Real Estate TaxesGrand Rapids, MI, is the second-largest city in the state and the 7th in terms of growth. Thanks to its rich history, beautiful surroundings, diverse population, and thriving economy, the city has experienced tremendous growth in the last decade. Notable factors for this growth include low cost of living, stable job growth, family-friendly neighborhoods, excellent schools, and well-established community amenities. The riverside town has continued to attract much attention thanks to its wide range of entertainment, shopping, recreation, and sightseeing options. The community's many positive features have made the region an attractive option for families looking to move into a new home in the city. To help these prospective buyers, we've compiled an informational guide on... 01/15/2021

Buying a Home in Grand Rapids, MIReview Your Credit ScoreThe first step you need to consider when buying a home is reviewing your credit score. It's best to consult with a financial advisor on your standing to help identify if a home purchase would be a good move for you. Reviewing your credit and finances also allows you to identify your budget for a home purchase correctly.Save on Your DownpaymentSaving on your downpayment is a great way to reduce your long-term costs for your home purchase. Having a large payment upfront reduces your monthly mortgage and lets you build higher potential equity for the longterm. Check out our original blog post at https://grootrealtyco.com/.Talk to More Than One LenderThe lending business can get quite competitive, and letting lenders know that you're ... 09/05/2020

Home Disinfection and CleaningThe Covid-19 VirusThe Corona Virus Pandemic has drastically changed the lives of everyone around the world, and it's essential to learn more about the virus to help prevent its spread. The virus is an envelope-type virus that encases the human cell-damaging RNA. To help stop the virus, you'll want to stop it from getting into your respiratory system or killing it through regular handwashing or disinfecting surfaces that may be contaminated. In this article, we share some of the best ways you can help stop the spread of Covid-19 and protect yourself and your loved ones from the virus. Check out our original blog post at https://grootrealtyco.com/.Disinfecting Your HomeDisinfecting your home is a crucial step to help ensure your household is virus-free. The E... 08/12/2020

Groot Realty HomesGroot Realty Homes is a father and son real estate team serving clients in the greater Grand Rapids, Michigan area. We pride ourselves in providing professional real estate services and ensuring our clients get the best deal possible. If you're in the market for a new home, loft, or other residential properties, our team can help provide you with a list of available homes for sale in the various neighborhoods in Grand Rapids. If you are looking to hire a realtor to market your home and get it sold fast, our team would be happy to list your home online and market it to the right people today.Check out our website at https://grootrealtyco.com/.Our TeamGroot Realty Homes is comprised of three hardworking, dedicated, and experienced realtors. Robert (Bob) Groot, Jack Groot... 06/01/2020

Cost of LivingCost of living is the total amount an individual or family has to spend in order to maintain a good quality of life in any given area. Several factors are affecting this amount, including housing, food, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities. If you're planning to move into a new neighborhood in the same city, the cost of living won't be one of the things you need to consider in earnest. However, if you plan to move to a different city or state, you'll want to make sure you check out the cost of living in that community before committing. You may realize that your new income will not provide the same quality of living in a new city as compared to your current home. Check out our original neighborhood post at https://grootrealtyco.com/.Cost of Living Inde... 04/07/2020

Grand Rapids, MI Closing CostsClosing CostsClosing costs are the various expenses a home buyer or home seller has to pay in the final stages of a real estate transaction. If you're close to finalizing your home purchase or sale you'll want to review these fees with your realtor to make sure you have them accounted for your overall budget. Although in most cases the buyer shoulders most of the closing costs of the deal there are instances where you can arrange for the seller to cover some of the costs depending on how you negotiate the sale.Closing costs in the state of Michigan account for about 1.44% to 2.89% of the final home sale price or an average of $2,888 after taxes. The median home value in Michigan is $154,500 and costs can vary depending on the actual price of the property. I... 01/06/2020

