After three years of being a REALTOR I know open houses! So I am making you a list of essential open house items that will make the day easier on you.   1.   Easy on and off shoes….cause you will have to take them off! 2.   A notepad and pen to take notes because if you go to several homes you can forget details. 3.   A babysitter if you have younger kids! It will be hard to hit all the homes on your list if you are lugging around a two year old that is getting into everything! 4.   A map from location to location with the closest route so you can make the best use of your time and gas! 5.   A preapproval letter from your bank is always nice if you find THE ONE! 6.   The phone number of your REALTOR if you need it. 7.   I find it handy to bring a few snacks and drinks especially if you... 11/20/2011

  As a Realtor I have the pleasure to be around many different types of people.  I love nothing more then being around a variety of people. Everyone is different and I find it exciting to learn about different backgrounds.  Not everyone shares these feelings and that is why The Fair Housing Act was put into play. The Fair Housing Act of 1968 makes it illegal to discriminate against people on the basis of:   •             Race or Color •             Religion •             Sex/Gender •             National Origin •             Familial Status •             Disability   Any question that has to do with any of these protected classes cannot legally be answered at all! So I can’t answer “what kind” of people live in the neighborhood.  If you feel that you need to know this kind of informati... 11/17/2011

Oh happy day the HUD $100.00 Down Payment Incentive has arrived in South Dakota! What does this mean to you? It means that now more then ever you could get into a home for very little money down! Normal down payments run the range of 3.5% for FHA and a whopping 20% for a conventional loan so this program will help many people in their quest for home ownership! Some requirements of the program are.   1.    This offer is valid only with HUD homes 2.   This program is only valid with an owner occupied properties so investors need not apply! 3.    Earnest money still applies for these purchases. Earnest money for HUD equals $500.00 for homes listed under $50,000 and $1,000.00 for homes listed above $50,000. 4.   It is possible to ask HUD to pay closing costs up to 3% of the purchase price.... 11/16/2011

I get your call during floor time and you ask some information about a home. It turns out you want to see it later. It is not my personal listing but a colleagues, so yes that is fine. I do my normal spiel and ask if you are working with any other agents and you say no. The showing comes and the showing goes and you say you love the house. I try to call you later to check in and never can contact you again. Your not cheating on me are you??   I meet you at open house and we chat for an hour. You want to know more about listings in the neighborhood. I ask if you would like a customer portal to see the newest listings and you are excited about the possibility. Great I love your excitement it makes me job fun! I set up your portal and then I never hear from you again. Your not cheating on... 11/14/2011

Sometimes you walk in and you just know! The house is in the perfect place and in the perfect condition and the price is there too! I experienced this when I bought my first home, a beautiful Craftsman bungalow. I just had to have it! A home may look like just a shelter. It may appear to be just a pile of wood or bricks with assorted nails. But what it represents is something different. It represents a lifestyle and a backdrop for many happy memories!   So if you think that you have found the one don’t just sit there make an offer. I am working with a young lady that dallied to long. We found the perfect house for her in the area she wanted. We left that day and she wanted to think about it. Over the course of a weekend this home had a cash offer on it! Since that time we have looked a... 11/13/2011

In life there are few things that we can really count on besides death and taxes. But there is another that I could add to that list. Change. Change is everywhere. Changing schedules. Changing jobs. Changing homes. Changing clothes. Life changes and this is just something that we have to accept and deal with. Some changes we make for ourselves and some are thrown into our face and we have to pick up the pieces and run from there. Sometimes we make a change even though we don’t really want to because we know that it is best for us. When we realize that we are a square peg in a round hole and sometimes it is necessary to change to find peace. It is with this in mind that I recently changed brokerages. I loved my coworkers, they were all wonderful but I knew the fit was not right. There w... 11/08/2011

