About Gallatin County, MT

Robyn Erlenbush, Broker/Owner of ERA Landmark Real Estate was recently recognized as one of the Top Fifty ERA® brokers by global real estate company, ERA Franchise Systems LLC. As a top broker, Erlenbush was invited to attend the annual ERA President's Circle Business Conference held July 26-28 in Florham Park, N.J. The President's Circle Business Conference is an exclusive event for the Top 200 brokers in the ERA network.

Erlenbush represented ERA Landmark at the ERA President's Circle Business Conference, a meeting of some of the country's most successful real estate brokers. This year's conference focused on getting back to business basics and ways to increase success in any market. Throughout the two-day event, brokers shared strategies about new marketing initiatives and more efficient ways to work. They also participated in round-table discussions and question-and-answer sessions with keynote speaker, Steve Murray of REAL Trends, among others.

"The ERA President's Circle conference offers an unparalleled opportunity for our top brokers to re-energize and network with peers from all over the country," said Charlie Young, president and chief executive officer, ERA Franchise Systems LLC. "Erlenbush is one of our top brokers, and her recognition is a reflection of the value that ERA Landmark brings to homebuyers and sellers in southwest Montana."

Read more here: http://www.eralandmark.com/stories/era-news/robyn-erlenbush-honored-era-conference

Robyn Erlenbush
CRS, GRI, CRB, Broker Owner
Phone: (406) 586-1321
Send me an email

IT MAKES SENSE TO BUY VS. RENT Nearly a full third of households are still renting. If you’re one of them, you could be paying a hefty price. Before talking about purchasing a house, it’s important to note two things. First—and this is extremely important—the housing market is actually localized. So the outlook in your hometown may be different than another city across the state or on the other side of the country. Second, home prices are tied to employment. For example, if someone feels like their job is in jeopardy, it might be enough to stop them from making a move. So, if your local job market is feeling a pinch, the home prices in your area may be down as well. But with all those factors under consideration, it still makes sense to buy instead of rent. In fact, renting may be costing you a bundle. Let's look at an example… If you are paying rent at $1,500 per month and your landlord increases your payment by a modest 5% each year, you would wind up paying just about $100,000 over a 5-year period! Worse yet, after forking over $100,000, you still would have nothing to show for it. And speaking of having nothing to show for it, how about any improvements you might make to a rental property? It's not uncommon for renters to freshen up the paint, install new light fixtures or plant some nice flowers outside. But guess what… all your efforts, labor and the benefit of that improvement belong to the landlord, not to you. With convenient down payment options still available for qualified buyers, affordable home prices and low interest rates, the very same money could have been used towards home ownership. Even using a standard 30-year fixed program, a mortgage of $300,000 could be obtained with a total monthly mortgage payment—including property taxes and insurance—of around $2,200. Assuming a 25% tax bracket, this would be equivalent to the average amount spent on rent during the same period after your tax benefit. And the benefits of home ownership are quite considerable. Because the mortgage is being paid down each month, equity is being built. After 5-years, the $300,000 mortgage could be reduced to $279,000, adding $21,000 to your net worth! But if laying out the initial increase in monthly payment and having to wait for your tax benefit to show up next April is a tough nut to crack, the IRS wants to help. Instead of waiting to file for the tax benefits derived from your new home purchase, you can simply adjust the amount of your withholding. This allows you to have less tax withheld from each paycheck so you can handle the new mortgage payment more comfortably throughout the year. In essence, you are taking your tax refund as you go instead of letting Uncle Sam hold it all year, interest free. Visit www.irs.gov and use the IRS withholding calculator. This very handy tool can quickly show you the impact that a change in withholding will do to your net paycheck. Remember to balance this with the expected refund and it is always a good idea to check with your tax advisor. Don't fall victim to the national headline hype. Talk to a professional who understands your local market. And remember, buying a home is a big step, but it is almost always one in the right direction. Info provided by Wells Fargo

The 13,400 acre, private golf and ski enclave, Yellowstone Club (YC) sale to CrossHarbor Capital is finalized at a price of $115 million, according to Yellowstone Mountain Club's CB Richard Ellis. The Big Sky, Montana bankruptcy sale was finalized August 5, 2009, ending a long battle for control between Sam Byrne and Edra Blixseth.

