Missoula Real Estate By Kevin & Monica Ray

Here's Four Essential Elements for a Real Estate Sale:

1. Location - Everyone says real estate is about Location, Location, Location - and guess what? They are right to a certain extent. You can't change your property's location but there are things you can do to highlight the positives of your location. Are you close to schools, attractions, or a large employer? A professional real estate marketer will help put your home's location in a positive light.

2. Price - Pricing your property correctly determines how many potential buyers will even see the listing. If your home is overpriced by even 5%, you will miss 70% of prospective buyers which drastically decreases the odds of selling your home. Accurate pricing is critical to a successful sale. An experienced real estate professional can help you pinpoint where your home should be priced and will help you make adjustments as market conditions change.

3. Condition - Having your home in the best condition possible will increase your odds of a sale. Experienced real estate professionals will tell you that "the good homes sell in any market." Buyers will generally look at eight to ten homes or more in their price range and can easily determine the best value for their money. A home's condition is a major factor in their decision making.

4. Exposure - Getting the maximum exposure for your home's listing is also a critical part of a sale. If buyer's don't know about your home, they can't buy it. Exposure is a primary factor that many people choose to use a professional Realtor(R). Having your home on the Multiple Listing Service as part of a Comprehenisve Marketing Plan will help ensure that potential buyers can find your home.

For exposure to be effective, you also need the right price. If a grocery store was selling a gallon of milk for $10.00, it wouldn't matter how many commercials, newspaper, or internet ads they ran, buyers would still go to the store where they could get it for $5.00 a gallon. The same holds true in real estate. Price your property for a sale, not to just be a "listing".

Have you addressed these essential elements if you're trying to sell your home or property?

For more information about preparing your home for sale, pricing, or our Success Marketing Plan, contact Kevin and Monica Ray of Access Realty at 406-207-1185.

Add a Video Tour of Your Local Area to Your Website with a Mueller Map

Awhile ago, ok it's been quite awhile now, I won a Mueller Map for listening to JC KC Social Media Edge on Blog Talk Radio (formerly Twitter Tuesday) that is hosted by ActiveRain's Jason Crouch, Ken Cook and Mike Mueller.

I'm still pretty new to video but had some videos put together using digital still photos and RealEstateShows.com. We also had access to some great local videos on YouTube from our local Realtor Association. View Our Missoula Local Tour Here

Adding a Mueller Map to your website is a great way to show people your area through local videos that you have created or that you are able to find on YouTube.

Each point on the map is connected to a video of that location. Viewers can either click on the point on the map or on the list on the right column to get the local video to pop up.

You can also set up your Mueller Map to have your contact information on the Info tab behind the video - it even includes links to your Social Media Sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, YouTube, and Email)!

We plan to add more of our own videos to the site over time but are excited to be able to offer this to visitors to our website!

According to Mike's webiste AreWeConnected, you can use a Mueller Map to:

• map your listings (with slideshow or video)
• map your neighborhood restaurants (interviewing owners or patrons)
• map your interesting local points of interest

If you choose to get a Mueller Map for your site, Mike Mueller does most of the work by setting up the Google Map and the spreadsheet for you to enter your information. All you have to do is fill in the link to the video on You Tube and some basic information about the video. Detailed instructions are provided on how to complete those parts.

Some nice features of the Mueller Map:

• It map can be updated by a simple spreadsheet (by the Agent)
• Embed this in a blog post, in a sidebar, or as a single webpage
• Map can be built to most any size (this is large but could be as small as a sidebar widget)
• Map Only or Map with Sidebar Legend
• Link to Directions, link to more info, or link to website, there are no limits

A GREAT BIG Thank you to Mike Mueller for helping us get this set up! :)

View Our Missoula Local Tour Here

Click Here to Get Your Own Mueller Map

Become a Fan of Mueller Maps on Facebook

Wordless Wednesday - Welcome to My Branch

Bald Eagles are a frequent sight along the Clark Fork River. They seem to come back to the same areas so we know where to look for them and enjoy seeing them on our drive. We loved that he was sharing his branch with a crow - that was the first time we've seen that!

Here's Another Bald Eagle Photo that Kevin took at a different time.

Photo by Kevin Ray

Hope to See You at this Year's Missoula Parade of Homes September 17-20, 2009

We always look forward to attending the Missoula Building Industry Association's Parade of Homes and Remodeling Tour. This year is the 20th anniversary and promises to be one of the best Parades yet.

They are featuring eight homes throughout the Missoula valley this year with prices ranging from $190,000 to $1.5 million, giving you plenty of inspiration for whatever your budget is. This year's Parade will feature a wide variety of enticing ideas to work into your dream home.

Missoula Parade of Homes 2009
Dates: Sept. 17-20, 2009

Tickets are on sale Sept. 4, 2009 at First Security Bank, Vann's in Missoula and Hamilton, Missoulian and BMC West and are $8 in advance or $10 at the door.

For more information on this year's event, visit www.BuildMissoula.com.

Photos and Information about Last Year's Missoula Parade of Homes

I Love Your Local Photos - Would You Please Photograph the Cemetary?

Because we do a lot of blog posts about our local area and include a lot of photos and information, we get quite a few phone calls and email inquiries - both real estate and non-real estate related about the area. We welcome those requests and love to talk about Montana.

The most interesting inquiry we've received was an email inquiry from someone in Florida asking us to photograph the local cemetary:

"I loved the pictures that you posted on your web page. Superior looks beautiful. I just found out today tht my Great grandfather (name) is burried in Superior Cemetery. The family lost all contact with him in 1911. We have no record of him after he left his family until now.

I would love it if you could take a picture of the cemetery and email it to me. I live in Florida so I'm unable to do it myself. If you can't I understand. Again Superior is beautiful I wish I could've grown up in a place like Superior."

I had never been to the Superior Cemetary but wanted to help this person, so we took a few minutes one afternoon and traveled up the hill to the cemetary and took some photos and were even able to find her Great Grandfather's headstone.

We also provided her with the contact information for one of our local history-buffs at the museum. She was able to provide this person with some great information about her Great Grandfather's life. We sent her the photos and got the following response:

"Thank you so much for sending the pictures. I have been searching the last two days. I had some information sent to me thanks to you about <name>. He had remarried and they had two children - A son and daughter. I Have relatives now that I am searching for to make a connection.

I am so greatful for the information that you gave me. Now hopefully I can closed alot of gaps."

Blogging is great for our business but it can also be rewarding when you are able to help somone. I never thought it would lead to photographing a cemetary, but then again, Life is full of surprises!