Dennis Curtin, Region Owner
RE/MAX Mid-States & Dixie Region

Good OL Days Of Home Buying Might Just Be Now Please Read Below By Dennis Curtain, Owner of RE/MAX Midstates is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

Big family, lots of friends, no problem with this new listing. We have just listed a 6 bedroom/4 bath home with a 2 slip dock located minutes from downtown Grove, OK but in a private secluded area with a well protected wide cove with great views out to the  highly sought after Honey Creek Arm of Grand Lake. You can have it all here. Home sits on .82 Acre m/l and per county records has 3546 square feet.  You will enjoy the new kitchen with rich deep cherry tone and beautiful granite countertops. The stainless steel appliances add just the right touch to this brand new upscale kitchen.

As stated above, you will enjoy peace and solitude in this very quiet location but yet be only minutes from downtown Grove for shopping, movies, dining out, health care, and churches or civic clubs. The home has two levels with the master bedroom in a corner of the home for quietness. You will enjoy your family and friends as they flock to your retirement lake home or second home on the lake. This is one of a very few waterfront homes where you have view, dock protection, quiet location, close to downtown Grove, and 6 bedrooms for friends and family.

All the above sought after priorty items for a waterfront lake home and priced at only $400,000. I would not tarry on this home as you will not find many like it across the entire lake with all the above sought after qualities in one home. Grand Lake MLS number 12-72 is the home to ask about.  Call the Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake today for more information and to schedule your showing of this fine home. You can reach Aaron Hughes at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net or Joe Neill at 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net.  We look forward to hearing from you.

Grand Lake Waterfront Home with 6 Bedrooms/4 Baths/2 Slip Dock on Wide Protected Cove with Views of Honey Creek Arm of Grand Lake is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

We have a new listing on Grand Lake in Grove, Oklahoma. This waterfront home is a very nice log home with 3 bedrooms/2.5 baths. The master suite is huge and off to itself. It includes one of the largest walk-in closets I have seen and a luxury whirlpool tub and separate shower.  The master bedroom also has a gas fireplace. The Kitchen/Family rooms are open and look into a sun room and out to the lake. There is a formal Dining and Living Room with 2 story high rock fireplace and a view to the outside from here as well. There is a very large deck on the lakeside to enjoy long summer evenings on. The yard is well shaded and has a nice winding path to water and boat dock.

Two Guest Bedrooms and a Bath between them are on one side of home.  On the back side of the Kitchen is a large utility room with a door to a half bath and  a door to the  large 2 car garage. The Kitchen has a vast amount of counter top work space and one wall is composed of 3 large storage pantry areas for easy access.

This property is just off the LakeRoad 6 just South of the HoneyCreek Bridge over Grand Lake. It is in a very quiet subdivision, The Moorings and located in a protected Cove just off the HoneyCreek Arm of Grand Lake, one of the most desired areas of Grand Lake. You will be only 5 minutes from downtown Grove shopping, dining, and other services. This home will be an excellent retirement home on Grand Lake or equally well as a second home retreat on Grand Lake.

Grand Lake MLS #11-2373 is a great buy for a waterfront home on Grand Lake. It is listed at $349,000. Current owner will look at home trades and possible financing for buyer. You must see this home to appreciate it.

For your showing of this fine Grand Lake waterfront home call The Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove, OK. Call Aaron Hughes at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net or Joe Neill at 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. We hope to hear from you soon.

New Waterfront Listing Grand Lake-Log Home Quiet Cove Just Off Honeycreek Arm of Lake is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

Are you tired of constant up and down but mostly down stock market?  Take a look at these income producing properties that generate cash each month in rental income. We have commercial property listings in the Grand Lake/Grove, OK area. Look at some examples below.

1. 2 Duplex’s in Grove, OK   One is two units, each 1063 sq ft m/l with 2 bedrooms and 2 baths each. Gross rent $1225 per month. Can be bought for $153,900, Grand Lake MLS #11-1374.   The other duplex is 1416 sq ft m/l  each side with 3 bedrooms/2 baths in each side. This unit has gross rent of $1400 per month and can be bought for $164,900. It is Grand Lake MLS #11-1356. These two duplexes set side by side in a nice clean area. You can buy one or both.

