Best Halloween Decorations

401 E. Mansion Street

Marshall MI, 49068

Written by: Chelsy Vaughn Martin

Sarah (our administrative assistant and my mom) and I took a trip to Marshall, MI for dinner and to see the beautiful historic homes and after seeing this one home, I just had to write about it. 401 E. Mansion Street, a Queen Anne Style home, built in 1886 by Clinton T. Cook, a grocer who worked just around the corner from this beautiful home. When Ken and Sarah went to Marshall last October to eat at Schuler's, an incredible restaurant with lots of history, they happened upon this home and were in awe of the Halloween decorations. So this year, when my mom and I went back, she had to take me to see it. 

While we were at dinner, one of the waitresses named Sarah, told us where to find this house. She said that people nicknamed the owner "Holiday Holly" because she decorates like crazy for every holiday. When we got there, I fell in love instantly. We parked and walked up to the house, we weren't the only people there to see it either. Holly happened to be outside and we were lucky enough to talk to her! She even let us go inside, although her decorations inside weren't complete, to see what she does for the kids on Halloween night. We ended up talking to Holly for over an hour and she shared her inspiring story with us. We also met Holly's husband, Scott who ironically works at the GM plant in Fort Wayne. While we talked, several people walked by just to see what Holly had done this year.

Holly grew up in Michigan, but her husbands job took them to St. Louis, MO. They came back for the annual Marshall Michigan Historic Homes tour and fell in love with this house immediately! She tore the picture out of the brochure and put it up on her wall, where it stayed for 20 years. Then, in 2003, the house went on the market. She knew she had to buy her dream home and her husband agreed with her. Unfortunately, after they went to get financing, they came up $15,000 short, and knew that they wouldn't have enough time to sell their own home to come up with the extra amount. A family that she cleaned house for knew how much she loved this home and loaned Holly and Scott the money. They said that Holly was like a daughter to them. Holly's dream home was finally her own. 

Holly's decorations were the best I've ever seen. She had spooky images in many of the windows, zombies coming out of graves in the front yard, a devil in the basement window, a spider web above the front porch, a creepy butler waiting to greet guests at the top of the porch, mums lining the porch steps where a skeleton sits with his skeleton dog, an eerie girl in a swing where her skeleton parents swing her back and forth, pumpkin lights lining the sidewalk and atop her fence posts, a spooky grim reaper in the side yard, strobe lights, music, a giant cauldron that they fill with $300 in candy on Halloween night, a gargoyle with eyes that light up red, giant spiders, bloody dolls, an organ and so much more. With each glance, you see something new. Her house is decorated tastefully with a theme that's true to Halloween. On Halloween night, a line forms down the street where families will wait up to an hour or more just to get a peek inside Holiday Holly's house. It's no wonder that several articles have been written about Holly's home as well as a few features on national television specials for the holidays. 

An animated zombie on the front porch

A creepy butler that Holly found at an antique shop along with a skeleton and his skeleton dog.

A vulture pics at scattered bones on a grave site.

 Zombies emerge from their graves and move around as people pass by in the large cemetery out front.

Lights illuminate all the windows while spotlights highlight more eerie features.

Playful lighted ghosts flash brightly.

Lighted pumpkins sit atop each post on the fence.

Angry eyes peer out at passersby.

Skeleton hands reach from the earth as if trying to escape.

Holly had tombstones with clever names like I. M. Dedd and B. Lee Vingosts.

 A zombie holds his zombie dog, which lights up and moves when you walk by.

A demon peers from the basement window holding an infant skeleton.

Gory dismembered body parts hang from this tree.

Inside a clown and woman stand on the stairs, waiting to scare trick-or-treaters.

A gruesome doll sits on the organ where just hands play an eerie tune.

A witch and hooded skeleton hang from a tree, swinging in a sinister way in the wind.

I'm so excited to go back and see Holly's house for Christmas. The amazing thing about meeting Holly was hearing her story. It was a story that, as a real estate agent, touched my heart. I love that at The Vaughn Group, we can help people, like Holly, find the home of their dreams. Her putting up the picture of her dream house on her wall, and 20 years later being able to buy it, just shows that you can live out your dreams. If you, or anyone you know, happen to be in need of a real estate agent, or just a bit of real estate guidance, please call or text Ken at 260.413.9416 or email him at Ken@fwhomz.com. You can also contact me at 260.403.8236, or email me at chelsyvm@fwhomz.com

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!

