Blog

  • 2015 Golf Season Wishlist

    With the start of the 2015 golf season in the Midwest just around the corner (hopefully!), I’ve compiled the following wishlist:

    Valley High Country Club
    1067 Garthe, Northport, MI
    (231) 386-5159

    Forest Dunes, Original Course

    Oakland Hills, South (“The Monster”)

    University of Michigan Golf Course

    Whistling Straits, The Straits
    Before August
    Closed Aug 1 -18 for 2015 PGA Championship

    The Dunes Club
    I.e., the Pine Valley of the Midwest
    New Buffalo, MI
    First course built by Mike Keiser

  • Sunny California

    Lindsey and I traveled to California last week. We spent two days in Santa Monica and Hollywood touring celebrity homes and Rodeo Drive. We spent the balance of our seven day trip at the Pelican Hill Resort located between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.

    The trip was the first time we both left Harvey, and was also our longest time away from him. He stayed with Grandma and Grandpa Rogers and Aunt Katy, and had a great week visiting the library, museum, and other hot spots. We FaceTimed with him almost everyday, and were a little jealous of all the fun they were having.

    Here’s a few pictures from the trip.

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    https://www.flickr.com/photos/cgr/15972093223/

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    And the brightest part of our trip . . . seeing this little guy upon our return to the Winter Wonderland.

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  • The Gender Reveal

    Here’s a video of the big reveal!

    We’re very excited for June, and look forward to having a little-little one in the house again. It will be a sleepless summer, but at least we’ll have Harvey to help change diapers!

  • Happy Retirement, Coach Lober

    We attended Coach Lober’s retirement party this evening with Gradpa Rogers, and Grandma and Grandpa Jonkhoff. It was fun to see all of the friends connected through the Traverse City Junior Golf Association. I still remember the excitement of playing in junior tournaments beginning at age nine.

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  • Sunday Talk Time

    Cute kid, if I do say so myself. We’re getting a kick out of him as he picks up more words here and there. We cover bye, hi, mine, more, dog (bark!), and cow (moo!) above. He also likes to say “gar…” for garage, which is one of his favorite places to check out with Grandpa. We didn’t think of it, but “gol…” for golf is also a favorite.

  • Michigan Property Tax Article

    I wrote an article discussing the recent amendments to the Michigan property tax statute and expanded planning opportunities for family property succession. Here is a link to the article on the Kuhn Rogers website. The article in full is as follows:

    Whether your family property is a rustic camp in the U.P., a cozy cottage on Little Glen, a hunting cabin in Eastern Lower Michigan, or a house in Traverse City – to your family, your property likely has a “family meaning value” far in excess of its fair market value.

    A consideration when planning to keep property in your family for generations is its annual carrying cost, a major component of which is the annual property taxes. The longer you’ve owned your property, the greater the likelihood that without careful planning your property taxes could uncap (increase significantly) for future generations of owners. The unfortunate result can be a forced sale by your children or grandchildren who can’t afford the carrying costs.
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