Gary White~ Grand Rapids Real Estate, FlexIt Realty, a call or click away!

Keeping elderly relatives and friends active is a live saving gesture. For you and them!

We don't think about how important that hug or gesture can be to our elderly relatives and friends.

As we age....it changes their mobility, their world. Some people meet for coffee at the local coffee shops others meet for lunch, others never see anyone except on special occasions.

I watched my parents change before my eyes...both are gone now but the memories are vivid. I watch as others around me crumble into a shell of what they used to be. Mostly from inactivity.

Keeping them active and needed brings a smile to their faces...being included is all it takes. Each person has a level of contribution they can commit too.

My father-in-law has dementia. He recently went through hip replacement, kind of a double whammy!

We own a large home on two acres of land in a subdivision. It is a bit unusual to have the privacy and access to services all rolled into one. We chose to live here for this and many other reasons.

We also have a vast amount of landscaping, along with a waterfall and pond with a few small fish....if the Sand Hill Crane doesn't snack on them.

This has become my father-in-laws haven. We kid him about our rose bushes...singing his name in the wind when they need pruned. We have bushes, pampas grass, raspberries, grapes and needing his loving hand.

I put my arm around him yesterday thanking him for all the work and time he spends in our yard. He looked at me with a look of disbelief...not that I never thank....instead his disbelief was how could I thank him for something he loves to do?

This is what keeps him going. Coming to our home is his private sanctuary. Trimming these bushes is his way of helping and extending the love back to us for all we have done for him.

I must admit my wife helps him be a bit naughty too. He gets little rewards that he normally can't have. My mother-in-law watches his diet like a hawk. He has some blood pressure issues, cholesterol problems and a couple other issues.

So being naughty means he might be rewarded with a small dish of ice cream with fudge on it. He might get a pizza for lunch delivered from one of our local Italian favorite restaurants.

He might get a cup of coffee and a roll (low fat!) he wouldn't normally have. Everything in moderation of course.

The point is....keeping him active and involved is keeping him alive and useful. When people no longer feel useful is when they slip in health, mind and soon are gone.

Keep your loved ones, friends active and involved. You'll be able to enjoy them and them you for years to come.

If you don't have someone to help keep active, volunteer you will be rewarded with smiles and a relationship opportunity to cherish the rest of your life.

How have keeping your loved ones and friends active workded for you?

Your Real Estate Professional, to Sell Your Expired MLS Listing!

Many people think because there home expired it isn't going to sell. That is the farthest thing from the truth.

Expired listings happen for a number of reasons. Here is the top 10 reasons homes don't sell.

1. You didn't have a marketing plan to sell.
2. Lack of Experience by your former agent.
3. Condition, outside, roof, exterior finish, inside...bathrooms, flooring, heating, electrical, plumbing, paint and cosmetics
4. Location
5. Priced wrong for your market.
6. Home not accessible to show
7. Layout
8. Yard Size....some homes have very small yards or no yards, and the majority of buyers want some elbow room.
9. Curb Appeal...turns buyers off when they drive up to the home.
10. Communication and lack of willingness to negotiate.

So if your listing expired and you don't understand why, it isn't your home....unless you can see items on the list above.

Once your listing expires you will get a pile of fancy letters from Realtors. They will tell you why your home didn't sell. Yet they have never sold a home in your neighborhood. Others will blame your former Realtor for lack of marketing or experience or both.

Sometimes homes just don't sell. But there is ALWAYS a reason.

You may not like the reason but there is a reason. Usually it is a combination of issues that impact the reason a home did not sell.

My number one reason is communication between the agent and seller. Being honest, discussing openly the need to sell and preparing a marketing plan to meet that need. Communication to make adjustments early in the selling process. Meaning if you set an initial sell price and nothing happens....make adjustments.

Your home or business is going to sell for more in the first month of your listing contract. Take advantage of the selling traffic. If you price high at first you will miss you best opportunity to sell fast and for the most money. Most sellers and agents miss this golden....Price Right, Sell Fast....make More Money.

You may think that reduces the agents efforts...that couldn't be more wrong. The fact that the agent helped you with great market pricing analysis and suggested a sell price that worked meant...the agent did their job.....exactly right!

How much does it cost you to not sell? Interest, taxes, profit and missed opportunity to have what you really want. You have decided to sell for a reason. Now make your decision happen.

Choose the best agent for you...one that communicates, has knowledge and will openly discuss your situation.

The results will make you smile....all the way to the bank!

Your listing expired? Want Professional Help? Live in my area? Give me a call, we'll set an appointment to meet your needs.

Live in another area? Call me...I will be glad to refer you to a Professional in your area to get your home SOLD!

Live in Grand Rapids or West Michigan area, not under contract? Like to sell or buy a home....give me a call. It could save you thousands in your next real estate transaction. Always confidential, Never Pressured.

"Help is only a Call or Click away!"©2006-2009

Call Toll Free: 877-667-4699
Local: 616-784-2360 Email: garywhite@FlexItRealty.com

Many of us look months out to see what our expected sales are going to by by month, week and day.

