Tag: #MidMichigan #Realtor

10 acres of land, Byron Schools

Nature lovers come take a look a this rolling 10 acre parcel (under 200k) with a 1456
sq. foot home, nestled in a pine setting. The acreage is rolling and has a multitude of various kinds of wildlife. What a great place to enjoy the outdoors, trails to walk and enough space for a few outdoor toys. Home has 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. Rustic and comfortable, with enough room to add a 3rd bedroom. a large detached garage with a wood heated workshop makes this a perfect workshop. There are 2 other out buildings for more storage, one of which has doubled as a hunting blind. Open fields have been used for hay. Lots of pines surround home and a large cement pad that can take at least 3 to 4 vehicles for parking. off the beaten path offers lots of privacy. Home has 100 amp service, new hot water heater and furnace is approx. 10 years old. Septic to the east of the home, well to the west.
$189,000.00
If you are interested please call Ben Anderson at 810-908-7155 if your interested.

Reduced Price for Sale in Byron

Attention first time home buyers and investors this listing is back on the market in the Byron area for THE REDUCED PRICE of $84,900. Come and check out this spacious 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in quiet downtown Byron. It features an open-concept floor plan with large living areas, closets, bedrooms, and bathrooms. Manufactured home on full basement. Walking distance from Byron schools.  Note to investors the owner has rented this home for approximately 20 years. The last rate was $700 a month which included water and sewer.

Top way to make money off of 10 acres

 

This is a follow-up to my previous article about how to make money off of an acre of land. I have since done more research on the subject, including speaking with World Tree Organization.
The Empress Splendor Paulownia tree is part of a tree program offered by World Tree. They provide guidance, the trees, experts, soil tests, buyers, a mobile mill, and shippers. They take away half of the profits; you get the other half. To be part of the program you must have a minimum of ten acres. They do offer a trial acre program for $550. The link below shows the figures per board foot based on three projected numbers, all at or below what they are getting right now per board foot. You could make 45k an acre (once World Tree takes its cut) after ten years (before taxes, but even that projection was on the low end). You could make $450,000 for letting these trees grow on your property for ten years. Once harvested the first time (which World Tree takes care of), the trees then regenerate using the same root system, causing them to grow faster. The wait for the next harvest will be shorter, making you that same money, but sooner. The link below gives more detail about this organization and what you can do it you want to get started.
farmers guide 2018-19 web 

 

Top Five Things To Do Before Listing Your Home

 

The top five things to do before listing your house on MLS are find a quality real estate agent, locate property records, declutter, clean, and stage.

You want to find an agent (1. Ericson) who best suits your needs. It is easy to think the one who sells the most is the best, but that is not always the case. You want someone who will work for you and take the time to make sure you understand the process. You can look at real estate agents’ listings online (2). Read the reviews – they speak volumes. It is tempting to go it alone, but you can make more money and save time using a dedicated licensed real estate professional (1. Ericson). Here is a good link for finding a quality agent (I apologize for the ads) https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesrealestatecouncil/2018/07/12/13-tips-for-finding-the-best-real-estate-agent-for-your-housing-needs/#1099a1282403

Locate property records like the deed, home owners insurance records, tax statements, any warranties (appliance or windows) that may remain with the house, and any other paperwork pertaining to the house (3. Gerhardt). If you cannot find the deed to your property it can be located at the court house. Most real estate agents can access deeds through their MLS, in some cases even get it for free. However, if you have any of these documents at the ready, it will speed up transaction. The following link has directions on how to locate property records https://www.wikihow.com/Do-a-Deed-Search

When decluttering your house it is very important to remove (to storage) any personal items, such as photographs. Try to keep the look of your home simple.  Potential buyers want to be able to envision it as their place, and this is difficult to do when looking at items that make it look like your home.  Sometimes it is best to store your valuables in a secure storage locker. This can be a challenge when you are trying to live in the house you are selling. Personally, I found storage containers to be very useful. At the very least, I was able to remove clutter from the house and store it in the trunk of my car during showing times. To paraphrase the late George Carlin, “My house is a place to store my stuff while I go out and buy more stuff,” (4. Carlin). If prospective buyers can’t see themselves in the house they are less likely to make an offer. They want to see an empty space where they can store, to use Mr. Carlin’s terms, their “stuff.” My wife and I decluttered by creating four piles for your “stuff”: need, want, pitch, and stage. We put our valuables in storage bins then sent them to a storage locker, and our need pile also went into storage bins in the back of our car during closing. It seems crude… but it worked.

