Make A List When You Go Look At Homes Even with as few as three property viewings it's impossible to keep everything straight in your head. I know you think you are different than the couple thousand of other couples I've worked with but believe me, you are not. Home hunting is stressful. Experts say it's one of the three most stressful events in your life. Counting on your spouse to remember what you might forget only adds more stress to your mission and to your marriage. This stress can easily be eliminated with two precautions: 1) bring a real (not virtual) pad and pencil 2) limit your search to three or less homes a day. 02/17/2016

Real Estate Books for Buyers and Sellers, a 1 Minute Perspective There are thousands of books on Real Estate and you can find them anywhere from rummage Sales, to the library, and online. I highly recommend both Buyers and Sellers of Real Estate educate themselves in Real Estate but reading one just of those books will likely give you a slanted view... reading all those books just might make you as knowledgeable as ME or another competent, experienced, Realtor. If you are a Buyer of Real Estate chances are using the services of a professional like myself will cost you nothing and most likely save you a bundle. If you are a Seller of Real Estate a good agent, or a GREAT one like ME, is going to cost you some commission but we are going to see that you get the most for your home and we ar... 02/16/2016

What Is a Roof Rake and Why Do I Need One?Does it snow in Minot North Dakota?When you live up North and you own a roof it's a good idea to own a Roof Rake. A snowflake may be tiny and light but when you pile 3' to 6' of snow on a roof they tend to weigh a lot all together. Unless you are totally unconcerned about your roof falling in on you and killing your entire family I'd recommend purchasing a Roof Rake. Here Timmothy N. Timm demonstrates the use of a roof rake. I have removed several sections of this rake so I could get the entire rake and Timmothy in the picture. Normally I would keep the rake long enough to reach the peak of the roof. BTW this does give you a full cardio workout as a 20' pole with a shovel on the end is a lot of work. That's why I had my 14 year old 6 foot tall 2... 02/14/2016

Minot ND Housing Report 02/14/2016By National Marketing Realtors, Bob Timm - Broker, 701-852-1197Be sure to note the line above as this is a very restrictive report.There were 12 homes sold in this limited catagory. The most expensive home sold for $630,000 and it was on the market for 186 days. The least expensive home sold for $17,000 and it was on the market for 25 days (flooded in 2011 still unrepaired). Median days on market for the 12 homes sold was 127. 02/14/2016

Minot Real Estate 101 Mini Moment. I'm Bob Timm with National Marketing Realtors welcoming you to our first Minot Real Estate 101 Mini Moment. Our goal is to give first time home buyers a 1 minute lesson on Real Estate every week day. Our 1st Mini Moment is WHY DO YOU NEED AN APPRAISAL? The simple response to this is because you have to...that is if you have a loan. Under current Federal Law the bank can not loan you money unless it can prove that the loan is covered by the value of the property and then at that, depending upon the type of loan it may only be at 80 to 95% of the properties value. This also means that the bank can NOT give you a loan to purchase the house AND to build a garage or make any other home improvement. This is a good reason NOT to max out your credit when buyin... 02/11/2016

Bob Timm Elected Vice President Of The Minot MLSYesterday was one of those days were I felt a lot more like the bug than the windshield BUT there was a very bright spot to my day, I was elected Vice President of the Minot Multiple Listing Service.The Minot Multiple Listing Service is Broker owned with 9 Broker/Owners. Including the election of new officers it was a lengthy meeting including topics such as MLS Data, discussions about direct feeds to Zillow and Trulia, private parties wanting to host "Open House" sites and charging us for it and more.Of course the biggest time burner was going through our budget and getting us (me especially) to understand the change in accounting methods from last year to this year.I'm really excited about this new challenge and learning more about our M... 02/10/2016

