Reflections of Home | Blog

1. Prices – Prices for land in many places have dropped 50-60% since 2005. While there are signs that prices are stabilizing or even starting to go up, now is still a great time to get a deal on vacant land or a new home.
2. Interest rates – Current interest rates are at or near 50-year lows. Considering basic economics, interest rates can only go so low and are currently at or near the very bottom. So what does this mean for you? Huge savings! Even just a 1% increase in interest rates on a $500,000 mortgage costs an extra $110,000 over 30 years. You can’t time low interest rates any better than right now!
3. Incentives – Builders and developers continue to offer incentives on their properties. For a limited time, we’re offering to pay your ownership costs including association dues, property taxes, and interest* for 1 full year on any inventory home you purchase in one of our communities. In essence, you have virtually no risk for 1 full year and you get to enjoy all of the upside potential!
4. Life stage – For the past 5 years, it seems that most people have been in a “holding pattern” as a result of the fear of the unknown. Well, many of our clients are recognizing that it is important to start enjoying life again before it passes them by. Your vacation or primary home is much more than an investment, it is a place to create memories, share moments with the people you cherish, and bring back the joy in life that seems to have disappeared for the past few years.

• Price – Incredible discounts and incentives still available!
• Terms – Interest rates at or near record lows!
• People – We’ll provide such an enjoyable building experience that it can’t be matched!

Want to learn more? Call Meghan Heritage today at 616-581-2241 to hear about real estate opportunities that may truly be “once in a lifetime”!      


* See details for terms and limitations.  

1. Wide open space for your dog(s) to greet you
2. Hooks for the kids to hang up their coats (this still doesn’t guarantee they will actually do it)
3. A bench so the kids can sit down and put on their shoes
4. A large closet for whatever else comes in the door
5. An easily accessible ½ bath
6. A laundry room with large counter top
7. A large pantry for bulk purchases and your kitchen supplies

Did you know that we’ve been recycling our job site cardboard for over 15 years? Even if we don’t have a recycling container on the job site, our crews will load up cardboard in their truck and bring it back to the recycling container at our office. Here is Randy unloading his truck just a few days ago.

Thanks Randy for helping us become a more sustainable organization!

On Tuesday, several of us from David C. Bos Homes listened to a presentation by Andy Wells, an internationally recognized designer for Master Brand cabinets. Although he represents a cabinet company, he didn’t talk much about cabinets. Rather, he discussed design concepts and ideas such as…

1. Nostalgia is not a trend…it is expected
2. Furnishings must be in step with trends and fashion
3. Don’t be afraid of color
4. Each color used in kitchen design (whether it is the cabinets, floor covering, appliances…) must remain within the context of all other colors
5. Listen and seek to understand the client
6. Design inspiration comes from multiple aspects of life and culture
7. Avoid confusion

A well-designed home encompasses the cooperation and dedication of many different people, starting with the homeowner and including the architect, interior designer and others. Also, price should not prevent good design. Whether you are building a home for $150,000 or $3 million, design matters!  

While we’ve put together a fantastic team of designers for your home, we continue to stretch our minds and learn new ideas. Thanks to Williams Kitchen and Bath for sponsoring Andy Wells’ visit. It is always good to be reminded about the importance of “design excellence”.

This weekend I was talking to a friend who recently changed jobs. At his new job, he is not offered a 401k, but this didn’t bother him as he has become disenchanted with the idea of investing in the stock market.

“I’m tired of putting my money in the stock market, watching it fluctuate up and down, and not getting any enjoyment out of it. I’m looking for some land to purchase. At least I can enjoy the land and it certainly seems like a much safer investment than stocks”, he told me.

I couldn’t have said it better myself. Good investing is about a diversified portfolio, and land should be part of everyone’s portfolio.

If you are looking for waterfront or other property, please call us at 616-842-2248 and we’ll be happy to show you investment opportunities that you can enjoy today and in the future.

Have you noticed David Bos walking around with his new water bottle? A few months ago we eliminated all plastic water bottles from the office, and he has adapted with a very cool and sustainable new water bottle. Well done David!

I grew up on a large chicken farm, and I remember elementary schools taking field trips to our farm. To the students, it was fascinating to see where an egg really comes from. For a chicken farm to be successful, they learned that:

• You need lots of chickens
• The chickens need lots of food
• The chickens lay lots of eggs, but also generate tons of manure
• The smell of chicken manure can be overpowering, especially on a hot day
• Every egg is cleaned, sorted by size, packaged into cartons, and delivered to grocery stores
• There are also pigs on the farm to eat the cracked and bad eggs
• The smell of pigs is even worse than the smell of chickens!

Overall, it was always fun to see the kids learn about farm life. It was also entertaining to see the pictures that the students sent back as thank-you cards because words like “stink” and “smell” were almost always part of the drawings!  

Well, at David C. Bos Homes we can’t offer a field trip to a chicken farm, but we can provide a field trip to a home construction site. As an example, my son’s Cub Scout den recently wanted to see what it takes to build a new home. So, we arranged a field trip to one of our homes that is under construction.

For the field trip, Ryan Frymire, one of our framing foreman, volunteered his time on a Monday evening and helped the boys install siding, read the drawings, and use some power drills. He also led a scavenger hunt in which the boys tried to find the location for things like the fireplace, kitchen sink, toilets, showers, pocket doors, washer/dryer hookups, pantry, recessed lights… The boys had a great time and hopefully learned something (eight-year old Thomas D. even expressed that he wants to build homes when he grows up).  

At David C. Bos Homes, we believe it is important to give back to our community, and we’d love to take your school/Scout group on a field trip to one of our homes. We’ll be sure to find a home that is at the best stage of construction for your group, and we’ll also emphasize the safety of everyone involved. Please call Ed Wilgenburg or Ken Vander Zee at 616-842-2248 to arrange your field trip. We look forward to showing you what we do every day!

