If you live in Storm Lake, IA and you don't own your home you probably know the kind of shortage we have in rental properties. Our office Weaver Realtors receives between 20 and 25 calls, emails and texts a day from people in need of a rental property. The demand has pushed up the price on rentals and it is very difficult ot get anything for less that $500 a month, and most are between $550 and $650. What kind of a home could you pay if you paid $550 a month for rent? Well with interest rates below 4.5% and a 30 year fixed mortgage with good credit you could be buying and building net worth on a $75,000 mortgage, figure taxes at $100 a month ($1,200 a year), and insurance at $66.67 ($800 a year) total payment with principle, interest, taxes and insurance is an estimated $546.68 a month.... 03/09/2012

317 E Lakeshore Drive Storm Lake, IA is a massive structure, 3 stories that look out over a beautiful park and then onto the lake. It came into my life when an investor I work with told me they were talking to the owner and they wanted to buy the property. Their question to me, what is it worth, how much can I pay for it and afford to renovate it so it has a good positive cash flow?  My response, let's get in to see it and then I'll have a much better idea of the repairs and purchase price to see how it will cash flow. We went in, and I was very pleasantly surprised, looked bad and did need a lot of basic stuff - like a roof asap, but everything was possible in my opinion. An untrained eye (I also buy and renovate property) would have been overwhelmed with the shear amount of stuff in t... 11/09/2011

First of all I want to personally thank each and every one of you for your selfless service to ensure our American freedoms. The state of Iowa has a $5,000 GRANT that can be used towards your down payment or closing costs. If you have questions about this program call me 712-291-0118 and I can step you through it. You can also check it out online at www.IowaFinanceAuthority.gov    Eligibility   Have served 90 days active duty since September 11, 2001. Active duty need not be consecutive; it may be cumulative. Inactive Duty Training, Annual Training and Active Duty for Training may not count toward active duty Is a federal status injured service person having served in active duty since September 11, 2001; or Is a surviving spouse of said eligible service person, all who have served hono... 08/12/2011

Storm Lake Iowa home sales market is clicking along, although it is slower than the same time last year.  Want these results send to your email quarterly? send me an email and I will send them directly to your inbox as soon as they are calculated! For this quarter so far, Storm Lake and Alta had 33 properties sell. Last year 52 properties sold in the same time period, but the government incentive (up to $8,000) was in place.Sales ranged from $19,000 ( a foreclosure) to $360,000. With an average sale price of $136,532. Last year this range was from $35,000 to $445,000 with an average of $111,306.The time spent on the market ranged from 1 day (foreclosure, so this number is not accurate, property was previously listed), to 371 days on the market.  Over a third of the properties stayed on ... 06/17/2011

I listed a HUD foreclosure, got an accepted offer on the property, did a LOT of work. Developed a Buyer, who spent a GOOD amount of money on title opinion (we're an abstract state) and an abstract update. The title opinion showed a number of problems on the abstract, liens, judgements, etc. Not the first time I have seen this stuff, the stuff is usually cleaned up and then closed. BUT, not this time. The property was sent back to the bank so they could clean up the problems. The HUD representative called me and told me the property was reconveyed and that when it was cleaned up THEY would contact the buyer back to see if he was still interested in purchasing it! I am not happy at all with this situation, I was contracted to successfully sell this property, I did that. Now they will clea... 06/15/2011

Just like to say thank you to all the local Storm Lake IA realtors who made it to our ribbon cutting this morning in Storm lake. It was very successful. We hope you like the unusual addition to our office - the Creators Hands Fine Art Gallery. We open the gallery officially on Saturday June18th (our son Nick's birthday) from 2-5 pm. Stop by and meet our first artist Vicki McLead from Ida Grove. Vicki is a photographer who does wonderful still life photos. We serve buyers, sellers, investors and renters in the Storm Lake, IA area. Check out our ribbon cutting pictures on facebook and the local newspaper websites! 06/15/2011

