1st time blogger! (edit/delete)

OK So I'm a first timer, Everyone has to start somewhere and I'm sure you remember when you broke ground. I'm not sure whether to spark up a topic or hope one is brought to me. I am a Real Estate Broker/Owner , having been in the business for a while I think it's ironic that newbies think things are touch! Ha! I say, do you remember the late 70's & 80's. and I know most of them were't even born yet, I may not have been in the business then but I was a home buyer and seller! Eek, now that was ugly, my first homes interest rate was 17% and it was not for poor credit, that was the going rate! so next time your client says, lets sit on the fence for a while and hope for a better rate, you can tell them my story. I don't see rates like that in our future, but noting is certain. So help me stimulate the economy and tell my story,I'm sure your buyers will agree, NOW is a fantastic time to buy!

23 Comments on 1st time blogger!

Joyce, you might blog some on the new government programs, first-time home buyers incentives and loan programs. This gives real data to the consumer via your blogging. And it helps agents send you business as you are "an expert"

Joyce, welcome to Active Rain!  This is a great place to blog!  I should warn you that it can become addictive!

Welcome Joyce!  I haven't been here very long myself, but I have learned so much about blogging, localism, HTML, websites, networking and I have made some very nice friends.  I have had contact from people all over the country who used to live in my home town and they like to see photos of the city.  Have fun and jump right in.  Ask questions and you will learn so much. 

Joyce, Welcome to Activerain - I am fairly new to the site but I have found somemany things to do - look for other agents, look for groups that have the same interest as you and meet new people.

Come by and visit my site sometime.

Joe P
www.joeplante.net

Joyce, Welcome to Active Rain and congratulations on your first blog post.  Good luck and happy blogging.

Welcome Joyce, you will have a lot of fun with Active Rain and will find this hard to get away from.

Hi Joyce - I'm one of the people who remember those rates as well.  Most expensive house we ever bought carried a 16.5% rate.  We refinanced 3 times before we ended with an 8%.  Those were the days - NOT!!!  I agree, when I hear people freaking over 6.5% I do tell them my story and how much worse things could be.  But, you know, I'm not sure they believe me so it's good I now have corroboration :-)  Welcome to A|R!

p.s.  don't forget to reciprocate comments on your commentors blogs.

Hi Joyce, welcome to the Rain!  When I moved to this area of Texas, I got one of the last homes to be purchased befor Texas repealed their usuary laws that prevented interest rates to be more than 9.9%.  Those that did not close before June of 1979 saw the interest rate jump from my rate to more than 16% over night.  Those were the days!

Welcome, Joyce. Good job...and great reminder to keep things in perspective - It isn't as bad as it could be!

Joyce, welcome to ActiveRain.  I'm looking forward to reading more from you and about your area of the lovely Montana.  (I don't think there are many bloggers from your state).  Enjoy!

Enjoy ActiveRain and have fun blogging.  Enjoy the ride..

       ;>)

I did not understand your sentence-"things are touch. HA" What do you mean by that?

Joyce,

Welcome to the "RAIN".

Congratulations on your first post.

Good job.

Look forward to seeing more from you.

Have a great weekend.

Hello Joyce,

Welcome to Active Rain and congrats on your first post! The opportunities to learn and network are incredible here. Best of luck to ya!

-Keith

Hi Joyce!  Welcome to 'The Rain'  You are well on your way now!

 Welcome Joyce to the wonderful world of blogging and Active Rain.

 I am sure you are going to really like the network and meet many new friends. I have been with Ar for almost 6 months now and have met many smart, kind, professionals.

 I have also greated some business transactions, so good luck too you!

Robert Swetz 

Welcome.  Good luck with your blogging!

Cameron Novak, Broker
The Homefinding CenterTM
Corona, California

Corona Real Estate Agents

Hi Joyce, congrats on your first post, and welcome to Active Rain!

Joyce,

Welcome to Active Rain! Congrats on your first blog!  You'll find this a great place to learn, share ides, and most important, build your business!  If you ever have a question on a VA Loan, or an FHA Loan feel free to contact me.

Ron Brown

VA & FHA Loan Specialist

First Mortgage Company of Washington

Puyallup, WA

I just wanted to welcome you personally to our wonderful community!  This is a great place to learn, as well as share.  Check out some blogs, join some groups, and write about whatever comes to mind.  In fact, some of the most effective blogs aren't about real estate at all!

