Inspire Realty

Staging works!

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 19:36:25 -0700

I have been a certified home stager for a little over a year now and wow is it ever making a difference in this market.

On Thursday the 1st we closed on a home that had been listed 28 days and under contract for nearly full price. In this type of real estate world that is no less than a miracle. I am sure the tax credit had a few things to do with the success, but we always received incredible feedback on how well the home showed. That tells me that the staging is paying off in a big way. Not only was my seller thrilled, but the buyers were ecstatic that the home was move in ready and all that was on their To Do list was "unpack." Hooray for staged homes!!

Incredible home in Sandy, Utah

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 19:17:59 -0700

Talk about Incredible character! 3 bedrooms, den/office, 2.5 bath, two family rooms, HUGE wrap around porch w/ large deck off the back with large backyard, master has a walkout to deck & hottub, pine tongue & groove ceilings throughout, hardwood floors, updated baths w/ travertine, huge kitchen, newer windows & roof, 2 fireplaces, HUGE RV Parking, large open entertainment area. VIEWS, VIEWS, VIEWS! Priced at $304,900. Hurry this home won't last! MLS #948572

What exactly is an "Aggressive Realtor"?

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 18:20:52 -0800

I was having a conversation with a potential client today who just fired their last Realtor because he "Wasn't aggressive enough." I then asked them, what more they were looking for in a Realtor and they replied with "You know, just more aggressive."

So my question to all of you is, what exatly is an Aggressive Realtor?

Hidden Gem in Taylorsville

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:16:17 -0800

This home is a true hidden gem!

Beautifully kept home, largest floorplan in Barrington Park. This home has brand new windows, newer roof,laminate hardwood flooring,fireplace,covered deck that backs a fountain and duck pond.Community has a pool, clubhouse and tennis courts.Under $100 per sqft!

4 bedrooms, 3, bathrooms, 1883 sq ft, large covered patio. Listed at just $180,000.00

Youtube listings

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 16:30:14 -0800

I have seen quite a few agents posting videos of their listings on Youtube and was just wondering what the results have been? I am thinking about dabbling into it, but not sure what the success rate is. Any thoughts?

Always amazed at the beauty

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 16:57:59 -0800

I was able to take a 6 day vacation to Mexico this past week. What a wonderful time vacation we had, but I am always amazed at how taken I am when flying into Salt Lake City. I am so familar with Utah and Salt Lake county now that I can tell what town I am flying over. I have flown into many cities, including some in Europe and I can honestly say that Utah still takes my breath away each and every time I fly home. The Wasatch front is unlike any other place I have seen. The mountains are so majestic anytime of day or night. The Salt Lake and Utah valleys just glow day or night and Down Town SLC is one of the most incredible to see. I travel at least twice a year and I am always so glad to come home to this amazing beauty we call Utah.

Happy people in the West!

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 18:22:25 -0800

I just read the most intresting article at http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2010-02-15-cities_N.htm

The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index did a study interviewing more than 350,000 Americans on their outlook of jobs, finances, physical health, emotional state of mind and communities and, although there are more than 160 cities listed, the common denominator is cities in the West. The top 10 cities with the happiest people include four in California, two in Utah and one each in Colorado and Hawaii. What could be causing the West to be more of place of optimism than any other region in America? Could it be that the West has always held doors of possible opportunity since it was discovered? A place of new frontier and opportunities waiting around every corner. Or it could the be the beautiful landscape we have: mountains, lakes, deserts, oceans. I definitely feel as though I live in a place full of happy people, and I am proud to be a contributing member of happy attitude and outlook. So if you are feeling blue, come out west, we may have just the thing for you!

Know your State Senator!

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:41:16 -0800

I am quickly finding out how important it is to know who is representing your are in the State Senate and, fortunately, I think we have good representation in Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain. I had the opportunity to meet the Senator of District 13, Mark Madsen (R) yesterday at a Realtor conference with the Legislators. We covered mounds of information that pertains to the real estate industry and to Utah as far as anticipated growth, estimated jobs coming to Utah and new bills that are underway to improve the way things are done with regards to Property taxes, short sales etc. I am so pleased I was able to attend and get a few moments to chat with Mark Madsen about what he is planning to do to bring some of this good stuff to Northern Utah county. From what I was able to gather Mark is focused on improving transportation out West (WHOO HOO!), and improving education. I feel as though many Realtors and regular citizens take a back seat as to what is being done to move their district, state and national government forward and it is so important to become more involved with what is happening and be up to speed on what changes may be coming you way. Instead of just staying informed once the laws are passed, we as Realtors, should be involved as much as possible with the bills before committee and what we can do to make it a better marketplace for our clients. Take the time to get to know who is representing you and what you can do to get more involved, and you may just be the ones creating the changes instead of adapting to them.

Is print media a thing of the past in this digital world?

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:42:24 -0800

I have been reading post after post about effective marketing in today's real estate world. One thing that seems to be a common response (and maybe it's because I am on AR) is that Printed marketing, mailing, advertising etc is a thing of the past and it is all about the internet and blogging and websites etc. I still print fliers for my listings, still send out printed newsletters and still send postcards to my SOI and farm area. My question is all of this a waste of time and money? Have we officially entered into the Digital Age, where people aren't interested in paper anymore? Just curious to hear your thoughts.

Beautiful Home in Harvest Hills!

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 16:28:18 -0800

Beautiful home in Harvest Hills!

