Christine Stalsonburg

The following article was printed in the Record Eagle by a staff reporter.

Coldwell Banker Schmidt in top 50 list

FROM STAFF REPORTS

TRAVERSE CITY -- The Coldwell Banker Schmidt Family of Companies was listed among the top 50 real estate brokerages in the U.S. in the 2009 RISMedia Power Broker Survey.

The firm ranked 46th with 6,672 closed sales units in 2008 among more than 600 respondents in the survey. That made it the third-ranked Coldwell Banker affiliate in the country and the largest in the eastern half of the U.S. The company also made the list of the largest 500 brokers in the country as determined by REALTrends 500, an annual research report.

"That we've experienced this kind of growth, and done it outside of the large metro markets in southeast Michigan, is truly humbling," said Ken Schmidt, the firm's chief executive officer.

The firm is a fourth generation, family owned realty company that includes Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors in northern Michigan, Coldwell Banker AJS Schmidt in Grand Rapids and Coldwell Banker Woodland Schmidt in the Holland-Muskegon area.''

Every day we see another government agency that is facing financial hardship. Michigan's Department of Natural Resources is no exception. Over the course of the past five years, this state agency has had to dip into their savings coffers to meet budget demands. One could criticize the agency for not seeking the publics help and support for alternative funding methods sooner but that would not change the position that they are now in. Without a significant increase in their revenue, Michigan residents and tourists wanting to vacation in Michigan and enjoy our wonderful park system could be in for an unpleasant surprise.

Michigan parks system is over 90 years old and has little updating to its infrastructure. The general maintenance and infrastructure updating is critical to our parks system. We have an incredible recreation system within our parks and it would be a shame to see it look anything but pristine and inviting. Northern Michigan relies heavily on tourism in our area and many of our visitors come to our region specifically to enjoy these amenities. If critical updates are not done, we could chance loosing significant portion of our visitors.

One idea that is being looked at for revenue is to add a small fee to each vehicle registration renewal. The proposed fee would be $10. Although none of us like to see any new fees, this one almost seems like a no brainer. This fee would replace the existing day pass fee that is currently being charged to use the state parks.

As a community, we need to get involved and do what ever it takes to ensure that our natural resources are taken care of and preserved so that future generations can enjoy the same wonders in Northern Michigan that we are able to enjoy.

Christine Stalsonburg, Realtor

231-944-0854

Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors

www.stalsonburg.com

www.northernmichiganrealestatecs.com

A Teddy bear Tea will be held on Sunday, April 19th from 1 to 3 pm at the Grand Traverse Heritage Center, located at 322 Sixth St., Traverse City

The even twill feature a presentation of the history of the teddy bear and a special tea story time. Heritage Center brown bears will be available for purchase, and kids can meet the special Heritage bear in person.

admission is $5 for adults, $2 for youth, children 3 and under are free.

Proceeds will benefit the Grand Traverse Heritage Center.

The temperatures are starting to warm up, the snow is almost completely gone, Spring is just around the corner, flowers are just starting to poke their heads up out of the ground and it is a GREAT time to buy a home in Traverse City, Michigan.

Traverse City, which is located in Northern Michinga is a wonderful area to purchase a primary residence or a second home. We are starting to see an increase in the market activity as the weather is breaking. We had a very long winter and we are all very excited about seeing temperatures in the 50's.

The market value on homes as dropped to a point where homes are more affordable for first time home buyers. This fact combined with the 2009 Federal Tax Credit of $8,000 and the availability of Rural Development loans requiring no money down makes it a great time for a first time home buyer to purchase.

We currently have over 80 stick built homes in the Grand Traverse area that are under $100,000. This is a great inventory to choose from. If you are looking to invest in a home and stop paying someone else's mortgage, now is the time.

Whatever your taste and price, we have the home for you in Traverse City, Michigan.

Christine Stalsonburg, Realtor

Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors

402 E. Front St.

231-944-0854

www.stalsonburg.com

When we are compiling a press release for distribution, there are some simple rules that we can follow to give us an advantage in getting our release published. A well written press release is a great, free way to garner exposure for your business. They are much easier to get published than a full story. Typically, they should be 100 words of less and cover the 5Ws and H of writing (who, what, when, where, why and how). Every press release that you write should contain 3 critical components:

Newsworthy

The press release must have a news angle and not just a self promoting statement of how wonderful you and your business are. The news angel could include: starting a new business, hiring a new employee, moving to a new location, achieving a new designation, sponsoring of an upcoming event. These are just a few of the items that would be considered news worthy.

If you business is over a year old, most publications will nt publish this. You have missed your opportunity. New products or services are viewed as items that you should be paying for ad space for. Events for profit will probably not be published.

Audience

Make sure that you are sending your press release to the correct target audience. Don't send a press release announcing your new designation to a male publication if you are a female. Chances are that they won't publish it due to the fact that it does not fit their target audience.

Guidelines

Make sure you know the publications guidelines before you submit. If you don't submit per their guidelines, your press release will be tossed aside and not published. Guidelines would include word count, deadlines and which editor to send the press release to.

Who: your name and business name

What: A sentence or two about what your business does

When: When you opened, will open or when your event it

Where: Location (leave out state and zip code)

Why: Why you opened, who you will serve, why having the event

How: How to reach you (phone, email, website).

New Designation Example:

Christine Stalsonburg, Realtor at Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors in Traverse City, has earned Accredited Buyer Agent (ABR) designation by the National Association of Realtors. Certification is designed for real estate buyer agents who focus on working directly with buyer-clients. Christine joined Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors in 2009 and can be reached at 231-944-0854, email cstalsonburg@charter.net, www.stalsonburg.com