Darcy and I are taking the day off, now that everyone is showered and getting moving.  It is our wedding anniversary and we are planning to just spend the day together, away from Real Estate.  It helps that we are in California with family.  Tonight we are planning on going to dinner, Darcy is surprizing me, so I can't say where, because I don't know. To those that braved or are braving Black Friday, Good Luck!  I hope that everyone enjoyed a Happy Thanksgiving!  Anyway this is enough time for today on Active Rain.  Have a Great Weekend! 11/28/2008

Yesterday, Darcy and I decided to look around at the houses for sale in Victorville, California.  We looked online prior to setting out.  I can say that I wish that I had money to invest!  There were some incredible bargains!  Not all of the houses that we looked out were REO's either, some still are owner occupied.  It was eye opening, having my inlaws living here, we have an idea what the high point was price wise.  To see some of these nice newer homes priced where they are now, makes me realize how lucky we have been so far. There were so many that looked like great deals, we compared it to a liquidation sale on a store that was going out of business sale.  I feel for the people that have lost their homes.  I just really wanted to say, eventhough this isn't our market, nor even our ... 11/27/2008

PLEASE JOIN ME IN TAKING TIME FROM THE WORLD TO EXPRESS THANKS FOR OUR MANY BLESSINGS IN THIS LIFE!  HAPPY THANKSGIVING. Janet Naisbitt-Bagley, REALTOR, www.homesincedarcity.com.  Please call 435-865-1019, 435-559-7772, 800-934-3742 for all your real estate needs whether buy or selling. Email:   naisbitt@inxsnet.com 11/26/2008

California, here we are!  We drove most of the night, and made it safely to Darcy's parents house.  It is always a good thing to spend time with family.  I comes down to priorities.  Making money is always a priority, especially with the market being what it is.  There just are some things that are more important. It was a good uneventful drive at least after we got through Las Vegas.  I just don't understand narrowing Interstate 15 south bound to 1 lane for construction, especially on a week like Thanksgiving which is typically the busiest travel week of the year.  I hope that it was so that they could get it open for today's traffic!  Anyway, I am not really complaining, just wondering. I really enjoy spending time with family, and realizing why we do what we do!  Again have a safe Th... 11/26/2008

I was speaking to a student from SUU who is taking some business classes.  He was telling me that his teacher said that most people are waiting for the bottom to start buying which is unrealistic because it is impossible to predict the actual bottom or top of the real estate market.  He said he believes the time to invest is now to make sure you catch the rise which surely will come.  I agree.  Interest rates, sales prices and huge inventory are all at a point to benefit the buyer right now which I would think would be rare in the history of real estate.  Please call Janet's team at 435-865-1019 to begin your search or go to www.homesincedarcity.com.  We can help with every home or property no matter which office has the listing. 11/25/2008

 I am very disappointed by the changing seasons!  The Fall season is changing to Winter and the feeling of moods start to change with the seasons. Plants are starting to die and go dormant preparing themselves for the cold.  As I was hiking alone the Virgin river over by Cedar City Utah, it was very difficult for me to capture the beautiful photographs I usually capture.  In the photo above, you can still see some green on the stems of these flowers, but the flowers are dead.  In the photograph below of this waterfall, everything around the water was dead.  This photograph below has ice hanging from the rocks and makes for an alright pic, but for me the feeling is different.  And finally the last photograph at the bottom turned out nice.  I shot around 80 photographs and there were not... 11/23/2008

Everywhere I go people want to know, "How's the market," so I tell them:  People are buying homes in Cedar City, UT; and Janet Naisbitt-Bagley's office at ERA Realty Center is selling homes.  According to a local appraiser, we have a steady market which is great!  It is a buyer's market with more homes & land on the market than we have buyers, but we do have good buyers!  Supply and demand is in the favor of the buyer right now; however, if you sell and buy in the same market, it evens the playing field for the seller.  Prices and interest rates are affordable, and there is a huge selection of homes from which to choose.  We do have available mortgage money with flexible loans.  All in all, I would say it's an excellent time to buy and/or sell real estate in Cedar City, UT.  That's our ... 11/22/2008

