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Traverse City, MI Real Estate News

By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
Wow, hard to believe that April is almost half way over.  Boy how the time flies.  I hope that everyone has an very Happy Easter and that we all take a moment to remember the season and what Easter stands for.  As we spend time with our families today, let us remember all of those out there that are less fortunate than we are and pray for a quick recovery of our economy and that those who are unemployed will soon have jobs again; those who are homeless will again soon have shelter and food.  Sometimes, I think we all take for granted what we have.  Everyday, I an thankful that God has given me everything that i have needed to get through the day and know that he will make sure I have everything that I need to get through the next day. Happy Easter To All Christine
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By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
North Lake Leelanau Cinsisting of 2,950 acres, Lake Leelanau North is located in Leelanau County in the Village of Leland.  Lake, Brown and Rainbow Trout, Cisco, Perch, Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rock Bass, Smelt and Sucker can all be found here.  Annual fish plantings have produced a very good population of lake and brown trout.  Lake trout typically weigh 4 to 8 pounds and browns average 3 to 4 poinds.  Each year, some rely trophy trout are caught.  Rainbows are not as abundant as lakers and browns but are an absolutely beautiful fish and som eof the best tasting.  Smallmouth bass are plentiful at 2 to 4 pounds and northern pike average 22 to 25 inches.  Trout are concentrated in the north half of the lake - in and along the dropoffs of the deep areas.  Trolling off the inlet of ...
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By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
Elk Lake Elk Lake is located in Antrim County, Elk Rapids, Michigan.  To access Elk Lake you will use Rier Street and Park Road on the lake's west side. Rainbow, Brown and Lake Trout, Whitefish, Cisco, Smelt, Perch, Rock Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Burbot and Sucker can all be found here in Elk Lake. Lake and rainbow trout are the most popular fish for Elk Lake fisherman, averaging 3 to 5 pounds.  They are planted each year by the tens of thousands.  The lake has deep water (100 feet) almost the entire length of the lake and lake trout are caught by trolling or jigging deep.  Rainbow and brown trout cruise the shorelines and are caught my trolling zig-zag over the dropoffs.  Last year, the west central and south shorelines produced good fishing.  Troll with long lines and smelt imitating bai...
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By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
Northern Michigan is home to numerous wineries.  Most people do not associate wine making with Northern Michigan.  The fact is that there is no better climate to grow grapes in North America.  The 45th Parallel runs directly through Northern Michigan, making the climate identical to that of some of he most famous wineries in Europe.  You can find anything from award winning red wines, ice wines right down to our specialty cherry wines.  Below is a list of just some of the wineries that you can find right here in Northern Michigan:   Bel Lago Vineyards and Winery Black Star Farms Boskydel Vineyards Bowers Harbor Vineyards Brys Estate Vineyard and Winery Chateau Chantal Chateau Fountaine Chateau de Leelanau Vineyard and Winery Chateau Grand Traverse Cherry Republic Winery Ciccone Vineyard...
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By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
I have been working with a home warrnaty company that provides warranty service to the selller for the time of the listing and then transfers the policy to the new buyer.  This has been a great listing tool.  There is no up front cost to the seller, all fees are paid at closing.  If the house does not sell, the warranty company does not back charge the customer.  It has just recently proven to pay for itself in a huge way when my seller had their furnace go out.  We were able to call the home warranty company and have them send out a service technician to evaluate and eventually replace the unit.  Without this covereage, my seller would have been out of pocket for these repairs.  American Home Shield is the company that I have worked with and they do a great job with their warranty prog...
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By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
There is no two words any more powerful than "Thank You".  Yet, these two words are used so infrequently, we sometimes forget they are even part of our vocabulary.  There is great power in giving thanks for what we have (good and bad).  If we all take a few minutes each day to look at our lives and give thanks for the things that were brought to us each day, we will eventually see the world through a much happier and successful light. We should give thanks for the challenges that are presented to us each day, as these are the very things that allow us to lean and grow an people and business professionals.  Without new things to conquer and greater heights to achieve, we would stay stagnant and not achieve the true success that we are capable of. Step back and be thankful for the small t...
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By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
It appears that our local jurisdictions have not totally gotten on board with the real estate market price readjustments when assessing properties for tax purposes.  They were very quick to increases our valued assessments when the market was on an upward swing.  Since we have been on a steady decline, they are not very helpful in decreasing our values to bring them in line with the current market values.  I have offered to assist my clients with representation to their local jurisdictions by compiling the comps for their area in the recent year.  This has helped many of them get their values for tax purposes lowered and they are very grateful.  It seems that if the board making those appeal decisions are presented with hard sales facts from recent sales (arms length sales), they will r...
