Tim White

Thank goodness I learned to preview listings before taking my clients to see them!

A fellow agent and I took part of our day today to preview some homes that we were preparing to show our respective clients. Of the six that we looked at, two were actually worth showing and met our clients' prerequisites.

One of the homes was a particular disaster. It looked like a good deal on the MLS, but the next thing we know, we are on a muddy, rutted, seasonal county road, in the middle of nowhere, wondering if we were about to drive off the face of the earth.

The listing said it was conveniently located near town. I suppose this would be true if the buyer owned a helicopter, or a teleportation device. My car would have never made it out there, and my friend's Explorer was a mess by the end of our trip. I would have been in an awkward spot with my buyers waiting for a wrecker to come rescue us.

Anyway, we got there, and the outside looked great, just like the picture on the listing. A quiet, country setting, with acres of trees surrounding. My mood was starting to lift, and I thought maybe this wouldn't be a total loss, after all. I was wrong.

We open the front door, and begin looking around the home. Overall, the home was in good shape except for one minor detail: someone, presumably the foreclosed upon previous owner, had ripped the electrical wiring and fixtures from the wall. Notice I didn't say "removed", I said RIPPED. The home's wiring was completely trashed, so my Rural Development possibilities were drifting away...

Instead of showing six homes tonight with my clients, I showed two, and they are putting in an offer on one of those. When I told them that I had already previewed the homes earlier in the day, they were shocked, and thanked me for putting in the extra effort.

The moral of my little story is that had I taken my clients there without checking it first, I would have looked pretty foolish. Instead, my colleague and I had a funny story to tell back at the office, and I had something to blog about tonight!

My wife and I are currently in the process of obtaining our Foster Care License here in Michigan. We have three children of our own, ages 12, 10, and 8. Recently, we had a relative that is going through some rough times, and lost custody of their six month old daughter. If we didn't get involved, the baby would remain in the foster care system in Genesee County, so we contacted the Department of Human Services in Genesee County, and were able to get custody.

Because of new childcare laws, Michigan requires that relative caregivers become licensed foster care providers. My wife and I had considered foster care before, and this seemed like God's little nudge to get us to take action. Today we attended our first six hours of mandated training, and will be completing our initial training next Saturday.

Did you know that to care for a foster child, you have to submit to background checks, fingerprinting, interviews, and a mountain of paperwork centering around your belief systems and your own childhood? In addition, an applicant must attend twelve hours of training for state licensing, plus additional training from the supervising agency. Continuing education is also required on a yearly basis to maintain the license.

We learned today that in Muskegon County, they receive 3500 calls alleging child abuse each year. Of those, 75% are deemed to be valid complaints and are investigated. Our instructors further added that there are about 400 children in foster care in Muskegon County today. 20% of these children are eligible for adoption, and just need parents to adopt them.

This little girl has been a blessing to us, and we are more motivated than ever to do what we can to help provide a bright future for her. The rewards of providing a safe haven for a displaced child are worth the work to get licensed. We are even considering taking in other children in the future. If you are interested in adopting or providing foster care, please visit Bethany Christian Services at

http://www.bethany.org/grandrapids

This is one of several licensing agencies, and happens to be the one that we are working with. We live in Oceana County, but Bethany has offices in several locations, and their workers will come to you. Our worker has been very helpful, and has come to our home for all of our meetings.

You can also inquire at your local Department of Human Services for your county. The website for DHS is

http://www.michigan.gov/dhs

If you are thinking about getting into foster care, and don't feel comfortable contacting an agency, contact me, and I'll be happy to share our experiences with you.

My wife and I went to Muskegon this morning, and on the way we saw a school that had a large banner across the front. The banner read:

Adequate Yearly Progress! Three years in a row! Yeah!

I was incredulous. Are we really that far gone that simply being "adequate" is cause for celebration? What happened to "Superior Performance" or "Outstanding Performance"? This is a prime, indisputable example of how we are consistently lowering our standards in public schools.

Look at this definition of adequate from Merriam Webster:

I know, I know, there are those that are gonna say it's "positive reinforcement", and there's nothing wrong with that. But is it positive? What about the message it sends to the public? How do the kids feel being labeled as "adequate"? I know I wouldn't feel very great. I guess it's better than being called inadequate.