  HOMES ARE ASSETS THAT ARE ACTUALLY USED THAT OVER TIME GROW IN MARKET VALUE.  OF COURSE, YOU WILL WANT TO KEEP YOUR HOME IN GOOD REPAIR TO MAXIMIZE YOUR INVESTMENT DOLLAR OR IMPROVE IT TO POSSIBLY INCREASE ITS VALUE.  IF YOU WANT TO SELL, YOU'LL WANT TO HAVE A CONSULTATION WITH JANET'S TEAM TO LEARN HOW TO STAGE THE HOME TO SHOW IT OFF LIKE A FANCY STORE WINDOW.  I CAN'T THINK OF ANY OTHER INVESTMENT AS HUGE AS REAL ESTATE THAT IS ALSO NECESSARY AND ESSENTIAL TO OUR PERSONAL WELL BEING AS WELL AS OURSOCIETY'S WELL-BEING.  With Little or no down, you can buy a home in Cedar City, UT with reasonable credit.  With stocks, you put in a whole lot of money for a little stock paper that you can't even use.  I honestly believe that now is a great time to buy your home while prices and interes... 11/20/2008

One of my investors called and said he was taking his money out of the financial institutions and investing it in real estate because he felt that was a safer place for his money.  I agree whole-heartedly!In my opinion, owning a home or rental property is a better investment than stocks or bonds.  I've had nearly all my money disappear that was in the stock market, but my homes are still here with most of them being paid for by my renters.  No one ever put their money in the stock market for me when prices plummeted.  On the other hand, my kind tenants keep making my mortgage payments no matter how much home values fluctuate.    I'd love to hear your comments on where you think the best place for your money is right now!  What do you think?  Please call the Janet Naisbitt-Bagley team at... 11/19/2008

Cedar City is the Place to Buy!  I believe that Cedar City has incredible attractions to invite buyers to choose our area to live and/or invest. We have breathtaking national parks nearby.  We have skiing, hunting, water-skiing, golfing, fishing, cultural events, concerts, plays, camping and more.  I read that it's wise to include rentals in a college town in your investment portfolio.  What luck! We are located in the very town where SUU has been named as one of the top 10 in the nation for value for the $ for education.  Our Shakespear Festival has received the Tony Award and is World Famous.  According to an avid sportsman friend of mine, Cedar City was ranked #15 of the top 20 cities for outdoorsmen by "Outdoor Life."  One retirement magazine listed Cedar City as one of the best pla... 11/18/2008

We are so excited, the day is finally within reach.  We are changing out our old GE Supra Display Keys for either the new Active Key or having the software downloaded turning cell phone or PDA's into E-Keys.  This is something that Darcy and I have been looking forward to since June.  On Thursday, it will happen.  This is great, it will allow great access to information as to who has been showing our listings. The old display key uploads that information when the key is refreshed then it is forwarded to you through the information that You have on each of your IBox lock boxes.  If you assign the I Box to each house, you will now know who opened the I Box before they ever leave the house.  No more wondering when the I Box was opened.  The Active Key and the E Keys will now upload that in... 11/18/2008

I seldom watch the TV news, but they had a story about a fraternity at the University of Utah cleaning up some state owned land.  The long and short of the story is that this property is at the mouth of Parley's Canyon where I-80 enters the Salt Lake Valley.  For a number of years kids have spray painted messages on the rocks from Fraternities to young lovers many people have seen fit to climb the rocks and leave a message on the rocks.  I know that to many this is a terrible affront to taking care of the environment. The real environmental catastrophe was taking place as people would leave their debris behind, spray paint cans, beverage cans you name it, it was there.  The great thing is that this Fraternity went out on an early Saturday Morning and cleaned up the mess.  The most appal... 11/18/2008

Lifestyle:  There's an immense amount of pleasure, satisfaction and self-esteem that are derived from home-ownership that give you that warm fuzzy feeling of contentment and joy that we all dream of having but sometimes are too afraid to achieve.  You deserve to choose the neighborhood, style and size of home that fits your needs--your dream home--while it's affordable and obtainable!  Call Janet's team at 435-865-1019 & start today. What is your dream home?  One of my favorite definitions is:  "Your dream home is everything you need and as many of your wants as you can afford."  You may need to start with very few of your wants and work up to nearly all of your wants.  The important thing is to call Janet's licensed team of experts at 435-865-1019 for your free list of homes in your pr... 11/18/2008