Why the Shingles are Flying Today, Minot Real Estate 101 Why WERE the shingles flying off the roof today?Obviously the 30 mile an hour wind with gusts up to 60 miles per hour had something to do with it BUT why did some roofs loose shingles and others didn't?Most of the roofs that lost shingles were new roofs, whats up with that? Is it that today's roofers don't know what they are doing? Is it that roofing materials just are not what they used to be?         Personally I think a lot of it is materials. Above we have a shingle, back side to the left, top side to the right. First you can see that the new shingles are more that a yard wide. Across the middle is a dark strip, this is an adhesive to help hold the shingle down on top of the one in the row of shingles underneath it. On the top... 02/07/2016

Minot ND Condo and Townhouse Report byNational Marketing RealtorsCondominiums and Townhouses for sale, Minot ND, 01/31/2016 Report 97 Units for sale as of 02/06/2016 Price Range $89,900. to $465,000.4 new listings came on the market last week. Average unit price $201,245. Average days on market 113.There were 0 condo/townhouse closings last week. Condo fees range from $50.00 month to $402.50 Condo fees cover the maintenance of the buildings exterior, halls, commons areas, and grounds. They also often cover sewer, water and garbage. While Condos and Townhouses look the same there are basic differences in ownership and maybe in infrastructure. Both may have fees for maintenance of the structure, yard care, and snow removal. On a condo you also share the water, sewer and garbage bill (at l... 02/07/2016

Minot North Dakota Jr ROTC Awards DayToday was the winter awards (First Semester) for Minot's Air Force Jr ROTC program.It was great to see so many youth involved in this program and I think only about half were there due to it being a weekend and not the best of weather.The Minot Jr ROTC program is open to all students from grades 9 to 12. Being we are just 15 miles from a major Air Force Base the program is very popular. My daughter, pictured to the right, took to the program like a duck to water even though the last Timm military member was her grandpa Leland who served in the Coast Guard during WWII.Tina did very well at the awards ceremony as she usually does. I was very inspired by these young people and their accomplishments. A special hats off to a young lady named Mikayla who w... 02/06/2016

Minot ND Housing Report for the week ending 02/06/2016Be sure to note the line above as this is a very restrictive report.There were 5 homes sold in this limited catagory. The most expensive home sold for $356,000 and it was on the market for 74 days. The least expensive home sold for $115,000 and it was on the market for 71 days. Median days on market for the 12 homes sold was 143. 02/05/2016

What is a WONK, is a Wonk, is a Wonk?and what does it have to do with Home Ownership?policy wonk ‎(plural policy wonks) (politics, government) A person who studies or develops strategies and policies, especially one who has a keeninterest in and aptitude for technical details.You don't have to be a home owner to have first hand knowledge of what a policy wonk is, just visit your local post office or any level of tax agency.However being a home owner can expose you to a whole new level of policy wonks. Take my day today with wonk Sybil Tetteh, Minot ND Assistant City Planner, dealing with a zoning issue.I'm not going to go into all the details here because I don't want to ruin a good news story soon to be released but what I will tell you this: I have been dealing with a zoning issue on ... 02/04/2016

What's That? Should I be Concerned About It?So you have been looking at houses and every once in a while you see a big white plastic pipe hiding in the bushes.What is that? Should I be concerned about it?Actually that big white pipe is a good thing. It's a sewer drain clean out.But it looks so new and this is an old house, what's up with that?Again, it's a good thing. It means that the home owner once had sewer problems but they have dealt with it properly.It means that most likely the homes sewer main has been completely replaced from the home to the street. That alone is generally a several thousand dollar repair. A repair that you most likely won't ever have to deal with again or at least for a very long time.It also means that if there is a plugged line in the future Roto-Rooter won... 02/03/2016

Sad Story, Happy Ending, Griffin RIPSometimes an obituary can tell a very good story. While Griffin had a very bad start he had a very good life and died peacefully. It's stories like this obituary that shows us that the "Monsters" in life are not imaginary beings but demented people! Griffin survived his encounter with such a monster because of Saints that showed what the power of love is all about.In case you were wondering, this obit was run in the want ads as it is against newspaper policy to run a pet obituaries in with the human deaths.So what does this have to do with Real Estate in Minot ND?A twisted mind like the one who nearly killed Griffin is nothing less than a sociopath. Someone who would do this one of God's creatures may do it to another, the neighbors pet, or even worse... 01/31/2016