Here’s a look at the Grand Rapids Real Estate Market for May 2018. According to a report released by the Grand Rapids Association of REALTORS® (GRAR), Grand Rapids continues to favor sellers in today’s real estate market. Currently, sellers are receiving 99 percent of their listing price.April ended with a total of 953 properties sold. That is a 4.7 percent increase from the number sold in March. The average sale price of homes in the Grand Rapids area was $354,000 in April. That’s a decrease of 1.4 percent from the $359,000 of last month. It’s worth noting that the median sold price showed an increase for April at the rate of 2.7 percent, with this month coming in at $190,000 compared to the $185,000 last month.READ MORE HERE  06/02/2018

March ended with a total of 845 properties sold. That is an impressive increase of 32.7 percent from the 637 properties sold in February. The average sale price of homes in the Grand Rapids area was $359,000 in March. That’s an increase of 5 percent from the $342,000 of last month. It’s worth noting that the median sold price is also showing an increase for March at the rate of 2.2 percent, with this month bringing $183,000 compared to $179,000 in February. Read More Here 05/04/2018

I firmly believe we as agents should be reviewed about our service to the public we serve. There are times we may NOT receive the review we would like to hear but frankly some of the things that may be said coula possibly help us to be better. One of my quotes I’ve been using lately is”if we want to be better we must do better”. How will we know if someone doesn’t tell us? How will we know if we’ve made a mistake and we keep repeating it? I at times can be sensitive to the words people may say about me but if I want to be “better” I need to be able to handle it. I need to “thicken” up my skin to be able to take constructive criticism from my clients/customers. But since we are human and we have feelings we tend to take offense to words that offend and criticize and not words that edify... 03/29/2018

This year more than years past - we have discovered by home inspections mold in the home. Many times it was not visible - however a home inspector could smell it or see signs of something that could cause mold and would call for further investigations. Mold has increasingly become a concern of the home owner or the new home buyer. I tease that I am the mold detector, after years of showing homes with mold,  I have developed quite the allergy, if mold is in the house I will know it,  as I have a hard time breathing and start wheezing and coughing.  The most common places we have found mold,  in attic spaces, damp basements and bathrooms. Most times these are visible. It’s the mold you can not see that worries me so, we have found in ductwork, behind walls and under flooring. I am no wher... 10/05/2017

When selling your home you are not only competing with your neighbors home, you are competing with new construction. As we show homes to our home seekers new construction is very much part of the mix.  Many times the new construction feels like a better deal to the buyer due to all the upgrades or newness to the home. It may even have less finished square footage!  The buyer still wants that prestine clean updated look. These are just a few idea’s we have that make sense! The Gordon Group works with many buyers, therefore we know what they are thinking, wanting and their concerns. This makes us a very strong listing agent. If you are thinking of listing in the spring, contact us now so we can be part of the preparation, we do not want you to spend unnecessary money in renovations or ove... 10/01/2017

A funny thing happened on the way to the office yesterday ………… My Marketing Director was meeting our new admin for lunch at a local restaurant.  They were talking real estate. It was a get to know you meeting and what to expect,  kind of a thing.  So the Gordon Group name came up a lot.  A nearby dinner had overheard the conversation and stopped by their table and asked, “Are you with The Gordon Group”? They replied,  "yes".  She had continued to talk about how she had met with me 2 years ago.  I had come out to her home to do a walk through,  a prelisting appointment. However she did not want to work with me, she did not care for me, but wanted to work with The Gordon Group and if they could refer another agent in the group to work with her.  I am sorry I did not connect with her, howe... 04/08/2016

Yes, I feel like a broken record - we need listings, we have limited inventory - here is the latest news article about our short inventory crisis. However, Mr and Ms. homeowner you would love to sell and move but then where would you go?  It’s like which comes first the chicken or the egg - the listing or the purchase?  As with this problem also comes being a strong buyer as if you find your dream home, most likely it’s 30 others dream home and you will enter into a competitive bid situation, so what can you do other than price to make your offer strong? Not have your offer contingent on a sale of your home is one thing.  Working on our Creative Solution for this ongoing dilemma I have come up with a few idea’s. Short term rental - now you say you do not want to move twice - but what if... 03/12/2016

