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Puffery is a legal real estate term that refers to making exaggerated claims for promotional purposes. The claims are often more subjective than objective.

Examples of puffery would include statements  like: “Best view of the lake.” or “Greatest lot in the subdivision.”

Most people would not take statements with puffery seriously. Statements like this should just be considered a matter of personal opinion.

Long Lake Park is located in northern Kent County at the corner of 17 Mile Road NE and Long Lake Drive. If coming from US 131, you will take exit #104.

The park encompasses almost all of the lakefront of the  beautiful 47 acre Long Lake. There are over 3000 feet of lakefront with areas with excellent swimming.  For your enjoyment you will find playground equipment, a beach house, one open and one enclosed shelter, many picnic areas, a ball field, several restrooms and a boat launch. Sorry, no motors on Long Lake.    

There are over 231 acres of park for your convenience and pleasure.  A manager (Mr. Steve Powell at 616-696-1586) is on the grounds during the summer months. The shelter and picnic areas can be reserved beginning the first working day after New Year’s Day. Contact Kent County Parks Commission at 616-336-park.

Even though the picnic tables are strored away, there is still time to enjoy a Michigan lake.

One of my favorite things about fall in West Michigan is the delicious apple cider produced by our local orchards. Sipping a tall, cold glass of cider fresh from the orchard is pure enjoyment.

On a recent trip to the local farmers market, perhaps my last visit for the season, I wandered past the hardy vendors braving the chilly wet morning to display their fall produce of potatoes, onions, carrots and bright orange pumpkins. I passed by the freshly baked cookies, bread and pies and headed straight for those enticing gallons of apple cider. Mmmm…just looking at them made me thirsty!

I made my purchase and headed for home, wondering all the way what I was going to do all winter without fresh cider.  Yes, you can buy cider in the grocery store, but it is just not the same as buying it from the orchard that pressed it.

I was told that It takes about one bushel of apples to press out three gallons of Apple cider. Well, that got me to thinking about making cider and wondering if this was something I could do myself, so I went into the internet and checked it out. After reading four pages of instructions, I decided I might just settle for the grocery store variety!

As I think about that, I might just go back and pick up a few gallons from the orchard and freeze it for later.

Houseman Lake is located in Lilley Township just off Bingham Ave. in northern Newaygo County. Houseman Lake is a lake of 70 plus acres with no known public access, making it a very private and secluded lake, yet close to M37 for quick access.

This Michigan lake, situated just outside the Manistee National Forest, is surrounded by homes tucked in their natural wooded surroundings. This lake is not overbuilt by any means, nor does it seem it will be, as many of the homes are on built on acreage sized parcels versus the smaller lakefront sites found on many of the lakes in the area.

Owning a home or cottage on this Michigan lake should prove to be a good investment as well as providing enjoyment during all four of Michigan’s seasons.

Birch Lake is located in Antrim County, just north of Elk Rapids, north of Williams Drive and south of Waring Road, east of US 31. Birch Lake boasts of 326 acres of surface waters with reported depths of up to 50 feet. Although a respectable sized lake by Michigan’s standards, it is dwarfed in size by its neighbors Elk Lake to the south and Torch Lake to the north and the east.

Fisherman report catching bluegills, largemouth bass, rock bass, yellow perch, rainbow trout, northern pike and walleye.

You can access Birch Lake on the northeast side where the state of Michigan maintains a public access site of Birch Lake Road. The site has a gravel boat launch, public toilet and very limited parking.

A Michigan State roadside park is located on the west side of Birch Lake with picnic tables, grills with a great view of this beautiful Michigan lake.

Last night, after playing a gig at Gun Lake Community Church, I emerged into the parking lot to see the silvery disc of the Snow moon flying high above the treetops. Filtering its radiance through a veil of cirrostratus, it reminded me that the snowy months are at hand.

“Hunter’s moon,” observed Ken, the tenor sax man, but he miscalculated by a month. The Hunter’s moon occurs in October. After September’s beloved Harvest Moon, the Hunter’s moon is probably the best known of the different full moons.

Folklore has a name for the full moon of every month. Thirty days from now, the Winter moon will grace the Michigan skies. In January, through rifts in ragged clouds and howling snows, the Wolf moon will light the northwoods night. February will bring us the Ice moon. In March comes my personal favorite as a storm chaser, the Storm moon—and so on through the ensuing months and seasons: Growing moon, Hare moon, Mead moon, Hay moon, Corn moon.

But that list is just one of many variations on full moon names among different cultures and mythologies. The Farmer’s Almanac, for instance, lists the following moons, beginning with January: Wolf, Snow, Worm, Pink, Flower, Strawberry, Buck, Sturgeon, Harvest, Hunter, Beaver, and Cold. The names in this list all have Native American roots, and reflect a keen awareness of times and seasons.

But beyond their practical application as a simple calendar vitally linked to soil, hunt, and trade, the moon names for me capture something of the mysterious beauty of the moon. The poet William Blake expressed it enchantingly:

The moon, like a flower

In heaven’s high bower,

With silent delight

Sits and smiles on the night.

Last August, sitting on the shore of Gun Lake, I watched another of countless sunsets ignite the sky and then fade into twilight. It was a sight that will never grow old for me—fiery clouds dimming into a molten smolder, lights flickering on around the shoreline like shining jewels in a necklace.

