Monte Baker Five Star Real Estate

11/27/2025

11/20/2025

https://www.flexmls.com/share/D6HiG/153-Ga***rd-Drive-NE-Rockford-MI-49341

All broker/agents--Please come to an open house to see this charming ranch, looking for feedback to make this home more desirable.

Friday November 21st from 1-2:30
Snacks and refreshments will be served.

11/18/2025

https://www.flexmls.com/share/D5Ybs/153-Ga***rd-Drive-NE-Rockford-MI-49341

This cute Rockford Ranch is waiting for a new owner to love this home as much as the current owner has. The owner has lived in this home for 35 years. It was a safe haven for the family. They are now ready to pass it on to someone else who needs a safe haven.

Come visit Saturday November 22 from 2-4

07/30/2025

Step 6: Go House Hunting
A couple stands on a sidewalk, facing a two-story house with a garage and surrounded by trees.
Image Credit: Pexels
With your budget set and preapproval in hand, you’re ready to start searching for your ideal home. This step is exciting, but Cruze cautions against falling for appearances over value.

Make a list of non-negotiable features, like location, layout, or neighborhood quality, to keep focused during your search. A clear list helps avoid getting sidetracked by homes that don’t truly meet your needs or budget.

House hunting may take time, so be patient and avoid rushing into a purchase based on initial excitement.

25 Things House Buyers Instantly Hate About Your Home

Prioritize Key Features and Resale Value
Three people stand in an unfurnished room, discussing something. One holds a tablet. The room has white walls and a concrete floor.
Image Credit: Pexels
Focus on factors that add lasting value to your home, such as location, school districts, and floor plan, rather than cosmetic details that can be easily changed. Buying in a desirable neighborhood or close to essential amenities often leads to better resale value.

Avoid compromising on aspects that can’t be changed, as these factors will affect your home’s appeal if you decide to sell later. Prioritizing wisely helps ensure you make a smart investment.

07/24/2025

Step 4: Get Preapproved for a Mortgage

Once you’ve saved enough, getting preapproved for a mortgage is the next crucial step. Preapproval shows sellers that you’re a serious buyer with the funds needed to back your offer.

Cruze emphasizes the difference between preapproval and prequalification, as preapproval is a more reliable gauge of what you can borrow. With preapproval, you can shop confidently, knowing your budget is realistic and lenders are on board.

This step also gives you insight into the interest rates and loan options that best fit your financial situation.

Cruze strongly recommends a fixed-rate, 15-year mortgage to keep costs predictable and shorten the loan term. With a fixed-rate mortgage, your interest rate remains constant, protecting you from market rate hikes.

A 15-year term, while leading to higher monthly payments, means less interest paid over time and a quicker path to full homeownership. Avoid adjustable-rate loans, as they carry the risk of fluctuating rates, which could strain your budget unexpectedly.

07/22/2025

According to Rachel Cruz

Step 3: Save for a down payment.
Just like any goal, buying a home the smart way takes planning and preparation. So, even though saving for a down payment will take some time and discipline, it’s a crucial part of this whole process.

How much should you save? Aim for putting 20% down so you can avoid PMI, a fee added to your monthly mortgage payment to protect your lender in case you default on your loan. If you’re a first-time home buyer, a 5–10% down payment is fine, but it means you’ll be paying PMI a little bit longer.

You should also save up enough cash to cover two other important costs:

Closing costs: You should save around 3% of your home’s purchase price for closing costs, which cover any property taxes, insurance items or fees charged by your title company and lender. That percentage might vary depending on what area you’re buying in, and it doesn’t include the cost of your real estate agent (more on that later).
Moving expenses: Moving expenses can vary from hundreds to thousands of dollars depending on how much stuff you’re moving and how far away your new home is from your current place. To help with budgeting, call a few moving companies in your area for quotes ahead of time. If you plan to make updates to your home—like painting, installing new carpet or buying furniture—you’ll need cash for that too.

07/18/2025

According to Rachel Cruz

Step 2: Figure out how much house you can afford.
If you’re ready to buy, your next step is figuring out your home-buying budget. You should only buy a house when the monthly payment is no more than 25% of your monthly take-home pay. Anything more than that and you risk being house poor. Sticking to this number leaves plenty of room in your budget to cover home maintenance and repairs while hitting your other money goals, like saving for retirement.

Find expert agents to help you buy your home.

To be clear, that 25% limit includes principal, interest, property taxes, home insurance, homeowners association (HOA) fees and private mortgage insurance (PMI). Use our mortgage calculator to try out different home prices within your budget.

Once you know how much you can afford to spend on your new home, stick to that amount. And if you’re buying a home with your spouse, make sure you’re both on the same page about your budget. You don’t want any surprises when it comes to saving for a down payment.

Make sure to call me when you are ready!!! 616-299-8065

07/16/2025

For a trusted and experienced agent, give me a call 616-299-8065 [email protected]

07/16/2025

According to Rachel Cruz on Buying a Home:

Step 1: Make sure you're financially ready to buy.
First things first: Before you jump into the home-buying process, I want you to be debt-free with 3–6 months of expenses saved up in an emergency fund. Think of this money like an insurance policy against life—it’s important to have this safety net when you get ready to make a big purchase like a house.

Picture this: When you buy a home, you’re the landlord! That means paying for repairs is your responsibility. So, if the water heater springs a leak two weeks after moving in, it’ll be no big deal because you have an emergency fund to cover the repairs.

But when your budget is eaten up by debt payments and you don’t have any savings to fall back on, you might be eating ramen for the rest of the month just to get that water heater fixed. That’s not fun . . . or tasty. With a full emergency fund and no debt draining your monthly budget, an unexpected repair will just be an inconvenience—not the end of the world.

Another thing to think about before buying a house is your stage of life. It doesn’t make sense to buy a house if you plan to move sometime in the next few years. Buying and selling a house is an expensive process, and moving too quickly usually means you’ll lose money when you resell the home. This is also one of the reasons I recommend waiting at least a year after getting married before you buy a house.

Here are seven things to check off your list before you’re ready to buy a house

You’ve paid off all your debt.
You’ve saved up a fully funded emergency fund.
You can afford monthly mortgage payments and home maintenance.
You have a good down payment.
You can pay your closing costs and moving expenses with cash.
You plan on staying put for a while.
You have a real estate agent you trust.

07/13/2025

The best day is when a client is sitting at the closing table and signing their documents!! I am available anytime to discuss what I can do to help you get to the closing table!!

07/10/2025

How many of you home buyers had a shock about a year after your home purchase when the tax bill just about doubled! You received a letter from your lender that your escrow was insufficient to pay your tax bill. Your payment would go up to cover the new tax bill amount plus the deficite. Well here is the reason why!

In Michigan, the property tax cap limits the annual increase in taxable value to 5% or the rate of inflation, whichever is less. This cap was established by Proposal A, adopted in 1994, to protect property owners from significant tax increases. When a property changes ownership, the taxable value is uncapped, meaning it can be reassessed at its current market value.
ddc-law.com

If you are buying a home make sure you have an experienced realtor and lender. Don't get caught trying to figure out how to come up with extra money each month to cover your tax bill.