Byron Center, MI

Staging your home for next to nothing

johndevries — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:49:39 +0000

Clean, clean, clean. Methodically clean top to bottom, room by room, the entire house, especially the bathrooms and kitchen.
Outside/Yard: It is an extension of your home. Wash windows inside and out. A well manicured lawn and weed free landscaping reflect the time you have spent to make your home look inviting. Don’t forget the back yard, make an outdoor living space with patio furniture and potted plants.
Living Room/Family Room:
De-clutter book shelves, add a vase, bowl, or candle to give visual interest. You will be moving soon anyway so begin by packing books you do not use. Go ahead and stack some books horizontally to break up the rows.
Re-arrange furniture to create intimate conversation areas. Don’t be afraid to angle furniture away from walls.
Get high traffic carpets cleaned. Don’t hide beautiful hardwood floors with carpet or large rugs.
Swap out family pictures for neutral prints or a mirror. You want buyers to picture themselves in the house, not your family.
Although bright bold colors seem to be the fashion of the day, all buyers may not have the same taste. If you have a room that is especially colorful, a fresh coat of neutral paint (cream, beige) may be in order.
Kitchen/Dining area:
De-clutter and organize kitchen cupboards. Pack away seasonal dishes, extra serving platters, anything you don’t use on a daily basis. Overflowing cupboards give the impression that there is not enough cupboard space.
Organize pantry/food storage. Discard old, out of date items and make it look neat and clean.
If you can make your dining room table smaller and still eat your meals, take out extra leaves to make your dining area look larger.
Entryway:
These are usually the most high traffic areas in the house and also the first thing a buyer sees. Give the walls a fresh coat of neutral paint.
Stand outside the front door and look up and around. This is what the buyer will see first, make sure porch/steps are clean and clutter free. The front door may need a fresh coat of paint. Check to make sure the knobs, locks, and doorbell are in good working order.
Master Bedroom:
It is important that the master be warm and inviting. De-clutter and de-personalize. Add a vase of flowers, candles, or potpourri for a resort feel.
You may need to purchase a new duvet cover, something luxurious looking and neutral in color.
Kid’s Bedrooms:
In case you can’t guess: DE-CLUTTER.
Only keep the toys that are absolutely necessary. Pack away all the extra toys, blankets, and stuffed animals.
Although you may not notice it yourself, baby rooms have a distinctive odor. Clean it good and use an air neutralizer/freshener.
Bathrooms:
Make them Q-tip clean, toothbrush in the cracks clean. Re-caulk tub and shower.
Think hotel. Nice shower curtain, coordinating hand towels and soaps. Get rid of all the extra soaps, shampoos, etc out of the shower.
Toilet lids down!!
Closets: Pack away off season clothing and anything you are not using. Clean, organized closets are a must. An interested buyer will open everything and will probably think you take care of the rest of your home if your closets are immaculate.
Pets: If you have them make sure cat boxes are outside and pet dishes out of sight.
If you have a bunch of wedding or house warming gifts that are still packed away, this may be a good time to get them out. Example: A nice pair of crystal candlesticks is a good exchange for a family picture in the bedroom.
Last but not lease. Use your nose. Eliminate any smells especially bathrooms and laundry room. Bake a cake or pie to fill the house with a welcoming aroma.

Byron Center: A Spotlight

johndevries — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:48:47 +0000

Byron township was established in 1836. It is 36 square miles and has a population of 17,553 according to the 2000 census.

The Byron Center Chamber of Commerce was established to promote business growth and development. They host many activities for the township some of which include the 1st annual Christmas Walk 2008, Golf Outing, Scholarships, Leadership Recognitioin Award, Relay for Life in partnership with the American Cancer Society, and blood drives. The biggest event for the township is Byron Days. As most resident know, it is always the last weekend of July and includes a parade, 3-on-3 contest, concerts, fireworks, softball tourney, flea market, and pancake breakfast.

The Township is home to four parks as well as Kent Trails.

Whistlestop Park allows for Baseball, Softball, Walking, Soccer, Football, Volleyball and Picniking.
Bicentennial Park has Tennis courts, Basketball courts, Baseball and Softball fields and Skate Park.
Cutler Park has Tennis, Play area, Baseball, and Softball.
Douglas Walker Park includes a shelter, baseball field and soccer field.
Kent Trails crosses many townships and cities. It is 15 miles of non-motorized trail, great for walking, biking, and skating.

