About Ward County, ND

The Landscape Changes When You Are The Land Of Opportunity!

North Dakota, particularly Western North Dakota, had seen slow but steady growth for the last decade or two. Minot North Dakota had seen “better then” slow and steady but only by a thin margin. That was until The Minot Air Force Base added another bomber wing and at just about the same time the US Geological Team announced the largest oil find ever (and anywhere) was under Western North Dakota.

Rumors abounded about how Minot North Dakota may grow as large as Houston Texas over night. I think everyone I know or had visited with was very excited to be living in the midst of an economic boom while much of our country was facing/dealing with economic disaster.

Imagine a town of less then 30,000 people looking to grow to 100,000 over night and then who knows to where after that. People have literally been coming to Western North Dakota by the thousands as it is truly the land of opportunity today.

Then the unthinkable… a flood sent by torrential rains, greater then any flood in recorded history for Minot North Dakota. One forth of the housing was destroyed and the City infrastructure left in shambles. Imagine, 30,000 people with thousands more coming, no housing available prior to the flood, potable water system destroyed, lift stations destroyed leaving the sewage to back-up into many homes that were not destroyed by the flood and sewage being dumped directly into the raging river.

The river cut the town in two equal haves not allowing for traffic to cross from one side to the other. One side of town cut off from grocery stores, many cut off from their jobs, and of course some cut off from their family members.

Besides thousands of homes being lost so were many businesses and schools. Street lighting and traffic lights in the river valley were also destroyed. Facilities such as the State Fair Grounds, the zoo, nearly every park, and baseball diamond were left in shambles.

The flood was nine months ago and of course there are huge reminders everywhere you travel in the valley. Many like me are just returning to our homes after pouring thousands of dollars into restoring them (those that can be salvaged).

Minot North Dakota is still today’s land of opportunity but think about how all of this has affected the housing market. Home prices and rents have doubled in many cased. There is not a hotel room to be had even though four or more new hotels have been built in the last year. People and businesses want to come and share in the bountiful prosperity we offer but there is no place to house people or businesses.

I was just doing a property search for a friend and there were less then two dozen lots for sale and of those lots the average price was about $65,000.

We are starting to see a trickle of long time residents leaving Minot North Dakota turning into a steady stream. Those on a fixed income, especially those whose homes were destroyed, can not afford another mortgage and/or keep up with the inflation caused by such an influx of people coupled with no increase in competitive services and goods. When the time comes that those living in FEMA trailers are booted out of their temporary homes they will have no where to go and I believe the steady stream will be another flood, a flood of people who can not afford to stay.

Prosperity is a good thing, we all dream about it. Few have the vision to profit by it and to keep from being steamrollered over by it. Minot will survive this and grow and grow and grow. Pray for it’s people, the ones who set the foundation, that they will also survive it and not be forced away from their home. I for one never could have imagined how devastating a flood could be and how lengthy a recovery time is involved. Realistically I think the clean up alone will be close to 2 years and that the “real” recovery will be about five years.

I don’t want to discourage anyone from coming to the land of opportunity, God knows we need you. I just want to prepare you for the big problem of lack of housing before you come. If you can afford $250,000. or more…. No problem.

The good news is that spring is around the corner and people can live in campers and trailers until they find permanent housing. Campers and trailers just don’t work in an area where winter temps can reach 30 degrees below zero.

OFFICE SWEET OFFICE

THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE OFFICE

Office Sweet Office. It's small, it's ugly, but it's mine.

After a summer of conducting business out of my mother-in-laws basement, Starbucks, and the public library, I finally have an office to call home office.

With all the positives it's easy for me to overlook the ugly color of the building (which I will repaint this spring) and the fact that the interior needs a little spritzing up.

The next big step is to get that secretary I've talked about for 2 or 3 years. I hired one and she quit before she started because she didn't like the interior colors of the office. This despite the fact I told her she could pick new colors and I'd paint!

