Jacque Lorang’s Blog

I have been really bad the last couple of weeks. I ha-vent even said Hi on my blog… sorry. I had knee surgery a couple of weeks ago, and it has actually been pretty hard to get back into the swing of things. In real estate you really need to stay on top of things, or before you know it you have no idea what is going on in your area, or the world. Billings is changing so quickly. Buildings are being put up, torn down, and remodeled all the time. Whole neighborhoods are being put up everywhere, and the market is changing.  Lots of things are going on in our little town of Billings.

I really don’t have much to write about, guess I need to get my flow going again, but I thought I at least better say Hi. And I will write soon.

In the stock market there is a saying, “buy low, sell high” 

However people commonly make the mistake of buying high and selling low. They wait until they have heard how well a stock is doing to buy it, buy then it has often reached its peak and as soon as they buy it, it drops! they consequently freak out and sell it at its lowest. Therefore, loosing money because they did follow the 1st rule of stocks, buy low, sell high.

Real estate and stocks are not too much different, they both can be an investment, they both go up and down, and the price is determined by the market.  The big difference is the saying for real estate goes more along the lines of “buy low, never sell”, but that’s a different story.
I have notice that people make the same mistakes in real estate that they do on stocks, now I’m not just talking about real estate as solely an investment, I am talking about primary residences. Obviously it would be wonderful to buy your house before prices go up, then sell your home when they are at their peak and get the most money possible while having a beautiful home to live in. However, I have noticed that people don’t do research on what area is going to “boom” next, they wait until the “boom” is in full swing and say “oh oh I want to live there!” but by this time, everyone wants to live there and prices are at their highest.  Then they buy the house for an outrageous amount, and a few years down the road there is a hiccup; rumors of a dropping market in that area, a flood nearby, or a stint of crime in the area, etc. Suddenly they decide the area is done-for and sell, just as everyone else in the area gets the same idea and 20 similar 3 bed 2 bath houses hit the market just when no one wants to buy there. They sell their house for next to nothing and move to the next “booming” place. Well all they have done is bought high and sold low. When in reality, in 2 years no one will remember the 3 weeks of crime in the area and the property will be back to its original value and then some.

The reason I bring this up is because we have a situation similar to that here in Billings. Two years ago Emerald Hills was the place to be. Beautiful homes, with views and acrage were being constructed everyday, and people were paying good money to be there. Well, then last year there was the “Emerald Hills Fire” and soon after about 20 houses hit the market. They got scared and wanted out. Well then this year another fire went through the area.  Now another 20 houses hit the market.  People are taking loses to get out of the area, not so much because of the fires, but because they saw a drop in home prices and think “i’d better get out before they drop anymore”.  The problem with that thinking is, in 2 years after no fires, that will be the place to be again. People forget, they move on, or move into town and have no idea there was a fire 2 years ago.  Home values will be up, and people will be buying again.

I have a beautiful listing up in Emerald Hills, It is an absolute steal, 3 bedroom, 2 bath, custom built from top to bottom. It has 8+ fenced acres with horse stalls and a out buildings. It has an over-sized RV/work-shed, 2 car garage, and a master suite to die for with a jacuzzi tub, tiled shower, washer and dryer hook-ups and a patio door to a private hot tub. Its a one of a kind property, and 2 years ago it would have sold for over $425,000, today I have it on the market at $350,000 and can’t get a response, its an absolute steal! I’d buy it if I had the money and was ready to get out of our home.  But because the area had a “hiccup*” it’s worth next to nothing… well at-least for the next year.  My point is, if someone is looking for not only a home, but an investment, a home in a down market is a good option, not fail proof or 100% safe, but the returns can be 10 fold what they are in a “up” market.

If you or anyone you know is interested in viewing 908 Dinosaur Dr. Please give me a call or email  (690-5277 ablahoo@yahoo.com) or check out http://jlorang.bmt.mlxchange.com/AWPDetails.asp

*I do not mean to understate the seriousness of the fires in emerald hills, I realize many people lost valuable possessions and faced a very scary situation, I live very near emerald hills and have family that were directly effected by the fires. 

I didn’t know this before I became one, but a REALTOR® isn’t so much a job title. A REALTOR® can be defined as “A real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of Realtors and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics. This professional is committed to protecting and promoting private ownership of real property, establishing and maintaining high professional standards of practice, and creating unity in the National Association of Realtors organization and respect for the real estate profession.”

You can be a real estate agent without being a REALTOR®. All REALTORS® are required to follow a “Code of Ethics” (which I have linked to below if your interested) and they agreed to be a member of a team to promote the highest and best use of land and the widest distributing of land ownership.  So overall in theory a REALTOR® is supposed to look out for you, the customer, first, and protect our private land rights.  And there are rules and regulations to keep them in line. 

… All that being said, we don’t always have the best reputation, somewhere down there with insurance and car sales men ;) , and in some cases I can see why. I have heard some horror stories. That is too bad because it can really hurt the agent who wants to do well and help people. I got into the business because after my husband and I built our house we couldn’t believe the joy of home ownership. Owning property gives you a voice, it gives you respect and best of all it helps you invest in your future. I want to help other people with that venture. Sure, I need to make a living, but so far what I have made, I have earned every penny of. I have worked harder as a REALTOR® then I have doing any other job in my life, including being a firefighter in the Army.  But it is fulfilling and a learning experience. I look forward to my days and meeting new people. This is a great business, and I can’t figure out how so many people screw it up!  Check out the links on REALTORS®  and leave your comments on the whole issue. How do you perceive REALTORS® vs real estate agents, is there a difference?

http://www.realtor.org/mempolweb.nsf/pages/code - code of ethics

http://www.realtor.com/basics/allabout/realtors/why.asp?poe=realtor - why use a REALTOR®

http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestatecareers/a/realtor.htm -about.com info on REALTORS®
Read the rest of this entry »

I have been timid about blogging. I should be on the ball, I mean, I’m the ideal real estate blogger, I’m young, educated, opinionated and fairly tech savvy. But, on the other hand, my writing skills are less then desirable, my spelling is horrific, and frankly, who says I’m even interesting to listen to. Besides, do i have the time and commitment to make a good blog work. Who knows. I guess we will find out. My goal is to do a couple of posts, keeping this all on the down low, then, if i decide its worth sharing I will shout it to the world. 

