Well we hit the big time!!!!!!!!!!! Great Falls, Montana was featured today in USA Today.
I was interviewed last Thursday for today's article. I thought is was quite good. Thanks to our association President for giving them my name to give a report on the lower north side Historic District and the super buys available in that area.
Check it out here.................
Perhaps Great Falls really is the last best place?? It has been our secret for decades :)
Cheers,
Kelly
Well here we are and it is raining again!! I have not seen so much rain in the 15 years Ihave been here. The landscape is green and lush and beautiful. I thought this great plains area was technically a desert. I guess every decade we must get some moisture to recharge everything.
Most days are typically sunny and bright. This spring has been cloudy and rainy. The rivers are dangerously high so be careful if you are planning to be near them.
I would assume the farmers are pretty happy with all the rain but I bet they are worried about hail. We had some yesterday. There were some pretty good thunderstorms and lightening too.
We are however getting soaken wet showing houses, so it is a good idea to pack an umbrella.
Happy trails,
Kelly
Spring Is Here!!
Well the sun is shining again. We had a very hard winter and a very cold, rainy spring. Our unusual temperatures are what some are saying was normal 30 years ago. I don't know about that. All I can say is it was a tough one and with all the moisture I have never seen the fields so gorgeous.
It looks like my grape plants are coming up finally but the lavender didn't do so well (its not really supposed to grow here at all). I finally cut the three varieties of rhubarb I am growing at the farm. They are all delicious.
Be careful if you have horses though. The amount of rain and now the sun has caused several horses to founder. Typically there is not enough sugar in the grass to founder a horse, but this year is not that way. I know my horses are back in the paddocks on diets to prevent that.
We look forward to spending time at the Gibson Park and the River's Edge trail system this summer. The Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center has lots of activities for children too and Giant Springs State Park is a great place to see the trout farm and albino fish.
As far as a gardening zone, I think that we are back to a zone 3 for the most part. There are some parts of the city that might be classified a zone 4. It is the 35 below zero that bumps my farm down a zone.
The farmers market is up and running and was a welcome sight. It was packed last weekend and I bought some rhubarb jam that was delicious. They even have pony rides for the children.
Have a great safe summer!!!!
Kelly
Happy Holidays!!!!
The weather outside was frightful - 31 degrees below 0 Fahrenheit. Today it was 18 below at 5 am at my stable and by 7 am it was 9 below. By noon it was 35 degrees above and delightful. Welcome to Montana!!!
We love it here!! The people are nice, no traffic to speak of and super schools for our children. We even have a Starbucks - and they finally got savory foods in too!!
We have hundreds of parks in town. The city is very well lay-ed out. Paris Gibson the founder of Great Falls was certainly talented. We have trees and great historic homes too.
I bought the founder's mansion in June and am still in the process of bringing it back. It was built in 1890 on millionaire's row by William Roberts - a prolific builder in the era. Paris Gibson's wardrobe trunk was returned to the home by his great great grandson Bill Dakin this fall. It is very cool to have a piece of the family's history returned after almost 90 years of being absent. You can follow my progress at www.parisgibson.com I have set up the website to encourage others to tackle historic homes and to be a place where we can all share information about renovating and restoring.
I hope that if you are considering a move to Great Falls you will check out my website www.greatfallsrealty.com and learn about our community and homes on the market here. An educated buyer is the best buyer. Please feel free to email if you have any questions about this great place Great Falls.
There is also a newly released film about Great Falls 125 years. It is available at the History Museum on DVD and is about an hour of great and humorous entertainment. The film really shows our community spirit, which is so important for others moving here to know.
Cheers,
KP
Well it is that time of year again. The Montana State Fair is back in full swing here in Great Falls, Montana. The funny thing is that for the first time in forever it has rained almost every night. I can't hardly believe it either. It hasn't rained this much in July in decades.
On the bright side Cascade County took over the fair operations from the city and they have reduced the prices of the concerts and show packages. This is a good thing with everyone watching their budgets.
My 5 year old daughter was given a show mini-horse this year and we entered Kate and TJ is the pony and mini horse show. What a great time and great fun. TJ hadn't been shown at the fair for about 8 years and so everyone was excited to see him again. Kate was over the top excited too.
Of course that did not stop us from riding the camel and from rescuing another fair ride pony (yes a real live one) that needed a good retirement home. So now Betsy is at our horse farm too. She is about 20, tiny and sweet.
There are lots of fun rides for kids of all ages. My daughter loves the bungee jumping, slides and cotton candy. We saw the show sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens, cows and ducks. There are lots of super entries for baked and canned goods too.
I encourage everyone to take a break and have some fun at our State Fair again this year.
Kelly
Broker/Owner of Great Falls Realty. Specializing in Buyer Agency. Great Falls & Malmstrom AFB.
I believe that word of mouth is the best form of advertising. I have listed and sold some premier ranches exceeding 4000 acres and many, many, many wonderful homes in Great Falls and Cascade County.
Each transaction no matter how big or small is unique and requires the utmost care, consideration and attention to detail.