If I can ever be of assistance, let me know!

Joyce, welcome to activerain and congratulations on your first post.

Hi, welcome to Active Rain! I hope to see more of your blogs in the future. Learn from others, share your knowledge and experiences and enjoy yourself! Take care! ---Kirk.

I'd like to say thanks for all the wonderful welcomes I've gotten. I look forward to conversing with all of you. I got a message from Angilia asking what I meant Things are touch, looks like I misspelled a word, things are tough was what I was saying. Does that help to make my sentence make sense?

It's early Sunday morning here in Beautiful Bozeman Montana, Wow if you've never seen it, you need to! When then call it Big Sky country it is for a reason, you can see for miles from most everywhere. If your home doesn't have a view from every window it is a rare one and you can fix that by simply going outside!  I moved here 19 years ago from San Diego Co. Calif. ,bought my home sight unseen from a homeseekers magazine and turned it into a Bed & Breakfast Inn, we ran it for 8 years and enjoyed the visitors we had from all over the world! I went into the Real Estate industry having visited with many of my guests coming to the area looking to find the dream I had merely stumbled upon when coming to ski in Montana. My husband and I bought a 20 acre parcel in central Montana , yes there are folks that buy the land you see advertised for $129.00 down and $129.00 per mo. Thats us. we payed for it for 6 years before coming to see it and once we did we were hooked! and have never looked backl! San Diego is a great place and I love going back to visit, I've just fallen in love with the lifestyle here in Montana. If someone tells you it's cold, they're right , the winters get a bit chilly 30 degrees below zero most every winter, but the cold weather clothes have gotten more fashionable and if you love to ski like we do, 30 below may be too cold but when it is cold and the snow is what we call "cold smoke", it is out of this world!  There are times when we cannot get out our driveway because of snowdrifts, we lose power regularly to the weather, candlelight is a terrific way to spend time with family, playing games and talking: what a concept. It may be cold but it is worth every degree to live in such a fantastic part of our beautiful country. Our small town charm is addicting, just yesterday I volunteered at oiur annual Sweet Pea Festival of the Arts, Artists of all kinds come from all over the globe to showcase and sell their wears, there are many arts such as dance, theater, food, music and other types of entertainment, it is a 3 day festival with some 20,000 visitors anually, generally held on the 1st weekend in August each year. It is completely manned by volunteers. I sell admission bands at the front gate, $15 for the entire weekend, where can you find all that entertainment for that? It is a great way to say hello to many of my current and past clients and meet new ones, I advertise on local television and many locals come up to me and say, Are you Joyce Miller? then they go into singing my jingle. It's a blast. There are many such events here in the Gallatin Valley that bring together the locals and visitors.

On the Real Estate front, things are ok here, we have our share of troubled homeowners, proportioned to the population. I get a BPO at least twice a week, as a member of the REO Network.  I'm not certain how many of those have axctually fallen to foreclosure but do see the occasional home sold on the courthouse steps. Actually last week one of my listings priced at $424,500 that was a short sale, having been on the market at $699,000 with another agent, a 2 acre fantastic home with shop and guest apartment, barn and set up for horses, sold on those very steps for $305,000.  Our inventory is high mostly because the county granted so many permits to new subdivisions, builders snagged lots when they thought there might not be anymore and were not so pleasntly surprised when many came up. Now the builders are into their lots at a premium and with building costs at the current levels, some are finding themselves coming to the closing table with a check rather than sit on the property and wait for a better offer. Again, our stats show that we are doing well here in Bozeman, I am an independent Broker/Owner without all the overhead of the Big Box franchises, so things are better for me than those carrying many many agents and listings. Sellers don't want to hear about the market, I think they hear enough from the media so I try not to discourage them but to do my level best to get their property seen and sold, I send my listing to brokers across the country, from the moment you put the sign in their yard, they are ready to move and each and everyday they want service of their listing. Tell me how Real Estate is in your area, you never know my next call could be from a buyer looking to move to your town or city and I'd love to send them to you!. Tell me a little about it and what it has to offer.  I'll make my posts more brief from here on, just wanted to fill in the blanks you may have on Montana