2. Monkey Island on Grand Lake Strip Center with 6 units, Self Service Laundry, 25 Storage Units, and room to add more storage units or maybe a needed car wash to service all the bass boats at nearby Martin’s Landing week-end fishing tournments. The five business units are leased to long time businesses and the sixth unit is the owned self service laundry. Seller’s would adjust price and retain laundry and rent space from you. The mini storage units stay 90%+ leased. This sits at the entry to Monkey Island on busy Hwy 125. More details available. Grand Lake MLS #10-1539 priced at $642,000.

3. Commercial Building on Hwy 10/59 just south of Grove, OK. This rustic looking but like new building has 2535 sq ft m/l of offices and storage. There is an unfinished upstairs loft that could be made into several uses. This property has 201 ft of highway frontage. It formerly housed an electric business. Grand Lake MLS. #11-1056 is available at $155,000. This property would be a great rental but you also would enjoy it for your own ultimate man cave.

Call the Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake to talk about income producing property. Aaron Hughes can be reached at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. Joe Neill at 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net

Don’t Like Whipsaw Stock Market-Try These Income Producing Properties on Grand Lake is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

..6 Things That Turn Home Buyers Off (and What Sellers Can Do To Prevent It)!
4Posted under: Home Buying, Home Selling | February 23, 2011 5:48 PM | 26,724 views | 72 comments ..Email Alerts
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View RSS feed close [x] .We’ve talked about surprising home features buyers LOVE, and about why buyers aren’t biting on today’s market, despite it being highly affordable. But we haven’t talked much about the characteristics of sellers, listings and homes that turn buyers all the way off. Well, not until now!

Here are 6 big-time homebuyer turn-offs that make buyers cringe at the thought of your home, and action steps you can take to prevent your home from being an offender:

1. Stalker-ish sellers. I know you think you’re being helpful, walking the buyer through your home and pointing out the wagon-wheel light fixture you made with your own two hands, the custom mural of a stingray you paid top dollar to have painted across your living room wall and the way the sounds of happy schoolchildren running across the front yard of your corner lot to get to the school in the next block lifts your spirits. However, the buyers might be trying really hard to ignore, minimize or figure out how to undo the very features of your home you hold dear. They also may want or need to have personal space and conversations with their mate or their agent while they’re viewing your home – you being there, especially walking right alongside them while they’re in your home, prevents them from being comfortable about doing this, or discussing all the things they would change if the home were theirs. In my experience, the more nitpicky a buyer gets about a house and the more detailed their list of things they would change, the more serious they are about considering making an offer on this place.

What’s a Seller to do? Back off. Let your home be shown vacant, or leave the house when people come to see it. If you need to be there, at least walk outside or go sit at the coffee shop down the way while prospective buyers view your home. If the buyers have questions, their people will contact your people.

2. Shabby, dirty, crowded and/or smelly houses. You already know this one. Yet, buyers constantly marvel. The buyers who come to see your home are making the decision whether to choose your home for the biggest purchase they’ve ever made during the worst economic conditions most of them have ever experienced. Your job is to get your home noticed – favorably – above the sea of other homes on the market, many of which are priced very, very low.
What’s a Seller to do? Other than listing your home at a competitive price, the only tool within your control for differentiating your home from all the foreclosures and short sales is to show it in tip-top shape. Pre-pack your place up, getting rid of as many of your personal effects as possible. Do not show it without it being completely cleaned up: no laundry or dishes piled up, countertops freshly washed, smelly dogs (I have a couple who smell on occasion – no judgment – but don’t show your house with pet odors) or litter boxes cleaned and/or out of the house.

3. Irrational seller expectations (i.e., overpricing). Buying a house on today’s market is hard work! On top of all the research and analysis about the market and situating their own lives to be sure they’ll be able to afford the place for 5, 7, 10 years – or longer, buyers have to work overtime to separate the real estate wheat from the chaff, get educated about short sales and foreclosures and often put in many, many offers before they get even a single one accepted. The last thing they want to add to their task lists is trying to argue a seller out of unreasonable expectations or pricing. And, in fact, there are so many other homes on the market, buyers don’t have to do this. When they see a home whose seller is clearly clueless about their home’s value and has priced it sky-high, most often they won’t bother even looking at it. If they love it, they’ll wait for it to sit on the market for awhile, hoping the market will “educate you” into desperation, priming the pump for a later, lowball offer.

