Taunya Fagan Bozeman Real Estate Blog: Bozeman Montana Real Estate Listings

The world's newest ski, The Anton Glider, will be making its debut this year...first in Bozeman...around North America...and maybe even the world! Assembled in Bozeman, MT by Summit Corporate Services, the parabolic ski mounted with what, at first glance, looks like a compound bow minus its sight, is the brainchild of Anton Wilson, CEO of Anton Dynamics, Inc.

Built from the assembly of more than 12 pieces of ski equipment from near and far, the $3,390 apparatus probably won't be ubiquitous until prices drop, but Wilson believes he's "invented what the shaped ski should have been."

Wilson's is a ski that strives to assist a skier to constantly position weight on the tips of the skis, the physics involved in most easily initiating turns; center of gravity should be less of an issue with these skis. "It's the right device for groomed snow," Wilson says.

The Anton website states, "The Anton Gliders are NOT designed to float in powder, and should not be considered for off-piste, back-country, or spring slush."

Groomed skiing may never be the same. What better place to try out this revolutionary ski, the Anton Glider, than the snowy slopes of southwest Montana's mountains?

See The Anton Glider in Action        Anton Glider Facts  

Montana Skiing - Big Sky Resort - Bridger Bowl - Moonlight Basin 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                               For more information contact:
Date September 2008                                                   Taunya Fagan, Prudential Montana Real Estate 
                                                                                  406.556.7744, taunya.fagan@prumt.com
                                                                                                                    

Prudential Real Estate Ranked Highest for Seller Satisfaction in J.D. Power and Associates' 2008 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM, Prudential (DBA) Announces

(BOZEMAN, MONTANA) - Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc., a Prudential Financial, Inc. [NYSE: PRU] company, and Prudential (DBA) announced that Prudential Real Estate ranks "Highest Satisfaction for Home Sellers Among National Full Service Real Estate Firms" in J.D. Power and Associates' 2008 Home Buyer/Seller StudySM.

The inaugural study measures customer satisfaction of home buyers and sellers with major national real estate companies. Overall satisfaction is determined by examining four factors for the home selling experience: agent (43%); marketing (38%); office (12%); and services (7%).

Among home sellers, Prudential Real Estate achieved a score of 793 on a 1,000-point scale - and Prudential Real Estate received particularly high ratings from customers in the marketing and office factors.

"We are very proud of this distinction, as it underscores the quality of our affiliates and their hard-working sales professionals, said Laurie Keenan, president of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates, Inc. "Our sales professionals are local experts, and sellers appreciate their ability to market and price homes right -- along with providing exceptional, attentive service."

The team at Prudential (DBA) works hard to not only meet, but exceed the expectations of its clients - sellers and buyers, explained (Name), broker/owner, Prudential (DBA). "In the current challenging market, our clients want all the expertise and market knowledge we can offer - and by leveraging Prudential's brand strength, its wide array of product and service offerings and its strong Internet marketing programs, we can provide sellers with the increased exposure they need."

The J.D. Power and Associates study finds that despite the popularity of home buying and selling resources on the Internet, the real estate sales professional remains key to customer satisfaction with real estate companies. A large proportion of both home buyers and sellers rely on the Internet to facilitate the buying or selling process, with 68 percent of buyers saying that they used Internet tools to help them in the purchase process and 61 percent of sellers reporting that they used a website listing to market their home. In addition, among sellers, online methods are the most important aspect of marketing.

However, the sales professional carries the greatest importance among the factors that comprise overall satisfaction among both home buyers and sellers.

According to J.D. Power and Associates, although the Internet provides home buyers and sellers with the ability to perform some essential tasks - such as listing a home for sale or researching a neighborhood in which to purchase a home - it still does not replace the importance of a good sales professional.

Particularly in an uncertain real estate market, professional advice from sales professionals can be especially valuable to buyers and sellers. The knowledge and expertise provided by experienced sales professionals is an important benefit of using a full-service real estate company.

The study also finds that the average time a respondent's home remained on the market was slightly more than six months, although home sellers represented by the top-ranking real estate companies report that their homes were on the market for slightly less time - approximately five and a half months, on average.
Satisfaction averages 794 among those customers whose homes sold within five months or less, but declines considerably to an average of 730 among customers whose homes took seven months or longer to sell, the study showed. A real estate company that provides sales professionals who are skilled at determining the appropriate market value and listing price for homes, and who can effectively market properties, can help minimize the time that clients' homes remain on the market - which can save the seller money, inconvenience and anxiety.

Nearly one-half of respondents in the study (46%) reported using recommendations from family or friends to find their real estate sales professional. Approximately 28 percent used the Internet, 23 percent used a sales professional they had used previously and 11 percent used a printed real estate guide.

The study also reports that home buyers were shown an average of 13 homes before they made a purchase. Home sellers reported that, on average, their home was shown 11 times, and about five open houses were conducted before a sale occurred.

The 2008 Home Buyer/Seller Study includes 3,670 evaluations from 3,205 respondents who bought or sold a home between April 2007 and June 2008.

