Lola Audu~Real Estate Broker/Owner Grand Rapids, Michigan Real Estate

Traditionally, when many folks in West Michigan think about furniture, it's likely that one of places that they will be visiting in the search for the perfect dinette, bedroom set or sofa is an Art Van Store. This is because, Art Van, a Michigan based company head quartered in Warren, MI has 34 store locations throughout the state and employs approximately 2,500 associates.

Last month, I had the opportunity to visit the Art Van corporate headquarters as a part of a task force for the Michigan Association of REALTORS®. While there, we toured the store and met members of the executive team and marketing staff. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss a brand new initiative being launched in 2012 between Art Van and the Michigan Association of REALTORS®. The new program is the Home Rewards Program.

An integral aspect of the program is a gift of $150 towards home purchases through Art Van for any individual who uses a REALTOR® to purchase a home. With home sales once again beginning to climb, in West Michigan, this is a wonderful way to help individuals and families who are moving to purchase additional items of decor for their new living spaces. The offer is not just limited to furniture, but includes assistance with custom decor and design, flooring and even office furniture.

Art Van has dedicated sales specialists in each of its stores to provide premium service and additional information for customers who qualify for this program. During our tour, I also learned that in addition to the traditional furniture retail items and accessories, Art Van's specialists are available to host special fund raising events for local charities right within the store.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with REALTORS® from different parts of the State and the Art Van Marketing Team who were extremely responsive to our thoughts and suggestions. Towards the end of our meeting, we were pleasantly surprised by a brief visit from Mr. Art Van himself (Mr Art Van Eslander)...the Founder and Chairman of the company. This program is open to ANYONE who has bought a home recently with a REALTOR in the State of Michigan. I'm looking forward to contacting our clients and letting them know about this new benefit!

Click this link to learn more about the history of Art Van, a Michigan Based Company.

Click here to learn more about the Home Rewards Program

Click this link to learn more about the Michigan Association of REALTORS®

One of the more popular forums on Facebook for REALTORS in West Michigan is a group that allows agents and other interested parties to trade information about clients who need to rent their homes or would prefer to rent a home rather than an apartment in the greater Grand Rapids, Mi area. There just don't seem to be enough homes to rent!

At Audu Real Estate, we have seen an escalation in the number of requests for homes to rent within the past 18 months. The reasons are varied:

1. Potential renters don't want to become potential buyers because they are scared of loosing home equity.

2. The potential renter may have lost a home or has credit issues and is ineligible to obtain a mortgage.

3. The potential renter thinks their job may require them to move, so they don't want to be 'stuck'.

4. The potential renter doesn't want to live in an apartment & would prefer a home setting.

As a result, we've seen rental rates increase. I've heard predictions which indicate that there will be a 3-6 percent increase in rental rates during the next year. This news has not escaped the attention of some major deal makers across America. In fact, a recent Bloomberg Businessweek article entitled 'Your Next Landlord Might Wear Pinstripes' highlights a significant rise of interest from institutional investors who are looking to beef up their portfolios by purchasing homes and turning them into rentals.

Last year in the fall, the Administration asked for public comment about the idea of renting out a growing inventory of foreclosed homes. Earlier this month, Fannie Mae, the government controlled mortgage agency initiated a program to allow qualified investors to bid in bulk for foreclosed homes as long as they maintained them as rental for a period of time.

So why are investors interested in a housing market that has seen some dark days? Well, it's all about opportunity. Today the US home ownership rates is about 66%. While that is one of the highest rates in the world, it is still below the peak of 69.2 percent recorded in June of 2004. Many Americans remain skittish about the prospects of home ownership even as the facts seem to indicate that this may be exactly the time to buy a home.

For starters, interest rates are insanely low. I'm hearing rates below 3.4% on 15 year mortgages. The inventory in West Michigan is actually pretty good. We're showing homes which would have retailed for 50-60% more just a few short years ago which have been totally re-vamped and are in move-in condition. I'm talking about homes priced in the $40,000 - $75,000 range that could easily have retailed for 3-4X that amount in the past. With today's interest rates, the mortgage amount would be significantly below the rental rate for a similar home.

Investors are interested in these homes because of the cash flow potential. Single family home rentals tend to fetch premium rates and can retail for 3-5% higher than apartment rentals. And, this is not about a quick turn around. Most investors expect to hold on to these homes for five years or more.

Think about that! I just attended a forum on commercial real estate that indicated that the residential market in West Michigan could be poised for a surprising rebound within the next 3-4 years due to several factors including an uptick in manufacturing, more hiring for jobs and a work-force that is fairly well trained and prepared to meet the demands of today's emerging economy.

If this proves to be correct, homeowners who have had a few years of dreadful travail may find themselves once again smiling on the way to the bank. The question is...who will be the homeowner. You...or a corporation?

The first month of 2012 is already over. Wow, it's hard to believe. Time flew by! For some agents in West Michigan, the year roared into focus with sales and business. For others, the past 40 days have been fraught with worry about the future and if they will survive another year. Many agents left the business when the dues billing for the local MLS came in January. However, for those who have chosen to stay, you have a choice...

The choice to simply exist in limbo without a sense of purpose or direction OR the choice to do things differently with regards to your real estate career. If you've been thinking about your career or if you've realized that you must do something different in order to thrive, take a minute to watch the video. There is another way and you owe it to yourself to find out if this is a solution for you.

