Best Place to Retire--Flathead Valley!

According to Where to Retire Magazine, (circulation of 200,000), the Flathead Valley was recently featured as an ideal location for retirement.  Its mountain and lake setting, recreational opportunities, international airport, medical services and cultural opportunities draw retirees. The magazine stated that nearly 700,000 American relocate to new towns after retirement. 

Bruce Solberg, Bigfork resident says, “I think that this is a fabulous opportunity. I think they nailed it; it is a fabulous place to retire. Some don’t realize how fortunate we are to live in this part of Montana.” Read the full article…

Flathead top retirement destination

 By Matt Naber Bigfork Eagle | Posted: Thursday, August 16, 2012 7:00 am

Flathead Valley was featured in Where to Retire magazine yesterday as a top retirement destination in the country. Every two months the magazine features four new ideal locations for retirees and Flathead Valley was chosen because of its mountain and lake setting for recreation combined with medical facilities, art galleries, museums, shops, and other cultural amenities.“When you look at the great places to retire, we got lakes, mountains, skiing, world-class restaurants, and lots of shops and beautiful towns to be around,” Francois Zanni, president of the Lakeside and Somers Chamber of Commerce, said. “When people retire we also have the Kalispell regional hospital and north valley hospital. With such great doctors and facilities, that makes it a big plus for retirees.”

According to Where to Retire, 700,000 Americans relocate to new towns after retirement. For the last 20 years this magazine has featured different locations throughout the country that suit the needs of retirees.

Their circulation base is now roughly 200,000 nationwide.Mary Lu Abbott, editor of Where to Retire magazine, said the valley catches people’s attention as a vacation destination and then “woos them back” for retirement. “With each new neighbor that joins us, they have extended family too, bringing economic growth and more opportunity for our businesses to thrive,” Bruce Solberg, president of the Bigfork Chamber of Commerce, said.

Flathead Valley is featured in their September/October edition along with southern Delaware’s 25-mile stretch of beaches, Ann Arbor, Mich., and Boca Raton, Florida.“With its beautiful setting and proximity to Glacier National Park and other parks, the Flathead has attracted vacationers for years, and now retirees are finding it’s a perfect place for retirement too,” Abbott said. “Those who’ve coped with congested city life in their careers especially are drawn to the open spaces and outdoor splendor of the valley.”

The author of the feature on Flathead Valley is Jean Arthur, a resident of Bozeman and frequent visitor to the valley. Carlee Mausner, advertising coordinator for Where to Retire magazine said Bigfork, Whitefish, Polson, and Kalispell are some of the towns mentioned in the feature. Throughout the feature, retirees and semi-retired residents of the valley discuss what they like about life in the valley and why they came here.

“Glacier International Airport makes it convenient when coming in and out,” Zanni said. “Besides, it is a beautiful area and we have the amenities to make it a great place to spend the rest of your days.”

Solberg said he remembers Bigfork being in the running for similar recognition as a good place to retire a few years ago.He also said Bigfork has been looked at prior to this but has never reached the top mention.

Zanni said Blacktail Mountain Ski Area had some national recognition in the past for the amount of snow it gets. He also said the valley has received national recognition before, but for being “the gloomiest” due to the amount of cloud cover the valley gets each year. Zanni said this type of national recognition will help build the small towns in the valley by supporting the local shops and businesses during the summer tourist season and during the winter skiing season as well.

“I think that this is a fabulous opportunity,” Solberg said. “I think they nailed it, it is a fabulous place to retire. Some don’t realize how fortunate we are to live in this part of Montana.”

Get your outdoor space in order!

Get your outdoor space in order!

With summer threatening to arrive, creating an inviting outdoor space is not only therapeutic, but entices a homebuyer to make that decision that we all want them to make. Buy, buy, buy!

Homebuyers see the bistro set on the bedroom deck and envision rolling out of bed to a Sunday morning brunch as they leisurely peruse the New York Times and sip a latte while enjoying the lazy Swan ripple by.  Or maybe they envision grilling brats and enjoying a chilled Kokanee at the edge of the lake. Either way, it’s a fantasy worth exploring!

Homebuyers see the picnic table on the deck and think about Memorial Day barbeques, 4^th of July clam steamers, smoking ribs or evenings spent grilling the trout with friends while sipping martinis.

Many buyers,  especially those who have always lived in apartments or condos with little or no outside space, are enamored with the idea of spending time entertaining outdoors. So encourage your sellers to spiffy up their outdoor spaces. A little bit of furniture vignette with some flowers can work some serious magic toward a sale.
Work the summer. It’s what we’ve got!

