In 2008, only 3% of REALTORS(R) received a share of their company's profits. In 2008, 73% of Keller Williams associates with at least one person in their download received profit share. Keller Williams profit share has helped agents get through some of the tough times in this economy. For agents that might not make a single sale a month, the extra money they received from profit share has helped them pay their bills and support their family. It has also helped agents with medical conditions while they are unable to work. They are still receiving passive income from profit share which has helped pay medical bills, house bills, and lessen their financial burden. Keller Williams Profit Share is WILLABLE!! So you can will it to your spouse or children and it will continue as long as there a... 06/01/2009

Don't have the internet on your phone to find a business or phone number?  or maybe you do, but you don't use it, so you dial 411 and get charged a fee? Well, google has come up with yet another great invention - google 411!  Well, it's technically goog411. This is a great new service from Google, and it's FREE!! Don't waste money on calls to 411.  If you are driving down the road and want the number to reserve a tee time at Golf Course ABC, then dial the number (recommend putting it in your address book) 1-800-goog411 or 1-800-466-4411.  The voice on the other end says "City & State".  You say "Peoria IL" (or wherever). He says "Business, Name or Type of Service." You say "Golf Course ABC". He says "Connecting" and Golf Course ABC answers the phone.  How cool is this!!?!?!?! It is nati... 05/12/2009

A good friend once told me there are two types of investors. Those that trust what people are telling them and make decisions off their knowledge and advice, and those that learn about what they are investing in and do the research themselves. I have found that while most people start out as the first type of investor. The serious investors usually are a mix of the two types. They have trusted advisors, yet they also do some of their own research. So I thought I would post some interesting information for you to view. The Housing Supply Outlook from PAAR. It shows you the housing supply within the given value ranges and by housing type. One thing to know when you are viewing the outlook data is that a market is considered to be balanced between buyers and sellers (aka not a buyers marke... 04/23/2009

It has been a frustrating time for home owners. There is no doubt about it. I have listened to a lot of home owners who purchased their home with an arm loan thinking they would refinance in a couple of years and leverage some of the equity that was built up over that time period. However, with the foreclosures in their neighborhood or lower comparable sales prices, they have been unable to refinance. The sad part is that the banks would not even talk to them because they were not behind on their payments. Well there are two new programs that I just heard about that I want to share with you. I want to through out the disclaimer that I have not heard of anyone who has leveraged this program yet. So I would appreciate the feedback if you have. Home Affordable Refinancing It is stated this... 04/17/2009

Good or bad, has anyone noticed how much press Peoria, Ill is getting lately?  President Obama was in Peoria to make a speech at a Caterpillar facility.  CAT has been in the National News recently with their worldwide layoffs.  Jim Owens, CEO of CAT, has been on National TV. Our recently retired Congressman, Ray LaHood, was appointed to the Obama Cabinet as Secretary of Transportation.  Rep. Aaron Schock was elected to replace him.  President Bush was in Peoria prior to the election to raise money for Aaron Schock.  Rep. Schock continues to make news, he was named by the Huffington Post as the new "Hottie Freshman" in Congress.  Maybe it was newsworthy because the media presumes the hotties come from traditionally "cool" areas, like Southern California, not Peoria, Ill? We also had the ... 04/03/2009

03/13/2009

You might be saying to yourself that you own your home and that you do not need to worry about the housing market because you have a 30 year fixed mortgage, stable jobs, can afford the payments, and are not looking to move any time soon.   Well...there is more to it.    There are 4 keys to an economic receovery.  First, we have to stabilize home prices.  This is why the government is focusing a lot of their efforts on the housing situation.  This is the base of the pyramid of recovery.  As most people know within a pyramid, the base level is your foundation.  If you do not have your foundation stable, the layers on top of it are even more unstable, which is what we are seeing currently.    Second, we have to stabilize the banking system.  Think of this as the next layer up in the pyrami... 03/06/2009

In reading an article from Trafic Court I realize there is an opportunity that many are not taking advantage of in this market.  Some of the "big box" retailers in our market have closed down their location and how there is a big empty space to fill and given the current condition of the market, most of them are still empty.  We as real estate professionals are asking ourselves how can we fill those spaces?  who would fit best in that location?  Well... What Julia Christensen found in a recent research assignment was that many big box spaces especially the old Wal-Marts and Kmarts have been put to a new use and often times by a nonprofit organization, church group, or community group.  These groups want lots of space and for a low price with good exposure or access. So these spaces are ... 02/04/2009

If you are a buyer...this Sunday is an excellent opportunity to check out open houses (in the midwest).  The weather is going to be GREAT!  It is suppose to get up into the mid to high 50s. It's a heat wave! :)  Also, there are new LOWER prices on homes.  Everyone is getting ready for spring to hit and homeowners want to be in their new home by that time. So there are some amazing deals to be had out there!  If you are a realtor...this Sunday is a great time for an open house. The weather is going to be amazing - almost a heat wave for the midwest. :)  Also, 48% of all buyers atten open houses!  Most of these buyers do not have an agent representing them at this time as well. So there is a great opportunity to pick up some Buyer Clients.  If you are looking to host an open house for ano... 02/03/2009