What’s a Seller to do? Get real. Get out there and look at the other properties that are for sale in your area and price range. Get multiple agents’ take on what your home should be listed at, and don’t take it personally if their recommendation is low. If your home has much less curb appeal or space or is much less upgraded than the house across the way, don’t list it at the same price and expect it to sell. If you owe more than your home is realistically worth, you may need to reexamine whether you really want or need to sell, or consider a short sale, if you simply have to sell. Don’t be tempted into testing your market with an obviously too-high price, unless you’re prepared to have your home lag on the market and get lowball offers.

4. Feeling misled. Here’s the deal. You will never trick someone into buying your home. If the listing pics are photo-edited within an inch of their lives, or your home is described as an “approved” short sale when, in fact, the bank approved another offer, now withdrawn, but will require a new offer to go through any sort of approval process (even a truncated one), buyers will learn this information at some point. If your neighborhood is described as funky and vibrant, as code for the fact that your house is under the train tracks and you live in between a wrecking yard and a biker bar, prospects will figure this out. If the detailed information about your home, neighborhood or even transactional position (e.g., short sale status, seller financing, etc.) is misrepresented, the sheer misrepresentation will turn otherwise interested buyers off. If you authorize your agent to “verbally approve” the buyer’s offer, don’t go back the next day demanding an extra $5,000. In cases where the buyer feels misled, whether or not that was your intention, running through the buyer’s mind is this question: If they can’t trust you to be honest about this, how can they trust you to be honest about everything else?

What’s a Seller to do? Buyers rely on sellers to be upfront and honest – so be both. If your home has features or aspects that are often perceived negatively, your home’s listing probably shouldn’t lead with them (like the ad I recently saw with the intro line: “this place is a mess!”), but neither should you go out of your way to slant or skew or spin the facts which will be obvious to anyone who visits your home. Make sure you know what the listing of your home reads like, before it’s published to the web, and that a prospective buyer will not feel misled by it.

5. New, ugly home improvements. Many a buyer has walked into a house that has clearly been remodeled and upgraded in anticipation of the sale, only to have their heart sink with the further realization that the brand-spanking-new kitchen features a countertop made, not of Carerra marble, but brand-new, pink tiles with a kitty cat in the middle of each one (I saw this once, people – no joke). Or the pristine, just-installed floors feature carpet in a creamy shade of blue – the buyer’s least favorite color. New home improvements that run totally counter to a buyer’s aesthetics are a big turn-off, because in today’s era of Conspicuous Frugality, buyers just can’t cotton to ripping out expensive, brand new, perfectly functioning things just on the basis of style – especially since they’ll feel like they paid for these things in the price of the home.

What’s a Seller to do? Check in with a local broker or agent before you make a big investment in a pre-sale remodel. They can give you a reality check about the likely return on your investment, and help you prioritize about which projects to do (or not). Instead of spending $40,000 on a new, less-than-attractive kitchen, they might encourage you to update appliances, have the cabinets painted and spend a few grand on your curb appeal. Many times, they will also help you do the work of selecting neutral finishes that will work for the largest possible range of buyer tastes.

6. CRAZY listing photos (or no photos at all). Here at Trulia, we’ve seen listing photos that have dumpsters parked in front of the house, piles of laundry all over the “hardwood” floors touted in the listing description, and once, even the family dog doing his or her business in the lovely green front yard. Listing pictures that have put your home in anything but its best, accurate light are a very quick way to ensure that you turn off a huge number of buyers from even coming to see your house! The only bigger buyer turn-off than these bizarre listing pics are listings that have no photos at all; most buyers on today’s market see a listing with no pictures and click right on past it, without giving the place a second glance.

What’s a Seller to do? Check your home’s listing on Trulia and make sure that the pics represent your home well. If not, ask your agent to grab some new shots and get them online (and say pretty please, pretty please!).

P.S. – Buyers, get your roof inspection or new linens paid for! Sellers, how’d you like to be able to hire a cleaning service for that pre-showing deep clean?

