Why Integrity is Crucial in Real Estate

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Integrity is Crucial in Real Estate 1Integrity.

It’s not a word you hear a lot nowadays, and when you do, it’s usually used to sell something. However, integrity is crucial in real estate. Whether you are buying or selling, renting or managing, appraising or inspecting, acting with integrity makes the whole system run.

Most people will agree with this sentiment in theory. But in practice, when there is an opportunity to fudge something ‘just a little bit,’ the majority will take it.  We see this in a thousand small ways. The landlord who ‘forgets’ to mention that the shower will only stay hot for ten minutes. The renter who breaks an appliance, but stays silent, so they can get their full security deposit back. The home seller who doesn’t fix the electrical system, but installs three-prong outlets to make it ‘look right.’ The home buyer who adds a few months to their work history in order to secure a better rate on their mortgage. The list goes on and on. Continue reading “Why Integrity is Crucial in Real Estate” →

Your Commute Can Wreck Your Happiness

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Your Commute Can Wreck Your Happiness 1When we’re choosing a place to live, our commute time tends to tumble down the list of priorities.  Our ride to work often ranks far below things like square footage, number of bathrooms, and stainless steel appliances.  However, your commute can wreck your happiness.

Why does this happen?  Can other factors balance out the negativity?  How MUCH does a long commute affect your satisfaction?  And most importantly, what do we do about it?

More Commute = Less Satisfaction

Let’s start with the basics – getting to work is a drag.  Anyone who has an hour long drive to and from their job can tell you that.  However, plenty of people assume it’s just a small annoyance, and doesn’t have a lasting effect on your overall life satisfaction.

This is incorrect.

Empirically, having a long commute systematically lowers subjective well-being.  Accounting for other variables, including the quality of the home, job, and means of transportation, the results hold true.  Many studies correlate high commute times with increased stress and social isolation, and consistently rank it among modern life’s largest annoyances.

However, when it comes to deciding where to live, we don’t give it enough weight.  Psychologist Ap Dijksterhuis calls this a ‘weighing error,’ a common mistake where we lose sight of what’s really important. Continue reading “Your Commute Can Wreck Your Happiness” →

Bigger Isn’t Always Better: The Case for Small Houses in Grand Rapids

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Small Houses in Grand Rapids 1Bigger is not always better.

Many people are hoping, wishing, and working for a housing upgrade.  Not only a better school district or a more desirable neighborhood, but a BIGGER house.  More square footage, more bedrooms, more bathrooms, more everything!

Having space for socializing is wonderful, and a little room to stretch your legs can be great.  However, there are immense advantages to living in a smaller house!  So, rather than falling prey to the cult of the HUGE, let’s make the case for small houses in Grand Rapids.

So – how can a small house be superior to a large one? Continue reading “Bigger Isn’t Always Better: The Case for Small Houses in Grand Rapids” →

4 Reasons to Avoid Breaking the Bank As You Buy a House in Grand Rapids

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PiggyIt is very tempting to go ‘all in’ on a house you love, and stretch your budget to its breaking point.  When you find a house that is the right size, in a great neighborhood, with fantastic bonus features, logic can fly out the window.

This is especially challenging when you’ve been trying to buy a house in Grand Rapids for a long time.  Since the market is currently quite hot, homes are moving quickly.  The temptation to over-spend on a property is huge.

However, breaking the bank for a ‘perfect’ house is a recipe for financial disaster.

You will be much better served by sticking to a more modest, reasonable budget that works for your finances.  Here are several reasons to stay modest as you submit your offers.

 1.  Emergencies Happen

Let’s face it – life is messy.  You get a flat tire at the worst possible moment, and have to pay out the nose for a tow truck and new wheel.  Your furnace dies on the coldest day of the year.  A huge windstorm blows dozens of shingles off of your roof, and you have to pay to repair it. Continue reading “4 Reasons to Avoid Breaking the Bank As You Buy a House in Grand Rapids” →

5 Stress-Reducing Moving Tips for Your New Home in Grand Rapids

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MovingMoving is hard.  It feels like you have to pack up your whole life into boxes, just to reverse the whole process a few days later.  You have to handle address transfers, coordinate bill changes, figure out a new route to work, and find a new spot for the kitty litter.

