Painting Contractors Lansingis best choice for you so that you can decorate and re-modify your home as you want. Our professionals will treat your home with care that it deserves and can help in giving best look to your home using latest techniques & designs. We understand every part of your home to look great. For more information visit our site or contact us. ...read more

Well, I just signed up for the ground-breaking nationwide certification program for front-line hospitality workers called the Certified Tourism Ambassadorâ„¢(CTA) designation, sponsored by the Team Lansing Foundation and the Greater Lansing Convention and Visitors Bureau. Not that I need anymore designations at this point in my career as a REALTOR, but to make 2011 even a better year for turning every visitor encounter into a positive experience, thus creating a brand culture of quality service. That's what attracted me to this program. It appears that the program stretches well beyond the hospitality industry to take in Government employees, bankers, REALTORS, and many additional occupations. Anyone that is directly or indirectly involved in serving visitors to the Greater Lansing area, would qualify to take this 1/2 day course. Who better would benefit from this opportunity than a REALTOR? After all, we are usually one of the first to make contact with those individuals coming to our wonderful Tri-County area. Besides, the high level customer service shared in the 1/2 day session, I'm sure that upon completion I will know my community better, meet new friends that have the same passion for the Greater Lansing area that I do, and provide me with additional tools for the future. So, for $20.00 and an afternoon of my time, I figure it this way; I owe it to my career, my community and myself personally to become a certified Tourism Ambassador for Greater Lansing, Michigan. I'll keep you posted.  By the way, you can sign up here if you're interested. "Expect the Best" Mike  ...read more

Single Woman Buying Real Estate is always an interesting statistic published by the NAR Home Buyer Report each year.  Most of these stats hold true for the Greater Lansing real estate market and nationally. ·     Single Women are one of the fastest growing market segments.  ·        Interestingly, single female buyers accounted for nearly twice as large a share as single male buyers for both first-time buyers (24 and 12 percent) and repeat buyers (17 and 9 percent).  ·        Twenty percent of recent home buyers were single females, and 10 percent were single males.  ·        More women (15.5 million) than men (11.8 million) lived alone. Among these, women were more likely than men to own their homes (56% vs. 47%).  ·        About one-quarter of the nation's nearly eight million single mothers spend more than half of their incomes on housing, compared with one-tenth of households headed by single fathers.  ·        Average age: 42; early 30′s to mid-50′s; diverse market includes divorcees, single moms, young career women postponing marriage; about 25% are minorities  ·        More Single Women are buying homes than ever before. They are financially independent and not waiting until they get married, or remarried, before they invest in their own home.  ·        However, unlike couples or single men, this market thinks differently. Acts differently. And buys differently.   In the Profile of an Informed Customer Report by Coldwell Banker, this was also noted: ·     Single Women are smart, well-informed consumers, which is a great advantage for a strong, high-quality brand like Coldwell Banker®. Women tend to comparison shop and do more information gathering and research than men.    ·        Women do their homework, do more research and expect a buttoned-up approach from partners  ·        Women tend to focus on the details and are information hungry  ·        Women talk to women: Network to find properties, locations, financing, services, etc  ·        Tend to look at more properties; longer decision buying process  ·        Expect high level of service; respond positively to random acts of kindness, provide 2x more referrals than men.  ·        Financially independent, however, more likely to be budget conscience. They want a partner who is sensitive to their budget.   ·       "Expect the Best' Mike  ...read more