I have noticed a bad trend in our industry. That trend is to charge a "transaction" fee (a.k.a. broker closing fee, doc prep fee, broker fee. etc.) to both sellers and purchasers involved in a real estate transaction. This fee is charged by the listing broker to a seller or by a selling broker to the buyer. Most of the time the client isn't aware that this fee is even being charged and paid to the broker/agent, nor are they aware that this fee is simply made-up and mostly serves to cover no added expences or services performed. In my opinion, it is simply greed, and ChangingStreets.com takes no part in it.
It has become such a common practice that title companies now inquire how much of a fee we "are charging the client", when they call to verify closing information just prior to closing escrow on a sale.
I also had a loan officer tell me today that another real estate agent had told (not asked) her to "add a $250.00 transaction fee into the closing costs" that they were asking the seller to pay for the buyer..I am not making this up!
Keep in mind, that these fees are in addition to the commission already being charged and paid to an agent at closing.
I can't and won't tell another professional (outside of my company) how to run their business. If a fellow real estate practitioner wants to charge additional fees to their clients, they have that right. I do, however, have a huge problem with them not disclosing these charges clearly and in advance of engaging into a working relationship with a potential client. Had they done so, they more-than-likley wouldn't have that relationship.
As a potential client, you need to ask if such business practices exist within any real estate company they might consider doing business with.

Finally! I am often critical of local media outlets and the lack of reporting and soft story telling.

This Story About The Christmas Eve Stabbing is a great job of reporting. The journalist did his homework and packed a lot information into five minutes.

This is an interesting story knowing what I know about mortgage guys. They were the worst kind of grifters, they flat out conned people and spent money like lotto winners, they ran a trust game on people and ruined lives.

I really hope they do a follow up story, this could be a great 20/20 story. How did these idiots con everyone? How did they buy property for $105,000 the same day they sold it for $250,000 without the underwriters seeing who the real sellers were? Was there also title fraud? Why were most the victims from out of the area? What method did they use to find their marks? Were they in desperate need of money and know the game or were they innocent victims? Why did the husband hide in the basement while his wife was being attacked?

Why didn't they mention that the reason they really moved was because the house they lived was in foreclosure under someone elses name and they had to be out by 12/29/07 or face eviction? (BTW They also were the cause of the previous foreclosure on the same home!)

Then it ends with violence and a law suit, this is so PWT Vanity Fair!

Gabe, do a follow up, this story will get you to a bigger market in no time. Nice Job.

Ever wonder what the inside of the old Durant hotel looked like? Wonder no more...here is a video of a guy that was trespassing with a video camera.
Part 1
Part 2

Or...did you know there is video of a UFO sighting over Flint...

here it is...

The deadly 1953 tornado news coverage...

For the Flint Tropics fans...here are a few videos taken by bystanders at the filming of Semi Pro...

Video 1
Video 2
Video 3

Disclaimer: These videos were all found on YouTube...ChangingStreets.com had nothing to do with the content (or lack of it), quality, and anything that might offend anyone. Enjoy.

Repo Suave

Semi-Pro opens Friday!

I can't wait, the majic man is picking me up in my Hummer (the car I miss most) and we are going early and staying late! We will be posting up at the Nacho Cheese Fountain.

If the movie is half as funny as the promotional stuff, another Will Farrell classic!

Seriously, Frank the Tank, Ricky Bobby; now Jackie Moon! My neighbors weiner dog is named Frank, I mentioned to him that was clever. You know weiner dog-Frank...he was not amused and told me the dog was named Frank the Tank. We are now very close.

I have been hunting for a Flint Tropics uniform for months, and I found this searching one day! What a blast!

Apparently Will Farrell did a preview in Austin TX, and you had to wear a uniform to attend!

Anyway, I ordered two, one for me and one for my neighbor, personalized! One says Frank, one says Buddy! How cool in a Will Farrell kinda way.

One more thing Flint has to be proud of, Jeff Roth.

Jeff is a Flushing resident and one time pro at the Flint Golf Club, and a great guy.

