Excitement Promised at the 74th Annual Sturgis® Motorcycle Rally™

It’s that time of year again when the 74^th Annual Sturgis© Motorcycle Rally™ brings hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts, fans, exhibitors and onlookers to South Dakota. Anytime now the onslaught of bikers will begin rolling into the Black Hills area to help kick off the rally being held this year on August 4-10, 2014.

Whether you’re a long-time resident or just passing through, the City of Sturgis always promises an experience of a lifetime where locals show you down-home hospitality and hundreds of visiting exhibitors can offer you anything and everything you’d like to dress up the bike or your body.

Even if you aren’t a biker, there’s still great fun to be had at the Rally.  This year’s entertainment includes an endless amount of concerts, great food and drink, a multitude of vendor exhibits and other activities you have to see to believe. Check out the events schedule to help you decide what to do first.

One special event you may want to participate in is the 12^th Annual Mayor’s Ride. This ride, held August 4, is a benefit ride for the Sturgis Volunteer Fire Department. Join other VIP riders and be escorted on several of the Black Hill’s most spectacular two lane roads and byways. At the end of the ride, you will enjoy a grand luncheon with Mayor Carstensen as your host at Custer State Park.

Tickets are extremely limited so be sure to get tickets now! The cost is $150 per rider (+ tax) and all participants will receive on one-of-a-kind Mayor’s Ride Souvenir Gift Pack including:

• Limited edition decanter
• Limited edition 2014 Mayor’s Ride t-shirt
• 2014 12th Annual Sturgis Mayor’s Ride pin
• 2014 Jackpine Gypsies commemorative pin, plus other collectibles from each of the 2014 Mayor’s Ride Corporate Sponsors

If you are coming in for the fun, take some time to realize the beauty of South Dakota and the surrounding communities in and around Sturgis. Now is a great time to find an investment property in Deadwood, vacation home in Spearfish, or even a home in Sturgis itself. Our expertise in the Black Hills or Rapid City markets will ensure you a stress-free experience. Contact Jim Peterson at (605) 574-4444 or June Johnson at (605) 786-7356 at Integrity Realty Team, or email us to discuss how we can help you with all your real estate needs.

Our office is in the heart of Hill City and as a tourist spot, restrooms are hard to find – ours are always open for your convenience! Like us on Facebook for all upcoming events!

Cruise Over to Belle Fourche for Annual Car Rally

It’s that time of year again! For all of us that live in the Black Hills region, it’s an annual event that gives us the opportunity to rev up our engines, polish that chrome and show off our rides. That’s right! The 27^th Annual Center of the Nation All Car Rally will cruise into Belle Fourche – June 13-14.

Get out those vintage vehicles, muscle cars, street rods, sports cars, low riders and even your modified trucks or off-road vehicles. Pre-registration show & shine event and street dance will kick off Friday night at Scott Peterson Motors. The fun begins at 6pm.

Both participants and spectators will be able to vote for the People’s Choice award to be presented later that evening. Enjoy live music with local band, Twenty-One 20, and top off the night at 8pm with the burnout demonstration that has become a crowd favorite.

The fun continues into Saturday when the action moves to Hermann Park for the all-day car show. Organizers are expecting a wide array of vehicles and over 150 entries. “We will have a little bit of everything,” said Dan Durfee, one of the car show’s committee volunteers. It’s always a lot of fun to see the variety.” For those that love to peruse the vendor booths, they will feature everything from food to auto parts to outdoor living displays.

Whether you prefer getting thrown back in time with the oldies or staying on top of the latest trends in performance vehicles, you won’t be disappointed! For more information, you can check out their Facebook page or read the Black Hills Pioneer’s All Car Rally Edition.

While you are out enjoying all the Black Hills has to offer, be sure to stop by Integrity Realty and let us show you some of our great properties. Whether you are looking for a year-round home, land, investment or vacation home, our expertise in the Black Hills or Rapid City markets will ensure you a stress-free experience. Contact me, Jim Peterson, at (605) 574-4444 or email meto discuss how I can help you with all your real estate needs. My office is in the heart of Hill City and as a tourist spot, restrooms are hard to find – mine are always open for your convenience!

Remain Calm While Selling Your Black Hills Home

Selling your home often ranks right up there on the stress scale along with other major life changes, but it really doesn’t have to be like that. Listed below are a few simple tips that can help you minimize the stress of listing and selling your Black Hills home.