The Illinois Associate of Realtor's Advocacy Program has created an informational guide for REALTORS who are also landlords or involved with the management and/or leasing of residential rental properties. To get your free copy go to www.illinoisrealtor.org or download a copy from www.IARActionCenter.org. 01/31/2009

With the recent inauguration of a new president, there has been a powerful energy in the air for awhile.  I have had many conversations with friends and coworkers as to whether they feel they are motivated to do something, such as motivated to make themselves better, make their work or home environment better, etc. or they motivated to see what is going to happen? I hope that people are being "self motivated" by the new president and that he is empowering people to make themselves better, to challenge ourselves to do better, to make more with less, etc.  I really hope people take this energy and motivation and use it to raise themself up.  I really hope people are not motivated to see what is going to happen....why?  because we all know with government change happens slowly. So there is... 01/22/2009

If you follow my blog, you know that I focus solely on commercial real estate.  Lately I have had a lot of small businesses interested in purchasing their own space, which is great!  They have worked hard, saved and are now ready to take advantage of the current market conditions - low interest rate and great supply! I love to work with these individuals because they take pride in what they do, as do I. So when we find the perfect space for their business it is such a satisfaction to see their business thrive. However, I also have some clients who are looking but they are "waiting to see what the market is going to do"....do you have those clients or are you one of those individuals?  I am sure a lot of real estate agents are getting that answer.  So what is your/their normal response t... 01/22/2009

According to Swanepoel TRENDS Report, Keller Williams is ranked #3 in Top 10 Trendsetters for 2008. Below is the post from Stefan Swanepoel: TOP 10 TRENDSETTERS FOR 2008 As part of the annual Swanepoel TRENDS Report we also every year include a look back at the year that just passed and list the Top 10 Newsmakers, Top 10 Events and Top 10 Trendsetters for 2008.  This week I am discussing the Trendsetters. Trendsetters are defined as those companies that during 2008 set forth actions that were different and memorable and could potentially have a far reaching impact on the real estate industry in the years to come. The Top 10 Trendsetters in Real Estate for 2008 are: 1. Brookfield Real Estate Services The acquisition of a Top 10 national franchise happens but once or twice a decade.  So w... 01/17/2009

Brimfield Bank is hosting Nicole Frederick with the City of Peoria Grant Fund on Wednesday, January 21st.  Nicole Frederick will present the Program Eligibility & Guidelines for the City of Peoria Grant Programs. The presentation will be at the Cornerstone Office. Please try to attend because these programs could help your clients with down payment assistance. Brimfield Bank is providing lunch which will begin at 11:30am.    Please RSVP to me by Friday, January 16th. 01/16/2009

In an article from National Real Estate Investor, a Chicago-based firm points to four key investment opportunity plays this year:   · REIT shares trading at a massive discount; · units in limited partnership funds trading at steep discounts; · non-performing loans or pools of partially performing loans; • defaulted land deals or development deals in need of recapitalization, but priced such that investors get incomplete improvements at close to zero cost.   Read the entire article at: http://nreionline.com/finance/news/opportunities_institutional_investors_0112     01/15/2009

This is on my wish list. :)  It's priced at $40,000...so I am starting to save up. 01/15/2009

On Monday, the Peoria Journal Star announced that Cub Foods was leaving their location on Knoxville.  This caused quite the conversation around town, especially since in today's paper the developer was on record stating that they found out about the move from the newspaper on Monday. From my understanding and what others have told me, the city approved the development of the MidTown shopping center with Cub Foods being the anchor because they thought it would stabilize the area.  The MidTown shopping center also has a handful of little stores/shops.  In order to do this development, there were some homes that had to be purchased and judging from the editorials it does not seem like the homeowners received a fair price or did they want to move.  So there was a lot of negative feelings fr... 01/14/2009

I was shocked our city was considering this type of program.  I think it is a great idea and a great way for individuals to work off their debts. It gives them an option to take responsibility for their debt.  I was sad to hear that most of the programs that they are considering are for seniors. I know there are a lot of younger couples that have trouble with paying their taxes as well. If the city could leverage individuals for reception positions, garbage pick-up, creating/updating their website instead of paying thousands of dollars, marketing, calling individuals to obtain information... the list goes on. I personally do not have first hand knowledge of the city nor the county's needs. I believe there is a lot of work that could be done to pay off individual's debt and reduce the ci... 01/14/2009

I was a little confused about this one. The energy credit for a new heater, new insulation, etc. was available in 2007, not available in 2008, and is going to be available in 2009....? So:    2007 - available   2008 - NOT available   2009 - available 01/13/2009

Got Income Producing Property? With all the talk about the first time homebuyer tax credit, there is little talk about the adjustments that they are talking about for income producing property.If you use a property for income and then move into it and live there for 2 years and then sell it. You will not be eligible for the gain amount. It will be a fraction with the # of years you own the property and the # of years you have it as an investment.Please check with your tax consultant to confirm how this pertains to your financial situation.  This information is subject to change due to the government's constant attention to tax laws and credits. 01/13/2009