The BlueWest Blog

Here, you'll find local real estate market updates, helpful tips on buying and selling homes, and even some fun local recommendations from our team. Stay up-to-date with the West Michigan real estate market — read the BlueWest blog.

October 20, 2026

Principal Residence Exemption in Michigan: How It Lowers Your Property Taxes (and What Second-Home Buyers Pay Without It)

Picture two identical houses on the same street in Grand Haven Township. Same size, same a...

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Michigan Property Taxes: Rates, Due Dates, and How to Calculate What You’ll Owe

If you’re buying a home in West Michigan, property taxes are one of those line items that ...

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How Much Are Closing Costs? A Plain English Guide for Michigan Buyers and Sellers

In West Michigan, buyers typically pay 2-5% of the purchase price in closing costs, and se...

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Buying a Home

July 22, 2026

How Much Does Your Credit Score Affect Your Mortgage Rate? (2026)
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Buying a Home

June 25, 2026

Red Flags in a Home Inspection: When Should Buyers Be Concerned?
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Buying a Home

May 12, 2026

Renting vs. Buying: The Pros and Cons
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Selling a House

April 23, 2026

Is Staging Your Home Worth It? How Staging Helps Homes Sell Faster and for More

Is staging your home worth it? Yes—home staging helps homes sell faster, attract more buye...

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Grand Rapids makes the list!

RelocateAmerica showcases its annual Top 10 list of best places to liv...

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Why NOW?

This has been my best year in Real Estate since 2005. Why now? Interes...

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Zillow

Zillow and it’s “Zestiment” is my not-so-hot pick of the week. Just be...

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Build a Smaller Home in a Beautiful Community and LIVE Simply……

Great article in the WSJ about “downsizing” the second home market.

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“The indispensable first step to getting the things that you want out of life is this: decide what you want” BEN STIEN

If you don’t know where you want to go then I guess any path you take ...

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“Life is like a combination lock, your job is to find the right numbers, in the right order, so you can have anything you want” BRIAN TRACY

I have done lots of things that I believed I could not do, but I have ...

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Being Better about the Blog Posts: Goal #45,678 for the year:-)

Seth Godin is one of the greatest marketing Masterminds of our time. H...

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Our New Assistant:-)

BlueWest Properties has a new assistant, he’s 8 weeks old, has big blu...

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“I’m tired of the Debbie Downers”

Real Estate in Michigan is far from “dead”, what is dead is most of th...

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Bluewestproperties.com Goes Live!!!!

We are super excited to announce the new BlueWest Properties website. ...

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