Amber Hills Properties  Z & R Ventures, Inc. Watford City, ND

For those who don’t live in and around the Bakken, it’s difficult to understand what it’s like here in the Williston Basin.  A few years ago, Watford City and Williston were like a lot of North Dakota towns:  quiet. 

There were a few stores on Main Street, a Walmart and a some family-friendly restaurants that you didn’t need reservations for. Some people were still oilfield workers, others farmed and ranched.  Back then, you could buy a house for less than $100,000.  If you wanted to rent an apartment in Williston, you could get it for $300-$500 a month.

Thanks to the exploration of the Bakken shale, fracking and the high-paying oilfield jobs that followed, however, those days are behind us.  Fast food businesses are paying employees $15/hour and Walmart is paying $17/hour and still having a tough time hiring. Rent an apartment in Watford City or Williston now and you’ll pay $2,000 or more.  Hotel rooms are non-existent.  Home prices are skyrocketing.  Oilfield workers are living in their cars despite earning six figures a year. 

Big money is being made in “man camps”, which offer full-service lodging for oifield workers. These man camps provide a room for sleeping and up to three meals a day for those staying there.  With laundry facilities, game rooms, televisions and other basic amenities, man camps are a popular option for these workers.  For the people who purchase land around the Bakken and put up these man camps, the money to be made is significant. Rooms rent for an average of $150 to $200 per night, and empty rooms are rare.  

 But that’s not the whole story. Somewhat more “traditional” rentals in Williston, Watford City and surrounding North Dakota towns are bringing huge returns on investment. Manufactured homes built to suit 8 people rent out for over $13,000 every month. Put a 2-bedroom trailer house on a property with utilities and you can receive tenant income of $4,000 a month or more from oilfield workers who value having a little more privacy than man camps offer.  People who invest their money in Bakken housing now can make it back quickly and then start earning straight profit within a few months. 

If you’ve ever found yourself in a situation to ask your roommate to move out, you know just how awkward it can be. Even in a good situation where both of you are on great terms and there’s a happy occasion for the change (say you and your significant other want to move in together, for example), it can still be a tough subject to bring up. So before you do, here are a few things you need to know first:

1.) Know what you can legally ask of them. If you and your roommate have signed a lease and that lease isn’t up for another three months, you and your hubby might just have to wait until then to call the place your own. Until that lease is up, your roommate has just as much right to be there as you do.

Having said that, there is often nothing wrong with just asking. Who knows, maybe your roomie has a friend that needs a place and this could be the perfect time for her to start apartment hunting with someone else. Communicate! 

2.) Be open about the situation. If there is a problem, and that’s why you feel your roommate needs to go, they deserve to have a chance to solve the problem first. They may be completely clueless to the issues you’re dealing with, so make sure you’re open with them from the beginning. Don’t ask them to move out and say it’s due to “allergies”, just ask them to stop burning incense all the freakin’ time and the problem could be solved right then and there.

3.) Do it at the right time. This is not a discussion that should be put off, of course, but it’s also not a discussion that can happen at any time. Make sure both of you don’t have to be somewhere right away and limit the distractions. And try to be sensitive to what is going on in their lives. Asking them to move out as soon as they get back from their grandma’s funeral isn’t a very good idea.

4.) Give them a realistic time to move out. Unless they’ve been absolutely unbearable (and by unbearable we mean they lit all your clothes on fire last night, or something of a similar significance), you need to give them a reasonable time to move out. They not only need to find another place, but possibly another roommate, as well as figure out how and when they are going to move all of their stuff. And don’t forget they probably have school and or a job or kids and other commitments they’re juggling too. A month is typically a respectable time period.

5.) Be compassionate. If they come to you saying they’ve found a place but they won’t be able to move in until five days after the 30 day period you’ve given them, let them stay for the extra five days. Finding a place to live can be a real pain in the neck and in the end five days is really nothing to get upset about.

The driver for most of this outstanding performance comes from three things:  interest rate, and jobs & population growth.   First let’s talk about interest rates, the Federal Reserve through their “operation twist”, selling short term bonds and buying mortgages and a new commitment to buy 40 billion of mortgages a month and is now buying about two thirds of all new mortgages in the United States, has managed to drive interest rates to historical lows, 15.6% below 2011 and 44.4% below where they were in 2008. From to August 2011 to this august we added 1747 payroll jobs and population has increased approximately 1450 people. Lots of positives in the economy.

