Real Estate Information Archive

1. Research before you look. Decide what features you most want to have in a home, what neighborhoods you prefer, and how much you’d be willing to spend each month for housing.

2. Be realistic. It’s OK to be picky, but don’t be unrealistic with your expectations. There’s no such thing as a perfect home. Use your list of priorities as a guide to evaluate each property.

3. Get your finances in order. Review your credit report and be sure you have enough money to cover your down payment and closing costs. Then, talk to a lender and get prequalified for a mortgage. This will save you the heartache later of falling in love with a house you can’t afford.

4. Don’t ask too many people for opinions. It will drive you crazy. Select one or two people to turn to if you feel you need a second opinion, but be ready to make the final decision on your own.

5. Decide your moving timeline. When is your lease up? Are you allowed to sublet? How tight is the rental market in your area? All of these factors will help you determine when you should move.

6. Think long term. Are you looking for a starter house with plans to move up in a few years, or do you hope to stay in this home for a longer period? This decision may dictate what type of home you’ll buy as well as the type of mortgage terms that will best suit you.

7. Insist on a home inspection. If possible, get a warranty from the seller to cover defects for one year.

8. Get help from a REALTOR®. Hire a real estate professional who specializes in buyer representation. Unlike a listing agent, whose first duty is to the seller, a buyer’s representative is working only for you. Buyer’s reps are usually paid out of the seller’s commission payment (free to the buyer, what a deal!).

There are 5 reasons why replacing the carpet in your home should be at the top of your to-do list when getting ready to sell. These reasons are listed below:

5) SMELL-You may be unaware of a smell because you're used to it, but these scents are usually very apparent when someone is walking in for the first time. Make your home smell new again. 

4) COMPETITION-With 1 buyer/10 homes on the market, they will always choose the home that demands no work or effort. Move-in condition is a HUGE selling point.

3)MONEY-Data shows that those who re-carpet are able to not only recover that cost, but actually make a profit from the project.

2)TIME-Homes that require buyers to paint or replace carpet sit on the market much longer than one that has been completely updated. If it's replaced up front, your home won't sit on the market.

1)The number one reason-again-is MONEY-Putting a little bit of money into prepping your home for sale will save you from buyers demanding a lower price for them to update!

Give your home a fighting chance to sell for the price it's worth in an extremely competitive market!

I just launched a New iPhone app for searching homes for sale in the Grand Rapids area on you iPhone. I have a blackberry app and android app under construction to be coming soon. The app is free visit www.markbrace.com for download instructions or click on the picture below to download through itunes.

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I'm really excited about this please let me know your feedback from searching for homes for sale

There has been some conflicting information on whether the current home has to be sold or not to get the $6,500 tax credit.  I have confirmed with a CPA that there are NO requirements on the disposition of the previous primary residence.  It must have been a primary residence during 5 of the last 8 years is all.  They can keep the property and still qualify for the $6,500 if they purchase another primary residence.

The Today Show on October 6, 2009 Ranks Grand Rapids Michigan as the 5th Best Real Estate Market to purchase in The United States.

Here is a link for you to view the broadcast:

This is a great illustration another reason you should buy a Home NOW!

The General idea here, is don't worry about haggling over a few thousand, cause when rates go up, the payments will still be the same.

Homes Sales are up this summer (June-July-August) a total 5.5%

Home Pendings are up this summer (June-July-August) a total of 16%

As you can see from the graphs above home prices are down.

Visit my website (Grand Rapids Homes) for information on the Grand Rapids Market, or feel free to email me if you are looking for detail stats on a certain area of town.

Just wanted to post some thoughts. I've had several clients of the last 2 weeks that have missed getting homes because the market is starting to get crazy. A couple reasons for not getting these homes.

1. Hesitating on whether they want to write an offer or not.

2. Not writing a strong enough offer, I have been in at least a dozen multiple offer situation in the last 2 weeks. Just write your best offer and buy the home.

Side note to this: The federal tax credit is ending Dec. 1, 2009 and everyone is panicing to get a home before the deadline. This is particularly affecting homes in the under 120K range.

3. Not getting the offer in on time.

Side note to this: Is not having your pre-approval letter ready at the time you wanted to make an offer.

I guess the moral of my blog would be, be prepared to write a good offer, or the home you like may be gone.

Wyoming City Council to Meet and Discuss Future of City

Next Monday, August 17th at 5:30 PM, the Wyoming City Council will meet to discuss the future of Wyoming. Facing a near certain bankruptcy in 2 years if the budget is not adjusted, city council members must make difficult decisions.

If you are from Wyoming we need you to attend this meeting and bring your friends and neighbors. It is important that people who understand the nature of taxes and government to be present. Stand up and speak up for the taxpayers and rational government services.

For instance, we need people to question the city council's support of the bus line that extracts $2.5 million each year from Wyoming. What would happen if the city council chose not to continue with the bus line in 2010? Could those funds be used to cover the impending deficit? Will the addition of an income tax really help the city or hurt it?

Please show up to this very important meeting and make a public comment to present 'our view' of sensible government.