Pearl Lake

I’ve been thinking about one of my listings, a lot on Pearl Lake. Pearl Lake is unique in a number of ways. First off, it’s located just south of the Benzie-Leelanau County line, with thousands of acres of state land in the Pere Marquette State Forest wrapping around its western and southern sides. There’s not a major road that takes you close enough to get a good look at the lake, and actually there’s only one paved road that will get you anywhere close to it, that being Pearl Lake Road. Yet it’s a big lake- 800+ acres, with a bunch of arms stretching in different directions.

The isolation and size are a couple of things that make it rare. I think it’s fair to say it’s the largest “natural” type lake in Benzie County- one of the ten biggest, I’d say, and the undiscovered for the most part. There are homes and lots along the north edge, but not much else. You can find whole arms of the lake that are untouched by human progress. Taking a look at the Topo Map or Aerial Photo from Terraserver gives you an idea of the interesting layout.

I first discovered Pearl Lake about 14 years ago, thanks to a friend from High School. We'd been camping nearby at Lime Lake, and he suggested we go fishing on Pearl Lake. He was somewhat astonished that I didn't know where it was, and I was a bit embarrassed when he explained it was less than a half mile away. The hills and forests that surround the lake do a heck of a job at hiding it until you're right upon it. Anyhow, we fished for bass and pike, and I enjoyed it so much that I went out with another freind and his girlfriend the next day. As I recall, she outfished the guys, but by then I was more interested in exploring all the coves and bays than fishing anyhow.

College took me away for a while, and it was at least 5 years before I got back to Pearl. This time I was in search of Canada Geese during the fall hunting season. It must have been early in the season, as I recall it was warm. I also recall that my hunting mate forgot his paddle, and we made it to out hunting grounds using a flattish stick and an old board. I don't however, recall the geese cooperating that day.

While there isn't much out there regarding the lake, there are some photos on Flickr, and I've read an article from the Traverse City Record Eagle about the lake. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to track that article down in their online archives, but will post that when I do. The writer, Mike Terrell, recounts an evening of kayaking on the lake, and notes seeing loons, eagles, Canada geese, sand hill cranes, deer, and many songbirds. I do have a rather poor scan of the article in pdf format, which I'll be happy to email to anyone interested.

One thing I love about this job is the reflections and memories that properties bring forth. I got started on Pearl Lake because of the lot I have listed- a beautifully wooded lot, on a cove off of one of the arms. The site is perfect for a walkout basement, and the south facing slope means you get to make the most of the suns rays in winter, while being protected from the north winds. It's in Pearl Lake Estates, which provides an association beach in addition to the 126 feet of private lake frontage. The other homes in Pearl Lake Estates are very attractive and nicely done, and there are about 60 acres of common area and an area to have a pole barn for storage. We've just priced this lot at $175,000, which is a real value in my book. It's $124K lower than the next available lot in Pearl Lake Estates, and is $60k cheaper than another that's available nearby in Pearl Lake Land Division. The most recent tax assesment indicates it's worth over $218k! I'm really enthused about this listing, and with luck I'll find time in my schedule to use it as an excuse to explore the lake further...with my fishing pole in hand, of course.

The Fourth in the North

There’s no place in the world that I’d rather celebrate Independence Day than in Northern Michigan.  From the crowds present this past week, I’d venture to say many others feel the same way.

 

The Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays, and one that’s rich with tradition.  For nearly every one of my 35 years, the holiday has begun with a family breakfast with aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents at our family homestead known as “The Pines” located just outside of Benzonia, overlooking the site of the old Case Mill Pond on Cold Creek.

 

What’s so great about Independence Day up north?  From morning to night:

 

Cold dew on your toes

Strong coffee in chipped mugs

Cooking bacon and eggs over a campfire

A cinnamon roll from the Cherry Hut

Taping signs to an old convertible

Decorating a bike or wagon in red white and blue

Driving or riding in the Beulah Parade, trying not to miss anyone you know, or

Watching friends and neighbors from the curb as they roll by, shouting their names when they throw candy.

A dip in Crystal Lake after the parade

Dripping dry in the sun

Pop-its tossed on the sidewalk

Lunch from a cooler, on a boat, at the sandbar

Football in the water

Little ones snoozing with a beach towel for a blanket

Burgers, brats and hot dogs on the grill

Cold beer for the grownups, lemonade for the kids

Lighting the campfire early

Tubing and waterskiing after dinner

Smores

Daylight lasts forever

Lighting sparklers while you wait for the fireworks

Watching boats come down the lake to see the show

Singing God Bless America to yourself or out loud

Bright reflections on smooth dark water

Snuggling together with your eyes to the sky

Cheering for the grand finale

Finding out it wasn’t the finale after all

Horns tooting their appreciation

Motors starting, green and red lights on the water as the boats make their way home

Kids sleeping on parents laps

Finding the big dipper

Catching fireflies

Seeing a shooting star

Going to bed sandy, smoky and sunburned, proud to be an American and thankful for all that you have.

