Home values tend to be dropping.
• Newer neighborhoods are withing the last five years to present.  These are more younger and more mobile buyers, the family is young but usually not just starting families.

Knowing neighborhood information can help you know where to prospect for buyers if you are a seller or a selling agent.  If you are a buyers agent you can define your search based on the needs and wants list you had your buyers fill out when you interviewed them.  This will help you zero in on locations within a geographic area.

Knowing your demographics is one of the keys to success.  So do you think understanding demographics is important.  How do you think the local experts become the local experts?  They understand the dynamics of the neighborhoods they represent.

Demographics can play a big part in a farming area too.  It can help you understand how to promote yourself to the owners within your farm area.

How do you use the demographics to help your business?

Many of you have been following the inclusion of 100 year old post cards I found after the passing of my mother.  These have been in the family and now I am the keeper for the next generations to enjoy.  I thought with scanning you could enjoy them too and see what Grand Rapids looked like a hundred years ago. 

Here is a photo postcard that my father-in-law was surprised to see.  He is know as the "Hot Dog" man in Grand Rapids.  He likes the name too!  He hands out with other volunteers over 600 hot dog rain or shine every Wednesday at Memorial Park to the homeless.  Memorial park is a monument to the fallen soldiers that have so valiantly protected us from invasion and harm over the years.

Here is the postcard on Memorial Park.

Not a car in sight!  Over where the trees are in the center of the photo is where the park is located.  For those of us that live here this is an amazing time capsule photo...the streets were brick back then.  We still have some streets that have been preserved.  The thing that most of us that live here will know is the streets mentioned run parallel to each other.  The street are actually Division and Fulton St..  This will help you make more sense of the photo.

Now keep in mind they could have had different names back then too.  So all I am doing is giving you a bit of information based on today.

Hope you enjoyed our walk back in time.

In going through some family possessions after the death of my mother we found these post cards.  The printer and manufacturers are long since gone but the magic of what they captured is still with us.

Here is what John Ball Park looked like in the early years.

Here is a closer look with a slightly different shot.

Note they say looking forward to the city!  The city surrounds the park in present day.  It looks to be a peaceful carriage ride from the city.

Here is a couple more photos of the grounds.

Another ground photo showing the otter sanctuary (I think).

Here is Grand Central Station.  This is hard to believe.  I grew up as a youngster in Chicago.  I lived on the near North Side as it was...more affectionately called Old Town.  I was only a few blocks from the Lincoln Park zoo.  As a kid I was able to see the largest gorilla in captivity at the time....Bushman.  He is now on display in the Science and Industry musiem by Soldier's Field.

Of course as many know it does not look like this any more...but just the same very interesting.

Here is a hospital, Augustana.  I had never heard of this hospital and the card does not lend a clue to the location.  Reminds me of an old movie building they would show.  Even has a little resembalence to Times Square in New York in the old days.

The look pretty good for a 100 year old cards don't they.

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I have.

I can not tell you how many gallons of gas agents are burning showing properties.  I decided to see if we could reduce the number of showings with a video.

We looked at a way to reduce the number of showings and this is not happening to all agents...but a larger percentage than ever are showing a huge number of homes.  Large to me is over 15 and when the number approaches 50 I can hardly believe an agent would do that!

So here is one of our new practices that is working and might work for you too.  I have produced a PowerPoint CD that takes the buyer through the buying process of searching for a home. 

We define the clients needs and wants, very important to the process.  If buyers are defining what they want while they search you are going to show them half the town!  So make sure you have their wants and needs defined before you start the search, before you get in the car!

Then once the needs and wants list is established either from the office or from the buyers home using the agents laptop with an AIR Card or the clients Internet connection...start your virtual tours and review.

Make sure to use your wants and needs list to drill down the list to best suited listings to meet the client needs.  Here is something that I use that helps define the list even more...style.  Age groups tend to have more or less diverse wants and needs.  For example young families will have less concerns over a two story than more mature buyers who tend to look at ranches and walkouts.  You'll work through this...but the key is to do your homework in front of the computer and reduce the list to the best 10 or 15 (max).  If you list is higher than this...work on getting it down to 10.

