Bathroom Staging Tip #1:

Commodes:  Replace colored and dated commodes with inexpensive white ones.

Be sure and remove the utlitarian items from around your commode for showings and photo marketing!!

 

 

Bathrooom Staging Tip #2:

Update the old lighting!!  Lighting is an easy and inexpensive update to make a bathroom feel more move-in ready!

Special note:  the removal the old wallpaper helps too.

 

 

Bathroom Staging Tip 3:

Remove the wallpaper or neutralize the existing paper to appeal to more buyers!!

 

 

Bathroom Staging Tip #4:

Update the old vinyl flooring!  Updates to master bathrooms can help sell a home!  Many flooring materials can be purchased inexpensively and installed right over the existing

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I live in Commerce Township, so this construction has been in my face this entire summer. Instead of taking 25 minutes to get to my office in Northville it has taken 45 minutes.  Saturday November 1st, officials are supposed to be opening the Union Lake Road between Richardson and Commerce.

This is where it gets ugly. The road is only open for this winter and will go back under construction come spring of 2009. The road will close again sometime around April to excavate unstable soil north of Richardson Road and rebuild the roadway.

According to the Leslie Shepard-Owsley of the local newspaper, Spinal Column, the decision to delay the project's completion was prompted by an RCOC dispute with the project contractor, Cadillac Asphalt and subcontractor…

Think Positive, It's All In Your Head!

For those of you that don't know, I pay $1,000 a month for a real estate coaching company by the name of Mike Ferry to call me once a week for a half hour and hold me accountable to the goal I want to reach each year. This year my goal was to help 125 people either buy or sell a home. I may fall short of my goal, and help a little over 100 buyers and sellers this year.

Also part of this program is each morning Mike Ferry records a message to get you motivated for the day. Today it was about trying to get rid of the negative thoughts we have in our mind each day. Below is a summary of today's coaching call.

1. Accept the fact that nobody can stay positive 100% of the time... you're human, aren't you?

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1. Interest Rates—the lowest in 40 years!
2. Fewer buyers—less competition
3. Lower buying activity—means lower prices for your buyers
4. Sellers are more willing to negotiate, on price and other items!
5. Buyers who are still in the market are SERIOUS
6. People were still buying in the 1980’s when rates were 18% with 7 points! Even at that rate it made sense to buy instead of rent, and that rule applies today as well.
7. Move-up buyers are likely to continue to buy in this market

Did you know that if you are a  Realcomp subscriber, you have the ability to perform searches and access MLS listings (regardless of property type or status) on your mobile phone using the Realcomp Mobile® service, at no additional cost to you! Get on the internet on your phone and put in your web browser www.realcompmobile.com and then it will ask for your username and password. Enter the same username and password that you put into www.realcomponline.com and you will then be off and running.     

You have to have a phone that has access to the internet. I use a Palm 750 and it works great. I heard the Blackberry is also great for this. Use Realcomp Mobile® to access listing details, directions, listing office & agent contact info, all available…

Mortgage rates moved lower early last week only to give back most of that gain by today.  Rates could move even higher as the Federal Reserve meets Wednesday to cut the Federal Discount rate.  Estimates are ranging between .25% and as much as .75%.  The last time the Fed cut the dicount rate by more than .50%, mortgage rates came down.

If you're closing within the next two weeks it comes down to a Texas Hold 'Em strategy.  If you believe in that big .75% cut you mind as well go all in.  If your not, then lock and call it a day.  Either way Wednesday could be a big day for the markets.

Rates as of 10/27/2008  

                        Conventional Rate                Jumbo Rates                   FHA            MSHDA

30yr Fixed                  

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It’s finally here, the week of Halloween, and you’ve been invited to a last minute bash, costumes required. What to do? Well, you could go the way of years past and pull out a tired m & m costume, or don the Peanuts-inspired bed sheet ghost look, but if you’d rather take advantage of the one night where wild and wacky is desirable, head out to Sutton’s Costumes and Tuxedos in Waterford. Sutton’s offers a variety of costumes from the old fashioned to the futuristic. They also offer rentals, so if you’d rather not shell out the bucks for a one-time use gag, you don’t have to, although they sell costumes too. There are a few big box stores that pop up every fall, but they tend to offer uninspiring and predictable adult costumes. These places offer much…

Hi there! My name is Lisa Kiser, and I'm going to be blogging about some cool things to do around Michigan. There are a ton of things going on all the time, so I hope to cover a variety of events and activities to speak to everyone's interests. In the spirit of Halloween, this blog takes you behind the scenes of a bat. Nothing says Halloween like a spooky bat, so why not learn more about these misunderstood night flyers this October? From now until January 4, 2009, visitors to the Cranbrook Institute of Science can enjoy the 5,000 square foot traveling exhibit that takes them into the lives of bats. Learn the ins, outs and upside downs of how bats think and function, as well as their impact on human life. Live bats are on display from 11am–4pm daily, as…

This is one of those very important, yet not very exciting (you could almost say boring) topics. But it’s a topic that every one of us as homeowners should pay some attention to. A little bit of routine maintenance here, and some spot checking there, can go a long ways towards making your home work better, last longer, look nicer, and all this while saving you big money. After all, it’s a lot easier to fix a little problem now than it is to fix a big problem later. Now that we’re near the end of summer (and the heat has probably done a number on your home’s exterior), it’s a good time to have a look around.

Here are some of simple items you can do to keep your home running

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Many Michigan homeowners have had their homes on the market for months and some sellers for several YEARS! And, I’m hearing that a lot of sellers are opting to take their homes off of the market soon because the holidays are approaching and many are considering waiting until “conditions improve