The Watering Hole

[jbr12]

When does it come out? We just got a Wii last weekend and love it! My wife and I have started a Wednesday Wii Night. After the kids get to sleep, its Wii time!

[Sailor]

If you know somebody who is a Realtor, the MLS that they access (with slightly more info than non-Realtor MLS) will say something like "Non-GRAR forms needed." Other than that, there are often notes in the MLS listing that you can get at grar.com. If that doesn't do it, you can look up the property on accesskent.com and see if the owner is the bank. In "Sales History," you will see SD for Sheriff's Deed if the property was sold at a Sheriff's Sale. If that all fails, most banks have their own REO pages, or check out emailforeclosures.com.

Thanks, Rhino. I'm asking because the house behind ours is tax delinquent and "in forfeiture;" it's being serviced by a property management company that specializes in vacant foreclosed properties. I know several people interested in our neighborhood, but, other than calling a Realtor, I'm not sure how to get specific info.

There's no listing on GRAR yet, and I've got all the tax and title info I can find on AccessKent. But I will now check out the sites and sources you mentioned.

[jas49503]

You would think there would be money in our democracy for free and fair elections.

if the democrats want it they can cough up the dough. it's thier mess let them fix it. by now the whole things seems largely irrelevant because obama has blown away hillary with the popular vote. even if she gets every vote in michigan she still wouldn't have enough. all she can do now is hope that she can convice enough superdelegates to do some thing very dumb which is vote for a less popular canidate. then we can have a repeat of the last election when the democrats managed to lose to the least popular president in history.

[GR Jackson]

if the democrats want it they can cough up the dough. it's thier mess let them fix it. by now the whole things seems largely irrelevant because obama has blown away hillary with the popular vote. even if she gets every vote in michigan she still wouldn't have enough. all she can do now is hope that she can convice enough superdelegates to do some thing very dumb which is vote for a less popular canidate. then we can have a repeat of the last election when the democrats managed to lose to the least popular president in history.

yeah, but it still would have been nice to have been able to vote.

[Rhino6885]

Thanks, Rhino. I'm asking because the house behind ours is tax delinquent and "in forfeiture;" it's being serviced by a property management company that specializes in vacant foreclosed properties. I know several people interested in our neighborhood, but, other than calling a Realtor, I'm not sure how to get specific info.

There's no listing on GRAR yet, and I've got all the tax and title info I can find on AccessKent. But I will now check out the sites and sources you mentioned.

No problem. Tax delinquencies are a different animal though. I think the county has annual sales for those. If accesskent confirms that it's in forfeiture, keep an eye on www.tax-sale.info. There may be a better site out there, but I haven't found it yet. An even better bet may be contacting the owner to see if he would sell it to you for his delinquent tax balance plus a little goodwill...but now we're talking RE investing strategies.

[Rizzo]

Anyone see the money shot of downtown (and JW at night) on WOOD's "Rebuilding Michigan's Motor"...?

Edited March 20, 2008 by Rizzo

[twoshort]

Anyone see the major Pamella Roland (DeVos) plug on The Real Housewives of New York City?

[Veloise]

Any Lunch & Learner types seen my new smile?

[dan326]

Hello everyone up there in Grand Rapids! I'm from Baton Rouge and I've been following Grand Rapids' development for awhile ,and I think Grand Rapids is a neat place and really think Grand Rapids and Baton Rouge are almost like twins because they seem to have a lot in common. One thing that really strikes me is the closeness of the population figures: Grand Rapids: City-197,800, Metro-776,742,Baton Rouge: City-229,553, Metro-766,514.We're both near historically large cities(Detroit and New Orleans).Another thing is that we're both having a big bump in hotel development, although we can't get as many to come downtown, as you all can.

If you have a little imagination I also think the skylines look alike.

It's also coincidental that Baton Rouge is adding a new tower between the black and brown towers called RiverPlace Condominiums, it will be the same approximate height, shape, and location in the skyline as the J.W. Marriott.

Hope ya'll keep getting all those great developments! Come pay a visit in the Baton Rouge forum.

Edited March 21, 2008 by dan326

[GRDadof3]

Hello everyone up there in Grand Rapids!

Hope ya'll keep getting all those great developments! Come pay a visit in the Baton Rouge forum.

Welcome to GR dan326! That's very interesting how similar our two cities are. And the two skyline photos are eerily similar. Both skylines suffer from bad distribution.

Here's a more recent photo from that same vantage point (Oct. 07):

Even population growth is very similar (except your spike of 30,000 last year, hurricane transplants?):

http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/popm00/pcbsa12940.html

http://recenter.tamu.edu/data/popm00/pcbsa24340.html

[Sailor]

No problem. Tax delinquencies are a different animal though. I think the county has annual sales for those. If accesskent confirms that it's in forfeiture, keep an eye on www.tax-sale.info. There may be a better site out there, but I haven't found it yet. An even better bet may be contacting the owner to see if he would sell it to you for his delinquent tax balance plus a little goodwill...but now we're talking RE investing strategies.

Great site recommendation. Hmm...I just might have to have a preemptive chat with the owner...

[highwayguy]

Hello everyone up there in Grand Rapids! I'm from Baton Rouge and I've been following Grand Rapids' development for awhile ,and I think Grand Rapids is a neat place and really think Grand Rapids and Baton Rouge are almost like twins because they seem to have a lot in common.

Greetings dan326! Never been to Baton Rouge, but it looks like there are some interesting projects going on there. Looking at a map, I see that the west side of the river seems to be relatively undeveloped. Any reason for that?

One thing Grand Rapids and Baton Rouge do not have in common - weather. Baton Rouge is currently 76 degrees under partly cloudy skies , while Grand Rapids is 28 degrees with moderate snow falling .

