About Pennington County, SD

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

For several years I have been doing this analysis on a weekly basis to determine market conditions. My full report has more details on it. It is really helpful to determine what price ranges buyers are looking at. I also compare activity for this year with the past several years. If you would like to see a copy of the complete report, or would like for me to help explain how to read this info, just send me a note. I'd be happy to help!

For several years I have been doing this analysis on a weekly basis to determine market conditions. My full report has more details on it. It is really helpful to determine what price ranges buyers are looking at. I also compare activity for this year with the past several years. If you would like to see a copy of the complete report, or would like for me to help explain how to read this info, just send me a note. I'd be happy to help!