Kewanee condos for sale – Page 9

Living Large In A Tiny Home.

Posted on February 25, 2015

The days of the ginormous McMansion are coming to an end. People are starting to downsize, understanding that less is more when owning a home. Have you thought about the option of a micro home? These miniature homes, trailers, and even converted shipping containers are growing in popularity nationwide. With this growing niche in real estate, perhaps it’s time to give micro housing some serious consideration. Ask your agent to search for homes with less square footage or find a small parcel of land to build your own micro home.

Take a look at just a few of the benefits of living in a tiny house.

Reduced Cost

A smaller home can mean lower building costs, insurance, taxes and utilities. If you decide to build, you may be able to afford the construction cost outright, eliminating the need for a home loan. As a homeowner, who wouldn’t want more disposable income!

Reduced Clutter

With a micro home comes the idea of a simpler life. Less space means less room for unnecessary clutter. You may find that all that “stuff” you thought you needed was simply just junk taking up space. In a micro home, a minimalistic lifestyle becomes a necessity. With less square footage, you are more likely to only keep necessities. And think of the time you’ll save cleaning a smaller house!

Green Living

Micro homes use far fewer resources than a traditional home. Micro homes use less land, fewer materials, and make a much smaller dent in natural resources traditionally utilized to keep a traditional home running.

Mel Foster Co. Receives Website Quality Certification

Posted on February 17, 2015

Mel Foster Co. has been awarded the Website Quality Certification (WQC) from Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^®, an international network of more than 500 premier real estate firms. Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^®(LeadingRE) presents the certification to member companies that demonstrate best practices in website design, technology and service.

Mel Foster Co’s website, www.melfosterco.com, earned the certification after achieving superior marks on a range of measurements, including usability and performance, design and content, interactivity, customer service and Internet lead management, search engine optimization and mobile. The website was evaluated by Virtual Results, LLC, a real estate internet and social marketing firm enlisted by LeadingRE to review the websites.

WQC is a program available only to firms affiliated with Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^® and is awarded based on criteria that is updated annually to reflect the latest in internet marketing strategies. To maintain the certification, companies are re-certified every two years.

“We are delighted to recognize the 117 companies that earned the WQC this year and applaud them for creating websites that attract and engage today’s consumers, providing useful information on homes and communities and supporting them with local expertise,” said Leading Real Estate Companies of the World^® President/CEO Pam O’Connor.

“We are thrilled to receive this designation again as we continually enhance our website to ensure users are getting the best possible experience and pertinent details from our site,” said Mel Foster Co. President of Brokerage, Lynsey Engels.

For more information about Mel Foster Co., please visit www.melfosterco.com.

Supporting Our Hunger

Posted on February 2, 2015

Mel Foster Co. is proud to participate again in the Student Hunger Drive Corporate Challenge. The competition kicks off today and runs thru February 27.

Each Mel Foster Co. office is conducting an internal food drive by collecting donations of money and/or canned food items for the Student Hunger Drive. For last year’s corporate challenge, Mel Foster Co. received the Bronze Award for Division B collecting 37.25 pounds per employee and their insurance division won the internal drive.

“Supporting those in need is what being a community partner is all about”, says Lynsey Engels, President of Brokerage Division of Mel Foster Co. She added, “Mel Foster Co. is proud to continue our tradition of supporting the Student Hunger Drive, and our agents and staff look forward to helping create awareness in the fight against hunger in our area.”

Top Three Tips For First Time Buyers.

Posted on January 31, 2015

Buying your first home is an exciting adventure. However, there’s a lot of your money on the line, so you’d better be prepared. Avoiding mistakes and getting guidance from seasoned professionals will ensure the process goes smoothly. Here are a few tips to help you make the most of your time and efforts when starting the home buying process.

Know What You Want and Do Your Research

This is one of the most important steps. What are your must-haves in your new home? What are you willing to compromise on? The more prepared you are before you start to look at properties, the easier it will be to pinpoint the perfect home. Also, with the power of the Internet, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips. Focus your search on the neighborhoods you are interested in and learn as much as you can about the surrounding area. Use the interactive search map to zoom in on neighbors and see what’s for sale.