The many Yellowstone Club real estate and Montana luxury home choices include large homesites on which to build your own, custom luxury estate; on-the-mountain chalets; single-family custom homes; private ranches, or condos in either The Enclave or at Sunrise Ridge. Many of this Yellowstone Club real estate offers golf course property or ski and snowboard access, too.

Dine at one of three rustic Yellowstone Mountain Club lodges; choose the Rainbow Lodge with its own outdoor, heated pool and views of Lone Peak; the Warren Miller Lodge at the base, offering the most elegant mountain dining in Montana; or the Timberline Café, right off the main lift for a quick, gourmet lunch before skiing undiscovered powder in the back-side trees.

The YC maintains a 24-hour professional security staff, public safety and traffic staff, Fire Department, and EMT - Emergency Medical Team.

At Pioneer Mountain's base, the 143,000-square-foot Warren Miller Lodge includes over 20 elegant condos; grand dining room; comfortable lounge; ski shop: retail and office space; business center; world-class spa; exercise room; casual café with games, TV, tables, and bar; and teen center.

The Yellowstone Club boasts more than 2,700 vertical feet of skiing, 60 skiing and snowboarding trails, children's instruction area, Magic Carpet kids' lift, terrain snow park with rollers, jumps, rails, boxes and more, and all on the 2,200 acres of ski and snowboard terrain, boasting an over 300 inch average annual snowfall.

Taunya Fagan Prudential Big Sky, Montana Real Estate, Bozeman, MT

giving you the advantage...®

Obama Coming to Bozeman...Again.

A City Commissioner for the City of Bozeman, MT confirmed on August 4, 2009 that President Barack Obama again will be visiting Bozeman, Montana; this time Obama will visit on Friday, August 14, 2009. President Obama is purported to be planning on holding a town hall meeting at one of Bozeman's Gallatin Field Airport hangers. Obama will discuss the plight of people dropped from their health insurance plans because of an illness.

It is purported that First Lady, Michelle Obama, and President Obama may also visit Big Sky, Montana after the August 14, 2009 Bozeman town meeting. The First Couple is staying at Big Sky's Summit Hotel.

According to Bozeman's Daily Chronicle, Mayor, Kaaren Jacobson, stated, "He's definitely coming, that much is clear." Avis Car Rental in Belgrade, MT states the US Secret Service has reserved approximately 30 cars for Obama's visit August 13-14, 2009.

The last President who planned to visit Bozeman was FDR in 1934, but he changed his plans and visited Fort Peck, Montana instead.

Taunya Fagan Prudential Montana Real Estate, Bozeman, MT

giving you the advantage...®

The reasons why so many of Bozeman’s inhabitants chose to live in this area are often not directly related to career advancement or extremely high earning potential. And much to our benefit, they include choosing to live where you love to be. For those of us who have lived in the region for most or all of our lives, we truly tend to take for granted the fact that we live in a place where many people save all year to spend a week of vacation. In fact, many people who move away from the area to “see the world” often find themselves immediately starting to plan on how to come back. We have the opportunity to live in the midst of clean air, open space, green parks, mountain splendor and views that go on for miles.

A recent rating in Backpacker Magazine brought some of these amenities to the forefront once again. Bozeman was rated #18 of the “Best Cities to Raise an Outdoor Kid”. Though we were the only Montana city included, our region was well represented with Boulder, CO topping the list in the #1 position. The inclusion of Jackson, WY (#2), Durango, CO (#3), Colorado Springs, CO (#7), and Fort Collins, CO (#9) further filled out the Top 10 as being able “to beat nature deficit disorder”. The magazine worked along with the Outdoor Foundation to research varied criteria in the categories of amenity, proximity, and livability. Amenities considered whether the actual physical area encourages you to want to spend time outdoor (climate, air quality, topography, etc). Proximity included accessibility to national parks and trailheads (which is certainly a strong point for Bozeman). Livability measured the feasibility to live in an area based on economics and educational factors.

To paraphrase the article, the highlights of Bozeman that helped it to make the grade are that the Mountaineering Association and Montana Outdoor Science School teach joint youth classes; we are a college and emerging high-tech town with 15% of commuters biking or walking; and most homes are within a 15 minute walk of a mountain trailhead or a 1 hour drive to Yellowstone National Park. Additionally, we are surrounded by wildlife and stunning national forests including the Gallatin and Beaverhead-Deerlodge.

Read Robyn's Article Here!

Robyn Erlenbush
CRS, GRI, CRB, Broker Owner
Phone: (406) 586-1321
Send me an email