Headquartered in Westlake Village, Calif., J.D. Power and Associates is a global marketing information services company operating in key business sectors including market research, forecasting, performance improvement, training and customer satisfaction. The company's quality and satisfaction measurements are based on responses from millions of consumers annually. For more information on cell phone ratings, car reviews and ratings, car insurance, health insurance and more, visit JDPower.com. J.D. Power and Associates is a business unit of The McGraw-Hill Companies.

Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc. is Prudential's integrated real estate brokerage franchise and relocation services business. Prudential Real Estate franchises are independently owned and operated. Companies are selected based upon outstanding performance records, high levels of customer service and shared business values with those of Prudential. Prudential Real Estate provides franchises with business strategies using Operation Reviews as well as numerous benefits, including access to Prudential Real Estate's Online Seller AdvantageSM program designed to provide real-time information to sellers with the touch of a keystroke. Prudential Real Estate is one of the largest real estate brokerage franchise networks in North America, with nearly 2,100 franchise offices and approximately 64,000 sales professionals in the franchise Network as of June 30, 2008.

Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE: PRU), a financial services leader with approximately $638 billion of assets under management as of June 30, 2008, has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Leveraging its heritage of life insurance and asset management expertise, Prudential is focused on helping approximately 50 million individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth. The company's well-known Rock symbol is an icon of strength, stability, expertise and innovation that has stood the test of time. Prudential's businesses offer a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, investment management, and real estate services. For more information, please visit http://www.news.prudential.com/.

giving you the advantage...®

Taunya Fagan Prudential Montana Real Estate Agent Bozeman MT

Bozeman Real Estate Blog 

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) reports in the period May 2007 to May 2008:

• Between 150,000 and 190,000 homes were sold to foreign nationals.
• Typical international buyers bought a single-family vacation home for $297,400.
• Forty percent paid with cash. Concomitantly, only 7 percent of Americans paid with cash.
• The typical international home owner visited the purchased U.S. property for 2.6 months each year.
• Recent foreign buyers bought real estate in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• The most popular states to buy in were Florida, California, and Texas, with Arizona, New York, Washington, and Nevada the next most popular.
• International buyers generally buy more expensive properties than their U.S. counterparts.
• International buyers on average purchase real estate that is 36% more expensive than the U.S. buyer purchases.
• More than 14% of properties international buyers bought were above $750,000.
• The top five countries for foreign home buyers, were Canada, the United Kingdom, Mexico, China, and India.

giving you the advantage...®

Taunya Fagan Luxury Montana Homes for International Buyers    

Taunya Fagan Luxury Montana Real Estate for International Buyers 

Second Annual Cardboard Box City
Press Release For Immediate Release: September 8, 2008
Contact: Gloria Edwards at 406-582-7388  or  gedwards@familypromisegv.org

BOZEMAN, MONTANA TO HOLD SECOND ANNUAL CARDBOARD BOX CITY

 To help homeless families here in Bozeman and surrounding areas, Family Promise of Gallatin Valley is hosting the Second Annual Cardboard Box City on Friday, October 3rd. This event is designed to raise awareness of the plight of our local homeless families and to raise funds to help Family Promise continue to help families get back on their feet.

All are invited to participate! Sign Up Here, NOW! Participants collect pledges of a $100 minimum per box. Participants supply their own boxes - they are easy to attain from appliance stores - and decorate them however they like. Set-up is from 5 - 7 p.m. at Bogert Park followed by free pizza for all registered participants. There will be a Parade of Boxes open to the public from 7 - 8 p.m. and prizes will be given for most creative design, most money raised per individual and group, oldest and youngest participant, etc.

Diamond will provide live rock and soul music from 8 - 10 p.m. Bring your instruments and jam with the professionals! Also, the evening will include personal stories from 2 formerly homeless guests of Family Promise. Come and learn more about homelessness and how everyone can help make a difference.
A light breakfast will be served from 6 - 8 a.m. and the event will conclude at 8 a.m. on Saturday.
 
Family Promise of Gallatin Valley is a non-profit network of diverse faith organizations working together to end homelessness one family at a time. To date 115 people, including 64 children, have been assisted.

Call 582-7388 for more information or go online to Family Promise of Gallatin Valley Montana.

Related stories: Cardboard Box City 2007

Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Guest Editorial, Sunday, September 7, 2008.

