Fox 17 News contacted Pete for comments on a rental scam happening in Grand Rapids. It ran as a popular “Problem Solvers” segment on July 14, 2015:
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Rental scams online are nothing new. However, a Grand Rapids realtor warns of a more sophisticated scheme. It starts with people posing as property owners or property managers.
“They’ll meet at the property. They’ll have a way to have gotten keys, made duplicates and let you in through the front door. Or they can break a window and break in just like any other theft,” Pete Bruinsma, with Grand Rapids-based Life Cycle Property Management said.
After the walk-through, the thieves take a cash deposit…
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2015-11-01 14:43:002018-03-09 11:51:17Pete Interviewed by Fox 17 / Problem Solvers
“The biggest story in American real estate in 2013 hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves, so let’s shout this out: Homeowners’ net-equity holdings soared by $2.2 trillion between the third quarter of 2012 and the third quarter of this year, according to new data collected by the Federal Reserve.
“This is a record rebound for a 12-month period.
“And it’s crucially important in personal-financial terms for hundreds of thousands of owners who’ve been underwater on their mortgages for years.”
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2013-12-31 09:13:072018-03-09 12:04:50Biggest real estate story of 2013: Homeowners gain $2.2 trillion in equity
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2012-03-12 10:29:572018-03-09 12:23:43February Home Sale Revenue Up Forty Percent
For over 80 years the Fulton Street Farmers Market has brought locally grown produce and homemade items to the heart of Grand Rapids. Last Tuesday the association unveiled an estimated $3 million renovation of the market that will improve vendor conditions and customer experience. The new designs include a 2,000-square-foot building, which will house 8-12 vendor stalls year round…
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2010-09-13 10:31:192018-03-09 12:28:463 Million Dollar Renovation of Fulton Street Farmers Market Unveiled
“Sauer’s tiny Seattle home is remarkable. But it shouldn’t be.
“I wanted to compress my home to squirt me back out to the community,” he says, taking inspiration from dwellings in Scandinavia and Japan, places where space is dear. “That was one of the philosophical reasons. I want to be able to shop daily, not store a lot and eat really well.”
Homeowners are building smaller in general. It’s economical and ecological. But few do it in 11-feet-3-inches wide, by 16-feet-2-inches deep, by 10-feet-4-inches tall (Sauer is very accurate) with two beds, a full kitchen with a dishwasher, bathroom with a shower, a soaking tub set into the floor just inside the front door. On three living levels. There’s also closet space, a dining table and storage for two bikes. All of it contemporary and in cool blue, with accents of black, red and white…”
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2010-08-25 09:21:512018-03-09 12:29:11Tiny Apartment Shows the Value of a Good Fit
The Grand Rapids Association of Realtors, or GRAR, is now part of the South and West Michigan Regional Information Center, or SWMRIC.
The biggest change will involve the MLS, the Multiple Listing System, which is how all the homes currently on the market can be viewed by Realtors, Clients and the general public. GRAR was using Solid Earth for their MLS, but to join with SWMRIC, converted over to that system, using Rapattoni instead. And while for the most part, all the listings transferred over, there are still a few gliches being worked on. In addition, the number of characters for property descriptions is also limited to 1000, so many Realtors will need to downsize their comments.
SWMRIC covers available Real Estate in the South and West Michigan counties of Allegan, Barry, Berrien, Branch, Calhoun, Cass, Hillsdale, Ionia, Kalamazoo, Kent, Lake, Manistee, Mason, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Oceana, Osceola, Ottawa, St. Joseph, Van Buren and beyond.
Serving the following Realtor Associations: Battle Creek Area, Branch County, Grand Rapids, Greater Kalamazoo, Hillsdale County, Mason-Oceana-Manistee, Montcalm County, Southwestern Michigan, St. Joseph, West Central Michigan and West Michigan Lakeshore.
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2010-07-29 13:24:512018-03-09 12:29:21Grand Rapids Association of Realtors (GRAR) Joins SWMRIC
A coalition of 24 community organizations will be presenting a position paper to the Grand Rapids City Commission at 10:30am tomorrow (7/27/2010) calling for cooperation to address growing housing concerns as a result of the recent changes in the real estate market.
The position paper calls for three primary issues to be addressed.
* Ensuring a minimum standard of quality among all rental units by adding single family rental units to the City’s rental inspection and certification program.
* Redesigning the City’s vacant property inspections program to mitigate the negative effects that the foreclosure crisis has had on property values, crime, and neighborhood stability.
* Creating a comprehensive, accessible, and accurate database of parcel information.
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2010-07-27 09:38:102018-03-09 12:29:31Community Groups Address Housing Concerns at GR City Commission Briefing
Jolon Hull hunts coupon deals for metro Grand Rapids savers, and Cindy Curtis turns up discounts for those who buy locally. Why are you spending so much, they ask.
Jolon Hull had never used a coupon in her life until last year. Then everything changed, and the frugality queen was born.
Cindy Curtis left a successful career in sales and now pounds the pavement to find unique and new businesses around Grand Rapids.
Both West Michigan women believe local consumers will follow them on the path of saving money and supporting area business through the new websites they’ve launched. They spend long hours posting every deal they can find on their individual savings websites so that busy people don’t have to search the Internet.
That’s what makes them different than the vast array of national sites offering savings and discounts around the country. Hull and Curtis want you to keep your money here.
Frugal blogging Hull created Savvy Chic Savings last fall to help her and others save money and find the best local deals. Her goal is to post seven to 10 new offers every day, checking primarily pharmacies, grocery stores and online discounts in what she calls “frugal blogging.”
An unusual activity for Hull, 30, a single woman who hadn’t thought much about saving money on purchases. But when a cousin gave the Sparta woman a $10 razor she got for a dollar, and a handful of free personal care items, Hull changed her mind about couponing.
Hull really started paying attention, when in one month, she ended up with $761 in free brand name items at a local drugstore by following sales, using coupons and signing up for a loyalty card.
“I never saw any value in coupons until I realized how much you can get free,” Hull says. “Obviously I saw the value in this and the value of the Internet. Now I do all the work to help my readers get the best deals…”
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2010-07-01 09:49:202018-03-09 12:29:43Deal makers: how two local women launched money-saving websites
On the evening of June 30, Congress passed an extension of the closing deadline for the Homebuyer Tax Credit. The extension applies only to transactions that have ratified contracts in place as of April 30, 2010, that have not yet closed; the new closing deadline for eligible transactions is now September 30, 2010.
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2010-07-01 08:43:062018-03-09 12:29:52Homebuyer Tax Credit Extended for Those With Accepted Offers in Place
https://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.png00petedroverhttps://grandriverrealty.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/GrandRiverLogo-med.pngpetedrover2010-06-12 13:45:472018-03-09 12:30:25Baxter Neighborhood Gets New Park in 2010
