An Easier Way to Meet Your Continuing Education Requirements

How can we as agents possibly set aside time for continuing education with the busy schedules we maintain? Today, I’d like to share a great resource that can help.
 

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Toward the end of the year, I always notice that many agents are scrambling to get their continuing education requirements in for their license renewal. In the state of Iowa, agents are required to take 36 hours of continuing education every three years, with those hours due by December 31 of the year your license expires. This education includes eight hours of law updates, four hours of ethics, and 24 hours of electives. Real estate is a complex industry, so continuing education is extremely important. Knowing industry standards, new laws, and other information helps us, as agents, be the best professionals we can. But let’s be honest: it can be difficult to find time for that education when you’re keeping such a busy schedule yourself. As real estate professionals, we’ve got very unpredictable schedules. Fortunately, there is an alternative in Iowa to in-classroom learning. In Iowa, up to 24 hours of your continuing education can be done online.

I was able to schedule my continuing education around my life, instead of scheduling my life around my continuing education.

This is why I’ve found www.RealEstateCE.com to be an amazing resource. It’s very easy to sign up and is full of informational classes relevant to things I experience in my business. Also, it’s inexpensive. The best part of taking classes through this website, though, is that it helped me control my time. I was able to schedule my continuing education around my life, instead of scheduling my life around my continuing education. Additionally, there is an amazing discount available to Iowa licensees through www.RealEstateCE.com that you can find here. So if you’re busy, want to learn, and would like to save money, I definitely recommend checking it out. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Come to Our Open Houses This Fall for a Chance to Win Something Delicious

We’ve got a great chance for you to win the latest edition of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. You might even find the home of your dreams while you’re at it.

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Want to buy a Central Iowa home? Search all the homes on the MLS

At Better Homes And Gardens Real Estate Innovations, we’ve got a great recipe for success when it comes to house hunting in the coming fall. Today, we’re adding a little incentive for you to come out and see what we mean. If you come to any of our open houses in October or November, you will be entered to win the latest edition of the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. What better way to take your family into the holidays than by cooking up a recipe from this classic cookbook’s 16th edition.

We’ve got a great recipe for success.

And who knows, you might even find the home of your dreams while you’re at it. If you’re considering making a change with your home, we would love to help. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Get the Home You Want Through a Backup Offer

Frustrated homebuyers in the Central Iowa market may be able to use the backup offer strategy to their advantage.

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Want to buy a Central Iowa home? Search all the homes on the MLS

A lot of Central Iowa homebuyers are frustrated right now. Certain segments of the market are on fire, and they aren’t able to get into homes fast enough. As a result, they feel they don’t have very many homes to choose from. There may still be hope if you use the backup offer strategy. In the past, once a home went under contract, there’s very little chance for a competing buyer to get their foot in the door. Once the seller had chosen another buyer’s offer, typically they made it to the closing table with no problems. However, in those super hot segments of the market, we are seeing a higher fallout rate. Why is that? First of all, many buyers feel like they need to make a quick decision in those market segments or they will lose the home. As a result, it’s very common for people to make offers on a home without fully vetting the property to make sure it’s the right home for them.

If the first deal falls apart, the seller has your offer to fall back on.

Secondly, multiple offer situations really drive up the price of a home. Buyers then have very high expectations of how that home will perform during the inspection. Buyers and sellers have a hard time agreeing what condition the property should be in, which has led to a number of deals falling apart after the home inspection. Having a backup offer in place puts pressure on that first offer. If for any reason that deal falls apart, the seller would much rather go to your offer than go through the hassle of putting the home on the market again. Plus, since you have a backup offer in place, the seller may be more willing to let the first deal fall apart. Not all agents can navigate the ins and outs of the backup offer, but we work hard at honing our skills in order to give our buyers the edge in this competitive market. If you have any questions about this strategy or anything else, just give us a call or send us an email. Remember, if we choose your question for one of our upcoming videos, you’ll get a free subscription to Better Homes and Gardens magazine. We look forward to hearing from you!

We’re Excited to Join Forces With Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate

We have an exciting announcement to make today. It’s going to change the future of our company for the better.