Seems like a bit of over anxiousness....in reality it is just business management.

Every November I can count on a surge in sales calls. It is like clockwork.

How can I plan so precisely?

Simple, we have dear season here and the 15th of November is opening day of hunting season.

A large percentage of the Realtors head off in search of a deer. My phones ring more while they are gone. They turn off their phones or have them forwarded to voice mail.

I can count on people not to be patient. They don't get an answer they move on...fast and find someone that will answer their questions and show them properties.

This also means an increase in car-deer accidents. So if you live in Michigan or another state where a large game hunting season opens use caution on the highways. We have an increased number of cars from neighboring states as well which increased the normal accident rates.

Some communities open their doors to the hunters while other dread the thought. The alcohol consumption also increase during this time.

And all I thought about was the increased calls to show homes? Interesting how calendar events can affect your business.

Have anything that creates more business for you?

Live in Grand Rapids or West Michigan area, not under contract? Like to sell or buy a home....give me a call. It could save you thousands in your next real estate transaction. Always confidential, Never Pressured.

"Help is only a Call or Click away!"©2006-2009

Call Toll Free: 877-667-4699 Local: 616-784-2360 Email: garywhite@FlexItRealty.com

I live in a subdivision...but my home is one of three on a cul-de-sac with 2 acres of privacy. The other two homes face away from me and minimal angles of viewing to my backyard.

I also look over a valley on homes below, some 400 hundred plus yards away. A lot was recently sold down in the valley street. Neighbors with land adjoining the new neighbors lot started scurrying to create privacy once the builder started construction.

One neighbor put in a invisible fence so their dog won't do his duty in the old field area that is now the neighbors new construction site.

Another neighbor planted trees along the lot line to make sure the new neighbor knew where his property ended.

The builder has made several issues with people along the lot line which has become a subject of debate. For example the builder put drain title toward the back of the new owners lot leading water away from the walkout basement. Sound like a good thing...until you understand the water is being diverted to the edge of the other existing neighbors lot.

Upon further investigation by a neighbor he find out that an easement exists that the builder knew about for run-off water. They had a few words over this issue before the builder told the existing homeowner to take it up with township planning.

That prompted the other neighbor to plant trees. I have seen fences go up when a new neighbor moves in next door to an existing neighbor without finding out who is moving in or what they are like.

I have seen thorn bushes planted because the last neighbors kid climbed the fence. So the existing neighbor is are going to make sure the new neighbor, if they have children, won't climb the fence.

Buying and selling is like choosing your relatives you never know who you are going to get! I talked to a seller's neighbor recently when I had a buyer interested in a property. He tells me...hope these people are more friendly than the last ones! I have lived here 30 years never had anyone throw their leafs and snow on my property before. "I hadn't spoke to them in 5 years"....."when they moving", was his next question.

I like my neighbors...but I must admit I don't see them much.

What about you?

Live in Grand Rapids or West Michigan area, not under contract? Like to sell or buy a home....give me a call. It could save you thousands in your next real estate transaction. Always confidential, Never Pressured.

"Help is only a Call or Click away!"©2006-2009

Call Toll Free: 877-667-4699
Local: 616-784-2360 Email: garywhite@FlexItRealty.com

For some reason people don't think sharing complete information with the their agents is necessary.

Even in the disclosure process many sellers do not want to share the whole truth.

Agents have legal and ethical issues they face if they knowingly contribute to falsification of disclosures.

I have had clients make representations which were not lies...in fact they didn't really know the correct answer. The problem is as, a professional, I could see the material flaw (problem) but am not licensed to definitively state the electrical outlet that was charred black should be replaced. That is for an inspection company or electrician to decide.

I can see rust stains on a furnace but cannot tell you the air conditioning line is leaking unless I visually see a leak, even then it might not be the air conditioner...it could be the humidifier.

What I can tell you is if the seller moves and turns off the electricity...I should be told. If the seller stops making payments and I read in the legal news a foreclosure process has been started that would be nice to know so I can adjust how we sell.

Buyers do things that hurt their opportunities to buy just like sellers hurt their options to sell. Buyers can make a purchase that reduces their credit score. Dropping them below the credit score minimum requirements to get a loan. It may not be much. I had a client drop 10 points below for canceling a credit card. I have had others that bought new vehicles to go with their new house before close.

It seems silly but sharing information...all of it with your Realtor could save you a sale or purchase. It could also save you disappointment. Being open and honest with the professional helping you is built on trust. If you don't feel you can trust your agent....you have the wrong agent.

What have you had happen to you?

Live in Grand Rapids or West Michigan area, not under contract? Like to sell or buy a home....give me a call. It could save you thousands in your next real estate transaction. Always confidential, Never Pressured.

"Help is only a Call or Click away!"©2006-2009

Call Toll Free: 877-667-4699
Local: 616-784-2360 Email: garywhite@FlexItRealty.com