First, and maybe most importantly, let your Realtor® take the wheel. Jim & June at Integrity Realty are professionals trained to help you buy and sell property. Making sure your agent is qualified should be the deciding factor. A good agent will know your market, and they will have lots of ideas about how best to show your home’s advantages to just the right demographic.

It can be intrusive having people you don’t know come into your home with a critical eye. Before you let anyone in the door, do a little prep work to simplify the process. De-clutter your home, even if it means getting a temporary off-site storage space. Make checklists for the sale of your home, your move, and any other daily routines that are important to keep going during this process.

Include a quick list for a quick clean up in case a last minute showing comes calling. Keeping plenty of paper towels and cleaning wipes on hand can help to make a quick clean-up go more smoothly. You may also want to eat out more often during this time to help keep your kitchen clean.

Give yourself a break. We’re at a great advantage in the Black Hills with our beautiful sights, local parks, and great shops in Hill City. Take walks, go for a drive or do some sidewalk shopping. If you can manage it, get away for a long weekend. Sometimes just being physically away from your home can help you get things back into perspective.

If fishing is the best way to help take your mind off your worries, May 17-19 is free admission to South Dakota parks and fishing areas. Anglers can fish without a license anywhere in the state, and entrance fees are waived for all visitors to South Dakota’s state parks and recreation areas. But camping fees, fishing regulations, and limits still apply.

Selling your Black Hills home doesn’t need to send you over the edge. We can help you keep your calm. At Integrity Realty, we determine the value of Black Hills area homes daily. I’d love to talk with you about giving you a Comparative Market Analysis of your home to determine the best course of action for you.

Our expertise in the Black Hills or Rapid City markets will ensure you a stress-free experience. Contact me, Jim Peterson, at (605) 574-4444 or email meto discuss how I can help you with all your real estate needs. My office is in the heart of Hill City and as a tourist spot, restrooms are hard to find – mine are always open for your convenience!

Enjoy the Black Hills Any Time of Year – February is No Exception

You may think that the Black Hills region is just for summer fun but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Locals who live here year-around know that there is something for everyone no matter the season.  If you are thinking of investing in a Black Hills vacation home, now is a great time to buy! Rest assured, you will have plenty of reasons to visit each season!

February has some great events in Rapid City and Hill City that you won’t want to miss.

Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo
The Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo ® is the second largest event in the state of South Dakota following the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. It’s a 10-day event ending February 9, 2014 and is anticipated to host 331,000 people.

This PRCA rodeo has been nominated 15 times as PRCA’s “Large Indoor Rodeo of the Year”, winning this award twice! It promises a good time for the whole family!

The stock show features over 96 different agriculture oriented events such as the Ranch Rodeo, Bronc Match, and Sheep Dog Trials. There will also be nearly 300 vendors during the tradeshow selling everything from fine arts to front-loaders. Kids can enjoy some one-on-one time with a variety of animals in the Barnyard Petting Zoo. You can also round off the night with a concert featuring Chancey Williams and the Younger Brother with Dirty Word.

The Black Hills Stock Show & Rodeo is held at the James Kjerstad Event Center on the Central States Fairgrounds & Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City. Check out their Event Calendar to plan a full day at this great event!

Main Street Square Ice Skating
There’s something about ice-skating in an outdoor rink and enjoying a cup of hot cocoa that brings you back to a simpler time. Whether it’s family time, bringing a date, or purely just an outing with friends, you will be sure to find fun at the Main Street Square Rink.

The rink is located at Main Street Square – 512 Main Street – Rapid City and is open till February 22, 2014. Hours may vary so be sure to check out their website for hours and rates.

Black Hills Photography Club Exhibit
If the arts and activities inside are more your speed, check out the Black Hills Photography Club Exhibit. It supports the photographic arts throughout the Black Hills region. The exhibit showcases over 100 artists with skill levels ranging from novice through Master Photographer.

The exhibit runs through February 24, 2014 in the event room at the Prairie Berry Winery in Hill City.  Make it a date and stay for dinner or appetizers from Prairie Berry’s Kitchen while you enjoy some art. Pieces are available for purchase as well.

Whether you are looking for a year-around home, land, investment or vacation home, our expertise in the Black Hills or Rapid City markets will ensure you a stress-free experience. Contact me, Jim Peterson, at (605) 574-4444 or email me to discuss how I can help you with all your real estate needs. My office is in the heart of Hill City and as a tourist spot, restrooms are hard to find – mine are always open for your convenience!

