GrandRapids-West Mi Homes Blog

West Michigan Short Sales-If I knew then what I know now about Michigan Short Sale Experts I would have been able to help some really incredible people stop their home from foreclosing.  I would have been able to put them in the position to purchase a home in 12-18 short months iinstead of years!

I was once told I would never make it in the Grand Rapids Real Estate business because I cared to much.  How can anyone care too much about people?

Many years ago I was referred by a lender to a couple who needed to sell their Rockford home because they could not make their payments.  He said he gave them my number because money was not the driving force in my life.  That was quite a compliment.

The meeting with the couple was heart breaking, to say the very least.  They had six children ranging in age from about 4 to 21.  They all lived in the Rockford house which was immaculately cared for.  The distress in their eyes was evident as they told the story of how they came to own the home.  Too many people in cahoots including a lender that dropped the bomb on them at close that there were two loans.  They wanted to back out but were told there would be lawsuits.

With all my heart, I wished I had been there when this couple purchased the house but it was too late for that and they were in serious trouble.  The financial information they gave me was devastating.  There was absolutely no way they were going to be able to sell this house and pay the real estate fees.  They were drowning in debt and this house was the cement block around their neck.  At that time, I didn't even know what a West Michigan Short Sale Specialist was!

Life has taught me that if you pay if forward, you will be given back.  I listed the house taking no commission for myself. 
Even with no commission for myself, the home did not sell.  Even though this home was only a few years old and on over an acre, there were other homes just as nice selling for less.  So many people had lied to this couple and I didn't want to give them false hope, so I told them honestly that there was no reason for me to keep the home listed.  My heart broke for them.  The house foreclosed!

With all that I am, I wish I had known then what I know now about Michigan Short Sales.  If I knew then what I know now, they would probably already be purchaing a home.  Now I count myself among the Michigan Short Sale Realtor Experts that our times have demanded.    There are quite a number of West Michigan short sale homes, but there are a very limited number of agents who really are West Michigan Short Sale Experts.  Not only is it important to have an agent experienced in selling a Greater Grand Rapids Short Sale, but it is also important for buyers to have a West Michigan Short Sale Expert representing them in the sale.

For sellers, it can be extremely difficult to weed through and find an agent who is truly experienced in selling Ottawa County Short Sales and Kent County Short Sales.  What questions should a seller ask to find a West Michigan Short Sale Expert?   See my next blog, West Michigan Realtors Experienced in Short Sales - 6 Tips on How to Hire a Short Sale Agent  to find out what steps you need to take to make the best choice.

Let me know if you would like a West Michigan Short Sale Consultation.  Everything is kept confidential and there will be no pressure--I think  you probably have enough pressure in your life at this moment.  When you fill out the information on to submit a West Michigan Short Sale, I will contact you.  We will go over your situation and I can let you know if I can help.  Please feel free to call if you just want to talk.

Copyright Tami Vroma West Michigan Short Sale -If I knew then what I know now about Michigan Short Sale Experts

Bathtub Refinishing West Michigan - Will they be able to make my tub look new?

I got a quote from a company yesterday to have a bathtub restoration done in my West Michigan home.  We just can't keep it clean anymore and we really don't want to rip it out-it would be so much easier to do a bathtub restoration. 

The pictures attached make it look like I am a pig and I really am not.  The process we have been following to get this tub to look even remotely clean, is absolutely ridiculous.  It is literally an all day event and it involves A LOT of Kaboom.  I go through a whole bottle and just keep spraying it, letting it sit, scrubbing and spraying it again.  It takes about 8 times of repeating this to get it to look even a little clean. Then we use it twice and it looks absolutely awful again.

I even tried getting it all clean and went out and bought this stuff that was suppose to seal the fiberglass.  What a waste of money!  The sealer did absolutely nothing but make it slippery for three days and then it was just as nasty looking again.

