SELLING HOMES ONE YARD AT A TIME               The Michigan Group and Re/Max Platinum  merge in Livingston County.                 This is big news in the real estate world, but a good move by all.  This economy             has been hard on many businesses and real estate offices are no exception.             The decision to merge the two largest companies in the county will be beneifical             to the agents as well as buyers and sellers.  Stay tuned for updates and watch             for the Re/Max balloon to show up at 6870 Grand River, Brighton, MI,  home of             The Michigan Group real estate company.        Email me for information  mgeise@remax.net A real estate professional  primarily in the Livingston, Oakland, and WashtnawCountie... 10/10/2007

The park in named for the Michigan corporation that donated the 5 acres of land behind their Brighton store on which the park is built. The concept started with the Brighton Optimist Club, a service organization whose focus is helping youth. The Brighton Chamber of Commerce came on board and gave the project's fund-rasing a lot of momentum. The park is now operated by the South East Livingston County Recreation Authority (SELCRA).This past weekend, the park hosted it's 8th annual fundraiser in the form of a skateboard competition. A professional boarder, Rob Dyrdek, was the celebrity judge.  About 900 spectators and competitors were there to watch. The SELCRA Meijer Skate Park is unique in that it is the only local skateboarding venue that is staffed during all open hours. It's reasonab... 09/26/2007

Brighton is a vibrant downtown area with a variety of restaurants and shops. It is the site for civic events like the Kiwanis Sunday Night Concerts at the Millpond gazebo, The Brighton Optimist Club's Free Fishing Derby for Kids, the Rotary's Duck Race, the Brighton Art Fair and many other events. Brighton has been in the forefront of making it's downtown pedestrian friendly. They installed the County's first traffic roundabout, which not only improved traffic flow, but helped to slow it, too.  Decorative brick paver crosswalks with flashing lights help pedestrians get noticed. The lights are mounted in the road as well as on signposts.  At the millpond, there is a gazebo, the Imagination Station playground, and the Farmer's Market is held in an adjacent parking lot during the warmer mo... 09/19/2007

Home Staging is a simple concept; Home Staging is taking a home for sale and increasing its overall appeal.  This is done by first preparing the home by reducing the appearance of clutter, neutralizing it's interior, cleaning, and making any necessary repairs or upgrades. Secondly, a professional Home Stager will use furniture, artwork and accessories in the home and arrange them in a way that is appealing to a majority of people. Home Stagers use furnishings and props to highlight certain features of the home that they want to ensure buyers notice. These same furnishings can also be used to divert attention away from less desirable features of the home. For example, let's say you have a partially upgraded kitchen, you replaced the cabinets, upgraded the countertops to granite and repla... 08/17/2007