Can you imagine spending advertising dollars to promote your business as adequate? Quite frankly, I'd say in today's economy, if you're only adequate, you're probably going out of business. You'd better be aiming for superior, excellent, or my personal favorite, "The Best".

We must teach our children to strive for more every day. We cannot allow our future generations, or ourselves, to become complacent and settle for the bare minimum.

For the last several years, I worked in Grand Rapids, driving over a hundred miles one way everyday. When establishing rapport with my customers, eventually the subject of my long commute would come up, and they would invariably ask, "Oh my! Why do you drive so far? You should move down here."

In truth, I have considered it over the years. But every time I drop my kids off at school, and I recognize nearly every parent and teacher, I realize: THIS IS HOME!

Sure, Grand Rapids is a bustling hub of activity, and the fastest growing city in Michigan. Make no mistake, I love Grand Rapids, too. I will always feel a connection to the big city, and my taste for excitement will always take me back. Grand Rapids has a feel like no other city I have been too, and I have been to a lot of cities.

But when it comes to truly enjoying family life, Hart is where my heart is. The small town community provides a feeling of safety and security. I love going into the grocery store and being welcomed by name. It's amazing that I haven't been in an auto accident yet, because I can hardly pass a car without having to give or return a friendly wave to a local friend or neighbor.

Sure, some of my city friends complain because I live out in "The Sticks", but when they want to go fishing, hunting, or camping, guess who they call? That's right, ME! We have everything here. There's fishing on Hart Lake, camping out at Silver Lake State Park, and whitetail deer galore.

I've spent so much time working outside of town, that I was starting to lose that connection with the town itself. Now that I am back to working locally, I am excited that I will be around to partake in all the classic events. I'll be here for the pancake breakfasts at the VFW. I'll be dragged by my kids to ride the rides and see the animals at the county fair. I'll even throw on my dress blues and march in the Parades if they want me to!

If you've never visited Hart before, I suggest you plan on doing so soon. Why not this summer? The dunes open next month, so you'd better start planning your trip now, and give me a call if you need a tip on a goof place to eat or a good place to stay. If you're a local already, I'll see you around town!

For the last several years, I have sold new homes in Grand Rapids for West Michigan's largest home builder. I enjoyed great success, and set the standard for sales and customer service in Grand Rapids. Everything was as it should be, the stars were aligned, the birds were singing, it was paradise!

Then, in August of 2007, I was asked by a respected Marine colleague to augment with another infantry unit from Madison, WI. This unit was deploying to Iraq, and I had a certain skill set that was desired for the mission. Always putting my commitment to our nation and the Marine Corps first, I came out of Reserve Status and activated. I spent the next three months preparing for deployment, and then spent the first eight months of 2008 in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. I returned home to West Michigan in August of 2008.

Boy, had the real estate world changed while I was across the globe. The housing bubble "burst", predatory lenders were all over the headlines, and foreclosures were going through the proverbial roof. I was awash in prospective buyers who would love to buy the homes we were selling, but they had homes of their own to sell first. As a Builder's Salesperson, I could only sell for that builder, so when customers sought my help on selling their own homes, I was unable to be of much use.

So, throughout the end of 2008, I watched the new home sales market decline, according to the newspapers at least. The builder I was working for was still having some success, and I was still selling a couple homes a month. Then January hit. For the first time ever, I had zero sales for the month. For a guy as competitive as I am, this was a huge eye-opener.

I had considered become a Real Estate Salesperson for a long time, but was daunted by the prospect of taking the licensing classes, scheduling a test date, waiting for my license, etc. On the other hand, I knew I had to diversify my business, and branch out into new arenas. I was also commuting a minimum of three hours a day, driving from Hart to Grand Rapids on snowy and icy roads. I was not able to spend anywhere near the amount of time with my wife and kids that I wanted to.

Long story short, in early February, I parted ways with my previous employer, and became a Realtor. I set up shop with CB Woodland Schmidt right in my hometown of Hart, MI. I work in an office with some of the brightest professionals I could ask for, who have been extremely supportive. I bring a fast paced, no-nonsense, big city approach to the team, and they help to remind me that the perk of living in a small community is the ability to be able to take it easy, and stop and smell the roses (between showings and listing appointments, that is).

I've lived in Hart for 15 years, and my wife has lived here her whole life. I know the area and the people, so I am eager to start applying my building and construction knowledge, as well as my sales and marketing skills to helping present and future residents of Oceana County with all their real estate needs.