Montana, here I come!

		Real Estate Market in SE Montana (Carbon County)
		Average price of properties sold during the past five years in the Red Lodge area: Type of Property 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006   Residential     $106K     $112K    $148K    $168K    $145K    $190K    $237K    Residential with acreage $237K $185K $232K $298K $236K $330K $351K Vacant Land - under 5 acres $ no data $54K $45K $47K $50K $78K $95K Quantity of properties sold: Type of Property 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006   Residential   74  62  54  68  82  133  36  36  Residential with Acreage 31 28 35 21 19 26 31 34 Vacant Land under 5 Acres ND ND ND 33 41 50 61 41 Source: Carbon County Multiple Listing Service. Most homes and land sold for around 98 % of List Prices Montana is a "non-disclosure state, therefore your real estate agent will not be able to tell you the previous selling price for a piece of property, this information is NOT public record. Rentals Houses rent for about $ 850 to 950 per month Apartments for about $ 500 to $ 600 Update: I found a statistic about the home prices around Montana Great Falls, MT home price rose in 2005 9.3%, Missoula, MT home price rose in 2005 9.6% Billings, MT home price rose in 2005 10.4% I did something similar for the Red Lodge area for homes with five acres or less: 2001 - 25 homes sold, median price $ 145,000 2002 - 37 homes sold, median price $ 137,000 2003 - 46 homes sold, median price $ 135,000 2004 - 70 homes sold, median price $ 149,000 2005 - 61 homes sold, median price $ 188,000 2006 - 62 homes sold, median price $ 260,000 home prices rose 28% over 2005 February 2007 there are 60 homes - with and without acreage over 5 acres - offered for sale and the median home price is $ 330,000 What does CC&R stands for? Covenants Conditions and Restrictions - tells what you can and cannot do with your property - usually dreamed up by the developer to protect property values. If someone puts a junk yard next to your 200,000 home or raises pigs, you won't be able to resell it for 200K, but maybe 100K... In rural areas the CC&Rs are just the bare minimum to avoid the worst and even allow hunting on the property, in denser populated areas they can get quite elaborate. What is a HOA Home Owners Association - After the developer sells most or all of the lots he turns the enforcement of the CC&R's over to the homeowners, who form an association. Sometimes they collect an annual or monthly fee which can vary from $ 50 a year to several hundred dollars a month, depending what they are set out to do. Sometimes they just collect a little money to keep the roads in drivable conditions because the county won't care if a private road washes out or has potholes the size of cars.... In other cases the HOA fee includes snow removal, landscaping, hiring a full time gate keeper, etc. What does BLM stand for? Bureau of Land Management - This land belongs to the Federal Government and is public land. Sometimes ranchers lease the land to graze their cattle on it for a small fee. For example $ 2.62 per AU (animal unit), while a private lease per AU cost about $ 16-18. If you buy property because it borders BLM or State Land and you like the idea for hunting and recreation, be aware that public lands can be swapped for private land or even sold. How does a real estate transaction work in Montana? A buy-sell agreement is written up by the Realtor and the earnest money is deposited in the trust account of the broker. The title company gets the agreement and draws up the title insurance and records the new owner with the county after they get the money at closing. The new deed is written up by an attorney, usually the title company uses their attorney, but the buyers can name their own. How much do they usually charge per transaction? The title company charges $ 250.- closing fee to close in office. Title insurance for a $ 250,000 property would be about 900.- paid by the seller. If there is a loan and the lender needs a lender's policy there is an additional charge that might vary and I estimate that would be around $ 50.- to the buyer, but then the lender would also charge endorsement and extension fees if he is selling it in the secondary market and that would run about $ 350.- and would be charged through the lender. To draw up the deed is about $50.- and then there is a recording charge of $6.- per page. If it is a cash transaction, there is only one page to record, but if there is a loan involved it could easily be around 15 pages just for the loan. When you work for a realty company as a sales representative, what percentage do you actually receive? Let's assume the average percentage is 6% of the total sale, which is split between the office of the listing RE agent (3%), and the office of the selling RE agent (3%). Each office splits their share between the agent and the office. If you work for a franchise, you will receive a lower cut then if you would work for an independent company. Your share will depend on your sales volume, the more you sell, the more you can keep of the commission paid to the office. Usually it starts at 50%. So let's say a $ 100,000 property is sold, the commission is $ 6,000. The agent receives $ 1,500 of that. Why do you like to be a buyer's agent and do you also list property? I like to be a buyer's agent, because before I had my license I took a bath several times buying directly from listing agents not realizing that they of course not only had an ax to grind but also had fiduciary duties to their sellers, while they could spill the beans about me. I had no clue. I am very picky what I take for a listing, because I want to sell what works for the buyer, not because I need to sell something. Being a buyer's agent, I can turn my nose up on unacceptable properties and disclose as much as I want to disclose while protecting the buyer. I am familiar with the area and know what is involved when someone is looking for a property. If my client needs electricity and winter (or even legal) access, I will make sure it is there. Many get stuck with properties that turn out to be a nightmare for the buyer, which is the scenario I am trying to avoid, I have been there myself. I always find it Funny that an FSBO can't sell at a lower price but does at a higher with an agent? Only about 1-2% of all FSBOs sell by owner. If you list with an agent, the property goes on MLS and hundreds of Realtors know about the property. Each real estate agent has many customers looking for properties and waiting for their dream to come on the market. Also the listing gets published in real estate magazines and newspapers, advertised on several websites, etc. That is quite a spread. Also people looking for a FSBO are usually not serious buyers, while a real estate agent finds out exactly how much money a client can invest and only spends time with serious buyers. Would you buy an FSBO? I wouldn't. Real Estate agents are obligated to disclose known flaws. Especially in rural areas, there might not be legal access, there might be septic tank problems, property line encroachments, the area is known for the Bubonic Plague… how are you going to find all of that out when you come from out of State? You need a local to get you through the land mines! Did I say I am here to help you? Do you only sell high end properties to make money as an agent? I am a strong believer in giving back to the world some of the wonderful blessings that were given to me.. I once had a dream, a bear and a hedgehog were playing in my backyard. The bear helped the little hedgehog all the time, since he was so small he got in all kinds of trouble. I thought that was a nice dream and smiled when I woke up. I went to the office and there was a stuffed animal wedged into my mailbox, a customer had dropped that off for me. She wasn't really a customer, because she didn't have enough money to afford anything I had shown her, but I had helped her to get situated, etc. Not long after that another client came in. He had come from PA to find a nice lot for his retirement home and I had found the right acreage for him in the most expensive development in town… He gave me a small bear out of Pewter, decorated with Indian good luck symbols…In other words the commissions I receive from well to do clients will also stretch to help the people who need to find jobs, rentals, etc. and I made this website also as a tool for my customers so they can make an informed decision. 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