Get Preapproved

Talking to the bank prior to getting a mortgage will give you a leg up when you start looking at homes. Your lender will be able to assess your finances and let you know how much house you can afford, and give you an idea of what percentage rates you might expect to receive on your loan. Making an offer with a bank’s preapproval may give you the upper hand if it’s a competitive offer situation.

Work with a REALTOR^®

Your agent can be your right hand man or woman when it comes time to start your search. Your agent can help you narrow down your options so you aren’t wasting your time with homes that don’t fit your needs. Their job is to help you find the home you want, and help you negotiate a fair asking price. Your agent can also help you navigate the paperwork, which can be overwhelming for first time buyers. Click here to find a Mel Foster Co. agent to start your home search.

MEL FOSTER CO. CELEBRATES SALES GROWTH

Posted on January 30, 2015

Mel Foster Co. held its annual awards reception last night at the Waterfront Convention Center in Bettendorf, Iowa. Rob Fick, President & CEO, Lynsey Engels, President Real Estate Brokerage and Marc Engels, President of Mel Foster Insurance, presented awards to 115 agents who were recognized for achieving membership in the company’s different sales club levels including Chairman, Executive, President and Honor. Top honors were awarded to:

Thad DenHartog – Commercial Top Sales

Diana Franks – Residential Illinois Top Sales

Brad Boeye – Residential Iowa Top Sales

Mike Smith – Insurance Top Producer

Dedicated agents and staff are the foundation for success at Mel Foster Co. Inc. Building on the momentum of a strong 2013, Mel Foster Co. Inc. had a solid 2014, including an exceptionally impressive year for Mel Foster Commercial Real Estate Services. Combining all three divisions of Mel Foster Co. Inc. (Residential Real Estate, Commercial Real Estate and Insurance), the total sales volume increased by over 4 percent from 2013 which is a record year.

Mel Foster Commercial Real Estate Services set a new company sales record with a 31 percent increase over last year’s record sales volume. Lynsey Engels reported that the brokers of the commercial division closed an average of over 10 million dollars per broker. She praised the commercial division and said, “This past year was phenomenal for our commercial division, the best total sales volume recorded in our history. Based on the year’s closed commercial transaction production, our commercial division ranked number one in the CMLS (Commercial Multiple Listing Service) for 2014 capturing over 43 percent of the total commercial sales volume. Many of these 2014 transactions will have a significant impact on the future growth and development of the Quad Cities and surrounding region and that is something we are very proud of.”

Mel Foster Co. residential real estate ranked number one in the Quad Cities MLS with over one third of the total sales volume for this region. The average 2014 sales price for Mel Foster Co. residential real estate was $152,885, an increase of 3 percent from last year.

New construction continued to be good for the Quad Cities housing industry. Last year, Mel Foster Co. residential real estate predicted new construction sales to be strong in 2014 and that forecast met this expectation. Lynsey Engels said, “We positioned ourselves to meet the new construction demand in our region by launching four new subdivisions in 2013 and we closed 43 new residential lots in those subdivisions.”

Mel Foster Insurance continues to build off of a record setting year. Marc Engels commented. “Any time you reach new levels, the big question is can you keep the momentum going. Our continued success can be attributed to our staff, producers, and the local clientele we work with each day.” In 2014, results continued to trend upward as direct written premiums grew 8 percent, policy count was up over 6 percent, and the agency added 791 new clients. With a range of product offerings from Personal and Commercial Property/Casualty to Employee Benefits, Mel Foster Insurance saw positive contributions from all departments this past year. Marc Engels also stated, “We continue to focus on innovative solutions, while remembering that most importantly, our clients want a customized, personal insurance experience. When you look back on the year, you realize that the accomplishments our division is most proud of don’t show up on the financials, but in our role as a community stewards.”

