Find Foreclosure and Pre-Foreclosure Properties Quickly & Easily

Going online to find foreclosures isn't the best method. I can help you find them much quicker.

Selling your Grand Rapids home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Grand Rapids home? Search all homes for sale

A lot of my clients here in Grand Rapids ask me about Zillow. I will be providing you with a brief overview of the website including its pros and cons.

If you go to Zillow you will notice a pre-foreclosure tab, and this indicates homes that have not paid their mortgage for 30, 60 or 90 days. Oftentimes these homes are not actually for sale because websites like Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com get their information from credit reporting agencies. Often times this information is inaccurate and can mislead buyers which can cost them time and money.

The other tab in Zillow is a foreclosure tab. Zillow finds these listings from court reports that indicate which properties have been repossessed by banks. These listings can also be inaccurate and outdated.

I have access to the latest foreclosures.

I have access to the most updated foreclosure and pre-foreclosure listings and will not lead you astray in your home search. Instead of wasting your time with real estate websites, I urge you to come to me so that we can expedite your home search.

If you are interested in finding these kinds of properties in the Grand Rapids area, then please do not hesitate to contact me via phone or email. I look forward to working with you.

Helping First-Time Buyers in Grand Rapids

I started working in real estate in 1992, and I have always enjoyed working with first-time home buyers. Right now, it is very important to do a strategy session before you go and look at homes. 

During the strategy session, I’ll ask you how much you want to spend each month on a home, and we’ll figure out what kind of loan program works for you. Some buyers use FHA loans, which requires a 3.5% down payment. I also work with a lot of veterans who can use VA loans, which requires no money down.

During the strategy session, we’ll make a plan to find your dream home.

Other buyers may need an RD loan program to buy a property out in the country. If you have 5%, 10%, 15%, or 20% down, you can get a conventional loan. No matter what you need, the strategy session helps us set you up for success. 

Finally, we’ll go over what you’re looking for in a property: how many bedrooms do you want, how many bathrooms, and where do you want to be? Once we figure out what your dream home is, the real work begins. 

If you have any questions for me, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

A Simple Strategy for Grand Rapids Buyers in Multiple Offer Situations

Selling your Grand Rapids home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Grand Rapids home? Search all homes for sale

As a buyer, there are a few things you can do to win a multiple offer situation. It can be a complicated process, but I’ve won more than 100 multiple offer bids with one simple strategy.

When we find a home that you love, if there’s a multiple offer situation, I call the other agent. I have great relationships with many of the agents in our area. I find out what the seller’s motivations are so that when we structure your offer, it lines up exactly with what the seller is looking for in regards to price and terms.

If you have any questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What All First-Time Home Buyers Should Know

Selling your Grand Rapids home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Grand Rapids home? Search all homes for sale

Being a first-time homebuyer is very exciting, but there are a few things you should know and questions you should answer before starting the process. We’ve got the information for you today, and are happy to share it with you. Before starting the process of buying your first home, you need to:

• Know what financing is best for you. If you can qualify for certain programs through the state of Michigan, you may be able to get a $7500 grant. There are also financing programs from the USDA and VA that don’t require any down payment.
• Know what you are looking for. What area do you want to live in? How many bedrooms/bathrooms do you want? What amenities do you need? Answering these questions will allow us to set up a profile for you on our home search website, which will only send you the listings that match your criteria.

Once you’ve found your dream home, we can go through it, take a look at everything, and advise you on where you should make an offer in the current market. It’s that simple!

If you have any questions for us, or are looking to buy a home in Grand Rapids, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

How Can You Spruce Up Your Living Room on a Budget?

Selling your Grand Rapids home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Grand Rapids home? Search all homes for sale

If you are looking to sell your home, your goal is to get the most money possible in the shortest amount of time. One of the best ways to add value and appeal to your home is through home staging. You have a lot of options for how you want to go about it. You could hire a professional staging company, but that comes with a hefty price tag.Most of the time, a few simple fixes is all it takes to transform a living room. 

Today we are going to go through some of our most favorite, inexpensive home staging tips or you. We hope these will help you save both time and money when it comes time to sell your home.

A fresh coat of paint is always a good idea. Neutral, warm colors work best for highlighting the natural light in your home. This will make it easier to punch up the room with some colorful accessories and pull everything together.

A common design problem facing many homeowners is that they have no real entry way, as their front door opens up to the living room. To fix this, you can add a table, some lighting, and a rug to "fake a foyer" and make it feel like the living room and entryway are two different spaces.

A patterned rug, some pillows, or bright curtains add a ton of texture and an eclectic layer to the space, which is essential to a well-designed room.

In some cases, a "make-under" is just what you need. In the case of most fireplaces, taking some accessories and clutter away enhances the look and feel of the room greatly.

You could spend well over a few thousand dollars with a staging company, or you could do these fixes yourself for around $500. That's a small investment considering the value that you add to your home by adding those pieces.

If you have any questions for us about staging your home or anything else real estate related, give us a call or send over a quick email. We are always here to help, and would love to hear from you!

What is a Short Sale?

Selling your Grand Rapids home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Grand Rapids home? Search all homes for sale

Do you know what a short sale is? It's essentially when you owe more on a home than what it is really worth. For instance, if you owe a bank $200,000 and the home is really only worth $150,000. 

How can I help you in a situation like this? I can help you in communicating with the bank in regards to what your situation is, in order to help them understand what might be happening. 

What I'll also do is ask the bank to re-appraise the home, and if the home appraises out at $150,000, the bank will likely approve of the short sale and that debt will be forgiven. 