I always say Real Estate is 30% numbers and 70% gut feeling. This gut feeling can only come from within and from an agent that not only has been in the business for a while but active in the business. For the last 2 years Grand Rapids, Michigan has been very low in inventory, Realtors are begging for listings - not because they need the business, but because we have people ready to purchase and nothing is out there.  Right now - TODAY, 3/3/2016 - in most areas we are getting top dollar if not over listing price and multiple offers. Our homes listed at our medium price range are selling for more the $10,000 over asking in some cases.  However now I am seeing the luxury homes selling more and more - and they are not sitting around. They are moving within 30 days. New developments are on t... 03/02/2016

Having moved here from the East coast in 2001, I realize people that are relocating here do not understand, and what is the norm for long time residents of Michigan,  are not the norm elsewhere. Condo’s seem to be a bit confusing for many relocation clients The biggest confusion is the Site Condo - so we will start with this.  What it is and why.  A site condominium is defined as a single family totally detached dwelling (no shared garages or any other attached buildings) encumbered by a declaration of condominium covenants or condominium form of ownership. Site Condominiums are defined as: Single family totally detached dwellings (no shared garages or any other attached buildings or e.g. archways, breezeways); and Are encumbered by a declaration of condominium covenants or condominium ... 02/21/2016

I was showing an older home to a young couple the other day and they saw the laundry chute and did not know what this feature was - it was very cool to tell them about features of an older home.  It made me think would it not be cool to bring back some of these features into new construction as an option package. I know it would raise the cost of the new construction however if building a custom home,  some of these features could bring back nostalgia for many. if downsizing it may not only bring back memories of the home you raised your kids in they could be space savers.  Here are some amenities I think would work for today's living, brought back from old world homes. Laundry Chute - yes new construction many times are adding laundry room upstairs near the bedrooms - but would you opt... 02/06/2016

Recently the Grand Rapids Association of Realtors released their data for 2015 GRAR Home Sales Report and Update. This is one way to look into the future if you know what has happened in the past. If you don't know the numbers for Grand Rapids homes for sales, sold, inventory and months of supply then it makes it very difficult to understand what could happen in the future. You may be asking yourself could the real estate bubble burst in have been predictable? We'll take a look back at 2005-2006, when I think the bubble started to burst in Grand Rapids and West Michigan.Ok lets start by looking at the statistics for 2015. The Average Days on the Market for residential sales were 105 days. Total units sold were up up 5.3% over 2014. Here is some really great news, the average home sale r... 01/26/2016

Thanks to HGTV I get a lot of buyers who feel this is the way to go and it will be fun! For some it will be the way to go.  My husband and I only bought ”fixer uppers” due to how picky we are.  The “move-in ready homes were never to our liking, so paying the price of a move in ready home did not make sense for us. We did not want to move walls, so we looked for home with a floor plan that worked and knew we could change everything else. However, know we have an education that supports us in this decision - I with an interior design degree and my husband is an engineer.  Negotiating the purchase - so many times I hear - well it’s going to cost me 20,000 to make the updates I want, so let’s offer 20,000 less than asking price. In most cases that is not how it works.  You need to ask your ... 12/26/2015

Pinterest - one of the fasted growing social media networks was not my favorite at the beginning, I thought of it more as on-line craft book. (I am not crafty) However many of my clients love it so I needed to be there with them. In 2015 we have done a lot with our Pinterest and have reach many with home idea's.  We love this! Now we have a different outlook on Pinterest and realize a lot of information can be shared - A picture is work a 1,000 words right? So you will not find me sharing DYI stuff as not my gig'. However renovations, new construction, interesting home idea's, local pictures we do pin. Pinterest has now started a business platform which we have just begun pinning there - there are 2 ways to connect with us, my personal page or our business page.I do have to give credit ... 12/22/2015

You may have not thought of these   Dryer hook up View Services Which way does the sun set and rise What windows are outside your windows How old is the elevator Research the property manager My husband and I own a downtown condo in Grand Rapids.  We are both from big cities and although we love our home just outside Ada, Michigan as we refer to the “country house”. we still so very much love city living.  Having lived many places, we still find Grand Rapids one of the best cities to live. My husband and I soul searched and thought about having a 2nd home in a warmer state. Then came back around to having a 2nd home just 15 minutes away.   Some of you may think this is crazy, however downtown Grand Rapids is very active with many events, it’s great to be able to attend them, take a litt... 12/19/2015