[dan326]

Greetings dan326! Never been to Baton Rouge, but it looks like there are some interesting projects going on there. Looking at a map, I see that the west side of the river seems to be relatively undeveloped. Any reason for that?

One thing Grand Rapids and Baton Rouge do not have in common - weather. Baton Rouge is currently 76 degrees under partly cloudy skies , while Grand Rapids is 28 degrees with moderate snow falling .

Thanks for the greetings guys. The reason the west side is so undeveloped is because a bridge wasn't built until 1940. Also at the time Baton Rouge only had about 50,000 people, so there was no need to expand across the river.

Trust me, the weather may seem nice now, but in the summer when the heat index is 110 you'd wish you were in the North!

[Veloise]

We both have great bicycle clubs. BRBC provided my Thanksgiving weekend extended family for several years (wish they'd bring the Jambalaya Tour back).

I think BR has better native cuisine than GR.

[Veloise]

Here's the latest satirical video from the Super Happy Funtime folks.

NSFW. Fun is poked at Gonzo (a real-life buddy of mine!) and Fred Meijer.

This was projected on screen just before last week's show, which included many Old Testament characters.

[gvsusean]

Here's the latest satirical video from the Super Happy Funtime folks.

NSFW. Fun is poked at Gonzo (a real-life buddy of mine!) and Fred Meijer.

This was projected on screen just before last week's show, which included many Old Testament characters.

I saw their show on at like 4am on PBS and ummm... well its a.... you see its... WEIRD!!!!!! (This from the VERY weird guy that I am! I dont quite get the humor??)

[Veloise]

I saw their show on at like 4am on PBS and ummm... well its a.... you see its... WEIRD!!!!!! (This from the VERY weird guy that I am! I dont quite get the humor??)

On PBS?!? Surely you're mistaken!

The humor is sometimes juvenile and always goofy. It's burlesque.

[dan326]

What malls do ya'll have in the area?

[GR Straight Edge]

Main mall in the area would be Rivertown Crossings which is located slightly to the south of downtown Grand Rapids in a suberb called Grandville. We have Woodland & Centerpointe malls which are both fairly smaller located also to the south of the city in the suberb of Wyoming.

Plans however are in the works right now for a possible mall / community center featuring Cabelas in the suberb of Walker slightly north of downtown Grand Rapids.

Also on the subject of lack of development on the I believe west side of the river where your from is that at all due to the whole area easily flooding?

[dan326]

Thanks StraightEdge. We have two malls here. The newer, more upscale Mall of Louisiana and the older,but larger and still nice Mall at Cortana. We also have a mall/lifestyle center planned.

I don't think so. That have a small city(Port Allen) pushed right up to the west bank and I've never heard of it being flooded. In fact, I've never heard of the Mississippi River potentially flooding any of the Baton Rouge area. All our threats come from smaller rivers.

Edited March 27, 2008 by dan326

[Allison Slater]

Woodland and Centerpointe are nowhere near Wyoming. Closer to Kentwood, but still within Grand Rapids city limits. Other malls include Breton Village in Grand Rapids north of Woodland/Centrepointe and Roger's Plaza in Wyoming.

[Veloise]

What malls do ya'll have in the area?

Why you ask? Comin' to see us?

(Tab Benoit is playing in Kalamazoo on Friday. Saw him at our DT performace ampitheatre last summer.)

[highwayguy]

Woodland and Centerpointe are nowhere near Wyoming. Closer to Kentwood, but still within Grand Rapids city limits. Other malls include Breton Village in Grand Rapids north of Woodland/Centrepointe and Roger's Plaza in Wyoming.

Actually, Woodland Mall is in the City of Kentwood, while Centerpointe Mall is in the City of Grand Rapids. I don't remember exactly how it happened that way, but both were built around the time that Paris Township incorporated and became the City of Kentwood, which happened in 1967.

There used to be a mall on the northeast side of Grand Rapids in Plainfield Township called North Kent Mall. However, the mall struggled to attract and keep tenants throughout the 1990s, and the mall portion was demolished in 2001 to make way for a Lowe's. The mall anchor stores, a K-Mart and a former Montgomery Ward, which is now divided into Dollar Tree, Dunham's, and Family Farm and Home, were not demolished and are still standing today.

[dan326]

Why you ask? Comin' to see us?

I'd like to, but I can't(I'm underage) . I just have a big interest in malls. They have a really neat one called "The Streets at Soutpoint" in Durham, NC.

We also had a mall that closed down in 2000 called Bon Marche. It was the first one in town and was built in the 1960's. When Cortana opened less than a mile away, it was imediatly crippled and the Mall of Louisiana was the final nail in the coffin. But instead of being demolished, it was redeveloped to what I've read is the largest buisness center between Houston and Atlanta.

The other large shopping centers in town are Towne Center and Perkins Rowe.

Edited March 28, 2008 by dan326

[fotoman311]

I'd like to, but I can't(I'm underage) . I just have a big interest in malls. They have a really neat one called "The Streets at Soutpoint" in Durham, NC.

We also had a mall that closed down in 2000 called Bon Marche. It was the first one in town and was built in the 1960's. When Cortana opened less than a mile away, it was imediatly crippled and the Mall of Louisiana was the final nail in the coffin. But instead of being demolished, it was redeveloped to what I've read is the largest buisness center between Houston and Atlanta.

The other large shopping centers in town are Towne Center and Perkins Rowe.

There's a middle size mall (2 anchors) in Bellevue, Nebraska that was closed down and now if you call TD/Ameritrade's customer service, that's where you're calling. I believe they have around 300-500 high paying customer service jobs in there. There's also a large church and some other offices. I think parts of the church are in what used to be some movie theaters. It's an interesting re-use.

http://maps.live.com/default.aspx?v=2&...9&encType=1