Yet with all these positives, pricing structure has only changed by 2.5% to 3% year over year when you take size and price into the actual formulation. Thus when all the positives are taken into consideration, on first blush, that would seem a more than modest price increase. So the question becomes why, a question I have asked before. I believe that the underlying reason is the same, caution on both the buyers and sellers within the market place. Yes sellers do want the highest price that they can achieve yet, they do want to sell, so while you might assume sellers interest are not aligned with the buyer at this point in the market place the assumption is most probably wrong. Just as you reverse the process and look from the buyer’s side and assume that the lowest value would be most wanted yet with a lower inventory being able to purchase the home and location wanted becomes more paramount. So with interest rates favorable buyers will move some in pricing of purchase yet not as much as positives would lead us to believe. As always it’s fascinating to me to watch the market and how it operates with all the different forces involved. This year has been a stunning example of how it responds.

To read more, click to Howard Sumner Real Estate “Market At A Glance – September 2012″

Since the beginning of February 2012 Walmart in Williston, ND no longer allows people to park/sleep in their parking lot except to go in and shop then you must leave. This created a problem because as many as 200 people had been staying in that lot for quite some time.

Here is a couple alternatives to the Walmart parking lot from YouTube.  Not sure how authorized or unauthorized these options are.

Our oil patch immigrant begins work and talks about housing challenges in Williston, North Dakota:

It seems like a cheesy topic, I know, but the fact is many people today still struggle with feeling confident with their actions. Your personal opinion of yourself holds an incredible amount of weight. After all, if perception is reality, low self-confidence is equivalent to shooting yourself in the foot.

So instead of continuously rooting against yourself, apply a few of these tips and see what it would be like to feel unstoppable.

1.) Dress the part. Of course no one should judge a book by its cover, and clothes certainly do not make the man, but there is a definite shift that happens when you see yourself for the first time in a striking suit or gorgeous dress. The feeling of “Wow, I look really good” creates a sense of surprise in the mind, allowing room to think to yourself, “I wonder what else I’ve been holding back.” 

Plus, your reactions to how people treat you are a huge part of your identity. Changing your clothes changes these reactions. If you want to command respect, you first have to dress like you deserve it.

2.) Work out. Contrary to your probable initial snap judgement, this has nothing to do with looks (although it certainly doesn’t hurt). Pushing yourself physically is the easiest way to retrain your brain to combat negative self-talk. You’ve run 3 miles and think you can’t take another step? Take another step. There, you’ve already proven that you can do more than you think.

Furthermore, naturally puts you in a better mood. Did you know the feeling of finishing a difficult workout is often listed as better than the feeling provided by anti-depressants? It’s true. So get off the couch and go for a walk, that little boost in your mood will do wonders for your self-confidence.

3.) Do something for you. Since we just discussed a few benefits of exercise, I’ll list one more; it’s good for you. Doing things for you, like engaging in regular exercise, eating healthy or taking a bubble bath once in a while show that you value yourself enough to take care of yourself.

4.) Take risks. One definition of low self-confidence is always believing you’ll fail at everything you attempt, which can obviously make it pretty difficult to step out on a limb once in a while. However, this is exactly why it is critical to take risks; because you aren’t going to fail every time. Is there a position at your company you’ve been eyeing but are afraid you’d never get? Apply anyway! Who knows, you might just get the job, and it’s little moments like this that prove that no, in fact, you won’t always fail.

5.) Understand reality. Low self-confidence has a way of warping reality. If you aren’t getting along with one person, you may exaggerate it to feel that no one likes you. In addition, the idea that people are laughing at you or that someone else is able to do the job better than you are both examples of a warped reality.

Instead of letting yourself get carried away, stop, breathe and think. Are people really laughing at you? No! The reality is that they’ve got their own problems to deal with. There is no point in terrifying yourself over something that, realistically, won’t even happen!

Running a household can be tough. From keeping track of everyone’s schedule to making sure everyone is keeping track of their own schedule, things can get a little tricky. Here’s where a little teamwork and planning becomes very, very,useful.

1.) Have clearly defined roles and values, and stick to them. If you’d like to pass on the value that it’s best to offer help before someone has to ask for it, then demonstrate it. Things can get very confusing when the “Do as I say, not as I do” mantra is practiced. If you want your kids to stand up for themselves, laugh off the little things, or put something away when they’re done using it, than you should try your best to do those things too.