Jeff's debut was outstanding. Can you imagine the butterfly's? I know Jeff is a pro and a very cool customer, but still. Having breakfast in Naples (which had to feel at home with the massive Flint population) with the legends of golf, guys Jeff probably watched for years, then going out and shooting a first round 68! That is strong. Then laying down a 65 on Sunday, come on!

I followed Jeff online all weekend at ChampionsTour.com. Friday afternoon was crazy, I was on the phone with my dad waiting for the shot-by-shot to come up and giving long distance high fives with every birdy, and assuring each other all would be good when he was not dead solid perfect.

Saturday was tough, but we knew he would come back strong for the final round. Sunday drove my wife nuts. Parked in front of the TV watching the 500 and yelling a resounding YESSSS! after every birdy. Jeff shot a rock solid 65 on a Sunday in a professional tournament, wow, that is living the dream.

Keep it up Jeff!

Buddy feels bad it took so long to post this, but the Hey Y'all Watch This tour has been in high gear.

This may have happened to you before, but it has never happened to me and I want to share it. I complained a few weeks ago about how cold it is right now, especially showing all the heat challenged repo houses. The air has been so harsh that my face is literally burned and rashed. I am going to start wearing vaseline on my face like the football players do! Anyway, I am not a big fan of working on Sundays with buyers I have never met but something made me like this guy, Stephen, when he called to see a little repo in Burton last weekend. The house turned out to be too much work for him and he isn't even super sure he wants to buy right away. Lots of people are this way but they don't share it with their realtor because they like to keep their business to themselves. Stephen told me everything good and bad, he might turn into a sale, he might not. Here's the crazy part... we're getting ready to go and I notice he has his wallet out and is handing me money! I know I am not the only one who fantasizes about devising a price sheet and sending a bill out to all the folks who drive us around knowing full well they aren't going to buy from us. Here I was faced with someone who was giving me money and I could not take it. I asked him to just call me again and buy from me when the time comes. Maybe he will and maybe he won't. But just the fact that the thought occured to him to reimburse me for gas and time away from my family on a sunday (his words, not mine) was enough to recharge me for the rest of this bitter cold selling season!

The Hey Y'all Watch This tour continues and Buddy is getting a little homesick.

So I went surfing for Flint Stuff today and found two great blogs!

FreeFromEditors.blogspot.com

This is great for Buddy! Written by an ex Flint Journal employee about what is really happening at the evil giant! Everyone knows Buddy thinks the Journal represents everything evil and greedy! Now it is not an opinion!

And this site written by a Powers Grad living in California

flintexpats.blogspot.com

This is the best Flint blog I have ever seen, if you don't read this blog and start having flashbacks to L O L dances, AWADS and other highschool STUFF, you are in deep denial! Really a great blog.

Then I went to weather.com and I am not so homesick anymore!

Buddy Kane is on tour! Rocking the South East in winter 2008! Yes Buddy is postin' up down south and doin' work.

Off to a great start in Charlotte NC! Buddy got live the dream, two hours at JR Nation! For all you Yankees that is the race shop owned and operated by Dale Earnhardt Jr. This was sooo cool. This is the shop that builds JR's and Hendricks Nationwide Series Cars (ex-Busch Series). Way cool!

Buddy got the whole behind the scenes tour, the haulers, the cars, the body shop, the engine shop, and watching pit crew practice. AWESOME. Watch Dale Jr-Shifting gears on ESPN to see the shop, very, very cool experience.

All this 10 days before Daytona, and three days before the Dale Jr's win in the Bud Shoot Out!

So what did Buddy do with all his new found racing knowledge? Thats right booked a trip to Talladega to run some laps. In true Ricky Bobby spirit, Buddy is doing it right! It is hard to believe but the tour schedule looks like this:

Friday May 2: Lynyrd Skynyrd & Hank Williams JR in Atlanta (buddy will be in the front row wearing a tuxedo t-shirt...)
Saturday May 3: Running Laps at Talladega in ungoverned Nextel Cup Cars (otherwise known as the car of yesterday).

Never a dull moment on the Hey Y'all Watch This Tour! Next up South Beach.