About me: I was born and raised in Billing Montana, I graduated from West High and started attending MSU-Billings the fall after I graduated high school.  It only took me about 2 months to remember why i was so excited to graduate high school… that is, traditional school is mostly boring to me. I can’t sit still for more then 10 minutes, which is probably my biggest problem, but mostly I wanted to do something different after 13 straight years of school. So that October I joined the military, without much thought. I left to become a firefighter in the Army Reserves(I have wanted to be a firefighter since I can remember).  I spent about 6 months in training and then came back to Billings with a new found appreciation for our beautiful state and strong community.  I met a wonderful guy here in Billings, and just as we fell in love I got orders to go to Iraq. I left that next summer and spent a few months training, then one year in Balad Iraq as a firefighter. I learned a lot and met a lot of great people, but being away from my then fiance and my family for a year and a half was very hard. I finally made it back home, safe and sound, and with an even greater appreciation for our wonderful state and the people here.  Within the next 3 months after I got home I got married, we built a house and started back to collage to get a fire science and a business management degree. Meanwhile I got my real estate license and began practicing a field which has always enticed me, real estate. Just recently I realized my lifelong dream of getting hired on the fire department only to be “unhired” two weeks later because of a law suit against the department. Which is hard, but I’ve learned that no matter what you do If something is not supposed to happen, life will find a way to make it that way, but that doesn’t mean you quite trying because 9 times out of 10 God has something better in store. Besides, I am loving what I am doing as a Realtor and life is going well. So that’s a bit about me. I suppose through a blog you will all get to know me pretty well, that is if i keep this thing interesting enough to keep reading.

So thats my 1st blog entry. The next few should be much more real estate connected…. or maybe not.  Hopefully it gets better with time. 

Yesterday my brother-in-law, my husband and I went on a 14 mile hike in some of the most beautiful country in the world. Actually it was supposed to be a 10 mile hike, according to the map it was 5 miles in and of course 5 miles out. I guess they rounded down, 2 miles. which on a the return trip made 4 extra miles, which was about 14 miles too many cuz we were spent by the end of it all.  We drove too, hiked, and drove home all in less then 12 hours! We did this because I live in one of the greatest places in the world.  We are surrounded by 5 mountain ranges, the Beartooths, the Bighorns, The Pryors, the Snowys, and the Crazy Mountains! Most People have never seen 5 mountain ranges, more or less are able to see 5 mountain ranges on a clear day from their home!  Not only that but we are only a couple of hours away from one of the largest and most popular National Parks in the Country. More wilderness to explore then one lifetime could handle, all within 3 hours.

Then there is Billings itself, with the rim rocks, the river and more parks then you can shake a stick at(47 to be exact, with over 595 acres of developed and 2001 undeveloped). I know our parks and recreation have a lot of work to do, and I know that compared to some communities our recreation department is so-so. But seriously who needs a parks and recreation department to go out and explore the outdoors. Its been there long before any government agency.  Trails, trees and cliffs are all ready there, in fact, in some ways it is only getting worse through our development, not better. I understand the need for paved trails, I mean, if I had a disability that kept me from traversing rough terrain I would love to have a trail that would allow me to get out and spend some time in the fresh air, but I have 2 working legs and I love riding my bike on a bumpy, rocky, steep, windy trail. Those trails have been here years and so has the opportunity to drive 5 miles from any point in billings and be on one.  In fact, it drives me nuts when people say there is nothing to do here!  Learn to climb on the rims, there are classes offered through many organizations and companies in town(write me for options if you are interested).  Ride a bike, there are trails for beginners to people who want to through a couple 12 foot drops in there casual stroll. Walk, run, ski, snowboard, hunt, tennis, basketball, baseball, soccer, football, wall-ball, folf, kayak, fish, swim, horseshoes, rollerblade…spilunk(check out the bighorns and the pryors for caves), whatever, it’s all here and available to us.  And from the looks of things, it wouldn’t hurt most of us to go out and get our lungs working once-in-awhile.

So again, not sure why this went were it did, i guess that is what a blog is for, ranting more then anything, but I will sum it up like this:

If you live here appreciate what you have, and go remind yourself what we have by finding a new trail or taking your kids fishing, get your heart rate over 120bpm.  if you’ve never appreciated what we have, take a quick trip to Iraq and see what kind of recreation opportunities their environment offers.

If you are thinking  about moving here, prepare to be impressed, it doesn’t look like too much on the surface, but chances are if you like to do it, you can do it here…well except surf.

Check out :

http://www.bikenet.org/  or  http://www.ci.billings.mt.us/government/heritage.php  both of which have lots of info about our pretty stinking awesome bike path.

http://www.americanhiking.org/trails/trailfinder.html  find trails, climbing, camping, fishing etc.

http://fwp.mt.gov/default.html   Montana State parks, also info on hunting and fishing licences and laws

http://www.steepworld.com/servlet/StoreFront  climbing info, lessons, gear etc.

www.msubillings.edu and www.rocky.edu for classes the collages offer in all sorts of recreation from climbing to skiing.

Thanks.

Welcome to Jacque Lorang’s Blog! This blog will provide you with valuable information, tips, and general insight into the real estate market in Billings.