2.) Delegate. One of the reasons many families have an unnecessary amount of stress is that one person is doing all the work. Maybe the mother is working full time as well as keeping the house clean, dropping off and picking up the kids from school activities, making dinner, doing the grocery shopping, and much, much more. In this case, it can be hard for anyone else to even begin to help. They don’t know what to do.

So define the roles. Maybe it’s the 12 year-old’s job to make sure the dishes are done and the table is set, the 15 year-old’s job to make sure the animals are fed and the living room is vacuumed. When one parent comes to home to make dinner, it’s the other parent’s job to pick up the kids from soccer practice. When everyone pitches in, everything gets a little easier.

3.) Communicate. As advanced as modern science and technology is, it still hasn’t cracked the code that would allow us all to be mind-readers. If you or another member of your family is unhappy with the status-quo, something needs to be said, and in order for that to happen, a welcoming and non-judgmental environment needs to be set in place.

But since it’s tough to just outright say something (we all still struggle with it), help each other out. Just a simple, “How was your day?”is enough to get the ball rolling. Showing that you’re interesting and concerned with each other’s lives will help each other feel connected and valued.

4.) Point out the good. It’s such a small gesture, but it goes so far in keeping your family a close-knit group. “I saw you got an ‘A’ on that last test, great job,” or “Awesome job with dinner tonight, that was delicious,” is a simple way to show you care.

5.) Be polite and respectful. Everyone is going to get testy at one point or another. It’s a simple fact that families are chaotic and not everyone is happy all the time, but as long as you agree to be respectful (that means no namecalling,under any circumstance), things are much likely to smooth over.

Oh and “please” and “thank-you” never hurt anyone.

How do you help your family function?

Bakken Residence Suites - Minot North Dakota

In communities impacted by the Bakken oil boom, the demand for housing exceeds supply leading to rapidly appreciating values and superior rents for landlords.  Investors are becoming intrigued with holding real estate in their portfolios again or for the very first time.  Real estate through the years has offered investors one of the most diverse and most profitable ways of accumulating wealth and producing cash flow.  With real estate, you can see it, you can feel it, you can use it.  You can put it to work generating income.  It increases in value, it provides a tax shelter, it is safe, and sometimes it can be fairly liquid.  It can work exceptionally well and be an integral part of your overall investment goals. 

All real estate has expenses associated with owning it.  The operating expenses for income producing properties can include the following:  Accounting, Advertising, Legal, Insurance, Janitorial, Lawn Care, Leasing Fees, License Fees, Office Expenses, Pest Control, Property Management, Property Taxes, Repairs & Maintenance, Resident Manager, Salaries & Wages, Snow Removal, Supplies, Telephone, Trash Removal, Travel, Vehicle Expense and Utilities. 

After all the expenses of a property are paid from the rents, what is left over is the NOI or Net Operating Income.  If you divide that number by the asking price of a property you get the Cap Rate or Capitalization Rate (free & clear return).  For Example: If you paid $1,844,000 for a 32 unit apartment building with an 8% Cap Rate, you would be getting $147,520 return on your investment after all the expenses are paid, which is your Net Operating Income.  This brings up a couple of questions.  Has this been a consistent number through the years?  Is this a typical Cap Rate in the area at this time?  Are there any deferred maintenance or other large expense issues coming up? 

If you are in the process of transitioning cash into other assets, income producing real estate can be an outstanding vehicle to protect your investment and at the same time give you a good return in cash.  If you purchase free and clear income producing real estate, historically it will keep up with inflation both with appreciation and with cash flows.  By transitioning cash into a hard asset like real estate, you are not only going to maintain the value of your principle, but in many cases you will receive a cash return that is hard to rival with other investments.

Be sure to follow Chuck via his Synergy Station Directory listing or his Diamond Real Estate website.

From the moment you visit the official town website in Stanley, North Dakota, you are greeted with a warm welcome and a deep sense of community.  Whether you are seeking “a new place to live, looking for a business site, or considering a place to retire” you are welcomed with small town openess and sincerity.  So, it’s no small surprise that city leaders passed  over 400+ developers before they settled on Dean Dovolis, who wasn’t even a developer.  It was Dovolis’ ”spark of brilliance” according to Stanley City Council  member Lindahl and his encouragement of city planners to do something more than “just keep sticking houses in a cul-de-sac” and choose to “really make a contribution and change the direction of the city” in the midst of the Bakken boom that landed him his first development opportunity in this land of huge economic opportunity.