I grew up in the south of Iowa in an area where country music was the norm. While I knew it was never for me I wasn’t sure what was. Then I went to college and discovered what was! Classical! One of my very first experiences of classical music was Bizet’s opera Carmen. Have you ever been to the opera? Now you have the chance to give it a try! The South Dakota Symphony will be having a performance of Bizet’s Carmen on November 19, 2011 at 7:30.  The performance will be at the Washington Pavilion in downtown Sioux Falls. Order your tickets early to ensure the best seating!  https://boxoffice.washingtonpavilion.org/Online/seatSelect.asp?BOset::WSadmissions::admission::performance_id=71CE2B7B-1AF2-408E-B09F-CF06D67C7B13&sessionlanguage= 11/04/2011

When Halloween is over you know the holiday season will be upon us quickly! The first holiday event that I have found this year is actually starting tonight! Irving Berlin’s White Christmas will be playing at the Washington Pavilion November 3-6th, 2011   Show times are as follows:   Thursday November 3, 2011 ~ 7PM Friday November 4, 2011 ~ 7PM Saturday November 5, 2011 ~ 2PM Saturday, November 5, 2011 ~ 7PM 
 Sunday November 6, 2011 ~ 2PM
   White Christmas is set post W.W. II as the main characters Bob Wallace and Phil Davis team up to create a song and dance act. Phil Davis plays matchmaker and introduces Wallace to a pair of beautiful sisters who also have a song and dance act as well. When the group travels to Vermont to play a Christmas show at an inn the guys find a surprise wai... 11/03/2011

I am one of the nicest people I know but yet sometimes you would not think so. It all depends on if you are my client or if you are my customer. Don’t get me wrong I am nice to everyone at all times I just cannot always answer those questions that you want me to answer.  It is the difference between being my client or my customer. If you are a customer I am most likely meeting you at an open house and you have questions as well you should. The most common ones are…. 1.    Is this home a foreclosure? 2.   Is this home a short sale? 3.    How long has this home been on the market? 4.   Do you think they would take less then the list price? 5.    Why is the seller selling this home? The thing that you should know about these questions is that I cannot legally answer them if you are the cu... 11/02/2011

When we two are parted
 By Lord Byron When we two parted
 In silence and tears,
 Half broken-hearted,
 To sever for years,
 Pale grew thy cheek and cold, 
Colder thy kiss;
 Truly that hour foretold 
Sorrow to this. 

The dew of the morning
 Sank chill on my brow
It felt like the warning 
Of what I feel now.
 Thy vows are all broken,
 And light is thy fame: 
I hear thy name spoken,
 And share in its shame.

 They name thee before me,
 A knell to mine ear; 
A shudder comes o'er me
Why wert thou so dear? 
They know not I knew thee, 
Who knew thee too well:
Long, long shall I rue thee
 Too deeply to tell. 

In secret we met
In silence I grieve
That thy heart could forget,
 Thy spirit deceive. 
If I should meet thee 
After long years,
 How should I greet thee?
With silence and tears.       ... 10/31/2011

In today’s day and age one can barely walk ten steps without tripping over a real estate agent and or a REALTOR. I know your brother’s wife’s sister is a REALTOR but she might not necessarily be the right choice to market your home. When you venture into the realm of the part-time REALTOR you really might not get what you are looking for. Real estate is not a career that is conducive to time away. A part-time agent has family obligations and quite possibly another job to take into consideration on top of your home transaction. Part-timers will have to keep up on educational hours to keep their license current but there is other stuff that they could be missing out on due to lack of time. With the majority of people finding homes on the Internet does your part-time agent have the skills... 10/26/2011

Dress in your Halloween costume, bring a trick or treat bag, a flashlight, and head to Big Sioux Recreation Area for a spooktacular good time! Families will walk along a special path in the park and search for reflective signs with their flashlights and trick or treat along the way. October 29, 2011  5-8pm State Parks Permit IS required for entrance!   10/25/2011

Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year and McKennan Park area is my favorite section of Sioux Falls. This is autumn in the McKennan Park Historic District. I hope you enjoy the pictures! The maple in my back yard The pumpkins we haven’t carved yet on our front steps    Foliage on Park Dr. McKennan Park Area   McKennan Park Area McKennan Park Area   Hope everyone is having a wonderful autumn! 10/24/2011

