If you like the country atmosphere, with quality schools look no further. This listing is in downtown Byron, walking distance from parks, downtown, and schools. This listing was used as a rental for many years, it sits on a nice corner lot, and is situated on top of a full basement for under 90k. It is close to everything downtown Byron has to offer including the Sesquicentennial Park on the Shiawassee River.
This listing has investment potential on two fronts. The Rancho Grande Restaurant has a served authentic Mexican food to the residents of Durand for many years. The secret family recipes from the past forty years come with this sale. This listing also has a storage room which could be converted to potential living quarters/rental space. If you are interested in becoming the neighborhood Chef but want to start making money right out of the gate by renting the upstairs living quarters look no further. Call 810-908-7155 and ask for Ben Anderson of The Drury Group.
In today’s world, there are many different ways to create investment opportunities – from Airbnb, to your conventional rental property. There are even companies that target the out of town/state markets (like Starkey Realty in Port Aransas, TX), managing properties for people who live far from them. When you sell a house, you sell a lifestyle (city, lake, country, etc.). When you rent a house, you are leasing the opportunity of that lifestyle.
This home has a spacious floor plan with an open-concept design in quiet downtown Byron. The house is manufactured and sits upon a full basement. The rental potential is there, considering it’s priced to sell. The current owners have had it rented for the past twenty years. The last rental price was $700 monthly, including water and sewer. That means you could collect $8,400 per year, gross.
Renting means keeping accurate records, setting aside time to process payments, and a committing to maintain your property. With that in mind, it appears to be an easy way of making extra money. We can all speculate what the market will do, but there is, of course, no guarantee. Look to the past to make the best predictions. If you subscribe to that idea, this listing has been rented consistently for the past twenty years which leads one to believe it could be a successful rental for the future. MLS #31393496 or 224 Oak St. Byron, MI, 48418-9127. Call 810-908-7155, ask for Ben.
Here is a link to the listing on Zillow:
https://www.zillow.com/homes/224-N-Church-St-Byron,-MI,-48418_rb/
Top five things you need to do before moving into your forever home are:
think ahead
make a list of must haves
make a list of things you don’t want
check and manage credit score with a trusted mtg broker
find a knowledgeable/trustworthy real estate agent.
When I write “think ahead”, I mean that even though we cannot predict what the future will hold, we do know a few things for certain. For instance, living in a tree house with a rope ladder might sound like an amazing experience… but not so much at the age of 85. In our forever home, we built a rather large staircase. Looking back now, I wish we had thought more about a one-level home seeing as how we planned to grow old here, and one day those stairs will be a burden. I have met many people looking for ranch homes for that very reason. Just identifying your wants and needs and how they may adjust with age will help you in finding your dream home.
I encourage all my clients to get a small notebook (one without lines) to sketch/write down what they must have in a home. What is most important to you? Then research the best ways to meet that particular need. Let’s say you like to work on motors; having a finished garage might be an important. If you are a water person, being on a lake may be important. Then get into the design of your home. Make it come alive on the page. This could be through a series of lists or little thumbnail drawings. Drawing is not my medium, but if it looks like a three year old drew it (which it usually does) I know what I want and I can at least spell it out in words . If you are having trouble with inspiration, go on a tour of homes or take virtual tours online. Pinterest is a good source for inspiration. If you could have anything in the world what would it look like (roughly).
Making a list of what you don’t want is also important. If having water near your home makes you uncomfortable, then put that on the list. This is different than the must-have list because it can help you identify things that may cause future frustration. For example, I had a client who wanted to be on water (a must-have for him). Once shown several properties on the water at his price point, he noticed how close together the houses were. This client did not want close neighbors and we were able to find a lake in the country. I’m no neurologist, but it appears to work a different part of the brain when thinking want vs. don’t want.
Always check with your money manager before making any large purchase. A good money manager stays on top of market trends and can steer you in the right direction for locating the money you need to make your dreams come true. An experienced broker will focus on the reality of the situation and be straightforward with you. If you don’t have a money manager, your real estate agent can recommend mortgage brokers to you (in the state of Michigan they are required to recommend at least two). A mortgage broker can help you find you credit score and what type of mortgage will work best for you. I always prefer to go local, but when making this big of a commitment, you will want to keep an eye on the interest rate and the fine print.
Find a trusted/knowledgeable real estate agent. I would recommend someone who can help you understand the home buying process on your terms. After you have written down what you’re looking for (must-haves and don’t-wants), continue to look for houses online and in person (with a licensed agent). Your agent will be searching their databases, but the more you look, the more your ideas toward what you want will grow.
My wife and I still have the sketchbook we used to find our forever home. We still add to it as we continue to build our forever life together. Now we add lists of features we want to add to our house, or improvements we’d like to make.. Most recently, we added our finished basement design. We sometimes use graph paper to get a better scale but the drawing always ends up in our book.
Best wishes and happy dream-building!
If you are headed out to the Montrose Blueberry Festival this Sunday, please stop in and see this newly renovated home! It is located right downtown, on 265 Oak St. The house will be open for showing from Noon~2 p.m. We will be serving cookies and water (while supplies last). If you have any questions or would like schedule a showing separate from the open house, please call 810-908-7155. We look forward to seeing you!
…This three bedroom, one bath charmer. Located on a quiet street near the downtown – walking distance to most everything. This house has updated electrical, new siding, windows, doors, roof, completely remodeled kitchen and bath. It also has all new appliances, flooring, and light fixtures. Features a fenced back yard, storage shed, and new landscaping. All for the price of $99,900.00 It will be on the market 8-8-19. Call 810-908-7155 if you are interested.