Newest foreclosure map

http://www.realtytrac.com/trendcenter/

How to Navigate the Minefield of Divorcing Clients

Studies show that divorces typically spike in the month of January when couples go their separate ways and start anew. That fresh start often means a change in real estate. Of course, working with a couple who is going through a divorce can happen to any real estate agent. So understanding some of the pressures of this emotional transition and some tips for how to handle a sale between couples getting a divorce can be helpful.

These tips come from a January 2012 article by Katherine Tarbox in Realtor Magazine.

 1. Get It in Writing: Communicate to both parties through e-mail as much as possible, so there’s always a written record. For verbal and face-to-face meetings, keep a log and write down everything exactly as you remember it. This is a highly emotional situation, and you may be called to prove what you said or did not say.

 2. Patience Is a Necessity: Realtors are used to assessing the situation, getting the home ready, and starting the process of selling in quick order. But in a divorce situation, getting approval on almost anything requires that you exercise extreme patience with two often-disagreeable people.

3. Be Prepared to Listen: Allow clients to talk for as long as they need to talk. Then, repeat what they said and add, “This is what I heard. Is that correct?” Quite often, when they hear their own words, the entire situation calms down, and you can then proceed.

4. Follow Up, and Then Follow Up Again: The more people know about what's happening, the calmer they remain. For highly charged divorce situations, multiply this feeling by 10. Keep the couple updated on everything that happens as it’s happening, right up to the point they tell you to slow down. Make that their decision.

5. Don’t Become Emotionally Involved: You cannot take their relationship problems on yourself. Make sure you focus solely on getting all the parties to the closing table. If you feel like you can’t resist getting personally involved, consider referring the work to another sales associate.

Tout your listing location!

This comes from Tara at Trulia…Typically buyers care about beds, baths, square feet, kitchens and location. But according to Tara at Trulia, there are some surprising hot buttons that inspire homeowners and drive home sales. Potential home buyers have fantasies. They imagine how their life will be different, better, even perfect if they buy a particular home. They imagine strolling a block to the summer Farmer’s Market or hanging out at their favorite bakery, coffee house or wine bar. Maybe even, they imagine nature walks along a stream, reading by the lake, or skiing from their back door. These local haunts and resources motivate buyers and provide a definite marketing outlet.

Trader Joes! On a recent Huffington Post article about the Trader Joe’s grocery chain, one visitor left a comment to the effect that they selected their home largely based on its proximity to a Trader Joe’s.

So Realtors, when you are marketing your listings, pay attention to proximity to favorite local haunts and flaunt them when and if you can! Here’s the whole article.

http://www.trulia.com/blog/taranelson/2010/09/8_things_you_didn_t_know_could_get_your_home_sold_and_why_buyers_should_think_twice_before_biting

Cheaper to Buy than Rent???

According to Trulia's Winter 2012 Rent vs Buy Index, it's now now cheaper to buy than to rent in 98 of the 100 top metros. Copy and paste the link below for the whole scoop!
http://pro.truliablog.com/news/report-rent-vs-buy-winter-2012-update-on-the-debate/?ecampaign=tnews&eurl=pro.truliablog.com%2Fnews%2Freport-rent-vs-buy-winter-2012-update-on-the-debate

Income Tax and Donald Duck

Income tax time is fast approaching and there’s a good story behind it, a story of 2 wars, a dying Supreme Court justice and Donald Duck!

During the Civil War, Congress decided to try an income tax and they made it public. Prior to that, money was collected from tariffs. Each neighbor could see what the other was paying. Abraham Lincoln paid $1296 in 1864.

By the late 1800’s, income tax was almost only paid by the rich and they had some talented lawyers. In 1895, the case went all the way to the Supreme Court. One justice was on his death bed, and the remaining eight split evenly. The dying justice came back and by a vote of 5-4, the court found income tax unconstitutional.
In 1913, Congress and the State brought it back by amending the Constitution. Again, the tax was only being paid by the rich people.

When World War II came along, the government needed more money and middle class were being asked to pay, too. Legislators thought ordinary Americans just wouldn’t do it. They wanted someone credible and easy to understand, so they got Donald Duck. He marched around his house listening to the radio telling him that his patriotic duty was to pay taxes. He filled out his tax form--Occupation: actor. Dependents: Huey, Dewey and Louis.

It worked. Donald Duck got ordinary Americans to pay their income tax. And here we are now.

Cut and paste this link to u tube:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/03/22/149058446/from-abe-lincoln-to-donald-duck-history-of-the-income-tax

Here’s the full story from Planet Money:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/money/2012/03/22/149058446/from-abe-lincoln-to-donald-duck-history-of-the-income-tax