I'm a first time home buyer in the Storm Lake IA area. I have looked at a lot of properties in the Storm Lake IA area and found 2 that I really like. But, how much should I offer the Sellers?   How do I know what a property is worth in the current Storm Lake homes market, I don't want to over pay but I don't want to offend the Sellers either?    Q: As a Buyer, how do I decide on how much to offer on a property?   Allie K.A: Allie, Thank you for your question, it is a good one! Our office does research called a - Comparative MarketAnalysis (CMA) for BOTH Sellers and Buyers. A CMA includes similar homes that have sold in the last year. We make adjustments for differences like size, number of bathrooms, and number of bedrooms. The result is a dollar range the home should sell within.We do ... 04/07/2011

We had our first Storm Lake IA, Buyer's Educational Seminar and it went great, our next one in English is scheduled for April 23rd. We cancelled our Storm Lake IA, Spanish seminars due to the flu but they will be rescheduled in about 2 weeks. I will keep everyone informed! We took the participants through the process and steps to get ready to purchase including credit reports, types of financing, mortgage approval, looking at properties, negotiating, home inspections, deadlines, escrow, and what to expect once you are a home owner. Our participants in this seminar will all be first time home buyers. Any questions on our Storm Lake IA Buyer Educational Seminars, give me a call Georgia Weaver - Broker Owner 712-291-0118 or stop by the office at 607 Lake Avenue, in Storm Lake IA! 03/21/2011

Storm Lake IA and the surrounding areas are in need of rental homes and reasonably priced homes. We are seeing a number of investors buying properties, putting in the basic average level finish and renting. All the rentals I have seen are doing really well. Now is not a time to slack on rental property upkeep. The current Storm Lake IA homes market has many people staying in rentals or looking for a good, clean, solid rental property. These factors allow landlords to charge top rent if their properties are in good condition. Storm Lake city officials and the Storm Lake Police Department are offering a free Landlord seminar to help educate local landlords on codes, rules and picking a good tenant. Great free resource, call the city to signup! 03/16/2011

This may surprise you but most REALTORS and all good REALTORS will not list just any property. Think about why you are hiring a REALTOR.  A REALTOR's job is to SELL your property, not list it. REALTORS spend a tremendous amount of time and money on every property they agree to take. These costs come from:  time spent researching the market to help the owner position the property in pricing, Internet marketing ad development and fees, newspaper ad development and costs, Home booklet ad development and costs, photography - lots of $$$, MLS listing development - time and cost, flyer development time and cost, printing costs, staging the property to get the best price for the seller, setting up a mls REALTOR tour to get all the local REALTORS in the property, contacting other REALTORS and c... 11/01/2010

Just last year the Storm Lake, Iowa area saw this scenario played out. I received a number of phone calls from the tenants who were scared and not sure what to do and I am sure they are not alone. If you have anyone in this situation this video gives you the answers to their questions. A new law came into play May of 2009 and to get it out to a large number of people they decided to put it on You Tube. The video is from the Ombudsman for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Check it out http://bit.ly/ci2ecX 08/12/2010

Staging is vital and we (Weaver Realtors of Storm lake Iowa) stage every property we list to some level. Most people think staging is for inside the house but I beg to differ. If you don't have good NO GREAT! curb appeal in this tough market you won't even get a buyer in the door! This is how we do it - Clean, organized, reduced to the point of sparse, no pets, no pet smells, no smoke smells, no food smells, Plastic tubs for extra stuff, neatly stacked about 3 high in an unobtrusive area, this gives you the jump on being organized in the new place when you move. Reducing and cleaning will aslo make you feel like you just lost 10 pounds. This is a good article on staging if you want to help someone or if you are thinking about selling. http://bit.ly/daAgyc 08/03/2010