Condominiums and Townhouses for sale, Minot ND, 01/31/2016 Report92 Units for sale as of 01/31/2016Price Range $89,900. to $465,000.Average $203,559.Average days on market 117.Condo fees range from $50.00 month to $402.50While Condos and Townhouses look the same there are basic differences in ownership and maybe in infrastructure. Both may have fees for maintenance of the structure, yard care, and snow removal. On a condo you also share the water, sewer and garbage bill (at least here in Minot ND). In Minot a townhouse must have it's own individual water and sewer to each unit thus you will have your own billing for these utilities. 01/31/2016

Minot ND Housing Report for the week ending 01/30/2016Be sure to note the line above as this is a very restrictive report.There were 5 homes sold in this limited catagory. The most expensive home sold for $249,900 and it was on the market for 489 days. The least expensive home sold for $174,900 and it was on the market for 60 days. Median days on market for the 5 homes sold was 112. 01/31/2016

Daddy Got A New Pool Table... and You Can't Have It! Minot RE 101 OK, we can negotiate on the table above... BUTFrequently and with gaining frequency I am being asked by home Buyers if we can ask for personal property items dealing with homes we are placing an offer on. First of all Buyers need to know, personal property is just that... PERSONAL! Most Offers To Purchase include some personal property, our Multipule Listing Service Offer to Purchase in Minot ND says: carpet, awnings, window treatments and hardware, lighting fixtures, ceiling fans, built in equipment and built in appliances, garage door openers and operating remotes, smoke detectors, sump pump, and the following non-real estate items:No where does it say lawn mower, snow thrower, dining table, wife's lingerie, or whatever... 01/30/2016

Can I Move In Before The Closing? If you are the Seller of a home these are words you really don't want to hear. The short answer is just say NO! For the reasons just listen to the video and if for some reason you are still not convinced at least take the provisions suggested. 01/29/2016

10 Home Owner Tax BreaksYou Bought A House in 2015, Congratulations!You Get Some Tax Breaks You Never Had Before.In an effort to inform my 1st time home buyers who purchased last year that they are now eligible for some nice tax breaks I did a quick search and found a great article By Daniel Goldstein and printed by Market Watch. The article can be found HERE.I love his opening statement: "If death and taxes are the two true givens in life, there probably should be a third: the bucketful of tax breaks Uncle Sam throws out every year to encourage more Americans to buy a home."Instead of me plagiarizing the article just click on the link I gave you above.If you are still living in an appartment in Minot ND then maybe it's time you call me, Bob Timm at National Marketing Realtors, and get ... 01/28/2016

Let Us Hit It Out Of The Park For You, National Marketing Realtors Yesterday was one of the most exhausting days I've had as a Realtor.I have been working with a wonderful couple navigating through Sellers who are still thinking it's a Sellers market when it's not.Yesterday we were a mile away but today we have a deal.Things looked impossible as we bargained over price, building a garage, personal items, and more.Today everyone is happy, Buyers, and Sellers. I can't wait for the house warming party.  01/26/2016

Don't Wait Until Spring To Hire A Contractor, Minot Real Estate 101 Often people make the mistake of waiting until spring to hire a contractor to build a garage, re-roof, build a deck, or even build an addition to their home.If you wait until spring chances are that the contractors you call will already be booked up for most of the building season.Don't take chances on hiring a builder by waiting until the last minute. Get references from friends and neighbors before hiring a contractor. If you are new to town ask your Realtor or a lender who they recommend for the job. Using the want ads, the yellow pages, or the Internet can all be a gamble. Realtors and lenders work with builders every day, we know who the good ones are.One more tip, write down what you want, what you expect, and whe... 01/26/2016