We just listed a fantastic home in the beautiful community of Harvest Hills, in Saratoga Springs, Utah. This home is fully landscaped, fully fenced, fully finished! 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, open floor plan, This is move in ready, clean, and well maintained. Incredible mountain views and backs a park. Harvest Hills community has walking trails, many parks, 14 acre central park, and within walking distance to Harvest Elementary and on a cul-de-sac. This home is available for the April 30 tax credit AND Rural Housing 100% financing option (see lender for more details) Priced at $205,000.00

Call Lia @ 801-870-7346 for more details or a showing.
MLS#939442

Lia Gerke
Realtor/Home Stager
Inspire Realty

The tax credit deadline is looming!

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 18:12:12 -0800

It's difficult to believe that we are already 10 days away from the end of January! Yes, this year too will fly by just as quickly as the last did. Many people have been thinking that they have plenty of time to take advantage of the $8000 first time home buyer tax credit and the $6500 repeat buyer tax credit, but the truth is the deadline is just around the corner! Only 100 days remain until the expiration date of the tax credit! Now with new regulations in lending, most escrow periods are 45 days from contract to closing. This leaves you with only 55 days, that's 55 days to discover your perfect home or sell your current one and make a new purchase. If those numbers aren't enough to get you moving, consider that 55 days ago was November 6, 2009. Time is passing by very quickly so if you are considering taking advantage of this rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity you better get going.

Pioneer Crossing in American Fork, Lehi, and Saratoga Springs

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 18:26:33 -0700

Pioneer Crossing in American Fork, Lehi, and Saratoga Springs Pioneer Crossing is a large intersection that will be built where the over pass currently is located just off of Main Street exit in American Fork, Utah. This incredible intersection will include a 5 lane highway from 300 East in Lehi and Main Street in American Fork to Redwood Road in Saratoga Springs. This UDOT project is a much needed improvement to the Utah County road systems. There are only a few usable streets that lead to and from Saratoga Springs currently; Lehi Main and a few back roads that are consistently congested with traffic and make a 7 mile commute take between 20-50 minutes of drive time. Once the Pioneer Crossing is complete it will allow much more traffic to flow from I-15 to Saratoga Springs and Eagle Mountain. Why is this such an important improvement you may ask? As a Saratoga Springs or Eagle Mountain homeowner this will make our towns significantly more desirable. With home prices still be considerably lower than other cities and now being more accessible to I-15 and Lehi this will drive a large number of buyers to these areas. This is also a quick project with a projected completion date of October 2010, it is already 25% complete! For a great video of where the crossing will be located and how the road will look once all is said and done please visit the link below. http://www.udot.utah.gov/pioneer/

Beautiful Front Yard

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:46:41 -0700

Beautiful Front Yards-Curb Appeal Curb appeal is one of the most important steps in selling your home. It is the first impression you have to make on a potential buyer and just like all first impressions you only get one, so make it count! Here are some tips to making your yard shine and attracting more buyers than you imagined.

1. Keep your lawn mowed and edged on a weekly basis. This is such a common item that can be overlooked. Keeping the lawn well manicured will show a buyer that you take care of what you have outside and in.

2. Add some color! Adding several flowering perennials will make the green lawn pop and whatever shrubs you have really stand out.

3. Keep on top of the weeds in your flower beds. Seems like a no brainer, but also gets overlooked more than it should.

4. Add two or three containers with flowers and greenery to your approach to liven up the entrance. This will make a huge difference in your porch or front stairs.

5. Add fresh mulch or bark to flower beds. If you really want to give your yard a wow factor adding this contract to the flowers and grass will make all the difference.

Wal-Mart opening in Saratoga Springs, Utah

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:28:19 -0700

There is a huge day coming this month in Saratoga Springs, Utah on April 29th, 2009. Our new Super Wal-Mart will be opening it's doors and bringing in many new jobs, money into the city and convenience to the community. We will no longer have to make the long trek into American Fork, Utah to go grocery shopping to Wal-Mart and typically Wal-Mart brings more retail and commercial businesses along with it. This is great news for Saratoga Springs. As a relatively small city on a huge growth pattern we have needed some new businesses to help continue to grow our great city. This will help bring in some much needed tax revenue as well as increase property values. If history repeats itself, which it often does, once commercial and retail businesses are established the home values rise due to the convenience of the location. Now all we need is Redwood Road construction to be complete and we will be made in the shade! See you at Wal-Mart!

The Economy in Utah is Still Strong!

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 13:10:49 -0700

I have been hearing nothing but negative news for the last year. I don't know about anyone else out there, but I am not about to admit that the sky is falling. In fact, Utah is one of the few states that is still doing quite well. Listings are selling (thanks to some fantastic stagers and Realtors out there) people are still buying, job growth is on the rise and all in all, we are doing pretty good! I was watching Diane Sawyer on ABC and she was pointing out on a map what states were considered in a recession, what states were on the verge of recession, and what states were still strong. Utah was one of the strong states. She actually said that people should consider moving to those specified states if things are looking bleak where they are. This was on ABC NEWS! Utah has one of the highest forecast for job growth in the nation! People are going to be moving here, getting a fresh start and we as Realtors, Stagers, and citizens of Utah should be ready for them. So, keep a positive attitude and get ready to be busy.

Boss Appreciation Week

Lia Gerke (Inspire Realty) — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 21:53:16 -0700

October 13-17 is National Boss Appreciation Week. Well for me and my fellow business owners, I think it's high time we appreciate our bosses, OURSELVES! We put in more hours, more sweat blood and tears than any boss I have ever worked for. This would be a great time to reward yourself with that sweater you have been eyeballing or that that new set of golf clubs that would really improve your drive. Or perhaps you need to reserve one day this week to sit and read that book to have been meaning to get to for the last year. You have a wonderful privilege of being your own boss, so take this week to give yourself a pat on the back and say "heck of job you're doing here boss!"