I thought the colors were a little loud myself but I kind of like them and now that I've added some "stuff" like desks and bookcases I'm rather pleased. The pic to the right is the reception area that eventually will have a receptionists/secretaries desk.

I'm located on BROADWAY, how cool is that! In Minot Broadway is thee main Street with the heaviest traffic. I've already had more walk-ins in a month then I had in a year in my old location. I'm not knocking the old location, how great was that to be in a movie theater, across the street from a big park, and also on a main arterial of the City?

I'm far from finished with my office project but here are a few more pictures. The pic's include my desk as well as the desk for my personal assistant, my conference area for when I'm meeting with clients and viewing MLS listings, and the play area for kids to run wild while Mom and Dad look at listings with me. In the play area I need to and have removed most of the "junk" and to restock the office with a toy-box and kids furniture.

After spending the summer in my mother-in-laws basement because I lost my home, my office, and my rental property in the flood that destroyed 1/4th of our City this place really looks beautiful to me. Once again it's a joy to actually "GO" to work and to have a place for friends and clients come and visit.

Oddly enough despite the tragedy that struck our City and my family personally 2011 was the best year I've had in business. 2011 was full of blessings thanks to all the kind people who let us know they cared, many who never met us, but all eager to help out those in need because of the tragedy that struck our City.

Who Says An Old Dog Can't Teach YOU New Tricks???

Jack is a 12 year old mutt. He loves to fetch but we've never known him to actually catch a ball. Even at the age of 12 he will run after a ball much longer then your arm will hold out throwing the ball.

Jack has never done steps. He will run up them (in shear terror) if he has to but forget him ever going down steps on his own.

So what will he do if he is in the mood to play fetch and no one is paying attention? He just throws his ball down the steps and expects YOU to go get it.

This is new behavior he's learned since we became (flood) refugees living at Grandma's house while our home is being rebuilt.

With my office being downstairs (until I relocate into my new space sometime this month) I am usually the one Jack makes fetch the ball. What also adds to the "weirdness" is that when I toss it back up the steps he always catches it.

If I don't get the ball or if no one is around to get the ball he will just stand at the top of the steps and stair down until someone does get it or he gets hungry or tired and wonders off.

Four about 4 years now I've been working under the oldest active Broker in North Dakota, Mr Earl Allen. I'm wondering if he may not be the oldest active Broker in the USA. Earl is a spry 92 years young.

Some people are questioning Mr. Allens clarity of late and I say shame on them. Earl knows more about Real Estate than any man I know and as the old saying goes he's probably forgot more then we ever hope to learn.

I am really proud to be working under a living legend like Earl. I've learned a lot. You talk about old school... I'm learning things first hand that go back to the foundation of North Dakota Real Estate.

Yes, someday I'm going to have to tell people that I knew and worked under the legend of Mr. Earl Allen but today I can say that I'm still a student of the best man in North Dakota Real Estate.

Those that critisize this man need to realize that even if they live to be 200 years old they will never measure up to this man and his dedication to Real Estate as well as his dedication to the principals he believes in.

Long live the great Mr. Earl Allen!

HURTING CONTRACTORS NEED TO HEAD TO MINOT ND

It's been a while since I sent out a plea for contractors to come to Minot if they want business. Business that they can charge full price for, rebuild their companies and retain their good workers. Minot and Western North Dakota is, and will remain, America's major boom area for a minimum of 5 years and more likely for 20 years.

In the last week it has been re-affirmed that Western North Dakota is sitting on more recoverable oil then Saudi Arabia. WAY more!

For several years now I've been posting about our major shortage of workers. ANY entry level job, even McDonnald's, is now starting it's people out at more then $10.00 per hour with benefits. Truck drivers are getting $100,000.00 a year or more. Carpenters, electricians and plumbers are getting whatever they want to charge.

