Grand Haven, MI

JINGLE BELL PARADE

Grand Haven, MI December 6, 2008

It's time for a the parade. Your hosts will be, well who else would it be, Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus!!!!

Last week my husband and I were dropping off the kids for youth group and decided to venture to downtown Grand Haven, MI There is something special about the stretch of Washington in that it just so charming. We grabbed a cup of coffee at Jumpin' Java and then walked down the way a bit where we saw the festive little house designed just for Santa. I am sure there are many kids who have sat on his lap by now!!

But today is the big day!!! The parade begins at 6:00 pm but I would try to be there a little early. The funny thing about this parade is that we are in the middle of an incredible snow storm!!! Can you say, "Lake Effect Snow!" Well we got it. This morning we woke to three foot drifts around our cars. My husband is out there right now clearing the way so my daughter can go to work!!

But parades must go on!!! The parade route would be:

Franklin to Harbor Drive, Harbor Drive to Washington and Washington back to Central Park.

Once the parade gets back to Central Park,there will be the grand finale!!! The lighting of the Christmas tree!!!

It is a darn good thing the salvation army is going to be there to provide hot chocolate because I think there are going to be some major Popsicles out there. The temperature as I type this is whopping 20°. Wind shield factor is around 10° degrees. Check out the beach cam HERE. . . . . anyone want to go for a walk on the pier. . . NOT!! This is about 1/2 mile from the parade route.

I am going to admit something to all of you. THAT IS TOO DARN COLD FOR ME!! I completely admire those of you that can do it because it sure will be something to see!! I personally can't wait until it's time for the ice sculptures!!! Now that I won't miss!!

There is another "cannot miss" during the Christmas season. The light show, put on by the rotary club now, gained national attention a couple years ago. A gentlemen in my community put a light show on to music. But this is a whole other blog so keep watching for that one! Keep checking back!! Better yet just subscribe to my blog!

God Bless and Happy Holiday and STAY WARM IT'S A BLIZZARD OUT THERE!!!

Memorial Day my husband and I, our two teenagers, and my daughter's boyfriend went for a walk out on the Grand Haven pier. First thing I realized immediately was that I was going to freeze as I had forgotten my coat. As we briskly walked down the pier I noticed a new building and wondered what was up with that. What I found out was that was no ordinary building and that my little community was going "green"!

Grand Haven State Campground is leading the way to providing a more earth friendly atmosphere in West Michigan--The Other West Coast! Today is the big ribbon cutting ceremony as they proclaim to the world how progressive they are by opening one of the first state "green" shower and toilet facility.

So what makes it "green"? The shower and toilet facility is equipped with many energy saving basics. My personal favorite are the light sensors that make the lights come on only when someone is occupying the particular facility--I need those for my bathroom I am sure. But that isn't it. They are saving electricity and water in several ways! The 4 private and 8 family shower facilities have on demand water heaters with timers and low flow toilets and urinals. To further reduce the use of electric, windows have been installed to let the natural light in. There are also solar panels that power the ventilating systems for the showers and toilet facilities.

Apparently it is one of the first campgrounds to try this. Personally I couldn't think of a better place to try this--have you ever tried to get into Grand Haven State Campground? Nearly impossible. It is always packed because the campground sits right on the beach. But don't think you can just go to the beach and check it out! It is only for the campground.

My second thought was, I wonder how much this cost Michigan. Our state is leading the way in foreclosures (although we are no longer first--yeah!!!) and really can't afford spending money that doesn't need to be spent. I was happy to hear that the $750,000 project was funded by a land conservation fund. It will be exciting to exactly how much money this shower facility will save! Hopefully I will do a follow-up in the fall to let you know what happened!

I am proud of the community I live my life in called West Michigan--The Other West Coast!

Just got a call from someone looking for a nice Rental Spot. They are going to be in town for one week and we need to line up some Rentals for them. i don't have a lot of contacts in Spring Lake and Grand Haven who own Rentals, but i am willing to show them yours. They are looking to pay between 1000 and 1200 a month with a year lease.

I have a couple that I am going to show them, but I would prefer to have a whole list that we can show them. So if you have anything let me know.

My first few blogs have been related to real estate so I thought it was time to write about Grand Haven. As I write this blog I am looking outside to a sunny, albeit, windy day. We have had about 7 straight days of sunny warm weather. Unfortunately, it is going to come to a halt for a few days.

How do you go from 75 / 80 degrees one day and snow flurries the next? That is what we have coming within the next couple of days. The good news is it won't last. We have turned the corner and the warm weather and sunny days are ahead of us. This is such an exciting time as the trees have buds and the flowers are blooming all around us.

If you like the diversity of having four seasons, Grand Haven is the place for you. You will have the opportunity to experience beautiful vibrant colors in the fall, white glistening snow in the winter, the rebirth of nature in the spring and the warm sunny days of summer.

I recently drove to Lake Michigan to eat lunch by the water. The city was in the process of getting our beaches prepared for another active summer as visitors come to enjoy Lake Michigan and various activities. See http://www.shorelineguide.com/ for a complete schedule of events.

The beaches of Grand Haven and surrounding Lake Michigan beaches have been voted some of the nicest, cleanest beaches in the country. If you love boating, watching boats, laying in the sun, building sandcastles, festivals, art shows or taking a leisure stroll on the boardwalk, Grand Haven has it for you.

What a difference a year or two makes in the world of real estate. A couple of years ago we could get a loan with lower credit scores and finance the purchase of a home at 100% of the sale price and roll our closing cost in also.

The actions of two to three years ago have put us in a very tough situation now. Unfortunately people were put into loans that they shouldn't have been put in. The housing market hit a wall and prices started tumbling. Homeowners that had financed at 100% or who had pulled equity out of their house found they owed more on their home than it was worth. Those that have to sell their home find they can't afford to do so because they are upside down with what they owe compared to the value of the home.

While this is a very tough position to be in, it is not hopeless. Many people feel their only option is to let their home go to foreclosure. It is NOT the only option and it shouldn't be in your thought process. You have the option of doing a Short Sale.

A Short Sale is a process that needs to worked out in cooperation with the lending institution that holds your loan. You will be required to fill out documents that show your financial status. You will want to have you Realtor be in touch with the lender as well so they can determine the appropriate price to get your home sold as fast as possible.

The idea of a short sale is this; if you owe $100,000 on your home and the market value is $95,000..... your Realtor may suggest putting your home on the market for $90,000 subject to the banks approval of a short sale. It is wise to have your lender and Realtor in agreement as to the bottom line price.

Let's say you get an offer for $88,000..... the offer goes to the bank and they review what their total loss would be between the $100,000 you owe and the $88,000 offer, minus commission, closing cost, transfer tax, title insurance, etc... Let's say the final number comes back at $80,000... the bank would have a loss of $20,000. They can agree to the offer and they would forgive you for the loss of $20,000.

Why would the bank do this? It is estimated that the cost of taking a home into foreclosure is about $40,000 to $50,000. It becomes a business decision on their part. The are not in the business of owning homes.

What are the ramifications for you? Your credit rating / report will take a hit for a couple to three years, but it is much better than having a foreclosure and taking a hit on your credit for 7 years.

If you find that you are in trouble or heading into trouble, talk with your Realtor and lender and head it off before it becomes too late.