THE WRAP

Well, its a wrap. 2011 is over in a day and it is hard to believe another year is gone much less another decade. It seems like just last week that we were stressed about Y2K and all the worlds computers shutting down. Of course, that never happened, but a lot of people made a lot of money from that fiasco and I got a brand new generator out of the deal.This is the first year in some time that I am not saying “Good Riddance” to. Although it has been somewhat off from last year with regard to real estate sales, it has been good nonetheless.
The slower pace has allowed me to re-evaluate our business and make adjustments in strategy going into 2012. Next year will be the year of selective listings…no more taking on properties that are over-priced and under wanted. We are going to focus on small and affordable waterfront, and properties that are unique and affordable…properties that will be fun to sell. We learned this past year, that these are the types of real estate that sell, and sell quickly. It was a year of victories and defeats. I sold the Dura Automotive building in Mancelona twice. The first time was a huge victory for me and my client because I was able to negotiate the sale of the building for one dollar!! After the sale, I worked hard to bring a buyer that would bring jobs to the area and came very close but in the end, the building proved to be over-qualified…too big. I sold it the second time on September 30 to a company that is demolishing the facility for salvage money. This was a huge disappointment for me and I will likely never deal in Commercial property again.
I am going to spend more time enjoying Northern Michigan which I have not done in a long time. After all, this is why we came here isn’t it. There are simply to many rivers to fish, too many books to read and too many stories to write.
That’s the plan and I’m stickin to it.
Have the happiest of New Years and may 2012 be filled with peace, joy, and contentment!!