As dusk deepened into night, the Corn moon rose in the east, golden and majestic, like a Gypsy’s earing. The moon trail on the waters paved a shimmering path to the far shore, changing from yellow to silver as the moon ascended her ladder in the heavens. While the grown man in me knew better, the child in me wanted to walk that shining path to its far end, then step off it into the sky and stride up and onward toward that gleaming disc. Haven’t you yourself felt at times a similar longing—something inexpressible and poignant that comes not from logic or reason, but from a place inside where the sense of wonder and mystery dwell?

The Moon When Horns Are Broken Off of the Choctaw Indians has come and gone. In another month, the Oak moon of Medieval England will greet us with her cold embrace. The moons of winter have arrived. But the Planter’s moon of colonial America is not far in the offing, when warmer winds return to breathe life upon the land.

Sessions Lake is located in the center of the Ionia State Recreation Area. Located in Ionia County at the corner of David Highway and Jordan Lake Road, Sessions Lake is only 3 ½ miles north of exit 64, off I96.

Developed in 1983, this 4500 acre state park has something for everyone with it’s lightly rolling terrain and a nice mix of open land, hardwoods and pine plantations. The centerpiece of the park is the 140 acre Sessions Lake with depths of 40 feet. This wonderful manmade lake was stocked with rainbow trout, brown trout, catfish, bluegill, crappies, walleye, largemouth bass and small mouth bass. The no wake lake is just perfect for the serious fisherman. A nice paved boat launch with plenty of parking and vault style toilet is located on the south end of the lake.

All kinds of trails are found in this park. A wooded lake trail of 3.65 miles circles around the lake, crossing streams and thru the woods, making it perfect for hiking or cross-country skiing in the winter months. There are also designated snowmobile trails when there are four or more inches of snow on the ground.

There are fifteen miles of equestrian trails, complemented by an equestrian campground consisting of 49 sites with electric. Horses are allowed only on the designated fifteen miles of trails. A second campground is found within the area with 100 sites with electric, complete with a modern toilet/shower building.

For the mountain biker, there are 9 miles of trails between Riverside Drive and the riverfront of the Grand River. And a favorite of mine, a dog trial area, that has become very popular with regional clubs.

Time is of the essence. Do it now!  Let me say it again. Do it now!. A wise old real estate broker find of mine would always want to “do it now”. Whether it was to look at a property, get paperwork completed or signed or whatever the piece of business was, he never was one to wait until tomorrow.

It can be human nature to put things off till tomorrow what can be done today. Violation of this rule of real estate can prove to be hazardous.

 The best example I can share is a real estate broker friend of mine that had a sale pending on a vacant home. The seller, a builder, (no it was not me) delayed the closing on the property due to the busyness of his schedule. It was just plain procrastination. The day of the closing arrived and the hour approached. While on the way to the closing, the broker became very frustrated when traffic was delayed by emergency vehicles. Suddenly, he noticed it the smoke was in the area of the house he was selling. Yes, it was the house he was about to sell that was on fire. Needless to say, this was a closing that did not happen. The seller also discovered he had procrastinated on the issue of getting insurance on the property, so it was not covered.

Having been in the business many years, I have come to recognize the value of getting it done now. I have experienced similar events. The buyer loses their job and no longer qualifies for the mortgage, or sometimes they even get cold feet.  I have also had it that the seller passes away prior to the sale and the heirs discovered he left  no will. These are all examples of what can and does happen.

Do it now, do it today.  We do not know what the future holds.

Thank You Veterans!

You have probably heard what is sometimes called the “#1 Real Estate Rule” : “Location, Location, Location”. That may be important, but I would like to toss out a couple of mine. A wise old real estate broker find of mine would always suggest, “You have to go and look for yourself.”

That would seem simple enough, what’s the big deal? I cannot begin to tell you how many times over the last thirty years that the description of the property given to me has been incorrect.

I would not suggest that people are trying to deceive.  That would be foolish.  You may as well do your best to describe the property the best you can, because people will find out on their own. I would suggest to you that many people just don’t have the facts. They haven’t taken the time to investigate for themselves.

I have had two instances recently that it was very evident that the listing salesperson really had no idea what they were listing. I was told about a property and after asking a few questions, I thought this may have some merit. I received the directions and off I went and drove for a hour and half drive to view the property. After locating the property, I determined that 99.5% was underwater. The property was literally all wetlands and no building site whatsoever. I will leave to your imagination what my response was.

Another instance of this happened a few years ago, before the real estate meltdown, I received a call from the executor of an estate looking to dispose of an older home in the city. She was calling several builders looking to move the property to finalize the estate. Her comments about the property included comments like,  “trashed”, “nothing done to it in several years”, “needing lots of work”, “poor condition”, and “major work needed”. She did not want to drive into the city from the burbs and told me where the key was hidden.

I arrived at the home. I found the home to have a newer roof, updated siding, aluminum storms and screens. I wondered if I was at the right place. The key was hidden in the place she said. The inside was clean and neat, like a grandmother’s house. Yes, it needed a fresh coat of paint and someone to carry out the single bag of trash in the corner of the kitchen, but the home was nothing like she described.

Waterland Living’s real estate rule: You have to go and look for yourself.