Visit us at The Midwest Fly Fishing Expo

Getting our stuff together for our annual pilgrimage to The Midwest Fly Fishing Expo at Macomb Community College. The folks at The Michigan Fly Fishing Club put on an amazing show with tons of vendors marketing the latest gear and pushing out their old inventory at amazing prices. There are also a bunch of great seminars and demonstrations. Try out all the latest rods on the casting pond or just brush off that cabin fever by talking fly fishing for a couple of days. Our booth this year is a tribute to the history of fly angling in Michigan in the 1950's. We're bringing in this 1951 Ford Woody wagon and it's going to be filled with gear from the era. Thanks to Wanigas Rod Company, The Great Lakes Fly Fishing Co., and Phil Heck for displaying their rods, reels, creel, waders, and more to replicate a vehicle travelling to Grayling from Detroit in the 1950's. Should be fun. Of course we'll also have marketing materials on our current inventory of riverfront and lakefront properties and will be available to talk shop if you stop by. Hope to see you there! Click the car image for more details on the show.

Does your agent have an auger?

Working with buyers yesterday evening, we thought we had found their dream home. On an all-sports lake near Traverse City, this home was beautiful and offered all the features they hoped for. It appeared we were on our way to writing an offer. I asked the buyer if they were familiar with this portion of the lake. I had remembered from past boating trips that this particular bay seemed to be quite shallow. I suggested we head out on the ice and drill a few holes just to be sure. It ended up being a very good thing. The first hole close to shore revealed only 6" of water and a foot or so of soft dark muck on the bottom. We headed 30' out and drilled another hole. Again, shallow water with a nice deep layer of fragrant black muck. The process continued until we were probably 200' from shore and still had only found a couple feet of water before hitting another few feet of muck. The look of disappointment was obvious, but there was also a sense of relief. Had their Realtor not take the time and effort to really look into what they were buying, they would have had a very unpleasant surprise once the ice melted and the home was now theirs. Our company was built to sell the water. Our agents are passionate about representing waterfront buyers and sellers and it can make an enormous difference in ensuring our clients make informed decisions. Enjoy the rest of winter!! Should be seeing ice out in another few weeks if the weather cooperates.

There's a Road. Is it an easement?

Before you purchase any property, take the necessary steps to ensure you have legal easement to and from the property. Many people see a road or driveway and assume they have the right to use it. While there are some circumstances under which long term use of a road or driveway across another property can lead to what's known as an easement by prescription, it's anything but a sure thing. An easement is defined as, "an interest in land owned by another that entitles its holder to a specific limited use or enjoyment (as the right to cross the land or have a view continue unobstructed over it)." It's usually a written document that is recorded on two or more adjoining properties. I lets all parties know that another property owner has the right to use a portion of their land for a specific purpose, usually access to and from their own property. Typically in Michigan, The State does not issue legal easement. In counties, like Crawford, where more than half of all the land is held by The State of Michigan, you'll want to make sure there is a legal easement in place from the property to the nearest recognized road. The title insurance, usually provided by The Seller in a transaction, will call out any legal easements of record. If you're a seller and aren't sure if you have legal easement, have a search done by the local title company to be certain. There have been more than a few deals held up due to easement issues. This is one of the items that a quality Realtor should look into on your behalf as part of the buying or selling process. Please contact us if you have any specific questions in this regard. Enjoy this last blast of winter too!! It may be the last one we get. (I know that's the hope for many!)

Who's looking at this Otsego Lake Log Home?

In the last 30 days this property has been viewed over 1,200 times on our website. Click the photo to view the details. It's not our listing, but it is a very attractive home on a channel on Otsego Lake listed by Prudential Properties. (We'd of course be happy to represent you as a buyer's agent on the home!) The reason I'm curious is that our site analytics are actually being skewed a bit. This property is being viewed by someone in Berkley, Michigan as many as 75 times in a day. It's peaked my curiosity. If you happen to be viewing this property a tremendous amount and live in Berkley, would you mind shooting me an e-mail at info@homewaters.net? We watch the analytics of the site pretty close and I've never seen such a spike relative to one property all coming from one region. Have a great weekend!!!