Special offer

Battle Creek, MI Real Estate News

By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
In the age of 'Oh! There is an app for that!' on everyone's smart phone, I thought I would take some time this morning and throw out a few ideas for phone apps that I would like to see.  Here is my wish list for all you app inventors out there.  Please get started on making these, because I would certainly buy them: 1) The Crying Baby App: Have you ever been in a public place such as a grocery store, movie theatre or airplane and had to stand or sit next to a child that was screaming and crying continually?  Would it not be cool to have an app on your phone that you just point at the child, tap a button and get immediate silence?  Take that one and run with it app inventors!  Please! 2) The Abusive Parent Remedy App: Similar to the 'crying baby app' in terms of annoyance level is the ab...
Comments 3
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
Over this past winter I took on the challenge to write my first children's book.  As a topic, I took up the subject of the common childhood fear of the noises in the closet at night time.  Drawing from inspiration from some of my own experiences with old houses as a Realtor, I thought it would be fun to create a story with some of these details.  I released the eBook 'Scary Elephant Meets the Closet Monster' a week ago, after working on the project for about five months and it is now available on Amazon for Kindle readers. Within the first twenty-four hours of the book being available, I received a call from my niece in Florida.  She received my email on the eBook release, and purchased it.  She had just gotten done with reading the first chapter and loved the story!  She also loved my ...
Comments 2
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
I was driving through the North side of Battle Creek about a week ago and saw that the sky not only had a stormy cloud system going on, but there was also a gray smoke cloud as well.  The skies looked quite unusual.  What I learned when I got to where I was going was that there was a very large fire at the Battle Creek recycling center about 2 miles away, and thousands of pounds of paper were burning.  It took them several hours to contain it, but eventually the fire fighters won.  It sure made the skies look interesting for a few hours.
Comments 4
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
I was having a conversation with one of my colleagues at the office today about how sometimes despite the best persuasion one can offer a buyer they hesitate on pulling the trigger on a purchase and then later regret it.  He gave the example of taking his wife to the clothing store and her trying on dresses, picking one out and then deciding not to buy it.  Then while driving home saying 'I wish I had bought it' and when she returns she finds the dress is gone, sold to someone else.  Getting past that point of indecision can be tough when deciding to buy an expensive item.  It really comes down to looking at all the benefits, and having that moment of practicality to really cut out all the nonsense and make a decision one can live with.  If you decide not to buy, that is fine, but be wi...
Comments 3
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
"Opportunities fly in a straight line, touch us but once and never return, but the wrongs we do others fly in a circle; they come back from the place they started."                                                                                                                                                          -T. DeWitt Talmage
Comments 3
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
Sometimes in the business of Real Estate and other things, one can find that time is passing by quickly.  Just last week we had the change of the clocks again for daylight savings time, which to me is an indicator that spring and summer are just around the corner.  One has to stop once in awhile and take some time to breath, and just enjoy the rewards of life.  Sometimes that can just get forgotten. One good way to do this, is to just go out and take a walk.  Walking can help you feel better, but also it gives you a chance to project your attention outward at the world around you for a short time.  Go look at trees, buildings, people, etc.  Sometimes in the winter being that it is so cold, I forget to do this, because who wants to go walking in freezing temps?  Still, there are always p...
Comments 5
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
I have recently lanuched my newest eBook in Kindle format called: 'Going Home... Renting to Home Ownership in 10 Easy Steps'.  The interesting this about this project is that I wrote the book in 2007, and never published it.  I had gone through months of writing the manuscript, and editing, editing, editing it and tabled it when I had it in a final form ready to publish.  I had begun investigating the cost of print publication back then, and decided ultimately that it was not something that I could venture into at the time, and so set the project aside. Recently I have begun writing again, and publishing books on Kindle.  After I had already written and published my first three books, I decided to try to find my files on this book and revisit it.  I found that much of what I wrote in 20...
Comments 1
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
The other night I was walking to my car and the temperature had dropped considerably after the morning snowfall.  The light from a street light near where I was parked cast a shower of sparkles across the snow.  I took out my iPhone, even though I was freezing without gloves on, and tried to capture the sparkles.  Here is the photograph.  I looked at it today, and realized they are indeed there if you look close.  Just another wonder of nature to take in during daily living.  (It does not make me stop longing for summer though.)
Comments 2
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
This weekend I finished the final editing and inserted all the illustrations on my new book: 'The Art of Sales Management: Lessons Learned on the Fly'.  It was published and went live on Amazon last night.  This is a book that I first conceived of over 15 years ago, and never took time to write until recently.  I began to finally write it into a book form in May of 2012, and worked on the content all the way up to the final hours before publication yesterday. The book is now available for sale on Amazon as a Kindle eBook format, which is the primary way I am publishing currently.  However, unlike my other books, I may make this one available in print later this year.  In 2012 established my own independent publishing company which is called: 'If, And or But' Publishing Company.  You can...
Comments 0
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
This morning is Friday morning.  It is also the first morning of February.  It snows a lot here in Michigan, so it is nothing unusual to wake to snowfall on your car, etc.  Some mornings it seems more pristine than others though, and more peaceful.  As I write this blog entry, the snow is falling outside and the neighborhood has that feel of 'Instant Urban Renewal' with is sound dampening effect, and fresh blanket over everything.  Snowfall is a child's dream up here.  Especially when their school closes for the day and it gives them an instant three day weekend.  Across from my house is a City Park called 'Piper Park' and every winter I get to watch kids sledding down the hill there after a snow fall.  With the amount that came down today, it should make for some good sledding.  This m...
