Real Estate Blog - Admin Volkers

5 Things That REALLY Will Put a Serious Dent in Your Energy Bills

Stop sending so much money to your utility company with these simple strategies.

Your Mexican beach vacation was great, but, man, those margaritas sure can put on the pounds. It’s been two months, and you’re still carrying around an extra tenner — despite a new running routine and a lot of #&*&@$ kale. So why isn’t your weight dropping?

It can be like that with energy bills, too. Almost half (47%) of the respondents surveyed by the Shelton Group, a marketing agency specializing in energy efficiency, claimed they made between one and three energy efficiency improvements to their home. But 89% of them said their energy bills didn’t go down.  

So, what's up? We're rationalizing, says Suzanne Shelton, CEO of the Shelton Group. “We think, 'I…

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17 Things to Never, Ever, EVER Do to Your House

Keep the vintage wallpaper, but upgrade that time- and money-draining retro thermostat to programmable. What may seem like a good idea, often isn't. Here are 17 common mistakes new homeowners often make.

#1 Get Rid of Your Only Tub

If resale value is important to you, don't get rid of your only bathtub no matter how dreamy that walk-in shower looks.

It will make it harder to sell when the time comes. You'll flat-out lose buyers who love a good soak or need a tub to bathe little ones (both human and four-legged).

#2 Leave Cabinet Doors on While Painting

Painting your kitchen cabinets pays off big at resale — it's a small investment for a big "wow." But the job's time-consuming, so it's tempting leave the doors on.

RESIST. At all…

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GR Real Estate Market Insights w/ Steve Volkers

Hey, I'm Steve Volkers with Steve Volkers Group in Grand Rapids, Michigan. A small local brokerage. And we are going to start just talking monthly about market data. So I use a lot of market data when I'm talking at listing appointments, buyer appointments, and just within our brokerage with our agents.

Kevin, our marketing guru is starting to throw together this, uh, real estate market data package. You can get all the data online and Kevin will probably throw up a link. But what we're going to do is just drop this once. With the newest data. And then I'm just going to do my overview of what I think is happening within the market.

Right. So I want to, just to dive right in today on some of these graphs that I find interesting and give you…

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3 Must vs. Lust Buying Tips to Avoid Overspending

The super-simple (and fun) way to separate needs from nice-to-haves.

When you embark on the home-buying process, your heart is filled with all the dreams in the world. It’s really easy to get caught up in the “I have to have ___________,  so I’ll cut back somewhere else” game, even when you don’t actually know where that somewhere else is or if you can realistically cut back there.

This post will show you how to pare down the excess and make sure to get the things you really NEED.

Make a List of Wants

Start by making a list of everything you want in your house. If you love it, jot it down. Have your spouse or partner do the same thing in a separate document.

Once you and your partner have everything down, start sorting your wants…

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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.

DOWNLOAD YOUR CHECKLIST NOW

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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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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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Give Your Home a Morale Makeover

7 easy ways to revitalize your space and boost your mood.

With many Americans spending a lot more time at home, you may find your house taking on the roles of office, classroom, gym and community center — and it’s easy to feel uninspired by your surroundings after occupying the same space day in, day out. But all hope is not lost: There are simple and inexpensive ways to transform your home into a fresh and stimulating environment.

Give your home some TLC with these seven tips from interior decorators, feng shui experts and design enthusiasts.

1. Break it up

If you’re working at home, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by conflicting responsibilities. To help stay on track, designate different areas for specific activities. “It’s important to…

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10 Things You Can Ignore When House Hunting

In our competitive real estate market, it may not be possible to check everything off your wish list. While compromises may have to be considered there are some things that are better than others when it comes to what you can ignore about a home. Here's a list of 10 things that might make sense to ignore when considering a home.

1. A HOMES AGE
Quality materials, classic style, charm and inherent character can be hard to find in newer builds.

2. PAINT COLORS
Repainting is cheap, easy and fast. Focus on the structure of a room, window placement and other permanent features.

3. WONKY WALLPAPER
It might take a little elbow grease, but wallpaper is easily replaced or covered.

4. KITCHEN APPLIANCES
If you leave room in the budget for new furnishings, that…

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You've Been Booed Contest!

It's contest time! We're giving away a $100 gift card to the winner's choice of local restaurants.

It all starts with getting booed by one of the SVG crew. If find yourself having been booed simply follow the directions on the flyer. Then post a picture of you booing your neighbors on your Facebook profile...and be sure to tag us! (@stevevolkersgroup). If you're on the receiving end of an SVG boo please keep it going, but if you are unable you can still play, just post a picture of your boo treat, tag us and you'll also be entered in our random drawing!

Pretty simple, and the instructions are with your treats, so if you've been booed get started...and be sure to watch Steve Volkers & Rachael Fountain show us how they BOO!

Here's our…

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