Chopin, Nocturne, opus 27 #2, solo piano is a wonderful piece to listen to with my headphones on, as I write this post this morning. I like great music and this is very relaxing. You might be asking yourself, what all this has to do with real estate, Blogs, social networking for business, or anything else for that matter.

I would have never discovered this masterpiece without Twitter. You see, one of my tweets recommended listening to it, so I took a look and now, I have something I can bookmark to listen to again. (It's a small gift for someone I don't know for nothing in return. However, by thanking them for the link and recommendation, I have discovered that they were also interested in real estate investing, and their hometown happens to be East Lansing, Michigan (Home of the mighty MSU Spartans).

That's how Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and many other social networking sites work. I have sent a tweet back, thanking this party for the wonderful link of beautiful music, told them I noticed they were from East Lansing, and included a link on the current real estate market for their information. I also took the time to RT (retweet their post to share with my followers).

Within five minutes, I had someone tweeting me back with a mention that they thought this was a beautiful piece of music, and thanks for sharing. They also indicated that while reading my profile, they discovered, I sell real estate. (Now isn't that cool)

Last month, about 45 Lansing area Tweeters had a Tweetup at Biggby's in East Lansing at 9 a.m. in the morning. It was kind of neat to put a face and personality to what we have normally pickup in 140 character or less on Twitter. This was only the 3rd event that I have taken time to attend in the greater Lansing area, however, I have met some womderful people from all walks of life.

Is Twitter a fad?  Some people think so. I happen to believe it's the next dial tone of communication and will continue to evolve the way we exchange ideas, network, and develop friendships. By the way, it's a great marketing tool for real estate also in addition to the other tools, portals, websites and social networking sites I use for marketing homes.

A Real Estate Professional must meet the needs and expectations of the Connected Consumer. The rules of business are changing in our industry, with nearly 90% of all buyers searching the Internet prior to contacting an agent. It is imperative that practitioners of our business become savvy on what is available to them for marketing real estate.  This applies to all businesses in today's world, don't you think?

"Expect the Best Mike

Here’s a rare find in East Lansing, Haslett School District, walking distance to the clubhouse at Timber Ridge Golf Course. Extremely sharp ranch condo with finished lower level, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, 3-season room and tons of extras.

Mike Bowler Sr. ePRO, CRB, GRI, SRES
Coldwell Banker Hubbell Briarwood
1020 S. Creyts Road, Lansing, MI 48917
Phone: 517-492-3400 Fax: 888-832-6203
email: Mike@MikeBowler.com 
Website for Clients: MikeBowler.com
Search Listings

I'm seeing an increase in housing activity the past week or so. I had 3 showing appointments set on the same listing within the past 24 hours. Now that has been rare this past year. But, it tells me that buyers are getting the message that now is the time to make their move.

The home buying process can seem complicated, but if you take things step-by-step, you will soon be holding the keys to your own home according to HUD, Homes and Communities. They list 9 steps to Home Ownership which give a pretty detailed list of items for your use.

We are experiencing a return to the more traditional lending standards that were in effect before the housing boom of 2001 -2005- lending standards that support a stable economic environment for both home-buyers and the nation at large.  Buyers will likely need to get their credit in order, save more for down payments and work harder with their sales associate to find a suitable home.

I normally provide the names and phone numbers of Mortgage Originators to each buyer for them to compare services, closing costs, and additional fees involved in buying their home. The team effort that is created in the home buying process is important, so that all the pieces of the puzzle fit together.

The Mortgage Originator is only one of those team members of your Realtor. A few more covered in future Blogs would be the home inspector, the Title Company, a Concierge Coordinator, an Attorney and many, many more. When a Realtor sells a house, many people are put to work.

Feel free to visit my websitefor additional tools and articles on buying or selling a home in the greater Lansing market. I Specialize in Lansing real estate, DeWitt, Grand Ledge, Holt, Okemos, Haslett, East Lansing, Bath, and Ingham, Clinton, Eaton County. You can search real estate here for all these areas.

"Expect the Best' Mike