USA Today features Benzie County

The national spotlight shines on the smallest county in Michigan. Got to love it!

Link to USA Today story

That's it for now. Greatest opportunity to buy in this area in a very long time... right now, but it won't last forever.

101st Congressional Candidate Forum

Michigan's 101st Congressional District is takes up a big stretch of Lake Michigan Coastline. Stretching from the Mason County line at Bass Lake well south of Ludington through Manistee and Benzie Counties and on to Leelanau County, it's an impressive chunk of Michigan's Gold Coast. In addition to coastline and lakefront towns, cities and villages, the 101st also makes up a large portion of Michigan's prime orchard and vineyard lands.

This year, the 101st district is up for grabs, as Rep. Dave Palsrok of Manistee is term limited. In the running are four Republicans and one Democrat. All the candidates recently met in Manistee for a forum that was aired on and recorded by Interlochen Public Radio and sponsored by the Manistee League of Women Voters.

While I've been as engaged in this race than any other race in the past, I'm still undecided. A good blogger would take a stance here, but I just can't, and not because I'm scared to stick my neck out. I'm just not moved to jump on board with any of them. Am I becoming jaded?

It was interesting to hear a candidate mention a REALTORs specifically in one of his answers, and reassuring to know our message is being heard, and in this case repeated. It's that kind of issues based politics that I can get behind. Supporting causes and policies is so much more interesting that arguing ideology to me.

US Real Estate and the Global Economy

Fast Company's Big Idea for June 9, 2008 was:

“The American housing bust has become responsible for a substantial portion of the world's problems. ” - Inspired by Mark Landler, New York Times.

My response:

"Housing is one factor that has us flirting with a bitter cycle of economic erosion. Is Housing the cause? I think more likely it's a symptom of the rampant consumerism and lack of thrift among Americans in general (including this American in particular) over the past decade(s). I think the quote stopped at least one step short of identifying anything that can be considered a cause.
Remember that real estate is a local phenomenon. We're a long, long way from global collapse of real estate markets. If folks were buying homes in the late 70's/early 80's when gas was scarce and mortgage rates were 18%, I think we can find our way through the current mess, where gas is still available, however expensive, and rates are hovering around 6%.
The silver lining here is that houses are becoming more affordable, not less, and pressure will continue to make our housing more efficient."

I'll note that I should have said our choices in housing more efficient, meaning that where and how we live will be affected, and what we view as necessities will be pared down.

Two old dudes and a magazine.

What do a hip, techy business magazine like Fast Company and a 100 year old bastion of the real estate industry like Coldwell Banker have in common? Innovation, a bit of cheeky humor, and my attention.

I began recieving Fast Company this past fall as part of a gift package for being selected to the 40 under 40 by Traverse Business News. Since then I've found myself looking forward to each issue. I don't know if the other winners enjoy it as much as I do, but it's my new favorite mag, and gets read from cover to cover (something I can't say for Rolling Stone.) If I can ever find the time, I'll be delving deeper into their website.

Why Coldwell Banker? Well, of course I work for Coldwell Banker Schmidt Realtors, one of their larger brokers. But what has my attention is their new "Founders" marketing campaign. The ads are entertaining while driving their message to the customer, but the best part is not the ads. It's the website. At the dedicated Founders.coldwellbanker.com site you can challenge a smack talking Colbert Coldwell (well, his portait anyhow) to a game of Pong, have a staring contest with Arthur Banker, and follow the portraits on their road trip. Yes, the portraits actually have been out traveling the country, including visits to the Boston Marathon and the Liberty Bell, and they are blogging about it.

What's this got to do with real estate? Nothing and everything. Sure, you can learn the history of Coldwell Banker on the site, and link through to search listings, but what it's all about is relationships. This campaign makes a big national company personal and approachable, and drives our name recognition. Did I mention that the portraits of Colbert Coldwell and Arthur Banker are on facebook? It's a great example of using technology not to get more work done or to advertise a product, but to focus on the basics of this business. And that is that real estate is about building relationships.

Grand Vision reflections

The Grand Vision workshop was yesterday evening, and was really exceptional. It's great to see a large (200+/-) diverse group working together and thinking about the future. There was a lot of energy, enthusiasm and creativity in the room.

Some of the greatest values in way The Grand Vision is set up are that it requires you to plan based on the growth that has been projected, and that in looking forward, you learn so much. In attending a couple of these sessions, I've seen people have "ah-ha" moments when a concept really became clear to them. Sometimes that concept is one that they couldn't grasp, or thought that they were opposed to.

Once all the data is aggregated, different scenarios will be presented for selection. This will occur this fall, and continues the power of this process. The end result will be used in planning decisions, grant writing, and future research. In the mean time, participants have greater understanding, and hopefully have become advocates for the process.

It's an honor to have been selected as a Champion for The Grand Vision process, and was really rewarding to see such great turn out for the Benzie workshop.