Real Estate Blog

Benefits of Buying a Home In the Winter

While the spring and summer continue to be popular home-buying seasons, there’s no reason you can’t purchase a home during the winter months! Winter isn’t quite as unpopular in the real estate world as you’d think— Ramsey Solutions reports, over a million homes were sold in the U.S. last winter. That being said, there are some major advantages of purchasing in the winter that you won’t find in the spring or summer.

The Market Looks Different

In the winter, there’s significantly less competition and typically lower prices. Less competition means you’re less likely to enter a bidding war with other interested parties. If you’re willing to brave the Michigan winter, chances are other people won’t be (and won’t be showing up to tour your prospective…

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Get Your Home Ready For Winter

Before the mercury settles in the bottom of the thermometer for the next three months, it’s a good idea for homeowners to winterize their homes against the freezing temperatures so that their greatest investment will survive intact for springtime.

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How To Organize Your Garage

Whether you’re getting ready to sell or you have the itch to get organized before the snow flies, a clean garage is truly a game changer.

Garages are an often overlooked or misused space— and yours likely has tons of storage potential just waiting to be utilized. Once you have a plan, organizing your garage isn’t as daunting as it may seem! So grab a notepad, make a list for the hardware store, and let’s get to work.

It may go without saying, but your first step should be to sort through what you want to keep, donate, or toss. Once you have your “keep” pile, that’s where the real organizing begins. NOTE: If you have a lot you’d like to get rid of, we recommend researching your area’s second-hand stores or donation centers before throwing things…

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5 Things to Take Care of at Home This Fall

We’ve welcomed cooler temps, pumpkins are for sale at Meijer, and football season is in full swing— it’s officially fall in Michigan. After fall comes winter, which means you have a few things you need to take care of before the snow arrives (we won’t think about that too much). Taking care of your home now will set you up for success as the seasons— and elements— change over these coming months.

1. Clean Your Gutters

   This is crucial to complete before winter weather rolls around. Clogged gutters can potentially lead to interior flooding and exterior damage (neither of which are fun, especially in dwindling temperatures). If your gutters are in need of replacing, fall is a great time to do that as well.

2. Rake Your Leaves

   You either…

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7 Reasons to Work With a Realtor®

REALTORS® are members of the National Association of REALTORS® and subscribe to its strict Code of Ethics. When you're buying a home, here's what an agent who's a REALTOR® can do for you.

1. Act as an expert guide. Buying a home typically requires a variety of forms, reports, disclosures, and other legal and financial documents. A knowledgeable real estate agent will know what's required in your market, helping you avoid delays and costly mistakes. Also, there’s a lot of jargon involved in a real estate transaction; you want to work with a professional who can speak the language.
2. Offer objective information and opinions. A great real estate agent will guide you through the home search with an unbiased eye, helping you meet your buying objectives…

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Real Estate Insights w/ Steve Volkers - Fake It Till Ya Make It

"Fake it 'til you make it." We've all heard that phrase before, right? But is that really the mindset you should have in your industry?

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Pre-inspection vs. Showing

Article courtesy of: GRAR

Current market conditions are prompting more and more buyers to conduct pre-inspections of listed properties before writing an offer.  While that practice isn’t necessarily a problem, issues can arise if the true intent of the visit to the property isn’t shared with the listing agent and seller. 

For example, the seller of a listed property was surprised to hear from a neighbor that there were two men on the roof during the day while the homeowner was away.  The homeowner reached out to the listing agent.  The listing agent investigated and learned that a buyer’s agent scheduled a visit to the property using ShowingTime.  The “appointment type” was referenced as “showing”.  However, the purpose of the visit was to…

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Real Estate Insights w/ Steve Volkers - Authenticity

Life, business, and otherwise is so much more than 'clicks,' 'likes,' and 'subscribers.'

Being truly authentic is something I work on, every day, to be.

How can you be authentically YOU today?

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Real Estate Insights w/ Steve Volkers - Pay Yourself a Salary

 Let's talk money!

Real estate can be a lucrative industry, but that doesn't mean starting off comes without financial risk. If you're moving from a full-time job to real estate, it can be difficult to navigate how to manage your money.

Steve gives us some helpful insight on the importance of paying yourself a salary from your business account.

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Real Estate Insights w/ Steve Volkers - Full Time Agents

At Steve Volkers Group, we typically don't hire people who don't plan on making real estate their full-time job...Why?

We want a crew that's all-in and fully committed. Some crew members have transitioned from a full-time 9-5 job into real estate, and our biggest piece of advice is always this: keep your real estate money and your other income completely separate.

This allows your real estate account to grow, which better equips you to move away from your full-time job and jump into real estate with some money saved already.

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