Here is an example of how short we are of professionals in the building trades. I recently had my home home wired by an electrician who came up here from Southern MN (in an effort to save his failing business). I caught him his 1st week up here about a month ago. The power to my home was interrupted yesterday when a carpenter cut a power line. I called the electrician and he told me he and his entire crew is now booked more then a month out. Remember he has only been here less then a month!

The building up here is crazy and I can assure you that no matter what (other then the environmentalist wackos killing the oil industry) the building will NOT catch up for many years.

There is one catch. Keep in mind what I'm saying about the need for building contractors. There is nowhere to stay in Minot if you do not already own a home. I promise you: You will NOT find a single hotel room in Minot ND, housing is that short.

We need you here, bring your own place to stay and you will make money like you never dreamed. I am a Realtor, not an employment agency. If you have questions call professionals that can help. If you want to buy a home call me. Please think about all I've said when you think about housing. In a mad market like this there is NO seller financing, no rent to own. Don't ask me the stupid question: would your sellers consider renting? This is a sellers market. If you want to rent call a property management company and get on their waiting list... they should have something for you in a couple of years.

CLEANED and SANITIZED....Really? Buyer BEWARE!

If you are buying a home that has been in a flood situation or if you are a Realtor working with homes that have been in a flood situation you really need to understand what to expect when you hear the words "Cleaned and Sanitized".

As an Active Realtor in an area that has suffered from wide spread flooding I am very concerned about what is being sold as "Cleaned and Sanitized". The following pictures are from my own home that stood in 6' of water for more then a month due to the flooding. These pictures are AFTER $3,000.00 of cleaning and sanitizing by a very reputable company that spent 3 days (144 man hours) in my home.

The scary thing to me is that after the cleaning and sanitizing I could easily have said "good enough" and started sheet rocking and painting and no one except myself would have know about what was behind the sheet rock and paint.

The two pictures above are where the basement rafters meet the foundation. In our harsh winter climate it is important to place insulation against the board that sits on the concrete foundation. Now , 3 months after the flood waters had receded, this insulation was still wet when I pulled it out yesterday. Keep in mind besides having been out of the water for 3 months I've also had dehumidifiers running for a month and the furnace has run several times as well. When I placed the dehumidifiers in the home a month ago they showed a humidity level of 85 to 90% despite the fact the house had been wide open (with no rain) for nearly 2 months. Today they are showing a humidity level of 70 to 75%.

The pictures above are the shower head in the basement (again after the home was "cleaned and sanitized" and a spot on the wall where I removed a 3M brand sticky hook. The purpose of the 2nd picture is to show you that even in an area that was obviously cleaned it certainly is not the kind of clean we hold in our minds when we think of cleaned and sanitized.

The following two pictures were taken after I removed some of the framing in the basement from a wall that was installed less then a year ago. I make this point just so you know that the dirt on top of the 2 X 4 is not years of accumulation. To the cleaners credit this is the top board of the framing and not easily visible even with a ladder. The next picture is the crud that was behind the framing. Keep in mind that all of this could easily had been sheet rocked over and with the smell of fresh paint no one would have know the difference.

Finial the last two pictures are of the crawl space that was/is under the new kitchen we added to our home two years ago. The crawl space is open from the top at this time, and has been for 3 months, because the floor needs to be replaced. The 1st pic shows the basement entrance to the crawl space and you can plainly see the mold that is on the plastic that lined the space. The view from the top is after a lot of cleaning and frankly is not all that bad considering it is a crawl space with a dirt floor. The point of this picture is to show you how open it is yet after 3 months of being out of the water there is mold despite being cleaned and sanitized.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of homes like mine are being sold as "Cleaned and Sanitized". Buyer beware! If you are a Realtor and you have not personally experienced flooding as pictured in my past posts I implore you to make sure your buyers understand that being cleaned and sanitized is not perfect and doesn't always mean things are "just right". Although I will return to my home in the valley I can tell you I will be very diligent in inspecting a home for my buyers before assuring them that they are looking at a "healthy" home.