Condominiums and townhomes can be a very alluring purchase for some with the apparent ease of living with little-to-no maintenance responsibilities. In many condo associations this can be the case, but in others, quite the opposite can be true. When shopping for a condo or other multiple-family development it will be very important to do your research and find out just what the rules and responsibilities are at that particular condo. Hiring a real estate professional should be your first step; keep in mind that a buyer will normally not pay any commission to a real estate licensee, so this will be absolutely to your advantage. A real estate pro will be able to pull up condo association rules and covenants outlining how owners shall care for their

So you have made the big decision to buy a home, but are you sure what exactly you want to buy? There are advantages and disadvantages to owning a condominium/townhome versus a single family home, it all depends on your situation and needs in a home.

The Run-Down: Condos

Condominiums and townhomes are attached units with shared walls and common areas. Some developments may have duplex-style condos where you will have just one shared wall between you and one neighbor, where others can have as many as 4, 8, even 12+ units where you will share 2 or more walls with 2 or more neighbors, depending on the layout.  An advantage to shared buildings such as these are you may have lower heating and cooling costs compared to single-family residences, and

5 Tips to Buy Real Estate Right

Buying a home can be a delicate process, but if done right it will be highly rewarding in the end. Purchasing a home will likely be the largest investment one will make in their lifetime, so here are some tips to make sure you get the best deal possible:

1.       Tidy up your Credit Score

Finding out your credit score before applying for a home loan will give you the chance to improve wherever needed, getting you a better interest rate and making sure you are even eligible for financing. There are numerous free sites online that you can get a report from, or pick out a good home loan company and lender and they will be able to pull your report for you, usually for free. A good lender will be able to

Wishing you all a very happy and prosperous new year.  

In 2011 the Alaska Real Estate Experts team finished number 8 in the State of Alaska for overall sales volume. In 2012 our team goal is to move up to the number one spot.  We would love to assist any of you with buying or selling real estate and if you have any questions we can help with please do not hesitate to ask.

Happy New Years!!

Alright, so you have made the decision to sell your home. No matter your reasoning, there are some important steps to take to not only list your home for sale, but make sure it sells!

Aggressive Pricing: First and foremost, your home’s price will make or break a happy home sale. Make sure you are working with an experienced Realtor who knows the market and is able to not only research and present a competitive, comparative market analysis, but is also able to explain to you how your home’s price compares to other homes on the market and is in that perfect range where it will meet your needs as the seller, and is still aggressive enough to stand out among the rest as the hottest deal around.

Pack up, De-Clutter and CLEAN: It’s a fact, clean

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to let you all know that the Alaska Real Estate Experts team and John Hagmeier Homes will be hosting an event Saturday December 3rd, 2011 with Santa Clause.  During our event you can tour new Hagmeier Homes, enjoy free coffee, lattes, mochas or hot chocolate and get your child's photo taken with Santa just in time for the Holidays!! 

Photos will be offerred from 1-4pm and the directions are as follows:

5619 Kenai Fjords Loop - Directions: W on Raspberry, S on Sand Lake Rd, W on Kincaid, S on West Park Dr, to Kenai Fjords Loop, watch for sign.

Hope To See You There!!

This information comes from the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation, or AEDC, and it's my pleasure to share it with you.

Anchorage Likely To See 1,100 New Jobs
AEDC released its 2011 Anchorage Economic Forecast on January 26 to a large crowd at the 2011 Anchorage Economic Forecast Luncheon.  AEDC forecasts employment in Anchorage will increase to approximately 1,000 new jobs. "The main upside risk to the forecast is that the recovery will accelerate and pent-up demand in everything from Alaska travel to local housing will produce stronger than fore-casted growth…” 

Key Economic Forecasts:

• Anchorage’s population level will surpass 300,000 in 2011.
• Health care, retail, construction and transportation will continue to grow.
• When

Anchorage Real Estate Property Showing!

Jeff Davis of the Ryan Tollefsen Real Estate Experts Team recently went out on a property showing. When he arrived this is what he found in the back yard of a residential home in the heart of Anchorage, Alaska. It was quite a spectacle and worth sharing. Luckily, he had his video camera available. You never know what you will find when looking in the Anchorage real estate market.

I hope you enjoy this video as much as we did here in our office.

I just wanted to let everyone know about an exciting new iPhone App we have just created to help you search for homes in Alaska.  It uses Google mapping and the GPS in your iPhone.  It can map all of the active properties for you and you can see where you are at in relation to them when driving around.  We are very excited about this and would like to share it with all of our past web site visitors.  To view and or download this app please visit the link below.

DOWNLOAD THE APP:
http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/alaska-real-estate-finder/id355211210?mt=8

Thank you again and we hope you find this to be a helpful tool when searching for your housing needs.

Screen Shots:

Looking To Take Your Search Mobile - Check out our new GPS Mapping iPhone App!
Here is