You still have (a little) time to enter to win a $250 gift card by answering this question on Facebook: What’s your American Dream? (If you win – and this is exclusively for readers of the AskTara blog!, we’ll let you choose any sort of gift card you want within the $250 limit).

P. P.S. – You should follow Trulia and Tara on Facebook, too!
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From Tulia–6 Things to Help You Sell Your Home in Grove, OK or Grand Lake is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

February, 2011 we just came thru two record setting snow storms and record low temperatures but in Oklahoma fashion today we are 70 degrees. The Grand Lake area normally gets 9″ snowfall per winter, about 2″ in December and another 7″ in January. Some years we will have a March blizzard that comes and goes fast. Once or twice in 20 years we get a dose of winter like this year.

I love four seasons and we have four pretty seasons. While I hate snow, I must this record snow while piled high and cold outside, looked as pretty as a picture looking out our picture windows toward the lake while enjoying the warmeth of our furnace.

What I like about now, is you can tell with longer days that Spring is not too many weeks away and we will again be enjoying my favorite time of year with dogwoods and redbuds in bloom. People will be fishing, boating, and sea-dooing again and the sail boats will be out.

If you are thinking about a retirement home, Grove, OK on the shores of beautiful Grand Lake is a wonderful place to call home. We have quality health care with our one year old Integris Grove Hospital, friendly churches and civic clubs, and good shopping and dining. People welcome newcomers with open arms. We see people move here from both coasts and several from northern states that have brutal winters every year.

For a weekend second home on the lake there is no place like Grand Lake. Many weekenders enjoy Monkey Island with several gated communities that take care of the lawn so you can enjoy your time off. We have golf course homes, waterfront homes, and lakeview homes. We also have a nice selection of waterfront building lots to select from. There are nice homes or condos in all price targets from about $60,000 to the millions. You can search our Grand Lake MLS listings at the button above. Look over some and give us a call.

For more information on Grand Lake real estate call the Grand Lake Team-Aaron Hughes and Joe Neill. For Aaron call 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. For Joe call 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. We offer true team service to those we work with and are proud to be a part of the RE/MAX Grand Lake office in Grove, OK.

Grove, OK on Beautiful Grand Lake is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

The Grove, OK home and garden show at the civic center on main street in Grove begins Friday February 11th 2-7 pm, Saturday February 12 from 10 to 6, and Sunday February 13 from 11 to 3. RE/MAX Grand Lake including the Grand Lake Team will have a booth at the show. You will also find many local and out of town vendors with all kinds of products for your home. It is a great annual event.

This year we think everyone will be extra eager to get and enjoy the forecasted better weather after two weeks of hard for Oklahoma winter weather. Come on to the civic center and join in the fun.

Grove, OK Home & Garden Show Feb. 11, 12, 13, 2011 is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

Here it is January, 2011 and it is cold across much of the United States. However we are seeing a warming of the inquiry into real estate in the Grand Lake market. Our internet searches and pages viewed have been up all month as people sit at home in the cold wishing for warm weather to enjoy the lake. Our real estate values have not taken the big hit much of the U.S. did. Waterfront homes have been pretty much flat the past three years, however we did see a minor uptick in prices for 2010. Residential homes bought at the very peak of the market in 2007 have seen a drop in price of about 10% average but have also seemed to level out in price.

There are bargains to be had from people needing to sell this winter for various reason such as loss of a job, death in the family, or other family change. We will see these bargains become fewer and fewer as we get in the early March beginning of the 2011 Spring Selling Season. We have not seen widespread foreclosures like other areas of the country and only a few distressed sales. Interest rates are low and prices are stable with what we believe is an upward trend into the next few years. This might just be the time to invest in an investment that could appreciate in value like stocks but we are certain it will appreciate in family and friends values as you make memories on Grand Lake. We have a great selection of waterfront homes, golf course homes, gated community lake front homes, or lakeview homes to choose from. Enjoy a cold evening searching the Grand Lake MLS at our search button above. Then give us a call or email to find out more or let us send you what we think our the buys in your target price range are. You can reach Aaron Hughes at arronhughes@remax.net or 918 801-5645. Joe Neill at jneill@remax.net or 918 640-3300. We are the Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove, OK. We hope to hear from you soon.