Byron Township also has many programs for all of its citizens. They have computer and water colour classes for seniors, fitness class for adults and tons of youth programs. Byron Center is a home of AYSO and Little League.

Byron Center Public Schools as well as Byron Center Christion Elementary and Middle School and South Christian High School all call Byron Township home.

Byron Township Library is an member of Kent District Library. Check out the link for hours of operation.

Fire needs are served by Byron Township Fire Department which has paid on-call employees as well as Cutlerville Fire Department which has three full time fire fighters during weekdays and on-call weekends.

Kent County Sheriff’s Department serves as the police presence in Byron Township.

The “Byron Bugle” is a quarterly newsletter that is sent to all resident keeping them apprised of all of the townships activities. The link will lead you to past newsletters if you need to catch up!

All in all, Byron Township is a small area that has many qualities worthy of a second look and is a wonderful place to call home.

Blog Probes Real Estate Models

CityBlogMI — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 10:05:01 +0000

www.REALonomics.net is a blog that is asking serious questions about where the real estate industry is going. More specifically, REALonomics poses challenges to the broker/owners to adopt models that will allow their organizations to become more transparent.

REALonomics.net advocates that the industry open up the property information portals to consumers and upgrade its approach to how it is interacting with the consumer by implementing more social networking such as www.CityBlogUSA.com, a community blogging network for every city in the USA.

Visit www.REALonomics.net.

Hospitals and Physicians

CityBlogMI — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:38:39 +0000

When someone relocates they often seek information about physicians, specialists, hospitals and other types of health care, such as extended care. Is there a resource in Byron Center for health care information?

Community Sports

CityBlogMI — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:34:51 +0000

Living in Byron Center, Michigan is a lot like living in any home town, with local sports being a big part of the lifestyle. Families look for T-Ball, Little League, soccer and of course, junior high and high school sports. What is sport organizations are in Byron Center, Michigan? Are their sport opportunities for adults? Is there a parks and recreation department in Byron Center?

City Lifestyles

CityBlogMI — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:30:30 +0000

What are the lifestyle opportunities in and around Byron Center, Michigan. Are there hiking clubs, biking trails, civic clubs, golf clubs, local arts and theater, lakes, streams, fishing, boating, camping or other types of lifestyle opportunities?

Condos in Town?

CityBlogMI — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:26:58 +0000

Are there any condo projects in Byron Center, Michigan and are there any that are on golf courses? What is the condo price range? Are there any age restricted condo communities?

Real Estate Companies

CityBlogMI — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:23:31 +0000

Byron Center has a lot of real estate companies. Which one is considered the best company according the Byron Center, Michigan residents? Who are the best real estate agents in Byron Center, Michigan? Historically, which company has been there the longest? Do any of the real estate companies also have title and mortgage companies?

Foreclosures in Town?

CityBlogMI — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:20:03 +0000

Can anyone speak to the issue of foreclosures in Byron Center, Michigan? Foreclosures are up around the country due to the sub-prime lending practices. Is there any foreclosure impact on real estate in Byron Center?

Help, I need a Doctor

CityBlogMI — Mon, 28 May 2007 08:15:30 +0000

Byron Center, Michigan has a hospital. Byron Center has many medical professionals operating in a variety of specialties. Fundamental healthcare begins with an individual or family?s access to a general physician, call it a family doctor or for children, a Pediatrician and for women a Gynecologist. Certainly, for people like me, a good therapist; better yet, a Psychiatrist! But why is it that someone in Byron Center, Michigan cannot locate a physician that will take new patients?
CityBlog Byron Center, was struck by the frustration that was apparent in Susie Pena’s (a Byron Center, Michigan resident) post on May 9, 2007, which read as follows:
I have been here 1 year this June and have yet to find a doctor that will accept new patients. I am very discouraged that there is no avenue for new residents to find out who is available without a lot of labor intensive efforts.
Does Byron Center have a physician association or, does the hospital know of new physicians coming into Byron Center that are looking for new patients? It would behoove all communities to have some centralized service that maintains a list of physicians who can accept patients as either â€œnewâ€ or on a rotating basis until the new resident can establish regular healthcare.