     #Storm Lake Iowa and surrounding areas are seeing a small surge in home buying, we usually see this at this time of year and it is as welcome as a cool breeze on one of our hot humid summer days. I sold 2 properties just last week, one that had been on the market for a while (226 Geneseo) the Metcalf House bed and breakfast and one that had been on the market for only 1 day - 121 Division Street in Alta. Both of these properties sold to buyers from outside our state. 08/03/2010

2 friends Jay and Anne Dahlhauser of #Storm Lake Iowa are trying to save the north school building and turn it into a youth outreach center. If you are from the Storm Lake Iowa area you know we could really use this kind of community project. Send them your support and follow this link to get more information including a competitive/comparative market analysis (cma) for the old school and the contact information for the school board members. 08/03/2010

Storm Lake Iowa and the surrounding areas are up, up and away. That is a great description of the real estate market in our area. The numbers are coming in really good: May 2008 - 32 New Active listings, 17 New Pending properties and 21 New Sold properties 2009 - 29 New Active listings, 15 New Pending properties and 18 New Sold properties 2010 - 33 New Active listings, 29 New Pending properties and 24 New Sold properties Looking forward to June. Info from Techmark Stats 06/15/2010

I can't believe it is already may 21st, time has gone so fast since October when we first opened the brokerage. A lot of things learned in 7 months, although I think a business person should learn new things daily to keep up.  I'm sure I will learn a lot more in the next 7 months. The markets in the Storm Lake and Alta Iowa are strong, training for new agent Angelica Lozano is going well. I would like to add another agent, one with at least 2 years experience this summer. In the Fall we will add 2 new agents, by then I hope to have Angelica comfortable with the basics of the Weaver Realtors program and possibly starting  her Broker's training.  05/21/2010

http://bit.ly/aP5DAb HGTV has assembled some of the coolest kitchens and baths, if you are thinking about redoing either or in my case both take a look at some of these designs and unique materials. HGTV also has great video's on DIY for everything to do with Kitchens and baths. Vote on your favorite, check out traditional verses contemporary, and learn how to do these projects in your house! Storm Lake Iowa has some great properties and several of the lake front homes have fabulous kitchens and baths, some similar to what is on the HGTV web site. Alta Iowa also has some very beautiful and unique homes with fantastic kitchens and baths. You can build your own home on one of the new lots south of the middle school or talk to a contractor or architect and design one to be built. 02/10/2010

Brand new real estate brokerage now open in the Storm Lake MLS area. Want more information - call Georgia Weaver the owner of Weaver LLC Realtors. Pilot Tribune newspaper covering our new brokerage, the services we offer, our philosophy on doing business and the Top 10 Reasons You Need to List Your Properties With US. If you need real estate services please consider us, we are experienced, ethical, and posess great marketing and negotiaion skills. Our business is not like any other in the Storm Lake MLS area, call us to experience a very refreshing difference. 11/11/2009

Quick note to all my readers and all the Storm Lake and Alta, Iowa locals. I have had a very busy week showing properties, attending a closing for a great couple from Colorado - Stacey and Alan Schlechten, negotiating a commercial building purchase, analyzing a couple of income properties for an investor and finished it up having great fun helping mud the drywall in the new basement of a wonderful couple of friends - Brad and Cindy Pedersen with a bunch of other friends - John Hase, Joyce Rydstrom, Matt Younie, Gary Launderville, Ronnie (you know my husband), sorry if I missed anyone. Soon, many of you will receive my new real estate newsletter, "Your Home Newsletter", yeah I know not too original but it gets to the point, kind of like me.  One thing to keep in mind all you newly weds, ... 04/04/2009

Did you know: With an FHA loan the 3.5% Total Down Payment can be gifted by a relative? Down payment assistance from the seller is also allowed Low mortgage income insurance premiums No median income requirements In our area the maxium loan balance is $271,050 now that's a lot of house in Storm Lake and Alta Iowa Less restrictive credit scores than conventional loans and leaving the best to last - Great Interest Rates. Give me a call Georgia Weaver (712-574-5426)and I will help you get FHA qualified and then find a home to fit your needs! 01/23/2009