Every year, we at Prudential Kahler REALTORS have a chili cook-off. Everyone brings in their famous chili and we vote for the best. We even have a "breads" category to include conbread, muffins, etc. It gets to be quite a competition. Prizes are given to the top 3 of the different categories and an all-around traveling trophy has been passed around the past number of years.
This year, an agent lost her husband to a work accident. So it was decided to open our cookoff as a benefit fundraiser to other REALTORS, associates and friends of the family. We invited others to bring their entries in. Each person got to buy as many voting ballots as they wished for $10 per ballot.
We had over 20 chilies (3 different categories) and 17 breads to vote for. There was about 5 power strips on that conference room table. I had to draw cords from 2 other rooms to make sure we didn't blow any breakers!
All in all, we had a constant stream of tasters and voters from 11:30 to 1:30. By the time it was all said and done, we had consumed alot of chili. scarfed a bunch of bread, and handed our fellow agent an envelope with over $4,000 inside.
It was a good time. We had good food. And we did a really good thing to help out one of our own. Every agent I talked to was not only impressed by the amount of money collected, but also the format in which it was handled.
Sounds like we might have a yearly benefit chili cook-off! Watch out Rapid City!
Good times!
- Tristan
Tristan Emond
Prudential Kahler REALTORS
www.rapidhomesonline.com
As things continue to change in the mortgage and real estate industry, more and more details get considered. The "t"s not only need to be crossed, but with a perfectly straight line.
I had a listing of a great Rapid City home recently which inspired the title of this blog. I looked at the home, 
noticed there was some peeling paint on some of the exterior trim around the windows and pointed that out to the homeowner. The intention was to have her grandchildren get it done, but that didn't happen. We got a contract on it pretty quick and just went forward with the sale. But, of course, when the appraiser came by, he noted the paint and called for repairs prior to the close.
There we were in October. And for some reason we skipped fall. Temps were down, rain/snow was frequent, and I was getting laughed at when getting quotes for the job to be done. (not really...) Fortunately, the lender allowed us to escrow the amount at closing (at 1.5 times the amount!) to be done in the Spring or when we actually got our fall.
So here is what I knew, but have thus been reinforced...
Paint it.
If you are looking to sell your home, but have peeling paint on the eaves, trimwork, or siding, you'll need to get that repaired before an appraiser will approve it for a VA, FHA, or First time homebuyer loan. (which is a big percentage - especially under $200,000) So get it done before the appraiser comes by. Before or shortly after you list would be even better!
Other things to watch out for:
Roofs. (shingles looking frayed and curling? be prepared for the "Needs to be replaced" from the inspector or appraiser)
Decks. (are there railings in place on decks over 3 feet high?)
Gutters. (make sure your downspouts are in place and running AWAY from the home)
Broken window panes. Missing window seals.
Basically, anything that would present an issue to the structural integrity or safety of the home needs to be looked at.
Get them taken care of as soon as you can. It will sell quicker. You won't be stressed 1 week before closing trying to get all this stuff done.
Ease the stress. Just paint it.
Here's to more stress free stuff,
- Tristan
Tristan Emond
Prudential Kahler REALTORS
www.rapidhomesonline.com
And the rush is on!
With just over 30 days left to get a home bought before the expiration of the tax credit (pending extension, of course), activity has been high and deals have been flying. Our inner office sale board is full. (which means a pizza party!)
As for the September Market...look at the total residential graph below - you'll see last month sprang ahead from last year on the number of homes under contract. The active listings are just under last year's numbers, showing that sellers are ready to put their homes on the market and move on. The rest of the stats remain quite similar to the rest of the year - a bit behind, but holding steady...with the exception of the new construction market. We will see how long it takes before that scenario corrects itself.
I've sold a number of homes the past months to first time homebuyers and am working with another on a get-it-in-before-the-bell-rings deal. I certainly can't complain, and I don't see any reason for anyone to be!
It's a winter storm watch. Again. Already. Maybe we'll get our normal warm winter in December...
Take care!
- Tristan
Tristan Emond
Prudential Kahler REALTORS
www.rapidhomesonline.com
So I have been working on a commercial real estate designation called CCIM - Certified Commercial Investment Member. It is a national designation that covers the analyzing of commercial and investment properties for many different applications. My desire for the designation is to have the knowledge to price Rapid City commercial real estate for sellers and determine what is the best investment for buyers. It is also great to have for the networking and referrals. All kinds of fun stuff such as Internal Rate of Return, Cap Rate, Gross Rent Multipliers, Annual Debt Service, Debt to Credit Ratio and other fun stuff.
There are a total of 4 courses to take that are a week long. Then I have to take a national test and provide a portfolio of qualifying experience. It has been said it's kind of like a graduate degree.
So last week I was in Minneapolis for CCIM class 104. Not exactly the normal continuing ed class you can fall asleep at. It was more like:
"Here is module 1, 2, and 3. This is what they talk about. OK! Now let's go to case study 1. Here's what you are going to be doing. Go to work. If you have questions, refer back to the modules. And for homework, study the modules and answer the questions at the end of each chapter."
Uffda. (that's Norwegian for...well...uffda.)
Fortunately, we were in groups of 5 or 6, so we worked together to get through the case studies and help each other understand the concepts.
So that was 8:30 to 5:00 every day (except Wed - which was a day off for the locals to get caught up on their work - but I studied all day long, so I count it) and then the test on Saturday for a couple hours. Talk about brain fry! Driving home, I was getting bored because my mind had shut down...
Good news on the end of all this. I passed the test! Now for 2 more classes...
Onward and upward. As always!
- Tristan
Tristan Emond
Prudential Kahler REALTORS
www.rapidhomesonline.com
The market in August typically seems to slow some. I attribute that to the various big events around town (the Sturgis Rally and Central States Fair), the summertime vacation schedule, and getting ready for school.
It looks like preowned single family homes were down 9% YTD from 2008, and new construction is way down - 35% YTD from 2008.
Average sold prices on preowned homes remain pretty stable, with only a 1.4% decrease from 2008.
Average sold prices in new construction are down 8% from 2008.
Days on market on preowned homes rests 3 days higher (70 to 73), while new construction is up 14.5% at 134 days. AND - across the board, the number of total residential properties under contract is up 75% - so there are things happening!
That being said, more deals are falling apart than normal due to various lending, appraisal and other issues.
So my read is about the same - sales are slower than last year, but the home prices remain relatively stable.
Here are the number of homes sold in Rapid City and surrounding areas by price points this month:
| 0 - $100,000 | 11 |
| $101,000 - $125,000 | 11 |
| $126,000 - $150,000 | 25 |
| $151,000 - $175,000 | 24 |
| $176,000 - $200,000 | 18 |
| $201,000 - $225,000 | 6 |
| $226,000 - $250,000 | 4 |
| $251,000 - $275,000 | 3 |
| $276,000 - $300,000 | 4 |
| $301,000 + | 12 |
I've developed the following graph to show the selling price points the past 2 months for comparison purposes:
I'm putting together a new radio ad to let first time homebuyers looking to cash in on the tax credit not to wait...it's best to get a deal put together by October 15 to make sure we close by the Dec 1 cutoff.
It's gonna be interesting to see how things happen the next few months. Will we see a wave of buyers trying to jump on the boat at last minute, or is it old news that everyone has kinda turned a deaf ear to? Time will tell.
I do look forward to a positive future and won't be offended at all with an extension of the tax credit or a new one in 2009. It has certainly been the driving force in Rapid City home sales.
Moving forward,
- Tristan
Tristan Emond
Prudential Kahler REALTORS
www.rapidhomesonline.com
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