(My Halloween hair and makeup this year!)

Different Types of Mortgages

Different Types of Mortgages

By: Chelsy Vaughn Martin

If you have any questions about getting a loan, or if you are interested in finding out about buying a home, please contact Ken at 260.413.9416 by text or phone call. You can also email him at ken@fwhomz.com. You can also contact me at 260.403.8236 by text or phone call. My email in Chelsyvm@fwhomz.com. Greg Thomas is also available to talk to at 260.705.4000 or email him at greg@ruoff.com. Having a real estate agent who is willing to represent you and your best interest is so important. At The Vaughn Group, we will represent you and your best interest in every transaction.

Real Estate Apps

My Favorite Apps for Real Estate

Written By: Chelsy Vaughn Martin

As the Marketing Specialist and Social Media Consultant for The Vaughn Group, I use a lot of apps for real estate. When it comes to marketing in today's high tech world, I have to think about not only marketing from my computer, but from my smart phone as well. When people get online to search for homes or a real estate agent, they are often accessing the internet from their smart phone. Since I use many great apps on a daily basis, I thought that it would be a great idea for me to share some of my favorites with you today.

Realtor.com

According to realtor.com, their app is the most accurate and up-to-date. I love the Realtor.com app because it allows you to connect with your agent. Lets say you're using their search engine to access over 3 million listings across the country, more than any other app. While searching, you find a home that seems to be what you're looking for and you want to see it as soon as possible. If you are connected with your agent through the app all you have to do is click "Request a Showing" and a showing request is sent directly to your agent, even if he or she doesn't have the property listed themselves. You can also click the "Ask My Agent" button and send him or her a question. If they have the app set up on their phone, which they should if you're connected with them, then a notification instantly pops up on their smart phone! They can respond to you quickly and easily! To add Ken as your agent after you download the app, simply click the menu button and scroll down to settings. Under my agent type in Ken@fwhomz.com, this will allow you to connect with Ken! 

RE/MAX Real Estate Search

Get it on the App Store or Google Play

With the RE/MAX app, you are able to search nearby homes on your phone just by using your location. You can also find an agent near you! You can customize your search using advanced search filters. You can zoom and navigate neighborhoods with interactive maps. This app even allows you the option to generate directions to a listing from where you are. RE/MAX is a global network of nearly 90,000 real estate agents (including Ken) helping homebuyers like you find the perfect home. RE/MAX has the most productive sales force in the industry and nearly 40 years of success helping millions of families. Nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX.

Zite

Get it on the App Store or Google Play

Zite has more than 40,000 topics to choose from, but I use it mostly for real estate purposes. This app analyzes millions of articles each day and it shows you the best for you based on your interests from different magazines, newspapers, authors, blogs and videos. It's a great way to stay up to date with the real estate market. I can follow real estate trends easily, which I can then share with our clients via email, Facebook, Twitter or text message. I follow topics like real estate, mortgages, interior design, home improvement, real estate market, housing, home sales, home staging, marketing, iPhone apps, Android apps and because I can, animals. I love using this app to educate myself because being well-informed helps me and it helps our clients!

Magisto

Get it on the App Store or Google Play

Magisto is a great tool that I use to market homes for our clients. It uses both video clips and pictures to create a video mash up of awesome! You can choose from a few different themes, add music (you can use what they have or upload your own for an even more personalized video) and click make my movie! If you pay to subscribe, you can upload more photos and videos and download them as often as you want. This app pretty much speaks for itself. Just check out our video below for our listing 1910 Ransom Drive in Fort Wayne, IN.

Camera Awesome

Get it on the App Store

Okay, I know the name pretty much says how awesome this photography app is, but let me just share a few reviews with you.