1.  Seclect an expert--you'll need one in this market to help you maximize your success--How?  Ask questions and check out the technology. 2.  Select experience--Choose a professional that has experience in all markets--at least 20 years. 3.  Select training--Make sure your agent is an ABR, CRS, GRI, and is an Associate Broker. 4.  Select caring service--You'll need good, hard, honest service and someone that cares about you. 5.  Select your professional for life--once you find the REALTOR that has the technology, expertise, experience, training, knowledge and service you deserve--never let them go!  They deserve your loyalty, and they'll know you and know how to best serve you which benefits you! Janet Naisbitt-Bagley, Associate Broker, ABR, CRS, GRI www.homesincedarcity.com, naisbitt@... 11/17/2008

How many of you have heard of or were trained by Barb Schwarz?  How many of you REALTORS use her materials to train sellers to stage their homes?  Have any of you buyers ever chosen a staged home over another home just because you really appreciated how nice the home looked and you knew it would feel good to live there?  How many of you sellers have been trained to stage homes by Barb's DVD or an agent trained by Barb Schwarz?  How many of you have seen her on TV?  In my opinion, shes the best! I recommend staging homes for all sellers who want to sell their homes.  The advertising gets buyers in the home if it's priced correctly.  It is my firm belief that the staging actually sells the home since buyers buy homes approximately 90% on emotion.  That makes sense because you have to love... 11/13/2008

I know that I spent some time on a blog about Veteran's the other day, but I was touched as I looked at an old photograph of my uncle Dale Cannon in his uniform prior to shipping of to Europe in World War II.  He recieved a Purple Heart with three clusters.  He fought in North Africa, Normandy, and the last time at the Battle of the Bulge and many places in between. The wounds that he recieved at the Battle of the Bulge required stateside surgery and the war ended while he recovered. I know that he was one of the lucky ones, he told me so often.  He was lucky because he came home, and there were so many that didn't.                                                   My Uncle is the one on the right, the one in the middle is his cousin Mel Behunin, and I don't know who the man on the left... 11/11/2008

According to recent statistics, new home sales in most regions of the country stayed the same or declined; however, the west saw an increase.  Hey--that's where we live!  What a great time for buyers to pick up their own real estate bargain while rates and prices are low and affordable.  Why buy a home for your landlord?  Buy your own home and enjoy Christmas in the cozy warmth of your own dream-come-true! Home ownership brings great satisfaction.  Enjoy the incredible feeling of self-confidence that comes from owning your own home.  It might as well be now, and it might as well be for you rather than for your landlord.  Please call Janet's team at 435-865-1019 for your list of bargains in your price range.  Then let us know which homes you want to see.  Remember that we can show you ev... 11/10/2008

Approximately 20 years ago, I attended excellent training on preparing your home for sale by Barbara Swartz at an ERA Convention.  I loved her presentation and bought her videos.  She made staging your home look so vital and yet so fun by saying that the way you live in a home and the way you show a home are two different things.  She did it in a way that was not offensive but delightful.  Have you ever been to her training or seen her on TV?  Isn't she fabulous and so incredibly talented? Several years later, I gave out the last copy of her video that I had to a seller who did not return it-- much to my dismay!  I tried to find her to get more videos, but no one seemed to know who I was talking about.  I gave up and bought different videos for my sellers.  I like to start out by sharin... 11/08/2008

I just wanted to make sure that I put in a blog letting all of my Heroes know that I appreciate their service and sacrifice!  Many people know that Tuesday, November 11th is Veterans Day.  It really works out well for me, as it is my fathers birthday as well.  I just wanted to write again that every man and woman that has served this country in the Military is a hero of mine!  To those families that have had a family member or members who have paid the ultimate sacrifice, I thank you especially.  Every life lost in the defense of this great Nation should be a matter of gratitude and pride for each one of us. So one more time, (it won't be the last that I write or say it) Thank you from the bottom of my heart!  I am so grateful for each of you!  11/08/2008

I was reading a quote by Rayona Sharpnack the founder of The Institute For Women's Leadership, that really explains where we get our confidence from.  The quote is talking about new things, but goes: "They've spent their whole lives waiting to be confident before trying to do something new, when they couldn't possibly be confident until they're competent." I think that is a great quote as long as we don't spend all of our time trying to become as competent as possible.  We need to have the training to succeed and need to put that training to use.  I really believe this is where quality scripts come into play.  While I try to read as many books on Real Estate sales as I can find, there still is no greater education available than trial and error. That isn't to say that we should not get ... 11/05/2008