Talkin' Real Estate in Wyoming

You Tube Fever!

Sarah Johnson — Thu, 30 May 2013 21:18:00 +0000

All of our listings are going on You Tube. Here is our newest listing here in Lovell! I hope you all enjoy a look at this beautiful custom home.

Everyday is Saturday….

Sarah Johnson — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:10:31 +0000

This is the day we have all been waiting for. The last day of school at Big Horn County School District #1. My kiddos just finished their 1st grade, 8th grade and Junior years! My 7-year-old announced this morning that now EVERYDAY is Saturday! It’s been a GREAT year I am so thankful that I get to raise my kids here. Each of my 3 kids have been influenced by some amazing teachers this past year. You know the type? Those teachers who LOVE to teach. They genuinely care about the individual kids and they advocate for them. They share their ideas with the parents and they TEACH their students more than curiculim….they teach them HOW to be successful. Some teachers give the kids enough support to keep them from being overwhelmed with discouragement but not so much support that the kids become unessasarily dependant. Why am I so thankful for the schools my kids are fortunate enough to attend…

Teachers who really care about individual kids and take the time to get to know them
Class sizes are small
There are activities for every kid
The school is small enough that they function almost like family
We can keep track of our kid’s grades, attendance etc. on line and can get automated email
Beautiful facilities
Classrooms with the latest technology

We hope to enjoy every moment of this summer….lots of Saturdays!

Happy summer to you and yours,

Good News from WCDA

Sarah Johnson — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 17:02:48 +0000

Hello…and Happy Monday to you!

WCDA sent a rate sheet over this morning so I thought I would hop on the blog for just a few minutes and give you an update. WCDA’s new conventional program is at 3% interest for a 30 year fixed rate mortgage. These loans require you to make a 3% down payment. There are several diffeent options available depending on how many years you plan to own the home. Some of the options include mortgage insurance and some don’t. The minimum FICO score is 660 so jump over and check your credit score and see where you are at. These are some wonderful programs that we are very fortunate to have here in Wyoming. There are loans specific to those who are buying forclosed properties as well as loans used to fix up houses that need a little TLC. Please contact us for more information.

Have a great week!

Sarah

What “Boomers” Really Want

Sarah Johnson — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 19:06:27 +0000

When I took a class on generational marketing and trends a few years ago at the National Association of REALTORS convention I was listing to an instructor teaching us about how the retirement of the Baby Boom generation was going to affect real estate. 8,000 Baby Boomers are turning 65….every day! Extensive surveys have been conducted on what Boomers are looking for as they approach their 60′s and beyond. It seems retiring with a gold watch and “resting” is not their plan. As I listened to the specifics of what this huge group of Americans are looking for I knew were they were describing Lovell and surrounding areas. Here are 10 of the things boomers are looking for… and I am thrilled to report…..Lovell Wyoming has them all.

High quality of Life
To get out of the “rat race.”
Near recreation including…boating, fishing, hunting, hiking, camping and snow sports
Affordable cost of living/low taxes. Wyoming has no state income tax and an overall low tax base
Medical facilities nearby
Part time job opportunities
Friendly/helpful neighbors
Mild weather
They want the” real thing” not the rhinestone cowboy version of the West
A Business friendly environment

Welcome to Lovell Boomers! We know you will love it here!

Sarah Johnson

More Signs of Spring

Lisa Marchant — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 20:38:06 +0000

Water Filling The Irrigation Canal photo taken by Scott Petrich

We have been having hints of Spring off and on here in Northwest Wyoming for quite a while. Baby calves in the fields, our yards are beginning to show green grass around the edges, there are buds on the trees. We have even had a few teaser days where the warm weather and sunshine has prompted me to drive with the windows down and take in that fresh air.

But, a true sign that Spring has sprung is water in the canal ditch! A friend of mine posted this picture on facebook last night and I just had to ask him if I could use it today for the blog. It’s a picture of the water easing down the canal ditch on its way to the area. Thanks Scott Petrich, you take some of the best pictures, I enjoy seeing them.