Black Hill Events You Won’t Want to Miss

There’s never a dull moment in the Black Hills of South Dakota! Whether you own a Black Hills home or just use the region as your playground, you can always find something going on to please the whole family.

Take this weekend for instance, it’s Holy Terror Days in Keystone marking the end of the season. This year it falls September 6-8. For those of you wanting a brief history lesson, Holy Terror Days began in the late 1800’s as an Independence Day celebration, creating entertainment for the gold rush miners and their families. It was named after the Holy Terror Mine which at that time, had the richest gold claim in all of the southern Black Hills.

Today, it’s not only good old-fashioned town fun but also a great fundraiser to help those in need in the Keystone area community. Check out all the festivities which include the annual parade, an auction, a 4^th annual Ugly Truck Contest, and the always favorite “abuse of public officials event” (first throw shaving cream pies for $1 at ‘em, then help clean ‘em off by dunking them in the dunk tank). Lastly, top off the activities on Sunday with a downhill derby!

Ready to celebrate the 125^th birthday of Spearfish? The Birthday will end with a blast during the Grand Finale weekend September 13-15. There will be fun for the whole family with antique cars, sack races, scavenger hunt and stage entertainment. Bring a basket for the Family Picnic starting at noon but save room for a piece of birthday cake to be served in the afternoon!

Save your appetite for the Taste of Autumn BBQ Cook-Off Championships, September 20-21. Come out to support our local BBQ experts. Enjoy some family fun on Friday evening with food, live music and refreshments. Taste of Autumn People’s Choice Judging will take place on Friday evening and is open to the public. Saturday morning the BBQ event will get under way with judging taking place in the early afternoon followed by awards presentations at 4 pm. All proceeds from this event will benefit the Rec Youth & Family Scholarship Program.

Take some time to enjoy our end-of-summer activities in the area! Whether you are looking for a year-around home, land, investment or vacation home, our expertise in the Black Hills or Rapid City markets will ensure you a stress-free experience. Contact me, Jim Peterson, at (605) 574-4444 or email me to discuss how I can help you with all your real estate needs. My office is in the heart of Hill City and as a tourist spot, restrooms are hard to find – mine are always open for your convenience!

Black Hills Revving Up for Sturgis Motorcycle Rally

STURGIS  ~  Biker or not, chances are you’ve heard about the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally; an annual event that brings motorcycle enthusiasts, fans, exhibitors and onlookers to South Dakota.  The hum of the bikes can be heard for miles around the Black Hills area and marks the kickoff to the annual rally which this year is August 5-11 2013.

The city of Sturgis spends upwards of $1 million to host the six-day rally that brings hundreds of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts to the city and surrounding Black Hills. It’s an experience of a lifetime where locals show you down-home hospitality and hundreds of visiting exhibitors can offer you anything and everything you’d want to dress up the bike or your body … did you know you can get matching tattoos on both your body and bike?

I know motorcycle enthusiasts of all walks and sizes that spend time getting the bikes together, trailers rented, and lodging set months, even years, in advance to ensure smooth travel to Sturgis. The diehards ride all the way to Sturgis while others travel with their bikes in tow to wait till arriving before revving up those engines.

Not a biker? There’s still great fun to be had at the Rally. The entertainment never stops, there’s great food and drink, and you’ll meet some great people from all around the world. The only thing you are required to bring is an open mind! Check out the events schedule to determine which events are a must-see.

If you are coming in for the fun, take some time to realize the beauty of South Dakota and the surrounding communities in and around Sturgis. Now is a great time to find an investment property in Deadwood, vacation home in Spearfish, or even a home in Sturgis itself. Our expertise in the Black Hills or Rapid City markets will ensure you a stress-free experience. Contact me, Jim Peterson, at (605) 574-4444 or email me to discuss how I can help you with all your real estate needs. My office is in the heart of Hill City and as a tourist spot, restrooms are hard to find – mine are always open for your convenience! Like me on Facebook for all upcoming events!

Buying a Black Hills Vacation Home

The Black Hills of South Dakota is a perfect place for a vacation home! However, buying a vacation home is a very different experience than buying a primary residence. If you are trying to decide if a vacation home is the right investment for you – or if you have already decided to begin looking, here are some guidelines:

Vacation Home Versus Investment
When determining the features you want or need in a second home, you must first determine if this will truly be a “home away from home” or if this going to mainly be used for investment purposes. Typically a buyer’s wish-list for many convenience items will differ depending on the answer.

