Iowa City Real Estate Blog

What a glorious weekend we've had in Iowa again. We had a couple of nights of rain followed by glorious sunshine in the days. The perfect combination of course to encourage the foliage and plant life to grow at a pace that I definitely have not seen in the 12 years I've lived in Iowa.

I took the photo below when I visited clients who will be listing their home in Iowa City with me this week. My only concern at the moment is that considering how early the growing season is starting, just how long we might be pulling weeds this year!

The weather is anything but typical in Iowa at the moment. Usually at this time of the year we're still all wrapped up waiting for the warmer weather... Not so this year. This March the temps have regularly been in the high 60's and 70's. In fact pretty soon I'm sure we'll have weather forecasters telling us to go easy on the water - Rain fall has been pretty low this month too. Not that I'm complaining mind you. I love it when I walk out of my front door to be greeted by awesome views like this....

When it comes to helping buyers relocating to iowa city I'm always trying to think of new ways to get useful information to them. Often times I think the Internet offers us lots of choices, but they're not always that useful. (Or the websites  are so cluttered with ads they're not exactly a joy to visit).

Just last week I stumbled upon a tool that I absolutely had to have on my website that will not only be a great resource for buyers relocating to iowa city, but also sellers interested in researching home sales in Iowa City neighborhoods. It offers all kinds of area information that I'm sure will be really useful, (yes there's that word again), for buyers and sellers alike.

This very classy Lifestyle Search Tool is from SpatialMatch.  You can see it in action on Corinne's site, Barrington Real Estate Market Solutions. She has an upgraded version of this tool that includes a home search. This isn't an option the company is offering in Iowa City at the moment. You can be sure as soon as they do it will be available on my site too.

In the meantime I'm very happy with the Lifestyle Tool. Through the widget in the side panel on site, Iowa City Homes For Sale you can search for all kinds of things, ranging from schools, golf courses, coffee shops and more. The maps pop out to a full page version, making it much easier to use.

To give buyers relocating to iowa city an idea of how it works I created a search for elementary schools in the Iowa City area. (That's always high on the list of priorities of anyone relocating to Iowa City).  The light blue shaded area indicates a half mile radius from the school. I've also added a border around the respective towns, (I started with Iowa City, Coralville and North Liberty). If you click on the individual schools you'll get a wealth of information about the schools. If you select the border of one of the towns you'll get loads of information about the town. 

Check it out. I'm sure you'll be as impressed as I was. (Okay, maybe not quite as impressed, I am  a bit of a map fiend AND a data fiend, so of course this was the ultimate find for me!)

Generally January is the month when I ask myself what made me think relocating to Iowa was a good idea. That's every year except this year that is! Today I took time out from my market reports and spent some time out in the sunshine. Brown Deer Golf Course in Coralville is a two minute drive from where I live and I figured I'd be sure to find some golfers out in this 50 something degree weather today. I did run into someone leaving the golf course when I took this shot, but other than that I struck out with that idea. I enjoyed the sunshine nonetheless. I'm starting to wonder whether winter is going to show up at all this year in Iowa. Although I should maybe keep my mouth shut or I could jinx it!

Cardinal Realty opened its doors for business this week. As my good friend Corinne Guest so eloquently said in her post this morning. AR is a journey. The decision to start my own real estate company comes in no small part through the influence of ActiveRain. When I signed up at AR in July 2009 I was a "toddler" in the world of real estate. I was smart enough to know I needed to tap into the Internet to take my real estate endeavors to the next level, but had no idea how. I'd gone through several template websites and spent a boatload of money on SEO to get absolutely nowhere!

A couple of months on AR and I had my road map. There is SO much information here for those willing to take the time to learn. In no time at all I went from toddler to University Grad. I learned about Wordpress. I learned how to take care of my own SEO. (Saved myself mega bucks there). And most importantly I paid attention to the Independent Brokers here on the Rain and started to grasp the idea that it really wasn't rocket science and I could do that too. 

Two years later Cardinal Realty becomes the newest real estate company in Coralville. For me real estate is a service industry. I am here to serve my clients, not to "sell" homes. The philosophy behind Cardinal Realty is to keep real estate simple. No conflicts of interest by working two sides of a deal. Each client gets exclusive, personalized service. Simple and straightforward. 

Following through with that thought, the plan is to streamline operations so everything can be done online. "Going Green" if you will. Anything we can do to reduce our carbon footprint  is good and what makes it even better is that it's good for business. Clients this year have already experienced the benefits. Iowa City is a relocation destination and folks are transitioning in and out all the time. My last two sellers who both relocated out of state loved the no-hassle option of signing documents online. That's just one example. I'm always looking for new technologies to incorporate into my business. Streamlining my business will mean I have more time to spend with my clients building relationships. And that's what real estate is about, isn't it? 

So here I am with a big Thank You to everyone here on the Rain who motivated and inspired me to forge ahead. I would not be where I am today if I had not attended AR University! You'll know who you are, I comment on your posts from time to time. Special thanks to Corinne for her support. That's the other cool thing about AR. Not only do you find a wealth of information here, you also make friends for life!

We are enjoying absolutely beautiful Fall weather in Iowa at the moment, in stark contrast to to our friends on the East Coast who are getting hammered with winter storms. Yesterday I was over on the east side of Iowa City picking up an earnest money check and felt really lucky to have an opportunity to enjoy the beautiful Fall foliage. As I've said before, I was never much of a fan of Autumn in Europe, way too much rain for me. Here is Iowa it's a different story. It really doesn't get much better than this. Blue skies, perfect temps and eye candy to boot!