I thought this article had some really good data points about the 2005 housing crisis and how MI stands today. It is worth a read even if you are not buying or selling a house. Understanding your investments gives you insight to future possibilities. Below is the link:
Why The Next Real Estate Crash May Already Be Behind Us (Did You Miss It?)
In real estate I have been able to apply the tools I learned in college. Using those tools I have been fortunate to continue to make my clients money on every transaction. Researching/purchasing crypto currency is fascinating and addicting so please speak with your financial advisor before making any major future financial decisions (I certainly did). Listed below is a link to a site that I found particularly helpful when making my projections and wanted to make sure I shared the link. Thanks for your time.
If you are interested in flipping a house into a home there are five things you need to know. You (and your partner) should have a budget, a time line, be prepared to clean (demo), keep your eye on the end goal, and location.
In your budget you need to know during the purchase of your flip house you may put in a full price offer, and then have to submit another offer which is your highest and best price within 24 hours of being notified. This is something you will want to plan for before submitting your offer. It is easy to get comfortable when you have a budget for your new project but be aware there will always be surprises. Make sure you set aside 10% of your over all budget for surprises. Things that shouldn’t be surprising are things like a transfer tax, water, sewer, and electric bill. If you are flipping in a cold climate and do not keep the furnace going you run the potential of bursting your pipes. With those in mind you will want to insure your investment with a hazard policy for the time it is in your possession. State and local permits may need to be pulled before making repairs. All of these things cost money but most of them can be included in your budget beforehand.
A time line is important because it gives you a goal. It is important to synthesize the timeline for maximum purpose. What I mean is, if you want to install windows at the end of the month you must order and check on the delivery of those windows at the beginning of the month (sometimes months in advance check with your window supplier). This can be applied to every aspect of a flip. It is easier to put in new floors after painting when possible. Keeping an eye on the timeline is important because if one thing goes wrong it can affect other things on the timeline. Getting things done on time feels good and helps you move your flip.
Cleaning a flip house can be crazy. I am not talking about the “Fun Demo Day” you see on TV but the cleaning filth our of the craziest locations. It can be very bad so be prepared. Make sure you have all the proper safety tools for the job at hand. Wear a mask, gloves, goggles, and your old cloths because it’s going to get messy. It seems silly for me to write so much about this but you don’t want to get hurt and have to take time away from your flip (it will mess up your timeline and budget). Get it done right the first time. Pretend your grandma is moving into this house and clean accordingly. Don’t be afraid to ask google. The correct tool can save you hours of back breaking work.
Keep your eye on the end goal. You are helping someone get a nice new home. I doubt you will get the nobel peace prize but you are doing the community a service. You won’t get a gold star for making sure something is done correctly but that flip will be tied to your name so stay focused on putting out a quality flip and at least you will know you are doing the right thing. It is really hard to see the beauty behind the flip when you first walk in but staying focused on what you want it to look like helps. Know your limits but don’t let them get in the way of seeing your finished product. I don’t do foundation work so any house with foundation issues is off my list. If I had to I would call a structural engineer but would focus on ones that don’t have that type of issue.
One thing you see on TV that is very important in a flip is location. A lot of times you don’t have time to drive around the location of your flip house but I would highly recommend it. This is where a real estate agent comes in handy because they can get quick access to location data. An easy formula is to find the worst house in the best neighborhood and flip it. Life isn’t a movie so it doesn’t always work out like that so be prepared. Check and know off hand which schools are ranked high in the area you are looking to flip (doesn’t matter if you have school age kids). Be aware of local news and politics from a reliable source. You want to find an area that is on the rise. The best time to sell a flip is in April-July not to say other times of the year aren’t good it’s just those are the best.
Those are the top five flipping tips. I did not mention price because it is subjective and vary’s from market to market. If a house is priced to move you may make up some of the costs in not having to pay taxes, utilities and insurance. Having a budget, a timeline, being prepared to clean, keeping your eyes on the end goal, and understand how to use location to your advantage are my top five flipping tips. Thanks for taking the time to read my article. Please feel free to comment and share.
Sincerely,
Ben Anderson
The Drury Group
810-908-7155
I have articles on this blog detailing how real estate appreciates over time compared to the value of the dollar with cited sources. If you have a diversified portfolio you may have some hot stocks mixed in with some blue chip stocks (slowly shifting to blue chip stocks as you get closer to retirement). In the past week (6-20 to 6-28-2019) bitcoin has really gone up, and down. I would not recommend bitcoin to anyone who is nearing retirement. Bitcoin is crypto currency that is used in transactions (not just online). Some country’s plagued with corruption and violence use it as the main currency (60 Minutes did a piece on it years ago about a country in Africa using it as currency). In short, it is online money which is not backed up by gold or silver. I would say that it’s value is backed through encryption and ease of use. It is easy to set up but it needs to be linked to a bank account using one of the apps out there that aid in the transfer of crypto currency (coinbase or crypto tax are free apps). Some people have been sitting on their stock for over a year using the alerts provided to buy low and hope to sell high. The three crypto currency stocks that were recommended to me were are Bitcoin, Etherium, and Lite Coin. Other people use it on a daily basis to pay for food or their Uber ride. There is so much more I would love to share about crypto currency but wanted to keep this simple.
I would recommend speaking with your financial advisor before making any major financial changes. I recommend Merrill Lynch in Grand Blanc 2019 “Forbes Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list. #cryptocurrence #investmenteducation
60 minutes article on bitcoin as a currency, Lesley Stahl, 2015, https://www.cbsnews.com/news/future-of-money-kenya-m-pesa-60-minutes/
Ben & Jamie Anderson Realtors 