Dovolis may have been armed with a Harvard  degree in urban design and the financial backing from investors, but this Minneapolis architect, whose local economy was struggling, didn’t venture into North Dakota in November 2010 with a slick pre-packaged presentation.  He entered the marketplace equipped with the intuition to build relationship, rapport, and trust with members of the community.   From his first stop at Joe’s Pizza in Stanley and sketch of what he would do with a city owned parcel of land on a Stanley pizza delivery map, to the presentation of his proposal before the city council that very night; Dean was sharing his genuine concept of “creating communities”.

The city council selected his plan, Annabelle Homes was formed (named for his wife, Anna),  financial assistance was provided by family and friends, and Devolis’ North Dakota adventure began. The city agreed to give Annabelle Homes the land, and in exchange the company would take care of the water, sewer, streets and parks, a cost of $1.4 million.  Additionally, the company makes monthly contributions to emergency service providers to offset the city’s expenses while the homes are not generating property taxes.

Annabelle’s “Homes for the Heartland” in Stanley consist of an initial 15-acre development with 28 single family homes, 25 town homes, a two-story office building and a two-story convenience store and office building.  It’s Annabelle Homes concept of a family-friendly community with an urban neighborhood feel that sets it apart from the landscape of cold steel commercial buildings, bland man camps, the hodge podge RV parks.   A vision of communities that reaches beyond the short-term to a commitment over generations, the focus is on building legacy neighborhoods.

Dovolis’ reputation is leading to additional developments in Stanley, Tioga, Kenmare, Columbus, Hazen, and Beulah, North Dakota. Dovolis anticipates Annabelle Homes will be working in North Dakota for the next 20 years, and “look(s) at these developments as the beginning of the transformation of western North Dakota,” It’s Dovolis belief that “if this is done right is you can create a very powerful, diverse economy.”

To learn more about Annabell Homes, visit their website

Why single family homes?  There are two good reasons.   Of all real estate vehicles, single family homes are the easiest to rent and the easiest to liquidate and get your cash out.  If you need to get your money out of a real estate investment, it will take the least amount of time with a single family house.  These reasons apply whether you are in Billings, MT or the Bakken epicenter, Williston, North Dakota.

Unlike apartments or commercial properties, there are more buyers for single family homes.  Buyers are either looking for homes to live in or they are looking for homes to buy and rent.  Buyers looking for homes to live in can make the purchase with 3% to 5% down payment plus closing costs.  Investors wanting to purchase single family homes are looking at 15% down payment plus closing costs.  With either type of buyer the cash required by the banks is less than what is required to purchase apartments or commercial property.

Generally speaking, the best price range for single family rental properties is in the lower end of the market you are in.  Look for two to three bedroom homes listed at a price which will allow you to rent them at a competitive rate in your market and have the ability to pay all its expenses (real estate taxes, insurance, maintenance and debt service) and give a return on your investment.  Another big consideration to look at when determining what to buy is how much money and work will go into the property in order to get it in rentable condition.

Two to three bedroom homes are in greater demand, rent easier and get higher rents than apartments.  The trade off is the economies of scale, the numbers work better the bigger the apartment complex and the more units involved.  If you are thinking about purchasing income producing real estate as an investment, single family homes is a great place to start.  They are easy to get into, usually quite a few to choose from, they are a relatively safe investment and you can get out of them if you need to.  Single family homes offer real estate investors a solid foundation.

Be sure to follow Chuck via his Synergy Station Directory listing for Diamond Real Estate.

I grew up in a tiny house – lots of people.  I married a man who likes big houses; and I like to fill them with lots of people. Through all of the people and all of the challenges I’ve learned to make it work for everyone.  Right now my daughter and her husband have lived with us for 5 years.  They added a grandson to the mix and, lo and behold, we are all still speaking.  I also have a brother, a consummate bachelor, living in our basement, and I invite various friends and relatives to stay at a moment’s notice.  Our guest list has included two Swedish bicyclists who were about to camp in the local park when I invited them to stay in our backyard.   They stayed for six days and we are still fabulous friends.