If the top three necessities in real estate are location, location, location, then the top three things in selling a house are clean, clean, clean! If you have pets or kids this can be difficult. Over time, our noses adjust to odors to keep the limbic system from overloading. Novel smells still enter the nose but, over time are not passed along to the brain (5.Mag). Painting a house in neutral colors can do wonders for all the senses and the pocket book. My starter home’s prior owner was a smoker. I learned this instantly when viewing it the first time because of the tiny brown dots on the walls and an overwhelming smell. It took a little sand paper, primer and paint to help get rid of the odor. Another thing that helped was replacing carpeting.  Flooring can be easy and inexpensive to replace. If you are not prepared to put in new flooring, then steam-cleaning is highly recommended.  When it comes down to it, make sure everything is clean (spotless), all screws are tightened down, all outlet covers are covered, all half-finished projects are completed, and the doors all function as they are intended.

To stage a house is like putting an catchy label on a flavor of ice cream; which is more interesting – Cherry Vanilla, or Ben and Jerry’s Cherry Garcia? Highlight your home’s best features to make it more interesting! We all have a friend whose decorating taste we admire – pick their brains for suggestions. The goal in staging is to make a house appear stylish but also simple enough so anyone could make it their perfect style simply by adding their stuff. I believe it’s done with neutral tones and open space. Large tiles in a small room make the room feel smaller, and vice versa. Removing bulky furniture and/or adding up-lights can create the feeling of more space. In any house, you want walking-around room. Minimizing the furniture makes more space and that’s good for selling your house. A few strategically placed plants or fresh flowers can give a fresh look. Additionally, curb appeal can make a house feel like a home before setting foot inside. Fresh plants appeal to our naturalistic side (even real-looking fake plants). Plants improve economics and perceived value according to timber press (6.Timber). When staging a house I start outside with a commercially cut lawn, fresh mulch, and flowers. I also suggest a good power wash for the deck, siding, concrete seams, and windows. We all wake up every day, shower, and go to work – it’s good idea to do the same for your house when putting it to work for you. The following link provides staging tips with minimal ads https://www.moving.com/tips/10-best-home-staging-tips/

To be proactive please visit your real estate agent top get a

  1. Located on 12-21-18, Ericson, Cathy, published on Nov 2, 2017, https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/home-selling-checklist-things-to-do-before-selling/
  2. Located on 12-21-18 https://www.realtor.com/realestateagents/flint_mi
  3. Located on 12-22-18 Gerhardt, Nick 2018, https://www.familyhandyman.com/smart-homeowner/34-important-things-to-do-when-planning-to-sell-your-home/view-all/
  4. Located on 12-22-18 Carlin, George, third paragraph, https://scrapsfromtheloft.com/2017/06/29/george-carlin-carlin-campus-1984-full-transcript/
  5. Located on 12-22-18 Mag, The, published 12-20-18, http://mentalfloss.com/article/53526/how-do-our-noses-adjust-bad-smells
  6. Located on 12-22-18 Timber published 5-27-2016 https://www.timberpress.com/blog/2016/05/what-plants-contribute-to-interior-design/

First Time Home Buyers

I wanted to do the top 5 reasons to purchase a home but then I came across this article in the research phase of my writing. It is amazing what the internet can do these days. Purchasing a home should be done for the right reasons (practicality). This link has a detailed list of reasons, ideas, and citations. The website is a dot com (so it is a commercial website) but it reminds me of things I wish I knew when I purchased my first home. Here is the link. Please give me feedback if you have any questions or suggestions.

https://www.moneyunder30.com/first-time-home-buying-guide