I am the owner and broker of Great Falls realty which is located at 203 2nd Ave North, Great Falls in an Historic old building I completely renovated. I work with great people who also love the real estate business and are friendly and detail oriented.
Education: Education, Awards, and Experience:
1. Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing with highest honors.
2. Received prestigious Who's Who in American Universities and Colleges award.
3. Land Title Institute certificate.
4. Business start up and turn around consultant since 1994.
5. Property developer/investor since 1989.
6. Lecturer for colleges on topics of business and entrepreneurship since 1994.
7. Accredited Buyer's Representative ABR® - Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council - National Association of Realtors
8. 2006 nominated for Realtor of the Year award.
9. Received prestigious Who's who in Real Estate 2006,2007.
10. One of 3 most referred Realtors in Great Falls, Montana
11. Co-Author: Kelly Parks, Broker of Great Falls Realty selected by Aspatore Books as co-author in new authoritative book:
Real Estate Leadership Strategies
Leading Realtors on Listing Properties, Negotiating Price and Terms, and Helping Clients Achieve Their Goals ISBN: 1596226056
12. I am also a self proclaimed education junkie. I am constantly taking classes, both required and not, and endlessly reading practically everything pertaining to the real estate industry to keep me on the cutting edge. I love my job.
13. I am a member of the Women's Council of Realtors.
14. I am a Certified Workforce Housing Specialist.
Outside Interests: & Volunteer Work A Bit More About Me...
I enjoy living on our horse farm with our 4 year old daughter, foundation-bred quarter horses, we rescued and retired a 28 year old fair pony we saved, Blue Heeler, English Mastiff we rescued and lop eared rabbit Blackie we rescued. We all enjoy watching the deer pass through our front yard every morning and evening (except Blackie-he is not tall enough to look out the windows). We enjoy planting trees, grapes and roses. We a quite a lively bunch.
I volunteer for Meals On Wheels, delivering food baskets to the home-bound.
I am a member of the Arbor Day Foundation.
I am a member of the American Quarter Horse Association.
I am a member of the Parent Teachers Association.
Professional Experience: As second generation Realtor and a Multi-Million Dollar Producer and Full time agent, my strengths are:
1- Knowledge of Great Falls real estate including homes and neighborhoods.
2- Knowledge of the details, paperwork and negotiations involved in transactions.
3- Ability to negotiate transactions in the best interest of my clients.
4- 98% of my business is as an exclusive buyer's agent. I occassionally list homes, but they are on a case by case referral basis.
5- I love my job and I am very good at what I do.
1) Dear Great Falls Realty,
I would like to commend one of your realtors KELLY PARKS, whom helped my mother and I up and beyond what I would expect from a realtor. We moved here from Seattle, and the months previous Kelly sent me, well countless listings everyday. We actually bought our house while still residing in Seattle, in other words bought it sight unseen. Kelly however was extremely helpful sending me pictures of whatever part of the house I asked for. By the time we arrived she even had our furniture in the house and placed in the correct rooms, which I can't even express what a savior she was being that my mother is quite elderly.
Sincerely, CLARA & JUDY SILVER
2) Kelly: Thank you so much for working with us and guiding us in the
purchase of our new home here in Great Falls. We just wanted to write
to tell you how pleased we remain with your service and to let you
know that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend you to anyone
contemplating any kind of real estate deal. Your honesty and
integrity were invaluable throughout the process and you were
literally there for us at every step of what had to be a difficult
series of transactions. We are certainly very appreciative and wish
you the best of everything in your endeavors. David & Priscilla Farrel
3) Thanks very much. We are highly impressed with Kelly Parks, and will be using her as our buyers agent once we finally get to Great Falls. We are trying to be patient as our house in Milwaukee is having few showings and we are worried that it will not sell. But Ms. Parks has had very good advice on the situation, and I am very encouraged.
K. McGuire
4) I have worked with Kelly for years. She has helped me purchase and resell several properties. I know I can rely on her advise to buy or not to buy. She tells me what she thinks and even though I don't necessarily want to hear it, I appreciate her honestly and being upfront with me. She is always fast to get me information and one of the most persistant and best negotiators I have met. M. Stephens
5) Kelly,
I want to say THANKS A MILLION for all your hard effort in finding me the house to fit my needs here in Great Falls. We looked and looked and you stayed patient enough with me and we found it. Thanks for all your input and just being an all around great realtor. I will highly recommend you to anybody looking to buy or sell and whenever I do decide to sell, I'll be calling you back. Thanks again for everything!
Justin Smith, USAF
6) Kelly was wonderful as far as being our realtor and helping us find a suitable home in an area that we wanted our children to attend a good school with a nice family environment. We are military and a year ago, we moved here from Spain. We were brand new to the Great Falls area and Kelly not only helped us with buying a home but she served as a great resource for home improvements, school/church info, and places of interests for our family. I would highly recommend her and her business for anyone/family that is relocating to Great Falls. She has been a part of the Great Falls community for years and became a trusted sponsor for us as we worked hard to get settled in our new home. We love Great Falls and the Fox farm area for our children! Thank you so much, Kelly!
Theresa and Kurt Geisen, USAF
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