To Rent or Not to Rent
There is no wrong answer here! Just be sure to research how the property’s use may affect your financing options and taxes. While renting out your vacation home can provide additional income, renting it for more than a few weeks a year may change the classification of your home as an investment property; making it ineligible for full mortgage interest tax deductions. However, there potential benefits for rented vacation homes including deductions for property management and rental expenses. This is where utilizing a Realtor® with expertise in vacation home and investment properties can be invaluable to help you determine the best option for you.

Vacation Home or Future Primary Residence
When looking at vacation properties, one aspect to focus on is quality-of- life amenities for your family. Often times, a vacation home can eventually turn into your primary residence in later years so be sure it has the amenities you are desiring or it has the capabilities for them to be added when  desired. Look at your current home and list those items that you use in your regular day-to-day life and add them to your vacation home wish-list!

Consider Realistic Expenses
Consider all the expenses involved in each potential vacation home. Expenses include things such as garbage collection, snow removal, outdoor maintenance and clean-up, and yearly home maintenance. Now is the time to realistically to put these in your budget as well as if you want a property management company to assist.

Rapid City, Hill City, Black Hills and surrounding areas … all great places for vacation homes no matter the season. If you are ready to buy a vacation or investment property; or just have questions on if it’s the right choice for you – I’d love to talk with you. Our expertise in the Black Hills or Rapid City markets will ensure you a stress-free experience. Contact me, Jim Peterson, at (605) 574-4444 or email me to discuss how I can help you with all your real estate needs. My office is in the heart of Hill City and as a tourist spot, restrooms are hard to find – mine are always open for your convenience!

Come for the Independence Day Fun, Stay for the Beauty

Whether you live here in the Black Hills area or just come for the summer fun, there’s no denying that this is a great season to be in South Dakota! Independence Day is just one of the great annual celebrations around the area. Once here, you will know why so many homeowners own vacation homes in the beautiful Black Hills and Rapid City areas. You may even want to look at a few vacation homes yourself while here!

Spearfish City Park
Ready for some good old-fashioned fun with the kids? Join Spearfish in their annual Ice Cream Social and Floating Parade for some cool fun! Bring an inner-tube to Spearfish City Park (no registration required) at 1pm for their annual Ice Cream Social followed with decorating your inner-tube, and yourself, to the theme of “125^th Birthday Style”. The free floating parade will start at 2:45pm – tubers will enter the creek at the location marked near the South Park shelter and will exit where marked at the creek bank, before the falls. Come early to get a good spot for you and the family and be ready to show off your tube creation! Admission: Free

Mount Rushmore
What better way to celebrate our country’s independence than at Mount Rushmore; one of our National treasures! It’s a 2-day celebration starting on July 3 with live music from local musicians and the Ellsworth Air Force Band as well as performances along the Avenue of the Flags, Military honors, a flag folding ceremony, Declaration of Independence reading and many other activities. The kids and plane enthusiasts alike with be thrilled to see a US Air Force flyover in the afternoon and evenings before the monument lighting!

The entire celebration is dedicated to honoring the veterans and active duty members of our military. At this time, the fireworks celebration is on hold due to the fragility of the forest lands. There are, however, surrounding Black Hills communities that can offer responsible firework displays and all celebrations have been coordinated with the area towns so you won’t miss anything! Admission: Parking Fee – $11

Crazy Horse Memorial
“Legends in Light” is an awesome multimedia laser-light show that is being presented nightly, at dark, now through Native Americans’ Day in October. The show turns the mountainside into giant 500-foot “screen” showing how the memorial will look once completed and shares the story of the heritage, culture and contributions made by Native Americans in our society.

Colorful animations, sound effects and laser beams choreographed to music will be sure to catch everyone’s attention. If you think you’ve seen Crazy Horse already, you must check out this ever-evolving memorial in a whole new light! Admission: Varies

Whether you are looking for a year-around home, land, investment or vacation home, our expertise in the Black Hills or Rapid City markets will ensure you a stress-free experience. Contact me, Jim Peterson, at (605) 574-4444 or email me to discuss how I can help you with all your real estate needs. My office is in the heart of Hill City and as a tourist spot, restrooms are hard to find – mine are always open for your convenience!