Soon we will be working in the yard and planting our gardens and many of my friends and family members will begin irrigating their fields and seeing their crops growing in the fields. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all those hard-working people who are farmers. Hope you have a bumper crop this year!

Lisa Marchant

8000 Baby Boomers….a DAY!

Sarah Johnson — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 22:43:54 +0000

Did you know that every single day 8000 baby boomers turn 65? It’s true! The trends of the boomers have always had a huge effect on the American economy. Almost from conception…. the Baby Boom generation changes the rules of the game. As a classic Gen Xer….I am fascinated by studying the generational impact on real estate. My parent’s generation paves the way and the rest of the world….well we adjust.

So…as the typical Boomer looks to retirement I have leaned that a large percentage of them are going to be down-sizing their homes. They still live in the family home they raised the kids in and now they want to travel. They want freedom from large yards that take the whole weekend to maintain. Boomers are planning to have very active retirements. They love recreation and they take their health and wellness very seriously. But let’s face it….everyone wants to stretch their retirements dollars as much as possible and still have the quality of life they have always dreamed of.

A few years ago…before the first Boomer turned 65…..I did some research on what this massive group of people are looking for in their retirement years. As I poured over the statistics and the surveys my blood pressure began to climb. I realized that what the Boomers wanted……was the Big Horn Basin of Wyoming! As I unpacked the Boomers “must haves” and their “would like tos” I realized that our little community nestled at the base of the Big Horn Mountians….fits like glove!

Check back soon for the top ten list of things Boomers love about this area.

Thanks all and HAVE A HAPPY EASTER!

Sarah

Spring

Sarah Johnson — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 15:26:23 +0000

I have known it was coming. But there are overcast days in the depths of the winter when your heart is not sure of what your mind knows is true. Will it ever get here? Everything is brown except what is covered by white and we wonder. There are no buds on this tree….maybe it’s not dormant…maybe it’s dead. The grass has turned green under my feet 39 times but there was a nagging feeling that the winter won the battle.

One day last week I stepped out onto the deck in the early morning and I was startled. I was going through the motions and then was suddenly jolted to my senses. Have you ever been shocked into a heightened state of awareness because of something you didn’t feel? I expected to feel cold, very cold and was tensing every muscle in an effort to quickly re-close the door…so the cold air would not get inside. Instead….I held still, relaxed with the door wide open and just felt it. It wasn’t warm air that I was feeling….it was the absence of cold. The bitterness in the air was gone.

It was in that moment that I realized Spring had arrived and it had caught me off guard. I wasn’t waiting for it, looking for it or expecting it. The rest of my early morning quiet time was spent drawing mental parallels between the seasons that tend to follow the calender and the seasons of our lives that tend to follow our choices. Would there be a fresh awaking in my relationships with people I love? An absence of bitterness? Yes….it’s spring. Could there be a new life breathed into my business? What about my health and fitness? If my goals for 2013 are looking a little brown….will they turn green again? When God allows a long, hard winter…..isn’t the Spring even more beautiful?

Happy First Day of Spring! I wish you all a glorious season.

Sarah Johnson,

Video of Northwest Wyoming

Lisa Marchant — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 22:33:39 +0000

You have to watch this short video of our area of Wyoming. It captures the beauty around us here in Northwest Wyoming. It was provided by the Wyoming Office of Tourism. It shows everything from the Pryor Mountain wild horses and the Devil’s Canyon Overlook to Yellowstone and everywhere in between. I thought they did a great job sharing what we are so proud call home.

Lisa Marchant

It’s Like Pulling Teeth, Part 2

Sarah Johnson — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:37:41 +0000

Now that I am officially out of pain and done being a total wisdom tooth wimp….I continue to ponder procrastination . It’s all about where you set the bar. Some people allow it to completely debilitate their lives and others are seeking to eliminate it completely. For me….reality is going to be some where in the middle. Where I am on the procrastination continuum today is not really the point. The point is that every day I continue to make an intentional choice to be aware of it and then BOOM…..make the call. BOOM….pay the bill…..BOOM…..make the appointment. If I rip three band-aids off in a row then I am mentally unstoppable for the rest of the day. It’s so energizing. While recognizing the urge to put things off was the focus of Part 1…. today I wanted to touch briefly on the alternative.

