Travis A Martinez, Real Estate Consultant

You are not alone.  Rest assured that many people are in your shoes.  Does that make you feel better?  I did not think so. So what are you going to do about it?  Homes are not selling, property is staying on the market for longer and longer.  I anticipate that this will start to turn around next year.  But that ...

I recently completed all of the pre-licensing requirements to obtain my property management license.  Why would a real estate salesperson want to spend the time, effort, and money to property manage?  Well, quite simply, I owe it to my clients.  Many people have had their homes on the market for sometime now.  Many are stuck ...

The short answer is NO! In today's issue of the Ravalli Republic there is an ad by the local Windermere real estate company that states "Windermere is the only western Montana Real Estate company associated with www.trulia.com" This concerned me.  Through Point 2 Agent (a great web hosting site for ...

As many of you may be aware, the President signed the Housing Stimulus Package last week.  What does this mean for you? Well if you are a first time homebuyer this could mean that you get a $7,500 tax credit.  If you are a FHA buyer this increases your loan limits.  If you are in Foreclosure this new law could provide for some ...

The prevailing interest rate is often referred to as the "cost of money."  Or more simply put the amount that you have to pay to use someone else's money.  Typically long tern money (30 year mortgages) is more expensive then short term (10 or 15 year mortgages) money.  Another way of looking at this is as an ...

This weekend was not only beautiful it was a furry of activity.  There was the Spring Fair at the Fairgrounds, lots of yard work to do, and yeas even people looking at property.  Not only did I show property to some buyers that I have been working with, but I also got some activity on my listings.  By activity I not only mean ...

When I go to list a home or a piece of property for sale I give my client a window that I recommend that they list their property at, for example $435,000 - $450,000.  Of course I fully expect that most of them list in the upper proportion of my window.  I would do the same thing in their shoes and expect that the home would ...

In an effort to advertise better then my competition I have a new strategy that I am looking for feedback on.  I have a few listings and have developed a good relationship with my clients.  I would offer an incentive if they would put a window sticker that said "My property listed by Travis Martinez."   They would ...

I was a little appalled this morning when watching the Today show that they had a gentleman that said "Don't you dare buy now!"  He was a TV personality that you often see on shows like CNBC's Mad Money,  he was also the co-founder of TheStreet.com, Jim Cramer.  He obviously has a background in investing in Wall ...

I constantly get asked, "what is the real estate market doing?" Well, there is how the market is doing in Ravalli County: In the first quarter of 2007, 170 properties were sold that compares to 192 in the first quarter of 2006. There were 588 new listings put on the market in the first quarter of 2007.  The average days on ...