In one case, a client of mine had a home that the bank valued at $350,000, but it only sold for $175,000. The bank actually forgave the difference and so it worked out very well.

If you know of anyone that's stuck in a short sale, please refer them to me because I would love to help get them out of that rut.

As always, please consider me as your #1 sources for Grand Rapids real estate!

What Is Your Grand Rapids Home Really Worth?

      

Selling your Grand Rapids home? Get a free home value report

Buying a Grand Rapids home? Search all homes for sale

Hey everyone, thanks for visiting my blog once again. I've met with five homeowners in the last month, who have all given me their Zillow estimates on what their home is worth. I have sold all 5 of those homes, and for quite a bit more than what their Zestimate originally said they would. If you are looking to sell your home, make sure you give me a call so I can come out to take a look at your home and give you its true value. 

One question I've been getting a lot lately is, "What is the best way to buy a foreclosure?" Well, there are a few different kinds, and I have experience with all of them, including HUD homes, VA foreclosures, short sales, and more. If your dream is to buy one of these types of homes, give me a call. I would love to help you with that as I have recently started marketing these types of homes. 

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to me via phone or email. I look forward to hearing from you!

How to Narrow Your Home Search

If you're a prospective buyer in the Grand Rapids area and are in search of your essential home, search all homes on the MLS, or if you're wanting to place your home on the market, don't hesitate to obtain a free home price estimation tool. If you have any questions, or desire any preliminary information about the Grand Rapids real estate market, feel free to contact me at (616) 532-7200.

A home is one of the biggest financial investments you will make in your entire life. Today we want to talk a little about the process that any home buyer goes through when trying to find the perfect home, so you can better understand where to begin if you are thinking of buying a home. 

The first thing you will want to figure out is what type of home you are looking for. Is it a 2-bedroom? A 3-bedroom? A house with a 2-car garage? 

The next thing to do is narrow your search down to a specific area. This could be an area as big as a town or a city, or as small as a specific street or neighborhood. Real estate is all about location, and you want to be happy with where you are living. 

From there, the next important step is finding out which mortgage program you qualify for. There are a ton of different programs out there for all types of situations, we just simply have to find the best fit for you. Once we find the price range and program for you, you want to pick out a list of around 8-10 houses to tour.

Once you have finally selected your perfect home, we will check it out to determine what kind of offer you should make. We have been doing this for years and know all the aspects to look at, both inside and out. 

We love helping buyers find their perfect home and would love to help you. If you are interested in buying a home in Grand Rapids, please give us a call. We are really looking forward to helping you!

Work with the Most Dedicated Team in Grand Rapids

If you're a prospective buyer in the Grand Rapids area and are in search of your essential home, search all homes on the MLS, or if you're wanting to place your home on the market, don't hesitate to obtain a free home price estimation tool. If you have any questions, or desire any preliminary information about the Grand Rapids real estate market, feel free to contact me at (616) 532-7200.

Home buying can be a tedious process. On average, buyers look at 8-10 homes before deciding on the right one for them We want to make this process as easy as possible. Here's how we do it:

• We record exactly what you're looking for in a home: number of bedrooms, square footage, price, etc.
• We then create a profile for you, and find all the houses that match your profile. We email the matching homes we find directly to you, let you take a look at them, and call you for a follow up.
• If there are homes you want to take a look at, we can usually show the homes you're interested in that day.

Few agents can promise you this kind of service. Send us a text and we'll get back to you immediately so we can set up a time to meet that's convenient for you. If you would like to learn more about our process, or are interested in buying or selling a home, shoot us a text or give us a call. We're motivated to make your home buying experience a walk in the park.

Your Guide to Buying Foreclosed Homes

If you're a prospective buyer in the Grand Rapids area and are in search of your essential home, search all homes on the MLS, or if you're wanting to place your home on the market, don't hesitate to obtain a free home price estimation tool. If you have any questions, or desire any preliminary information about the Grand Rapids real estate market, feel free to contact me at (616) 532-7200.

After a home is foreclosed on, it becomes a bank owned home and is now for sale by a broker. There are many things to consider when buying a foreclose home that you may not know about.  By following these simple tips, you will be able to get a great home at a fraction of the cost.

• Once a home is foreclosed upon and for sale by the bank, we pick it up on our MLS system right away. We then immediately send the information to you so that you will have the first crack at these homes. So if you see a home you like, it is important to let us know right away so we can help you with your offer.
• After we get you the information, we will get you in on the same day to see the property so that if you like it, you can make an offer. Timeliness is key when making offers on foreclosed homes, as often times the first offer in is the first one accepted by the bank
• Another type of foreclosure we have much experience with are HUD homes. These are foreclosed homes that were on an FHA loan. It is a bit of a different process than a typical foreclosed home, as you are bidding on the home against other buyers. If you see a home listed as an HUD home, let us know. We have a lot of experience with these and guide you through the process with knowledge and clarity.
• For all foreclosed homes, we have a proven system that we use in order for you to make the best offer, or if it is a home you need to place a bid for, we can help you make the best right bid. We will gather all the information on the house including what it has sold for prior, what other homes in the area have sold for, and what the house's value is. We will then give you great advice on what  offer to make, how you should package that offer, and various tips and tricks of the trade for making the best offer. This will give you a competitive advantage in the market.
• We have great relationships with most of the agents here in Grand Rapids and these relationships will play a key role in getting you the best deal for a foreclosed home.

If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to give us a call. We would be happy to help you.