USA Today has finally discovered what we’ve known for quite a while – West Michigan is a great place to live!  

In a recent article, the Holland-Grand Haven area was ranked #2 (only behind Boulder, Colorado and just ahead of Honolulu, Hawaii) of all US cities as the happiest and healthiest place to live. Here are just a few things we've done in the last month that confirms this ranking:

Luging
Speed skating
Cross country skiing
Cardboard sled race at the Grand Haven Winterfest
Shopping in the local stores of downtown Holland and Grand Haven

Do you want to share about good places to eat or other fun things to do in West Michigan? We invite you to post a comment us just come see for yourself all of the wonderful aspects of living in Western Michigan!

Did you know that West Michigan (Muskegon Winter Sports Complex to be exact) has 1 of only 4 luge tracks in the entire United States (the other  courses are located in Lake Placid, Salt Lake City and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula)?

Well, last weekend my kids and I tried luging for the first time, and we had a ton of fun! Imagine going 20 mph and only being 6 inches off the ice. Now imagine doing that at 8 years old like my son. I don’t think he’ll forget it for quite a while. What a great way to spend a winter afternoon!

This made me think about what makes West Michigan so unique. Despite what the media reports, Michigan has a vibrant economy. We also have four seasons of fantastic outdoor activities that you can’t find in very many other places. We invite you to take a look at living in West Michigan, stop by the luge track this winter, enjoy our many lakes during the summer, watch a sunset on Lake Michigan at any time…

Come see what Michigan has to offer!

10. Cheap light fixtures and fans that will not last
9.   Kitchen cabinets have very few drawers and are too small to even fit your utensil tray
8.   Garage is so small you can’t fit your SUV, both cars, or your toys/tools
7.   Not enough or improperly installed insulation which can cause major problems with water and ice buildup
6.   Undersized water heater
5.   Master closet only has room for hanging space on one side
4.   Furnace is an off-brand, has no warranty, and could be very costly to fix if it fails in the next five years
3.   No sound insulation installed around the bathrooms
2.   Floor coverings look good, but really are the cheapest product available
1.   Windows are flimsy and difficult to open/close  

So what do you do?  

If you are buying an existing home, make sure you “test-live” the home. No one buys a car without a test drive, so apply this same principle to a home. Here are some things to be sure to test:

• Open and close ALL windows
• Open the cabinets to see if there is adequate drawer and cabinet space
• Count the number of closets
• Count the number of cabinets
• Turn on the bath fans
• Turn on the faucets
• Look very close at the trim to see if joints are mostly caulk (too much caulk indicates poor quality)
• Park your cars in the garage to see if they fit
• Get on your hands and knees and touch the carpet – Does it feel like it will last more than 6 months?
• Lay out your furniture in the home (especially check on the dining room table)
• Look for indications of a damp basement. Is the sump pump running?
• Ask for details about the materials used (i.e. furnace, water heater, floor coverings, faucets, exterior siding, roof shingles, door hardware, windows) and research these products online. You may discover that some of these products could result in costly repairs in the future.
• Ask about the home warranty and service program  

 

If you are building a new home, here are some additional things you do not want to forget:

• Talk to friends, family, co-workers, current residents in the neighborhood that you are considering… and obtain references. Don’t rely solely on builder testimonials as virtually anyone can get a good testimonial at some time.
• “Test-live” model homes as noted above
• Ask lots of questions
• Listen to questions the builder asks to see if the builder is trying to understand your lifestyle
• Review floor plans carefully
• Ask if you can customize the home to reflect your lifestyle - not just customize colors - but actually have the option to move walls and increase/decrease the size of the interior spaces to enhance your lifestyle  

 

Most importantly, take enough time to imagine your daily life and make sure the home is right for you and your family!

Have you noticed that homes seem to be getting cheaper and cheaper? I don’t mean the price…I mean the quality of the materials.

A few days ago, my mind wandered to the Yugo. You may remember the Yugo. It was the cheapest car on the market for $3,990 in 1986, it was a horrible failure, and oh yeah, one of these cars was even blown over the side of the Mackinaw Bridge!

Why do I bring up the Yugo? Well, just like it is was a bad idea to purchase a Yugo in 1986 based solely on price, it may also be a bad idea to purchase your new home in 2010 based solely on the lowest price today.

In our next post, I will provide a list of items in a new home that you need to watch out for so that you don’t end up with a Yugo-type home. Until then, here are a couple of Yugo jokes for your enjoyment:

Q. How do you double the value of a Yugo?
A. Fill the tank with gas!  (If it can still hold liquid.)
A. If not, put a gallon of milk in the back seat.

Q. What comes with every Yugo User's Manual?
A. The bus schedule.

I once bought a Yugo with a tow package...  It was in the front.

A friend went to a dealer the other day and said, "I'd like a gas cap for my Yugo." The dealer replied, "Okay. Sounds like a fair trade."

Here at David C. Bos Homes we often ask the question “What is HOME?” It’s certainly more than 2x4s, windows, cabinets, appliances… HOME is about good memories…and bad memories, loud gatherings…and quiet moments, funny stories…and sad reminders, laughter…and crying. Since I like quotes, here are a few I recently found about HOME:

“Home is a shelter from storms - all sorts of storms.” - William J. Bennett

“There is nothing like staying at home for real comfort.” - Jane Austen

“It's passionately interesting for me that the things that I learned in a small town, in a very modest home, are just the things that I believe have won the election.” - Margaret Thatcher

We are passionate about homes, and everything related to them. We want to share our passion with you so that you can realize the true value of your HOME. To help, we encourage you to follow our blog – Reflections of Home – as we share our thoughts and ideas for your HOME. Enjoy!