So you need to make a phone call and deliver a message to someone. You are concerned that the person is going to meet your message with resistance at best or hostility at worst. So you decide you need some time to think about how best to handle that conversation. WARNING! WARNING! Consider this a red flag. That sneaky thought that says…..”I should but…..” That voice in your head is lying…it will NOT be easier later. If you are not prepared to make the call… get prepared….right now. Get the file in front of you or the email open, dial and hit send. That is by far the worst part because here is the good news. 99 times out of 100 your message is not even met with resistance let alone hostility. Finding a resolution to the concern (if there is one) is usually easier than you thought it would be and worse case scenario is really that you’d have to agree to disagree with someone. Not so terrible after all. In the very rare instances that a customer, client, colleague is hostile, abusive and totally unreasonable….you just may have to decide if there is value in continuing the association with them. If not….this might be time for a middle school-type break up. It’s me….I’m not your type and it’s time to go our separate ways.

There is a very unpleasant side to procrastination when we let it win. If I had known my wisdom tooth extraction was going to put my life on hold for several days it would have been even more tempting to put it off. If I would have waited for a “good time” …. the cavity could have affected another tooth. It could have meant having two teeth to deal with rather than one. If I waited even longer no doubt I would have had a tooth ache and possibly complicated the procedure with a painful infection. You get the idea… things seem to go from a normal task to a red-hot emergency when procrastination is part of the equation. What should have been a routine extraction is now costly oral surgery requiring more time off work, a lot more pain etc. A phone call that needs to be made today will be urgent tomorrow and a blow up on Wednesday. Do yourself a favor and work each day toward eliminating the procrastination in your life.

Sarah

It’s like Pulling Teeth

Sarah Johnson — Wed, 09 Jan 2013 21:37:52 +0000

The first week of 2013 was not all I hoped it would be. I absolutely LOVE New Years, fresh starts, goals, resolutions….all of it.

Over a month ago I made a split decision about a wisdom tooth that needed to be pulled. It wasn’t hurting me but it needed to come out and I wanted to schedule the appointment in 2013 for insurance purposes. I am not typically a procrastinator but seriously…is there ever a good day to have a tooth pulled. Exactly! I knew the temptation to put it off would be a force to be reckoned with. I could justify a long list of reasons why I would not have time and that prompted me to spit out the words….”I’ll take the first opening you have after the 1st.” Long story short… the extraction was a bigger deal than I thought and I am VERY glad that it is over with.

So what does a goal-setter, resolution-maker, life-planner like me learn from having a tooth pulled on the first business day of a new year? I learned that I have not mastered procrastination in my life and I must be very intentional so that it does not sneak in the back door.

Every time I think of the dental procedure (which is often due to the PAIN!) I am energized by the fact that it is done. I have no unfinished dental business, nothing hanging over my head that I to try to keep ignoring or justifying. It’s true in my real estate business, the running of my household and every other area of life. I feel a surge of mental energy every time think about a completed task. In fact…the more unpleasant the task….the bigger the charge. Conversely …every time I think of that closet that needs cleaned out, that phone call that needs to be made, the lab work that needs to be done I feel a loss of mental clarity, a sense of feeling tired or foggy headed.

I got off to a rough start last week because there was a work day, then a Holiday, then a tooth pulling day etc. I was bummed because I didn’t get to turn over the proverbial new leaf. I decided that I wanted a do over! So I started my own personal new year on the first Monday of 2013.

Each morning this week I have planned my day by being brutally honest with myself as to which tasks or calls are going to be the most challanging and I do them first, scratch them off the list and enjoy the reward for the rest of the day.

Happy New Year to you all!

Sarah