NEWSLETTER 
05/01/2008
It's May Day! I wish I could give each and everyone of you a Mayday basket. I was trying to explain Mayday to my 7yr old daughter (who will be 8 in 3 days). Last month I tried to explain Sadie Hawkins Day and I'm not so sure I did a very good job on that either. I know I did poorly today. I'm not surprised theses days have vanished from our childrens lives. In todays culture I'm sure there is that kook crowd that feels this is sexual harrasment or unfair to less attractive girls.
So what is happening in the Minot ND Real Estate news you ask. One of the 1st things they teach you in getting your Real Estate license is that the Home market is slow to react. I'm not going to say I forgot that but I will say I am surprised at how slow the market reacts. I had expected that with the oil boom and some major employers announcing large staff increases that prices would jump big time and houses would be sparce BUT as of today it hasn't happened. I have not seen a trend of price inflation and there are plenty of homes on the market. Over 500 homes have been listed so far this year. I think what has happened is that almost every rental unit in town has filled up. I would guess that the home market is next but it may take up to a year. With the school year comming to an end in just 3 weeks I know that many more homes will be comming onto the market. However don't lose sight that the Minot Air Force Base is bringing in 1,000 new troops, the oil boom promises to bring thousands, retail and other entrepreneurs will be trying to keep up. The housing market will get tight but who knows when?
04/15/2008
Oh no, it's that day! The day that our Uncle Sam has both hands snugly down our pants. More then ever it is important that you know how Real Estate and taxes or tax exemptions affect you. First let me remind you of the Capital gains exclusion of $250,000.00 to $500,000.00 profit on sale of your principal residence if owned and occupied at least two of the last five years. Also if you are buying a home keep in mind a first time home owner may make penalty-free withdrawals from an individual retirement account (IRA) for a down payment on a home within certain limits. Tax considerations may be an important part of any decision to purchase a home. In an effort to encourage home ownership the fed allows homeowners tax deductions such as deducting the interest paid on your mortgage, Real Estate taxes, and more. I'm not a tax expert so I advise you to speak to one. When you add up the deductions you may be surprised about how affordable owning is over renting. Before you vote in November you may want to find out how your candidate feels about tax breaks and tax cuts. I'm not looking forward to seeing what any of these clowns are going to do no matter who is elected. Here is wishing you all the home of your dreams and tax breaks that keep you billfold full in the coming years.
03/25/2008
I hope you all had a good Easter. What a wonderful day to celebrate, the day or Lord and Savior concord death, Christ IS alive! Well spring has not yet sprong here but I sure am looking forward to it. We are in a bit of a housing shortage here but I can not say that it is a sellers market yet. It probably will turn to a sellers market as the school year nears it's end. I just purchased a home to rent out and I must have had 30 calls on it. It rented almost immediately. I've spent the last two weeks cleaning like a mad man. My bride wishes I'd do that at our house. The house rented to one of the many oil field workers looking for housing. While at the hardware store yesterday I overheard a young man on the phone tell someone that he quit his job as the assistant manager at Super Walmart for the big money the oil field offers. The boom is really happening and it's causing other business to expand and hire as well.
02/26/2008
I do not normally make posts this often but this oil boom is really starting to roll. It was on all the local news channels tonight as more and more big announcements keep coming. Imagine this, Wal-mart has rushed this winter to complete a Super Wal-mart in a town of less then 3,000 people just 50 miles from here. Our Mayor has announced that he expects Minot ND to double in size in ten years! I imagine this is going to be much like the days the Rail Road built Minot! If I had the money I'd be buying that campsite I talk about in the tab on the left "Be your Own Boss".
02/18/2008
It's Presidents Day! On one of my other web sites in a Q & A section I have the question "Is it always cold in ND", I jokingly answer, "No sometimes it's really, really cold". Today is one of those days. Actually we have had more "really, really" cold days this winter then I remember for a long time and ND winters and I go back more then half a century.
What is "HOT" however is the ND oil boom. I mentioned it in my last posting but even then I had no idea just how "HOT" it is. The City of Parshall is even selling the mineral rights beneath the City. I've heard of one bedroom shacks in small towns renting for $1,200.00 a month. These are houses that last year you could not sell for a hundred bucks! It's starting to effect Minot now as well. Just wait till summer, I expect house prices to go up 20% in Minot by the end of the school year. It's quickly turning to a sellers market so if you are looking to buy you best get on the stick NOW! I'm closely watching a little one bedroom, no basement on the market for over $70,000.00. and if it sells I'm going to list my two bedroom for $120,000.00 (with mineral rights). I've always disliked P. T. Barnums most quoted line but it looks like that crowd is comming to town with their checkbooks open.
01/21/2008
Yesterday I drove 40 miles East to Stanley ND. I have made this trip a couple of times in the last month because I have been working with a fellow associated with the new Oil Boom in Western ND. I've noticed a few new rigs and they were not a surprise to me as many local young men have been heading out there for BIG paychecks. With an Air Force base just out of town it's no secret that many of the men are staying in ND because of the huge paychecks associated with the boom. What was a surprise to me was when I took a gravel road from Stanley ND to Parshall ND and saw just how many rigs are out there drilling right now. WOW, it's crazy, and they are saying they have not even found the boundaries to this lake of oil. While out there in oil country I formed an alliance with a non-mls Realtor so if you need information on property in the heart of the oil boom please give me a call. Come on out, buy a home for $50,000.00 or less and start earning HUGE $$$.