This post was written in May of 2010. A few things have changed since I first addressed the issue of Strategic Defaulting, a crisis precipited by huge losses in equity for many homeowners across the country. What has not changed is the fact that millions of homes across the country are still in an equity deficit position.

Strategic Defaulting is not a solution that carries no risk. In Michigan, the lenders' recourse can extend for decades. It's important to understand and explore all your options including the Short Sale Process. Sometimes, miracles can happen in even the most dire circumstances. You can read about this Short Sale Miracle here.

Late last year, President Obama announced the launch of HARP 2.0. In West Michigan, many lenders have taken a wait and see attitude. However, I am aware of at least one area lender who will be offering this program in the first week of February but only for loans which it currently services. If you live in West Michigan and want to know if your home may qualify for re-financing under the new HARP 2.0 guidelines, please contact our office. You may also find the following calculator helpful. As always, please check with a local lender and real estate professional to flesh out the details pertaining to your specific situation.

Original Blog Post Follows:

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The year was 2005. The call was from a struggling homeowner who needed to sell their home. However, there was one significant barrier. They had mortgaged their property for more than they could sell it for. Hard luck had resulted in a job loss and they were faced with the stark prospect of making a difficult decision.

The term 'short sale' was not a term that most people were aware of in our area at the time. The negotiation with two banks took several months, but the process finally concluded with a resolution that enabled the home to be conveyed to another party and one which stopped the financial bloodletting which had depleted my clients. While, not a perfect outcome...it was likely the best given the circumstances.

Five years later, short sales are a part of the nation's popular lexicon. Last nights' segment on the 60 Minutes news broadcast chronicles a rapidly spreading viral movement known as strategic defaulting. Strategic default refers to the decision to walk away from a home which you CAN afford because the home is now worth far less than the mortgage note. It's considered by some, to be an ECONOMIC decision or an investment alternative of sorts.

However, what was most troubling to me in watching the segment is one myth which underlies much of the reporting on this issue at the present time. Strategic Defaults are NOT always the decision of a homeowner. As a real estate broker who has negotiated short sales for nearly half of the past decade, I have witnessed a remarkable SHIFT in the process of negotiation with some banking entities recently. Sometimes, the instruction to miss payments can come from an unlikely source!

Most notably, within the past 3 months, we have witnessed some banks giving EXPLICIT written directions to some mortgage holders to DEFAULT on their payments in order to be considered a 'qualified applicant' for a short sale. The home owner is faced with the threat that the file will be closed or denied UNLESS the borrower strategically defaults on their mortgage payment. We have witnessed this even in cases the homeowner has suffered a JOB LOSS and/or JOB TRANSFERS.

Which raises the question...Is it possible that while many struggling homeowners are trying to do what is right and negotiate with the banks, there is a bizarre movement to FORCE them to damage their credit and walk away from their homes by a Strategic Default? This approach is peculiar on a number of fronts, as statistics indicate that there is significantly LESS damage economically from the negotiation of a short sale for the community AND the mortgage investor.

The 60 minute segment indicated that 7 MILLION homes have payments which are in arrears. I wonder how many of these homes are behind on their payments because they have been INSTRUCTED to do so by the mortgage servicer holding the note?

At some point we will awaken from this nightmare. I am concerned that we will discover that much of the chaos has been our own horrific creation...borne of a myopic view of society which forced short term gains at the expense of the reality of long term consequences.

underwater shot courtesy of Stig Nygaard on flickr

With all this wonderful unseasonably warm weather, it seems that Spring has come early to West Michigan in more ways than one. The Grand Rapids Association of REALTORS indicated that over the past 65 day, over 12,000 requests have been received for home showings!

The year end stats also showed positive trends with an increase in the average sales price and most importantly for future home sellers, a decline in inventory. The good news for home buyers is that interest rates remain incredibly low...as low as below 4% for buyers who qualify for Freddie Mac loans.

So, if you're out and about this weekend, we thought it would be helpful to have links to Open Houses in the area. The links are arranged by school district and include interior pictures and directions. If this weekend doesn't work for your schedule, please feel free to contact our office for a private pre-view tour at 616-791-0511. Homes are selling in West Michigan...and that's great news!

Here Are A Few Simple Pointers To Maximize Your Time At Open Houses:

1. Utilize this Site for Up to the Minute Information on Open Houses

2. Map your Tour utilizing the Mapping Function on every listing to conserve Gas, Energy & Time.

3. Take items to occupy your children if they will be accompanying you on tour so you can concentrate

4. If you are working with an agent, take their card to give to the real estate agent so you can preview homes without being pursued as a "live prospect".

5. Take A notepad to make notes on each listing

6. To Get Additional Tips on Home Buying....

Click Below to Search For Open Houses in West Michigan

Easy Search forOpen Houses in Grand Rapids, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Ada, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Allendale, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Byron Center, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Caledonia, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Cedar Springs, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in East Grand Rapids, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Grandville, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Hudsonville, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Jenison, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Kentwood, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Kellogsville, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Lowell, Michigan

Easy Search for Open Houses in Wyoming, Michigan

To Find Out More Information about ANY of these Communities, Please Contact Audu Real Estate. Contact Audu Real Estate for All Your Real Estate Needs! Just One More Value Added Service from the Professionals at Audu Real Estate.