Want to sell your Central Iowa home? Get a free home value report

Want to buy a Central Iowa home? Search all the homes on the MLS

We are excited to announce that as of August 2, 2017, we have joined forces with Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate to form Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Innovations. It’s a huge honor to be welcomed into the fold at Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate as a broker/owner. In fact, I’m the only broker/owner of this company in Iowa. This company has a rich history around here. The publisher of the magazine is actually rooted in Des Moines. I’m so pleased that we will have this marketing and media powerhouse behind us 100% to enhance the experiences of our clients and agents. We are now aligned with a brand that is not only relevant to the people we serve but also has relevant information available for them 365 days a year. You’ll start seeing green Better Homes and Gardens signs up with our team’s name on the side here shortly. Keep an eye out for them. If you or anyone you know is thinking about buying, selling, or investing in real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Get an Extra Chance to Win $2,500 Towards Your Next Iowa Home

The Iowa Finance Authority has a special sweepstakes right now offering $2,500 in cash or down payment assistance! We can help you get an extra chance to win. 

Want to sell your Central Iowa home? Get a free home value report

Want to buy a Central Iowa home? Search all the homes on the MLS

The Iowa Finance Authority is holding a great sweepstakes right now. You could win $2,500 in cash or in down payment assistance! The Iowa Finance Authority is a state-sponsored entity that promotes homeownership, which is so important to my team and I. The IFA also has a number of great programs available for down payment assistance and mortgages.

Write my name in as your Realtor to get an extra chance at that $2,500!

If you want two chances to win, simply write my name in as your Realtor. You can enter the contest HERE. Don’t wait too long—the contest only runs through the month of August! Whether you are buying a home for the first time or making a change, this is a great chance to win some money towards your dream home. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us. In the meantime, go ahead and enter. We hope that someone who knows our team wins this opportunity. Good luck!

3 Easy and Helpful Moving Hacks

As a home seller, how do you know which offer to pick in a multiple offer situation? 

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Want to buy a Central Iowa home? Search all the homes on the MLS

If you're moving, these three tips should help you out quite a bit:

1. Don't pick a peak day to move: In the central Iowa market, Fridays and Saturdays are the peak days, as well as the 1st, 30th, and 31st of each month. 2. Pack smart: You can read about some great moving hacks here. They'll help you plan, organize, and execute the process of getting all your belongings together efficiently. On top of these hacks, you should try to take the emotion out of packing. It's hard to avoid taking a trip down memory lane when you pack your stuff, but try to save it for when you're in your new place.

Avoid moving on peak days if at all possible.

3. Use our moving truck: This is a big advantage to working with us. We'll even give you the manpower to help you move things. Our truck isn't some rickety old truck either; it's shiny and new!

If you're thinking about making a move and need to buy and or sell a home, give us a call or send us an email. We'd love to help!

What Should You Do When There Are Multiple Offers on Your Home?

As a home seller, how do you know which offer to pick in a multiple offer situation? 

Want to sell your Central Iowa home? Get a free home value report

Want to buy a Central Iowa home? Search all the homes on the MLS

The central Iowa real estate market is pretty hot right now, which creates unique challenges for buyers and sellers. For sellers, it’s incredibly important that you choose an agent who has experience with multiple offer situations, as they are common in our market.

When you receive multiple offers on your home, how do you know which is the best one? There are a few things you should consider:

1. Price. Obviously, we want to maximize your equity and get you the best price available for your home. Our expertise really comes in handy when it comes to looking at the full terms of the offer, because the offer with the highest price is not necessarily the best one for your interests.

2. What kind of time frame are they looking for? How flexible will the buyer be on possession? As a seller, that can make or break your ability to get into your next property, so it’s important to know that up front.

The offer with the highest price is not always the best one for you.

3. What kind of contingencies does this buyer have that might cause stumbling blocks in the process? Inspections, HOA documents, or having a survey completed are just a few examples of little things that might seem irrelevant, especially if the buyer is offering a high price. However, each of those contingencies gives the buyer a chance to renegotiate after they’ve won the deal, which could make the transaction unpleasant for you.

4. What are the financing terms? We love cash offers, but cash isn’t always better than financing. Someone who has a loan commitment is just as important as someone who has cash. The fortunate thing about working with an experienced agent is we know what to expect from different lenders. We know if a buyer is working with a reputable lender or a lender that we’ve had issues with in the past.

Ultimately, we will sit down, look at all your different options, and work together to make sure that your needs are being met and that you choose the best offer possible.

If you have any other questions about selling your home in our current market, just give us a call. We would be happy to help you!