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By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
Does anyone out there have any information regarding marketing a Bed and Breakfast?  I just got a fabulous listing for a 12 bedroom home on 16 acres with 600 feet of waterfront in Northern Michingan.  It is currently zoned for a Bed and Breakfast.  I do not know of any publications out there that reach this target market but was hoping tht someone out there may know of an avenue to market this.  It is in the heart of our wine country and that may be another avenue to market to.  Water table is too shallow to incorporate an actual winery on the site.  Any suggestions that anyone has out there would be greatly appreciated.
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By Jason LaVanture
(www.BlueLaVaMedia.com)
Over the last two years, Jason and I have attended the Home Buyers and Sellers “How To” Expo sponsored by the Traverse Area Association of REALTORS. The event has provided us each year with an excellent opportunity to showcase our powerful property marketing tools and interactive 360 virtual tours to the many visitors in attendance. The shows work very well for us in two truly unique ways that no other shows in the past have been able to offer. Because the general public attends the show we are able to get our message out to them as well as to other members of the real estate community. For us, this is truly a win-win event. Each year has resulted in a direct increase in business in our customer base and of course has generated business for us. Thanks to the wonderful staff at TAAR ever...
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By Cherry Wings Realty, Your Traverse City Michigan Realtor
(Cherry Wings Realty)
Frequently Asked Questions About the Home Buyer Tax CreditThe American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorizes a tax credit of up to $8,000 for qualified first-time home buyers purchasing a principal residence on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009.The following questions and answers provide basic information about the tax credit. If you have more specific questions, we strongly encourage you to consult a qualified tax advisor or legal professional about your unique situation.Who is eligible to claim the tax credit? What is the definition of a first-time home buyer? How is the amount of the tax credit determined? Are there any income limits for claiming the tax credit? What is "modified adjusted gross income"? If my modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is abov...
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By Jason LaVanture
(www.BlueLaVaMedia.com)
BlueLaVaMedia is proud to announce our new 2009 Exposure Engine. The new 2009 Exposure Engine now only $20.00 ($5.00 more than our 2008 product) comes fully loaded with our all new Smart Phone virtual tour an E-Flyer (email ready listing flyer), and blog distribution to www.TourGrandTraverse.com. First off, let’s talk about the Exposure Engine in itself. The Exposure Engine by BlueLaVaMedia allows real estate agents and local business owners to do what they do best and that is list homes, sell homes, and conduct everyday business while not getting their hands dirty with the online promotion of their listings and products. That is where we come in. The sheer purpose of the Exposure Engine is to generate more traffic to the online virtual tour which, simply put, is an extension of the age...
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By Jules Yates, Real Estate is Not About Us... It's About You!
(Re/Max Bayshore)
Now is the Time to Buy...at least in Traverse City.  It may be hard to believe if you listen to the news but the real estate market, at least in the Traverse City area is moving.  All the news reports talk about the record number of foreclosures and declining prices.  Yes, there are a lot of foreclosure properties coming on the market and yes prices have or are falling which is great if you are a buyer. With near historic low interest rates now is the time to buy.  Now I don't recommend everyone go out and buy a home but if you plan on owing a home in the near future I'd certainly be out there looking right now.  Despite reports to the contrary there are plenty of loan options available to anyone with a decent credit score.  RD (Rural Development) for example is still offering 100% fina...
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By Jason LaVanture
(www.BlueLaVaMedia.com)
Over the last year while Jim has been in and out of several hundred homes here in Northern Michigan, I have been busy working on something truly unique, that is so powerful, and yet incredibly easy to learn. In fact, every time I show someone they always wonder why they have not been doing it all along. I must admit that I used to plug my ears anytime someone mentioned Digg, Delicious, Furl, Technorati, Backflip, or Twitter to me. But that was before I realized the sheer potential for literally ANYONE...in ANY business...anywhere in the World to maximize their online exposure. So yes, this does mean YOU! Like you I used to hear these new buzz phrases and ignore them. I used to see little symbols popping up all over the web and, yes, I simply looked the other way. Do you remember when em...
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By Jules Yates, Real Estate is Not About Us... It's About You!
(Re/Max Bayshore)
FREE Foreclosure Seminar in Traverse City - Thursday March 19, 2009 Matt Hodges and I are holding a FREE Foreclosure Seminar at our office in Downtown Traverse City this coming Thursday as part of a regular educational seminar series.  This weeks seminar will cover the basics of foreclosure, the sheriff's sale, what to do if your home goes on the auction block, timetables, buying foreclosures and short sales. Each week we will hold free seminars with the sole purpose of educating the public.  The topic will change weekly and PRE-REGISTRATION is required.  Topics will include: Foreclosures & Short Sales from A-Z The Home Buying Process (Including financing) Building a New Home - How you can move-in in just 90 days Wealth Building with Residential Real Estate The seminars will last about ...