Fortunately, there are many things you can do to make the experience less painful.  So let’s jump into some moving tips for your new home in Grand Rapids, and put the excitement back in the experience!

 1.  Start Purging Early

Whenever you live in a home for a while, STUFF seems to magically appear.  When you start to look through your house, you’ll probably find 14 stacks of paper that you don’t remember making.  A half-full, dried out container of spackle from the one time you patched a wall. 7 toothbrushes, for some unexplained reason.

As soon as you’re thinking about moving, start purging.

By starting sooner, you maintain your sanity.  Purging one room might take an hour, or it might take 15 minutes.  If you knock out one room at a time, you can have a much more manageable space in just a few days. Continue reading “5 Stress-Reducing Moving Tips for Your New Home in Grand Rapids” →

How to Avoid Crushing Mistakes When Buying Your House

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When you’re preparing to buy a house in Grand Rapids, you can almost feel the heat.  The market is strong, and houses are getting bought up quickly.  After searching for a few weeks (or months), the pressure to JUST FIND SOMETHING builds and builds.

However, panic and fear are your enemies.  Don’t trust them!

Whether you’re looking to find your own house or an investment property, panic and fear will drive you to bad decisions.  When you feel negative pressure, it’s easy to overpay for a property, buy in the wrong area, sacrifice your top housing priorities, or ignore inspection red flags.

Since purchasing a house is such a big decision, these momentary errors in judgment can have long-term negative consequences on your life (and your bank account).  So how do we avoid these crushing mistakes?

1.  Determine your goals (and priorities) in advance.

We would all love a giant house in the perfect neighborhood, with great schools, low crime, and quick access to our favorite attractions and stores.  However, since few of us have access to unlimited funds, we often need to prioritize. Continue reading “How to Avoid Crushing Mistakes When Buying Your House” →

The 3 ESSENTIAL Steps to Realizing your Real Estate Dreams

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ClimbMany of us have real estate dreams.  Perhaps you want to become a homeowner, or move to a bigger apartment.  Maybe you’d love to upgrade to a better school district, or purchase an investment house.

Big dreams require big action.

However, the formula is simple.  Deceptively, annoyingly simple.

  1.  Decide on ONE game changing goal.
  2.  Make a plan, and work your plan.  Adjust as necessary.
  3.  Do NOT quit until the goal is achieved.

That’s it.  This formula is incredibly difficult to follow, but amazingly simple at its core.  Let’s dig in to each of these steps further.

 1.  Decide on ONE game changing goal.

First, you must decide what you want.  Most people never do.

Oh sure, they may have small goals, such as getting a bigger TV or a new pair of shoes.  But real estate goals aren’t small.  They are life changing.  And remember, big dreams require big action. Continue reading “The 3 ESSENTIAL Steps to Realizing your Real Estate Dreams” →

5 Money Saving Tips (So You Can Upgrade Your Home)

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MountainMany of us would like to upgrade our home.  Whether that means moving to a nicer apartment, becoming a first-time homeowner, or adding an extra bedroom above the garage, having extra cash really helps.

But how do you get there?  Reducing your expenses and increasing your savings is a lot easier said than done.  How can you improve your financial situation without sacrificing too much of your lifestyle?

Some quick money saving tips are in order…

1.  Set a Target

It’s difficult to hit a moving target.  It’s even harder to hit an invisible one.  So start by defining your goal.  Do you want to free up $100/month so you can get into a better unit?  Save $4,000 to improve your kitchen?  Scratch together $417.50 to finally get the furnace fixed correctly?

Whatever the case is, write your goal down.  Having vague money saving ambitions is a lot less effective than having a solid number to shoot for.  In addition, if you tie your efforts to a worthy goal, you will have extra motivation to keep those dollars in your pocket. Continue reading “5 Money Saving Tips (So You Can Upgrade Your Home)” →