Remember Flint if ya ain't first, yer last!

SLIME

Click on that link at check out the "awesome" consumer value they provide.

Read the About US...50 years real estate and legal experience....house flipping and ambulance chasing.

I have 38 years in the food industry, I love chips!

This is another example of "we want to help you by telling you *&%) you want to hear that is not true".

Walking away from a committment is never, ever the "right" thing to do, especially when you are looking to soften the blow.

Anyone looking for a four bedroom, 2.5 bath in Fenton? That is commitment and accountability.

I was speaking to a good friend of mine in Michigan yesterday. He is a General Manager at a very large car dealership. He was telling me they are actually getting a lot of traffic from Canadians coming over the border to purchase cars because of the low dollar. They actually pay tax on the car in Michigan then again in Canada and it still saves them money, haven't done the homework yet but I trust this guy.

How about that, tax revenue for Michigan from the auto industry after all!

I am not one to use this BLOG as a virtual podium to voice my dissatisfaction or frustration in personal matters. But this matter isn't personal, it is for the betterment (an actual word?) of anyone that wants to buy a bank asset in the wonderfully efficient and pleasant-to-deal-with City of Burton (do you detect the sarcasm). It looks like I have a fight with City hall on my hands. You are probably thinking I have some huge rezoning issue, or some other complex problem regarding the sale of a multi-million development. Nope, I have a young, single man buying his first house that was rudely turned away from those previously mentioned pillars of professionalism (sarcasm again) at the City of Burton. Why you ask? Because he wanted to have the water turned on for 24 hours for the sole purpose of a pre-sale home inspection. He was even willing to pre-pay for any usage that might have been accumulated in that time. Here is where it gets good...the City of Burton in its' infinite wisdom has a NO-EXCEPTION-UNDER-ANY-CIRCUMSTANCE policy in place that requires all water liens to be paid, in full, before they will turn on service. Ok, sounds reasonable right?..Wrong, especially in the case of a bank asset where the bank is liable for the liens of the past owner. The bank is fully prepared to pay the $500 and change owed, but not until closing. There will be no closing without the inspection being completed and the contingency released. We can not complete the inspection without the water being turned on. According to "Anita" at the City of Burton Water & Sewer department, this young, first-time, 20-something home buyer must pay the $500.00 plus an activation fee and then seek reimbursement from the seller, in this case the bank. Ok, so what’s the big deal, you ask...would you, as a potential home buyer, EVER consider paying the bill of someone you didn't know...what if the inspection reveals un-foreseen issues and you decide to not precede...now what? My point is simple..it shouldn't be this hard to sell a property, anywhere. Here we are, trying to put an owner occupant into a now abandoned property and the municipality that stands to benefit from the tax revenue and improvement to the area is the one obstacle standing in the way. The best part is when I asked "Anita", (I used quotes because she refused to give me her last name) how we might resolve this issue she rudely, coldly and almost amusingly stated that I was "out of luck". After my repeated requests for her last name, she said she didn't have to provide it and then...get this...hung up on me. Nowhere but a government position could someone treat a customer in such a way and not have repercussions. If anyone knows "Anita", let her know your disapproval. If anyone knows how to help rectify this obvious oversight down at the City of Burton, please post a reply. For the record, I emailed this scenario to Mayor Smiley. Lets just see if I even get a reply.
Ok...thanks for letting me vent...

Great news, the number of homes sold in Genesee County in January of 2008 is EQUAL TO the number sold in 2007!

Have we hit the bottom? You know Buddy thinks so and I truly believe at this point fundamentals have played out and it is all attitude.

GREAT WAY TO START 2008! With any luck we will be up in February and based on the pending numbers that is very possible!

So the last post didn't exactly work out too well did it?

UGH

All I can think of is the little animals in Madagascar screaming "All Hail the New York Giants!"

So depressed.

I am a huge Patriots fan, always have been.

Big Day today.

Last night I went to see the movie I Legend. The opening scene shows a news cast with a news crawl accross the bottom and one of the news points was:

Giants lose to Patriots for second time this season 23-7!

AWESOME!

GO PATS!