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By Jules Yates, Real Estate is Not About Us... It's About You!
(Re/Max Bayshore)
Short Sales - 4 Reasons Why they are better than Buying Bank Owned Properties (REO's)  Short sales are sold by the current owner not the bank - Bank owned properties are often a mystery as they are sold without disclosures.  You never quite know what you are getting and have to rely solely on an inspection to determine the condition of a home. Short Sales can be a better value- Often times it may take longer to get an approval from a lender but if you are dealing with an experienced short sale specialist (the listing agent) you can often get a property for less than it would sell for as a REO property.  Remember banks don't want to take back a home, they just want to get their money. Short Sales can often be purchased with less competition- Often time buyers will avoid short sales due t...
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By Jason LaVanture
(www.BlueLaVaMedia.com)
We are very pleased to announce many new features on our virtual home tours here in TC. You can read all about BlueLaVaMedia in the our latest Traverse City virtual tour newsletter for January 2009. We now import your Traverse virtual tours directly into the most popular social bookmarking sites which helps promote further syndication of your listings online. You will also be very pleased to know that our new virtual tour links (SpiderLinks(tm)) are search engine friendly and get indexed by all search engine spiders! As a final note please keep your eye out for our new Social Networking Workshop that will be open to all TAAR members. This will be a free service provided by Jason LaVanture of BlueLaVaMedia.  Take some time to read more about these new features and upcoming events in our ...
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By Jason LaVanture
(www.BlueLaVaMedia.com)
Here is some information for all you Canon SLR users out there. I have been shooting interactive virtual tours here at BlueLaVaMedia for a little over a year now using a Canon 20D camera with a 17-85mm 4.5-5.6 EFS IS Canon lens. I also use a Canon 550 flash on a bracket attached to the RTV Rotator and use the flash for all my images. This allows me to easily balance the exposure in the rooms with the ambient light through the window, as many of the homes here in Northern Michigan have great views. We are now approaching our one year anniversary here at BlueLaVaMedia and I have created well over 200 Traverse City virtual tours. We are continually expanding our client base and so far everyone that we work with has been extremely satisfied with the quality of our virtual tours. Exposure is...
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By Jules Yates, Real Estate is Not About Us... It's About You!
(Re/Max Bayshore)
More and more Northern Michigan families are facing foreclosure and many have no idea what to do or how the system works.  First and foremost you need to talk to your lender.  Please DO NOT ignore the calls.  Be honest and up front with them and if they can help you they will.  If you aren't satisfied with the results ask to speak to a supervisor.  If you do finally come to the realization that you are going to have to move or sell, give serious consideration to calling a Realtor who specializes in Short Sales and pre-foreclosure properties.  If you need to sell, there are several options available to you even if you owe more then what your home is worth.  There are ways around that.  With a short sale the lender (or lenders) may agree to let you sell your home for less than the full ba...
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By Jason LaVanture
(www.BlueLaVaMedia.com)
BlueLaVaMedia, producer of Traverse City Virtual Tours is very pleased to announce the release of our brand new Social Networking Utility that is now integrated right into our virtual tour window! This newest addition to our already robust virtual tour will allow anyone to quickly add their favorite virtual tours to popular social bookmarking sites such as FaceBook, MySpace, Digg, LinkedIn, Twitter, Delicious, FriendFeed, Furl, Backflip, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati, Mixx, and Bebo. As many already know BlueLaVaMedia currently has a well established distribution tool called our Exposure Engine which sends real estate virtual tours to 98 real estate portal sites and now also converts virtual tours to a video format for enhanced video distribution. See more samples of Traverse City Re...
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By Jon Becker, Associate Broker
(Century 21 Northland)
Client Success Story It seems like we have known Jon forever.  I don't know, it could be because we started searching for a house over a year ago, or more definitely because Jon is such a easy going guy with tons of patience who makes you feel comfortable and heard.  Being first time home buyers we did not know what we wanted, where we wanted it or what to expect with the whole process.  It was scary and exciting all at the same time! Jon guided us through the whole process, explaining every tiny detail so that we would understand.  He had us in his best interest.  Jon searched, e-mailed, called, showed until he found the perfect house for us!   We have now been living in our new home for over a month and owe a huge thank you to Jon Becker!  (We actually didn't want to ever buy a house ...
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