12/28/2007
Happy Birthday to my Bride on this day and Happy New Year to YOU and your family for 2008! What a year 2007 has been. I just placed the home previously advertised on this site as "Flip This House" as pending today. That means that EVERY home and EVERY business I listed this year has been SOLD! That is why we say "Real Estate as Simple as ABC", Add Bob, C Results! Yee Ha! I need more listings, make my phone ring and I'll make your cash flow sing. I am so thankful to all my wonderful and loyal customers! Thank you so much for your referrals and kind words to others about my service. I may not sell the most Real Estate in town but what I list gets sold and to date I have not had one customer leave me for another agent or a discount broker.
11/29/2007
Greeting! I hope you all had a delicious and safe Thanksgiving. Personally mine was excellent. One of my brothers came to stay a day and that was great for my little family. My children love their Uncle Steve and as usual greeted him at the door (with "did you bring us any presents").
Everything is in high gear now for Christmas. As this is a slower time for Real Estate I am helping out some friends with their retail operation 3 mornings a week (15 hours). Being friends they understand that if you call me then I gotta go even if I'm in the middle of something at their store. You are always number one! Even though I'm working with seasonal items for them it has not dampened my Christmas spirit one bit. They ask me: "Why are you so happy?" and I reply "cause this is not my job!". I assume they will only need me a couple of more weeks and then it will back to normal for my work schedule. Monday December 10th was my last day of helping out with Mort, Doug, and Mike. I had a blast while it lasted.
The Timm family celebrate Christmas because our household believes that Jesus is Christ, Lord and Savior. We believe in one God, the Christian Triune God, Father - Son - Holy Spirit. We believe that God the Father is perfect and we as sinners are unworthy to stand before him. We believe that Jesus Christ is his Son and that he too is perfect. We believe that Christ came as a mediator to stand before the Father on our behalf. We believe that we are redeemed by the blood Christ shed for us. We believe we are comforted today by the Holy Spirit who is also true God. Our beliefs may seem complex but it really is as simple as we believe that God is love. Christmas! What a wonderful celebration! Love born of God's Love for you and me. What could be better?
God Bless you and your family as we celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ!
Bob
11/13/2007
Hello Friends and Relatives!
It hardly seems like it could only be 6 weeks till Christmas but ready or not here it comes. Of course my 6 and 7 year old children have been waiting for Christmas for over a year. I think they have been talking about "next Christmas since December 26th 2006. Also on the "Hard to Believe" end of things is that when I woke up today, November 13 in Minot ND, the temperture was 63 degrees! Regretfully it is also the wind speed of some of the "gusts" today.
I wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! Those that know me know that I will be giving thanks to the Christian God, His Son Jesus Christ my Lord and Savior, and the Holy Spirit who comforts me in Christ's physical absence. I pray that all of those traveling will not only have a safe trip but also a pleasent visit once they arrive. I pray that broken/damaged relationships will be mended and a lot of forgivin will go along with the thanks giving. What a wonderful opportunity we have before us, don't delay, fogive, forget, and give thanks today.
10/16/2007
The Real Estate market in Minot remains hot even though the national news makes it all sound like doom and gloom. The markets that are in trouble are the ones that did a lot of Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM). Every aspect of the market seems to be good here in Minot. Prices have stabilized as we had been seeing over the past year. Homes are readily available from 80,000 on up. I'm seeing less flipping as prices have stabilized. Many people have found that the flipping craze is nothing more then buying yourself a minimum wage job! I would be glad to explain that in detail if you wish but to put it in a nut shell it's like this. You purchase a "fixer-upper" for 70,000 and you put 20,000 into it just in materials. After 3 months of intensive labor on your part you have the home ready to sell. You try to sell it yourself for 3 months. Now you have 6 months of utility bills, house payments, interest and payments on your credit cards. You hire a Realtor at 7% (which you should have done in the 1st place) and he/she sells it in 90 days (typical in Minot) all the while you are still making utility payments etc, etc.. The house sells for 120,000.00 so how much money did you make? Do the math, take two aspirin and call me before you do such a silly thing again.
We are getting less requests for homes in the country lately. I'm not sure if demand is down or if people are catching on to the fact that rural property is getting as expensive as city PLUS you pay over $3.00 for gas.
There still is a tremendous call for multi-family units, especially 4 plexus. If you have one to sell I sure would like to hear from you.
If you have been checking my main home page, www.minothome.com you will see that I'm constantly updating it. If you have suggestions I really appreciate it. I want to make it as useful as it can be for you. I try my best to correct the spelling but those of you who know me well know that I am the worst speller in the world and I married the second worst. Amazingly enough both our children are spelling whizzes.
The RE/MAX name has been very helpful to my business. You can truly say that "No body sells more Real Estate then RE/MAX" because no one in the world sells more property then RE/MAX. This gives us/me national exposure that I did not have with my previous employer. I have more listings now (personally) because sellers know that their home is shown on RE/MAX international all over the world. It's a beautiful thing.
Again let me say that when you visit my website please give me feedback as to what improvements you would like me to make. Thanks again for all your help and patience in helping me make the move to the most recognized name in Real Estate internationally.
Bob Timm
701-720-8513