Is This The Year For You To Buy Grand Lake Real Estate is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

We have listed a really neat property on scenic Highway 60 north of Grove, OK. This beautiful and scenic property contains 214.66 Acres, a wonderful luxury home with 3700 square feet m/l sitting toward the back of the property on a hill overlooking the land, and on the highway three large buildings formerly used for a wholesale distribution business. The buildings are 60′ x 140′ x 14′ with concrete floor and electic, a 60′ x 40′ x 14′ building currently used to store tractors and equipment but would be a nice shop with electric, and a 60′ x 100′ x 14′ building divided into a showroom with heat and air, a large office, and a warehouse room with overhead door for RV or Semi. The buildings are all wood post framed with metal exterior and metal building insulation. The buildings are in excellent condition and ready for your business venture, conversion to horse ranch, or cow ranch, or just a place for all your collectable large toys and shop area to restore or enjoy your big hobbies. The property is only about 23 miles from Grove, OK on Grand Lake, about 5 miles from Senaca, MO but in Oklahoma, and about 25 miles from Joplin, MO. The Highway 60 location is about 20 miles from I44 interstate for easy access to anywhere in the country.

The home is very unique with extra stained oak trim everywhere including arches in living area, above bath vanities, crown molding, all cabinets, and around windows. The dining area, kitchen, and family rooms have unique stamped tin ceilings like the popular ceilings in the early 1900′s commercial buildings. The living, dining, formal dining, and kitchen are open floor plan. The master bedroom is huge with large walkin closet, bath with separate shower and tub. There are three guest bedrooms and two guest baths. The utility room offers extra work space and just off it is a huge pantry room. The family room is also very large and has french doors to outside as does the dining area. The home also has a beautiful library just off the entry way with oak paneled wood and shelves for all your books with an area you will truly enjoy reading or doing your needed office work from. The home has a paved road from the highway to it’s location at the back of the property.

This ranch is truly unique in a pretty scenic location. You are in your own world but only a short distance to two quaint shopping towns, Senaca and Grove. For more extensive shopping you have only that short drive to Joplin, MO or go to Tulsa, OK in an hour and fifteen or twenty minutes, or to NW Arkansas in an hour and half or so.

As stated above this acreage offers commercial uses for many businesses with a setting you will just enjoy living at, or you can have an agriculture ranch, or just a fun place for a family or retirement home. We have this fine property listed in the Grand Lake MLS numbers 11-68 and 11-70, one being a commercial listing and the other land with improvement listing. Both listings are the same and are offered for sale. This property was listed by another firm three years ago for over 3 million dollars. Today, you can own this scenic wonderland for $1,200,000.

Call the Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove, OK for more information or to schedule your showing. Call Aaron Hughes at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. For Joe Neill call 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net. If you have the desire or need for this type of property this is one you need to see. You truly will be amazed.

Commercial Hwy Business, Horse or Cow Ranch, or Beautiful Home Place is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes

Would you like to own your own franchise business on Grand Lake of the Cherokees in NE Oklahoma? We have just the business for you, well it is not the franchise in the sense you are probably thinking but it is an old, well established family owned and operated business icon on Grand Lake. This business is proven successful, has undergone a major inside and out remodeling in past two years, has a thriving year round business and a super summer boating season business.

You can buy, own, and operate this business icon. Present owner will teach you the ropes in owning and operating. With a low turnover of employees and a longterm day to day manager, this business runs right along with the owner spending only a few hours a day at the operation.

This is a grocery store, convenience store, gasoline service and more store. You also have rental income from a leased cafe. The store has an in house leased old fashioned meat market that brings customers from far and wide to buy special cut to order meats. It serves two small communities along with the huge weekender crowd of second lake home owners. The nearest major grocery is 10-12 miles away. This business is the local franchise of one, the one we are offering for sale. If you would like to own and operate your own business, live on a great lake, have time for family and friends, and enjoy financial success, this is the business opportunity for you.

For more information, call the Hughes and Neill Grand Lake Team at RE/MAX Grand Lake in Grove, OK. You can reach Aaron Hughes at 918 801-5645 or aaronhughes@remax.net. For Joe Neill call 918 640-3300 or jneill@remax.net.

Franchise Business on Grand Lake? is a post from: Grand Lake OK Real Estate with Joe Neill & Aaron Hughes