• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Commercial Alliance of Realtors

West Michigan

  • Property Search
  • About CAR
    • CARWM Members
      • Join CARWM
      • Benefits
      • Resources
      • Pro Standards
      • Contact Us
    • About
      • About CAR
      • Board of Directors
      • Find A Broker
      • History
      • Advocacy
      • NAR Commercial Issues
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Directory
      • Distinguished Affiliate
      • Affiliate Members
      • Affiliate Membership Types
      • Affiliate Application
  • News
  • Events
  • MLS Login
  • Show Search
Hide Search

Archives for 2018

Welcome, New Affiliate Members

December 20, 2018 by Shari

The Commercial Alliance of REALTORS is pleased to welcome two new Affiliate members, with ATC Group Services, LLC.  Welcome, Jesse Veenkant and Adam Wrubel, to the membership.

Filed Under: Announcements

Setting Realistic Expectations

December 20, 2018 by Shari

by:  Chris R. Prins, NAI Wisinski of West Michigan

As commercial real estate professionals, it is imperative that we properly set our clients’ expectations.   With the current market being so restricted in terms of vacant space and available buildings, it is even more important that our clients have realistic expectations.  A client who is willing and able to wait for the perfect space would be given much different advice than one who needs the space yesterday.  For the sake of this article, I am assuming the client needs to occupy new space soon.  I am also speaking specifically with the industrial market in mind, but the concepts should also fit for other product types as well.

Since the amount of available vacant space is so limited, the two primary objectives a prospective tenant or owner-occupant need to keep in mind are compromise and creativity.

Compromise-    If a company needs to change or add locations soon, it is highly likely that the perfect space in the perfect location at the perfect price simply doesn’t exist.  For example, a company looking to locate within a mile of US 131 might need to expand that radius to within three or even five miles of US 131.   Much of the vacant space in our market is new construction.  Typically, the price to lease a new building is higher than an existing building, so the client may need to be willing to compromise on the price.  Some of this increased cost can by offset by lower utility costs due to better insulation and more efficient mechanical systems, both of which you would likely find in a new building.

Creativity-    Location and price aren’t the only areas where the client may have to compromise.  The other could be with the physical attributes of the space or property.  This is where the creative minds of a broker, architect, or engineer could be the key component to getting a deal done.  Maybe the ceiling heights are a little lower than desired, or the office layout isn’t exactly what the client had in mind.   Maybe the manufacturing area is cut up into a few sections rather than being a wide-open space.  Or, maybe there isn’t enough parking onsite.   Rather than walking through a building and immediately saying, “this won’t work”, it is better to ask, “is there a way to make this work?” Or better yet, “how can we make this work?”  Look into the possibility of moving or removing interior walls.  Is there additional parking that can be leased at an adjacent property.  Maybe a loading dock or drive-in door can be added.

Location, price and space won’t always align with our client’s needs.  Setting realistic expectations upfront in the process is vital.  Thinking creatively and researching options for our clients will create more work and require consistent communication.  However, these are critical components to serving our clients and are some of the most important ways that brokers can add value, especially in our current market.

Filed Under: Industry News

CAR CARES CAMPAIGN RAISES FUNDS FOR EQUEST CENTER

December 18, 2018 by Shari

The Commercial Alliance of REALTORS CAR CARES CAMPAIGN has raised over $28,000 for The Equest Center For Therapeutic Riding.  Contributions will be used to purchase horses that can easily carry adult riders, and will help with other costs associated with the riding center.
Thank you to these members who contributed to the campaign:

Matt Abraham
Adams & Associates
Gary Albrecht
Rod Alderink
Jeff Ammon
Erin Anderson
Jonathan Anderson
Mark Ansara
Chris Atwater
Mark Baker
MB
Marvin Belk
Bryan Bench
Russ Bono
Dave Borak
Cathy Bottema
Bill Bowling
Larry Branscombe
Brad Bruinsma
Wally Bulkowski
Marcel Burgler
Bill Bussey
Doug Butterworth
Michael Cagen
Earl Clements
Tom Coleman
colliers Agents
Colliers Fund – GR community Foundation
Colliers Match
Pamela Collins
Chip Cummings
Dane Davis
Tom DeBoer
Steve Delanoy
Dave Denton
Kris DePree
Doris Drain
Sarah Ebels
Ed DeVries Properties
Jim Edewaard
Tom Elhart
Anne Ficeli
Mark Finkelstein
Eric Finnigan
Ed Foltice
Chelsey Foster
John Francis
Gable Ventures
Genzink Appraisal
Arnold Grover
Max Grover
Kim Hain
Jeff Hainer
Ty Hallock
Olga Hallstedt
Ben Hammond
Janelle Hill
Fran Hopper
Erin Hurst
Kelly Hutchings
Pam Johnson
Diane Karns
Tom Kilgore
Stu Kingma
Ray Kisor
Kevin Kossen
Tom Koster
John Kuiper
Kurt Kunst
Mary Labinski
Kevin Larr
Kevin Lipke
Bill Lokers
Bob Lotzar
Jason Makowski
Jim Manning
Steve Marcusse
Frank Marshall
Adam McMillan
John Meyer
Deb Middleton
Jodi Milks
Drew Miller
Lisa Miller
Michelle Mixon
Kristen Moore
Chris Muller
Mike Murray
Lynn Munson
NAI Match
Nederveld
Drew Nelson
Paula Nichols
Rose Nienhaus
Scott Nurski
Laura Olee
John Oppenhuizen
Brian Page
Susan Pastoor
Tony Pearson
Ben Pitcher
Tim Platt
Jon Potvin
Chris Prins
REMS Team – Colliers
Todd Roesler
Bob Schautz
Jayne Schoenborn
Jeff Schreur
Kara Schroer
Jacob Siegwald
Callie Simon
Kyle Sischo
Elizabeth Slane
Casey Smith
Doug Snyder
Eric Starck
Sally Steenwyk
Fred Steiner
Jamie Stiles
Sun Title
Duke Suwyn
Gene Szpeinski
Doug Taatjes
Hillary Taatjes Woznick
Doug Todd
Jeff Tucker
Sally Tucker
Bill Tyson
Jeremy Veenstra
Shari Veldman
Chad Versluis
Jason Webb
Lane Wells
David Wiener
Stan Wisinski
Mary Anne Wisinski Rosely
Ben Wrigley
Ann Yarnel
Dan Yeomans – Amicus

Filed Under: Announcements

Welcome, New REALTOR Members

December 12, 2018 by Shari

The Commercial Alliance of REALTORS is pleased to welcome Matt Hoekzema, First Companies, and Joe Kolderman, Kolderman Realty, to the membership.

Filed Under: Announcements

  • Page 1
  • Page 2
  • Page 3
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 12
  • Go to Next Page »
  • SEARCH PROPERTIES
  • FInd A Broker
  • News
  • Join CARWM
  • EVENTS
  • MEMBER LOGIN
  • Contact Us
  • Issues/Concerns
678 Front St. NW Suite 257
Grand Rapids, MI 49504
shariv@carwm.com616-301-1771

© 2025, Content: © Copyright 2022 Commercial Alliance of REALTORS West Michigan. All rights reserved. Website by  CARRISTO