Cedar Rapids Real Estate Blog

The bill, H.R. 3221, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008, passed congress and was signed into law this week, giving first time home buyers up to a $7,500 tax credit incentive to purchase a home between April 9th, 2008 and July 1st, 2009. Law makers offered the incentive to jump start entry buyers, which can have a ripple effect ...

If you're a seasoned home seller like myself (I've sold four homes of my own, and am about to sell my fifth), you should have by proxy learned some hard lessons about what not do so in the sale of your home.  Most home sellers learn these by experience, and in this case, experience unfortunately means loss of money.  Home ...

Once a year, I like to blog about me.  This is the only time that this blog will be all about me, but I think it's important to know who you are working with, especially when it comes to one of the largest transactions you will ever undertake in your life.  If you want to cut to the chase and miss a great article, you can go to ...

Statistics always play a huge role in the real estate game, but now, they are huge!  Almost weekly, there is a report on the national news of the great decline in the housing market and how everything is collapsing because of sub prime lender tightening of the belt, higher interest rates, foreclosures looming in the near future, etc. Well, ...

One more resource for relocating to Cedar Rapids: www.zipcodestats.com   and www.zipcodefacts.com (2 domains, one great resource). This beta site offers desirable demographic information for buyers. You can search by city, area, state, and zipcode; or simply browse by state or zip code. If you select a state or zip code, information has ...

I will never forget the week I moved to Austin, Texas from my hometown of Cedar Rapids.  I felt so alone, and lost in a city that would later become like a second home to my family.  Being a former elementary school teacher, I am an information gatherer.  Any and all information about new and foreign places enables me and gives me ...

This will be a short blog to provide you with the facts about a wonderful company and Realtor that work hard to provide you with A+ service and satisfaction now, during the same, and for a lifetime, after the sale.  How many Realtors vow to keep in touch with you forever after the sale or purchase of your home?  Not many, I know.  ...

When I first got into this business, I spoke to an older agent and he gave me the best advice I could have ever received.  He said, "Christopher, you can do fifty thing good in this business all year long and survive.  Or, you can do two or three things great and have a great career."  I took the latter advice and chose to ...

Have you ever heard the phrase, timing is everything?  Well, I don't know if this necessarily applies in this situation or not;Mark let's see.  Traditionally, the real estate "season" really heats up in the springtime with families wanting to prepare, sell, and be moved into their new home by the time the new school ...

You've finally found the house of your dreams.  You know this because your wife almost pulls your arm out of its socket when you walked into the kitchen, and says, "This is the one."  You have run your credit through a preferred lender and have worked dilligently with the best Realtor in town, Christopher Smith of Skogman ...