So about a month ago, I was watching a show called "Take five", a local talk show, that had a company  on talking about how they could restore a fiberglass tub and ceramic tile.  They showed pictures of this awful pink tiled bathroom and then they showed pictures of it restored.  I'm pretty sure as a Realtor I have been in that pink tiled bathroom five thousand times.  My clients could really benefit from this and I am more than willing to throw myself out there to be the guinea pig. 

Yesterday Scott came out and looked at it.  First off, he was a very nice guy.  Easy to talk to--just a genuinely good guy.  He talked about the steps they take to clean the tub--they even remove all the old caulk around the tub enclosure.  He talked about how they don't use acid etching because it is bad for the environment.  They spray the tub several times with a special bonding agent.  To top it off, there is a 5 year warranty. 

The cost to do it was $500.  At first it sounded really expensive.  Then I started adding up the cost to rip it out and replace it.  Now true, my husband and I are fully capable of doing all the work ourselves but it would still cost us about $1000 and a lot of time that we don't have.  So, I am jumping in with both feet to be the guinea pig.  We will let you know how this West Michigan Bathtub Refinishing goes.  I am going to be excited just to spend under 15 minutes cleaning a tub!  So hopefully this bath tub refinishing will be well worth it!!!  Stay tuned with a follow up on how it went.

Read my follow up post West Michigan Bathtub Resurfacing-

Copyright Tami Vroma Bathtub Refinishing West Michigan-Will they be able to make my tub look new again? 09/26/09 3:13 pm

My Daughter, Lindsey Vroma, named Top Student Web Designer in the Nation!


To say I am a proud Mama would be a serious understatement. How many parents can say their daughter took the title as Top Student Web Designer in the Nation according to Business Professionals of America? When my daughter Lindsey (far right) and her partner won at Regionals, I thought it was really wonderful. When they took 2nd at the state level and qualified to go to Nationals, I wondered if they could really pull it off.

When she boarded the plane to Dallas June 18, 2009, I was seriously bummed that I could not go with her!! I knew she had worked really hard on all the graphics. She is a wiz with Adobe Photo Shop and she taught herself!! Lindsey would spend hours and hours creating the most incredible graphics. She was constantly changing her computer desk top to show off her latest creation. She would sit for hours looking at code trying to figure out what was wrong--changing and tweaking as she went. When she decideded they needed to do a omplete make over before Nationals, I have to admit I was a little worried. They pulled off in days what it usually takes moths to do. My daughter was at it constantly. She wanted to win in the biggest way. Her partner, Alex, wasn't quite as in to it as my daughter was. In fact, at one point Alex decided she didn't want to go. It was hard for Lindsey who was after a career in web design. Alex wasn't pursuing a career in web design but opted to go to school for nursing. After urging from her instructor, she decided to go.

Each time they competed, they had to give a presentation and then take 5 mintues of judges questions. Their design, "Top 10 Things to do in Dallas" was judged on knowledge of web design, layout, graphics, team work, leadership and flexibility of browsers. Lindsey called and said they did really well on the presentation but she was still nervous. They were to get the results at the awards ceremony the next day. Saturday I was pacing waiting for Lindsey's call . . . phone in hand . . .waiting . . . . waiting. Finally at around 10:05 pm the phone rang, "Mom" she said in a sad voice, "your not going to believe what happened . . .", my heart dropped and I was ready with, 'just getting there alone means you are a winner' speech when she screams, "WE WON . . .WE WON". I was giddy, "You mean, as in first place?" "Yes we won first!!"

Lindsey is now attending Baker College for web design. She won a full ride scholarship to Davenport College but they wouldn't give it to her because they said it was past the application period. The finals were suppose to be held in May, but because of the Swine Flu epidemic, it had been postponed. One would think she would have won other scholarship money but they got absolutely nothing. That part makes me so sad. All these athletes get all these free ride scholarships and kids who are competing in what they would actually be attending the school for get nothing!!

But the important part is, she won!! She is showing the world what she is made of!!!! She recently went to the State Horse show and placed twice. She is an incredible singer and she can draw like I can not even believe. She also recently did the header desgn on my web site, Grand-Rapids-Homes-for-Sale.com

I am so proud to call her "Daughter"!