"... it is by far one of the most full-powered camera apps I've used, and it marks an exciting advance for smartphone cameras." - The Wall Street Journal

"...makes the iPhone feel less like a cameraphone and more like a phonecamera." - TIME

"An iPhone app that Instagram and Apple could learn from" - ReadWriteWeb

I'm big on the having great looking pictures of our listings. Not only am I big on making sure the property looks presentable (you wouldn't believe how many agents take pictures of cluttered rooms from awkward angles in terrible lighting) but using an app or a camera that makes the photos look professional. I just recently found Camera Awesome and am I glad. It provides a level with the horizon so your pictures are always straight. You can set focus in one spot and exposure in another with just a touch. It has numerous filters, fx presets and textures. Oh, another cool thing, it starts recording video 5 seconds before you hit the button. Who else has missed the perfect video because you weren't able to hit record in time? Like the name says, AWESOME.

These apps are great tools for anyone to use, but if you're a buyer or a seller, the most important tool you can have, is an agent who communicates well with you and that you feel you can trust to represent you and your best interest. At The Vaughn Group, we strive to make our clients know that they can trust us to be there to represent them.

Priced to Sell!!!!

Price your home to sell!

Written By: Chelsy Vaughn Martin

When it comes to real estate, most people believe that the three most important things are location, location and location. But here's the truth, when you're selling your home, the location you are at, is the location it will sell at. You can't change that. Maybe when you bought your home, it was on a quiet country road just outside of town. Now that area has developed more than you could have ever imagined and your home sits across from a busy shopping center. It's not the ideal location that it once was, but not to worry, we only need one buyer and that's the right buyer. So how do we make sure to find that buyer?

At The Vaughn Group, we believe that the most important factor in selling your home is pricing it right. I've heard people say, "I'm going to have you and two other agents come look at my home and whoever says they'll sell it for the most, is who I'm going to work with." That's fine, but just because they say they'll list it higher than the other agents, doesn't mean that they have any control over the offers you get. A home that is over priced will likely fail to get showings. Even if your home gets showings, if it is priced incorrectly, people typically won't want to make an offer.

So how do we know what price to list your home at? Do we just guess? Do we look at what it has been appraised at? Do we look at what the tax records say the home is worth? Do we let our clients tell us where to price their home?

It's easy! We don't guess. We don't go by the appraisal. We don't go by the tax records. We do let our clients determine what they want to list their home at, but we don't let them do it blindly.

The way that we determine the best price to list your home at is by using a comparative market analysis. We look at other homes in your neighborhood, or near where you live that are currently on the market or have sold recently. Of these homes, we choose several that have similar features such as number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, square footage etc. From this, we can easily determine where to price your home. Of those homes still on the market, how long have they been on the market? If they have been for sale for a while, how does the price compare to those that have sold recently? Of those that sold, what was the price per square foot? From this information, we can determine what the market says your home should sell for. 

As an example, lets take a look at a sample home. Our seller would like to list her home for around $105,000. The seller purchased the home in 2008 for $75,000. They have done several updates over the last 5 years, but the home still needs a little work.

Of the 12 properties we are going to compare, the 5 that are currently active have a list price at an average of $62.59 per square foot. Of the 7 that have sold in the past 10 months, the average sale price was $60.88 per square foot. All homes have 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and an attached 2 car garage like our sample home. All the homes that are active have been on the market between 88 and 351 days. The homes that sold recently were on the market for between 0 and 178 days. So we're going to take the average sold for price per square foot and multiply that by the square footage of our sample house. This brings us to $95,000. 

However, there were a few homes that sold above that price with around the same square footage. One even sold for $111,000. There are always going to be homes that sold above average and below average. This is were 3 more factors come into play. Presentation, Condition and Location. If our seller would replace her windows, paint and repair her fence and replace the carpet in her home, an investment that would cost around $3000-5000, we believe her home would most likely sell for over $100,000. After all things considered, our seller decided to do the repairs and list her home at $104,900.

I believe that it is important for our clients to know that when we say what we believe the house will sell for, it isn't just a gut feeling. A seasoned agent will help determine what pricing and presentation are best for your home, based on their past experience and their knowledge of the marketplace. Having a seasoned agent who is willing to communicate with you well and you can trust is there for you and your best interest, is one of the best tools in selling your home. We show each one of our clients all of the information available, like the information I used in my example above. We cannot stress enough the importance of pricing your home to sell. When we sit down to list your home, we will look at the facts together and allow you to make a well informed decision about where to price your home.