Comments 2
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
As January comes to a close, and snow continues to fall outside my window I think it is so easy to forget January as a month in a year, simply because it is the first.  It comes after the rush of the holidays in December, and people are generally working off the hang over of the holiday frame of mind.  It seems to pass so quickly, and yet drag on so slowly as well.  Here is a photo of tire tracks through the snow leading out of my driveway.  To me it is symbolic of January in Michigan, and in June looking back on this it will look funny.  Right now, however, it kind of wears on the spirits.
Comments 7
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
Today the NFC Championship and the AFC Championship games in the National Football League will be played.  The winners of each will go onto the Super Bowl in New Orleans on February 3rd.  The Atlanta Falcons will host the San Franscisco 49ers in the NFC Championship, and both teams are coming to the game on great momentum.  In the AFC Championship the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens, a rematch from last years AFC Championship.  This time of year is exciting as a football fan.  The games are great, and competitive for the most part.  Quite often they are decided in the final moments, as in last weeks Baltimore Ravens win over the Denver Broncos, and the Atlanta Falcons win over the Seattle Seahawks.  The entire season comes down to the intensity of these two games, as...
Comments 6
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
Recently I was at a City park in Battle Creek taking some photos of our feathered friends.  I saw these geese standing near the drive as I was pulling away, and rolled down the windoe for a few parting shots.  I did not notice it at the time, but when I got home and looked at the images I found them quite funny.  Here are two geese walking side by side doing the 'goose step' with their chins in the air.  Classic!  If you ever wondered if geese really did do the 'goose step' as we have seen depicted in so many movies, well here is your answer:  
Comments 4
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
Have you ever witnessed something that just strikes you as funny?  I was out driving by this park that has a large population of ducks and geese this morning, and they were all out on the ice.  Some were floating in the water and others were standing on the ice, and carrying on.  I thought this photo was pretty cool when I went through my colleciton of shots this morning.  Take a close look at how many are in the water, and how many are on the water.  It's kind of interesting to see, and almost looks surreal.
Comments 4
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
This morning in my area of Michigan it is 11 degrees. I have lived here going on fourteen years now, and it takes some doing to get going when the morning is such.  Not that it is the coldest I have seen, not by a long shot.  No, it is just the reminder of how cold it can get I suppose.  Mornings like this I would rather stay inside, not have to go out, and find other things to do.  Alas, that never seems to be an option.  I cannot help but think sometimes: "What is an Arizona boy doing in Michigan?" and to be honest, finding the answer usually find me lost, and I just grab another cup of coffee.  Here is a neighborhood I was driving around in a few days ago. 
Comments 4
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
In 2012 with my AR blog, I did not blog as much as I had in previous years.  As part of my New Year's resolution to myself, I have decided to devote more time and energy to my writing this year.  This also includes my blogs, website, and of course my books.  I am in the process currently of finishing up a book I have been working on since May on the subject of Sales Managerment.  Blogs are a reminder to me that I have information to share, but also that it is important to have that daily creativity in your life.  Writing a daily blog requires digging down in the well of creativity quite often, as there are times like any other blogger that I know that you wake up and can think of nothing inspiring to blog about. The best solution I know it to blog daily, as once you get in the mindset o...
Comments 2
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
Yes, it is now officially Monday morning.  Officially after the holiday-made short weeks, and disjointed schedules.  Welcome back to Monday morning at its regularly scheduled time! I was talking to a colleague last week about how today, this Monday, actually represented closure for the holidays for me.  It seems that everyone who was on 'vacation' will now be back.  Kids will be back in school.  The wrapping paper, empty New Years champaigne bottles and whatnot will find its way officially to the trash can on the curb, if it has not already done so.  This chapter is done, close the book. The next chapter of course includes the Super Bowl, MLK Day, Valentines Day and of course St. Patrick's Day.  Then of course, everyone's favorite: Tax filing day with the Internal Revenue Service!  Hoor...
Comments 4
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
Hello to everyone on Active Rain! I have am looking for some help from my friends. I released my first book in December which is available as a Kindle eBook on Amazon. I would like to request some help. If you are willing to help me, could you click on this image and 'Like' it on Amazon? Also, if you were one of the 360 people who downloaded my book in the last few weeks since its release, could you take some time to write a positive honest review? This is my first endeavor as a published author, and it would really help me and my book. In return, if you have any books of your own that you need assistance with in a similar manner, I would be most willing to help you too. To play this game, just click on the image here of the cover of my book, or click here: Understanding Land Contract H...
Comments 2
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
Hello to everyone on Active Rain!  I have am looking for some help from my friends.  I released my first book in December which is available as a Kindle eBook on Amazon.  I would like to request some help.  If you are willing to help me, could you click on this image and 'Like' it on Amazon? Also, if you were one of the 360 people who downloaded my book in the last few weeks since its release, could you take some time to write a positive honest review?  This is my first endeavor as a published author, and it would really help me and my book. In return, if you have any books of your own that you need assistance with in a similar manner, I would be most willing to help you too.  To play this game, just click on the image here of the cover of my book, or click here: Understanding Land Cont...
Comments 5
By Michael Delaware, REALTOR®, CRS, GRI
(North Sky Realty LLC)
I started on Active Rain in January of 2010, and I have been a blog writer ever since.  It has been quite a journey, and I never thought how much fun being here would be when I just started out.  This is really one of the most amazing circle of people to interact with, even if many of us never meet face to face.  Over the past 3 years, I have been able to realize my lifelong dream as a writer.  Active Rain has been my vehicle, and introduced me to so much more ideas and opened a world of internet marketing for me as a professional.  I cannot say that I learned everything I know from ActiveRain, exclusively, but I can tell you it opened the door of knowledge for me and showed me the way. I December I realized a lifelong dream of publishing my own works and making them available for sale ...
Comments 8