“In 2014, we welcomed 41 new agents and staff, and 12 individuals are enrolled in our upcoming pre-license classes. With job creation continuing to increase, mortgage rates falling, and healthy increases in home sales prices, the outlook for the housing market in 2015 looks bright,” commented Rob Fick. Optimistic about Mel Foster Co.’s future, Engels also mentioned the hiring of its Director of Business Development to continue the emphasis on recruiting and training new agents with exceptional education programs and tools. Engels added, “The agents are the true lifeblood of our company’s success so it is a key focus to ensure they have great technology and training opportunities to provide the consumers with the best experience.”

Search Listings From Your Warm Car.

Posted on December 29, 2014

Find homes with the Foster Finder — Mel Foster App

Searching for a home can be a real drag in the winter. It’s cold, snowy and just not fun. If you are looking to buy, you can use Mel Foster Co.’s free app, Foster Finder, to search with your smart phone without leaving your warm car. Your phone’s camera and GPS technology show all homes for sale around you. All you need to do is drive to the neighborhood where you to live. It goes without saying, you shouldn’t be the one driving while you’re using the cool app.

You can download the free app for either iPhone^® or Android^TM devices. Just go to your phone’s app store or find the links by clicking here. Install and launch the app. Click on Foster Finder at the bottom right of your screen and see all homes for sale, from every listing company, right on your screen.

The Foster Finder is a great mobile tool when you have a target neighborhood but aren’t sure what’s for sale. Just drive to your desired location and use the app to show you the listings. It’s cool and saves you a ton of time.

Want to be closer to your kid’s school? Head over there and use Foster Finder to uncover all of the listings. You can do the same from work or your favorite hang out or restaurant.

Using Foster Finder is the smart and easy way to search for homes in every season.

Put Out The Welcome Mat For Fall.

Posted on October 16, 2014

The number one tip for giving your home great curb appeal in the fall is to keep your lawn free of leaves. Buyers may drive right past your home if they feel like raking leaves would be too much work for them if they bought your home. Keep up with this chore to give your home a tidy and maintenance free look.

Cooler temperatures also mean it’s time to replace your tired annuals with colorful mums or kale. Clear out your planting beds of summer foliage and drop some blooms into your window box or porch planter. Remember that you still need to water these plants to keep them looking fresh.

If you have already moved out or can’t maintain plant watering, you can brighten your porch with a grouping of three large pumpkins. Want them to last even longer? Don’t carve your pumpkins for Halloween. You can keep an uncarved pumpkin on your porch through Thanksgiving and get two holidays out of one purchase!

Even though it’s Halloween time, real spider webs on your porch need to be cleared away regularly. No need to scare away buyers with frightful spider webs.

Need ideas for keeping your home open house ready for the holidays? Click here for simple tips.

Three Reasons to List Your House Today.

Posted on May 15, 2014

With the welcome change in the weather, now is the time to put your home on the market. As a potential seller, you may have several reservations keeping you from taking the plunge. There are a few very compelling reasons why you should consider selling your home this spring rather than waiting.

1. Now is the time for an upgrade

If you are considering an upgrade to a larger or more expensive home, now is the perfect time to make your move. Prices are forecasted to appreciate by 4% by the end of this year, and nearly double that by the end of 2015. If you wait, your move could end up costing you more. Making a move this spring is going to get you more home for your money.

2. Competition

Housing inventory always grows steadily starting in spring and through the summer. Homeowners are also starting to see a return to positive equity in their homes as prices rise. Over time that is only going to increase, meaning more homes will be coming to market. Putting your home up for sale this spring will give you a jump-start and help you stand out to early bird buyers.

3. Demand

Buyers know that more homes become available during the spring and summer months. Nobody likes to move in the winter and parents don’t like to disrupt their children’s school year. Buyers wanting to move this summer are looking for a new home now! Don’t miss out on a potential buyer by waiting too long to list your home. Strike while the iron is hot and reap the benefits of listing your home this spring when most buyers are on the house hunt.