Now that you have done this your next task is to create a route map so you are not driving all over creation and zig zagging around town.  Pick a day when you can both see all the homes and make a buy decision.  I know they are already pre-qualified and you have the lender letter in your file so I didn't mention that issue.

Your time is valuable and so is your clients.  Why go through 50 homes?  An additional option is to preview homes without the buyer that are high maybes on their list.  Plan your routes and make calls for a quick appointment to preview.  Tell the other agent the owner does not have to have the home in "show" condition you are previewing for your client and if it is what your client wants you will set another appointment to bring your client through.  This helps you both and the seller does not have to go through all the cleaning and picking up process or even disrupt their lives in anyway.  As agents we see home and we are looking at the home, the condition, layout, features not the sellers belongings.  If you see it may be a possibility snap a few digital photos of the key features they would like and email it to them.

I have been in homes where the photo that were taken by an agent didn't represent the home at all and we were surprised at how nice the property was when I did a preview.

I hope this help you reduce the number of miles and homes you have to show before you get a sale!

Paperwork can be one of those necessary evils...but remember the alternative of not doing the paperwork is no commission with a sale that falls through. Or is that the result?

One of the things that makes me boil is having an agent on the other side of the transaction that does sloppy work.  Missing documents, no signature, time frames missed and then expects me to pick up the slack with helping them with information.  Even his clients at the closing have said we wished we had you!  That is very nice of them to say...but I represent my clients interests always.  So when I get a panic call from a seller or buyer that is being represented by the other agent....all I can do is have them call their agent.  If they share with me information they shouldn't I ask them politely not to tell me more...I am obligated to share what they say with my client if it helps my client in the selling or buying process.

Did I mention that I am like you I have my own time schedules.  I have my own clients interests to be concerned with...so if I do step in...it is for one reason, my clients.  Your clients picked you because you were a good buddy.  They picked you because you are a friend of a friend.  They picked you because you reduced your commission knowing that the only way you could possibly get a listing was to reduce your commission because you knew the value of your work.

For all those clients that have gone through what we affectionately call the closings from HELL!  I formally apologize....but I only represent my client.  I try to make sure all the paperwork is in order.  Sometimes I have to beg, plead and even threaten at times...to call another broker but paperwork is what makes the closings go smooth.  Having all of it in writing is what makes the transaction agreeable to both parties.

If you, as a seller or buyer, discuss some repair or piece of furniture that is supposed be done or stay with the home....and it is not on the contract forget it!  It means nothing...you can hope the other party is honorable but you will not be able to enforce the discussion in a court of law...not being an attorney or offering advice that could be deemed as legal advice take it from me.  Judges look at the paperwork.

So when you choose someone to represent you and you have gotten a good deal on the commission will you remember when things go wrong....you got what you paid for!  On the other hand look at it this way...when things go right, you have gotten a great price, every detail was handled with professionalism and the whole process was smooth, that representation is priceless!

We have all heard about missed inspection dates...well if your agent does not stay on top of dates you can still do your inspections...but they can not be used as a reason to void the contract if you are pasted the specified inspection date.  Think about the repair or the replacement faucet you discussed with your agent and then it didn't get written in to the addendum...so you didn't get the replacement or repair.

Real estate is a technical process with dates, times, signatures, negotiations, research and closing documents if it gets that far.  Many people miss the complexity because so many agents are so good they make the process look easy.  Then you run into the representative who is in it for him or herself and they stumble through the representation process and you were the lucky one that believed a buddy that this person was the be all and end all so you never asked them one question.

If you live in Michigan and are not under a listing contract or a buyer agency and would like to have a smooth transaction...Call Toll Free:  877-667-4699 Email: garywhite@grar.com always confidential, never pressure...call or email today for a personal consultation.

Go to our Website: www.FlexItRealty.com Download Free Reports that could save you thousands of dollars in your next real estate transaction.