Sioux Falls is approaching a very important vote on November 8th, 2011 that will be critical for our city’s economic growth.  On this day there will be a vote to decide if we are going to be building a new event center to expand with our growing city. At this point if a very large venue comes through the area we are bypassed to Sioux City, Omaha, Fargo or Minneapolis. I for one am tired of driving to these shows all the way out of town!   The details of the plan are to build a multi-purpose building on the grounds of the old Sioux Falls Arena/Convention Center. These two structures would not be demolished but would be connected to the new building. This would bring our seat total up to 12,000 and down the road as the city grows there would be room to expand. The plan also utilizes all ... 10/23/2011

I get this question this time of year quite a bit. Shall I wait until spring to list my home? My answer is a big resounding No! A common misconception is that you should only sell in the spring. The truth of the matter is that real estate transactions happen every day of the year. So while there may be more buyers for your home in the spring there is also three times more competition.  Less competition equals a higher chance of getting under contract!  I also find that the buyers that are looking over the winter months are serious about buying.  It is not like spring when all the fence sitters come out and socially go to open houses. These people need a home or they would be at home where it’s warm! Another thing to consider is that values at this time may be higher then they are in th... 10/19/2011

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. I mean what is not to love!? Dressing up in scary costumes, begging for candy, all the creepy decorations, haunted houses, costume parties… its all fun! But there are also some evils lurking around as well that one has to watch out for.  Here is a list of good ideas to keep your younger and older kids on a safe path!   1.   If you have younger kids go with them and keep them in sight as they go about there merrymaking. 2.   Remind all kids how important it is to stay in your sight and not to enter any homes under any circumstances. 3.   If you have older kids it is important to know their route and whom they are going with. It is also not the worst idea to plug in your zip code into the sex offender database to make sure your kids avoid these h... 10/17/2011

El Riad Shrine Halloween Bash     On October 29, 2011  Featuring The Rumbles At the El Riad Shrine  510 South Phillips Avenue Sioux Falls, SD   This is always a sold out event every year so if you want to go act fast!    10/16/2011

An event to raise awareness for Domestic Violence Month will be held at Avera McKennan Education Center on the ground floor of the Orthopedic Institute. (810 E 23rd St, Sioux Falls, SD). The program includes domestic abuse survivor and Mrs. South Dakota International 2011, Lori Visker. A candlelight walk to honor the victims and survivors of abuse will follow the program. The public is welcome to attend. Please get out the word and join me here. This is a learning experience for our kids who are looking to us for guidance. Domestic abuse and rape happens to good people who are doing nothing wrong. Let them know your stand!   10/14/2011

Do you have Twitter? LinkedIn? Facebook? MySpace? Foursquare? or Google’s Buzz? If you do you just have to get TweetDeck!! I procrastinated for a long time saying it was no big deal to go to all of my sites but after a while I noticed how much time it really took up! For all of you who don’t know what TweetDeck is, it is a one-stop social media stop. You post one place and your social media message goes to all of your accounts. So there is no doubling back to do anything! TweetDeck can also be downloaded to your smartphone as well. Other options via TweetDeck are downloading a video off your webcam, uploading pictures, checking in on Foursquare and checking in with your friend’s feeds. It is super easy to download and takes under five minutes to set up. I have a general knowledge of se... 10/11/2011

The Haunted Sioux Falls Tours, presented by the Siouxland Heritage Museums, will be held again this October on fivehaunted dates. The tickets are on sale now in the Old Courthouse Museum for $10 each. Limited tickets available. Tours begin October 4th and run selected dates throughout the month. Learn about Sioux Falls locations with a haunted past on the Haunted Tour- believe it or not! Space is limited, buy your tickets early! October 4 - 6:30pm 
October 11 - 6:30pm
 October 18 - 6:30pm 
October 25 - 6:30pm
 October 30 - 4:00pm Siouxland Heritage Museums 200 W 6th St 605-367-4210   10/10/2011