By Gloria Edwards, Executive Director of Family Promise of Gallatin Valley - Offering Shelter and Opportunities to Homeless Families

It can happen to anyone - and it does.  At work in Bozeman as usual one Tuesday morning, Mary received a phone call that her oldest child was sick and she needed to pick him up from school. Jesse had strep throat again and she had no other option but to leave work and take care of him. There were no benefits at her job and she didn't qualify for Medicaid because she made too much money. Mary stopped and picked up little Madison from day care. What would she do? Jesse got sick a lot. She had no family - her mom died a few years ago and she never knew her dad. The children's father owed tons in child support and no one knew where he was. Mary worked 40 hours a week, but it wasn't enough. Seems she just fell through the cracks: working, and making too much for public assistance, but not making enough to pay all the bills. Later that day she received the dreaded phone call from work: sorry, we have to let you go, you've missed too much time again this month.  And less than two weeks after that, unable to stretch her savings any further and with no luck finding a new job, Mary was forced out of her apartment.  She soon found herself wondering if her children Jesse, 7, and Madison, 2, would be safe spending the night in their car.  It was cold out - would Jesse get sick again? After two nights in the car and a referral from the food bank, the family finally found the help they needed at Family Promise of Gallatin Valley.

Now two and a half years old, Family Promise of Gallatin Valley operates a network of 21 area churches that provide emergency shelter and meals to families with children.  Volunteers from Bozeman, Belgrade and Three Forks offer time and support, while the Family Promise staff links families to the local services and programs that will help them find the housing, jobs, and child care to allow them to rebuild their lives.  For Mary, that help came in the form of a volunteer from Hope Lutheran Church who knew of a job opening with benefits, Child Care Connections who helped Mary apply for a child care scholarship for Madison, the Community Clinic who let Mary make payments, the Family Promise case manager who taught her how to budget and re-create a savings plan, Big Brothers Big Sisters who found a male mentor for Jesse, and all the love and support of volunteers who helped Jesse with his homework and read stories to Madison. All 30 other homeless families (64 children and 51 adults) have found that same assistance and most have gone forward to become self-sufficient contributing members of our community.

It is a model that has been replicated across the country, through the 127 Affiliates of Family Promise, a 20-year-old national organization dedicated to helping homeless and low-income families achieve lasting independence.  Like other Affiliates, Family Promise of Gallatin Valley uses existing community resources to connect families, like Mary's, with the assistance they need.  And this "work smart" approach empowers families at a fraction of the cost of traditional emergency housing programs. Family Promise holds people accountable: all adults are required to work, put their money into savings, meet their children's needs and struggle daily to make a better life for their family. The approach is "a hand-up, not a hand-out". Most importantly, it works. 95% of those who complete the 60 - 90 day program have found permanent housing and employment.

Families with children are the largest and fastest-growing segment of the homeless population, and stories like Mary's, unfortunately, are becoming more common, even right here in Bozeman.  Pushed to the limit by rising gas and food prices, one unplanned medical emergency, or a sudden job loss, more and more families are struggling to make ends meet and finding themselves thrown into a crisis that few of us can even imagine.  It is a harsh reality that many of our own neighbors are facing.

But another reality is that a community coming together really can make a difference, and Family Promise gives us the opportunity to do that.  It's as simple as cooking a meal, making a bed, or playing with a child for a few hours one evening - just reaching out to our neighbors.  And for a family in need, those simple acts can mean the world.

Join us at the Second Annual Cardboard Box City on October 3^rd or call to find out about our next free volunteer training session to be held September 22^nd from 6 - 9 p.m.

For more information about how you can make a difference, please contact Family Promise of Gallatin Valley at 582-7388 or at www.familypromisegv.org

Gloria Edwards, Executive Director
Family Promise of Gallatin Valley
209 S. Tracy
Bozeman, MT 59715

September 2, 2008 - Edra Blixseth, who recently won control of Big Sky, Montana's Yellowstone Club, and Sam Byrne, another major owner, have hired the Arizona-based Discovery Land Company. led by Michael Meldman, to manage the private golf and ski club in an effort to build infrastructure and improve amenities; finish construction projects postponed or delayed; and begin land planning and development projects, adding 450 residential, condo, and townhome residences in the coming months.

Included in these endeavors are a Family Village adjacent to the Warren Miller Lodge, additional ski facilities on Eglise Mountain, completing the previously planned golf clubhouse, building a luxury spa, finishing the ice rink planned above the parking structure adjacent to the Warren Miller Lodge, creating a baseball field, and improving programs such as fly fishing, camping, and wakeboarding.

Acording to Edra Blixseth:

Today marks a historic milestone for Yellowstone Club as we embark on the next phase of Club enhancements and infrastructure development that will fulfill The Yellowstone Club's original vision and provide our members, their families and guest with and unmatched Montana outdoor lifestyle.

I am delighted to be working with Michael Meldman and Discovery, which I know shares our vision and has the experience and creativity to enhance the mountain living and recreation lifestyle and amenities for our members and their families. This venture will help secure our position as the world’s most exclusive skiing, golf and outdoor recreation community.

Sam Byrne, of CrossHarbor Capital Partners, stated:

We are extremely pleased to have a partner like Discovery Land Company bring its world-renown[d] expertise in developing premier living and lifestyle communities. This is great news for current and future club members and their families and we look forward to a long and mutually beneficial partnership with Michael and his management team...

giving you the advantage...®

Taunya Fagan Bozeman Homes - Bozeman Relocation Services

Bozeman Real Estate Blog     Bozeman Real Estate Report