Here are 5 tips you can use to live with others…no matter who or where:

1. Avoid saying “This is my house.”  You may be the owner or the name on the lease, but you have invited people into the structure so they would have a home.  Nothing ever ends well when you say “In MY house” - even though you very well may mean it.  Instead try this, “In our home…”   The simple change will improve a lot of attitudes.  Everyone wants to take care of their home, and if you keep staking your territory by saying ‘in my house’ they have no reason to take the desired ownership attitude of upkeep and improvement.

2.  Have a chore chart.  When people take turns doing the dishes, or cleaning the floors, they are more apt to be careful with those things.  The other benefit of a chore chart is on the day you are really cranky, the floors are dirty, the sink full of dishes and there are your house mates watching TV and you are ready to scream “IN MY HOUSE” all you have to do is pick up the chore chart, say “I wonder what I have today?” and everyone will get the point.  Our chore chart includes the reminder that everyone does their own laundry and if you pee there you clean there.

3.  Leave once in a while.  Nothing kills the mood like everyone hanging out, fighting for space, being obnoxious and just when it is really getting to you, you might as well know you are really getting on their nerves too.  Take a break.  We often do one night get a ways, or weekend trips.  When you come home you have something to talk about and life is great.  You are no longer sick of them and they are no longer sick of you.  An added bonus…they may have tackled their chores while you were gone.

4.  Don’t be an ass.  I know, that is kind of blunt but if you behave, clean up after yourself, share the remote, pay your share of the bills-on time, things will go more smoothly.  Be the one who sets the good example.  Make your mama proud.  Be the one who cheers for the others.  Every communal living arrangement needs a good guy and an ass.  Choose wisely!

5. Develop an identity.  People in our neighborhood know us as the crazy people who wear Christmas shorts (don’t ask) when we shovel their drives the morning after a big snowfall. (Being nice to neighbors is a good idea too).  One communal family is known for their music jams.  One family we know has a ‘for the love’ doll.  It gets passed around as a nod to the things in life that makes you say “Oh, for the love.” and having it in your possession is a perk.  Your homes identity will probably come upon you by accident and you get to decide if it is “Animal House” or “The Waltons”, but embrace it and make it who you are.  Identity makes the chaos of living together easier to bear.

Living together is a sign of the times and it really can be fun.   Here are a few resources for more on the idea of sharing housing:

“Learn how to share housing in order to save on rent — and save your sanity”

“How to Cope with Living with Relatives”

“The Sharing Solution”

© Karen Grosz

Regardless of which industry expert you follow or which estimate you believe, being able to pump somewhere between four and 24 billion barrels of oil out of the Bakken (located in western North Dakota, eastern Montana, and Canada (Manitoba and Saskatchewan) translates to a lot of economic opportunity.  The four billion barrel estimate is up 25 times the 1995 projections according to an updated US Geological Survey.

If drilling continues as projected, the Bakken play will house more than 45,000 producing oil wells within the next two decades.  The life expectancy of a Bakken well is 30 years or more.   Each producing well will support one long term, direct job; however it can take up to 100 workers to drill and prepare a well for production.  This dramatic demand for oil field workers has placed a significant strain on the infrastructure (roads, water and sewage systems) in western North Dakota.  From the Bear Paw “man camp” near Williston, North Dakota, over 36,000 gallons of sewage is hauled daily to Minot, 126 miles away.  This band-aid solution will continue until another treatment facility is completed.

Williston’s population has grown from less than 10,000 (2000 census) to over 20,000 in the past five years.  Watford City has grown from @ 1,500 to over 5,000 within the past two years.  Demand for housing exceeds temporary man camps and hotel accommodations; leaving some to sleep in their personal vehicles, in basements, in campers and in backyards.  In some areas, the cost of housing and rental prices have more than doubled as demand exceeds supply.  Williston estimates that they will need to build 1,500 housing units per year, just to stay five years behind.

The standing joke in “the patch”  is that it’s the single largest growing population of homeless in America that are earning more than $100,000 per year.  While that initially gets a chuckle; with harsh North Dakota winter weather conditions on the way, it becomes no laughing matter.

If a sibling saw you move, anticipating your vacating of the seat, they could call “no place backs” before you staked your claim and all hell would break lose. Anyone hoping to improve their comfort level (or just make a sibling mad) would make a mad dash for the seat and fight like heck to have their bottom closest to the cushion, thus winning the seat. You can imagine the reaction of my parents, the local and often ignored, authority figures. I am sure that to this day they prepare for battle when someone starts to leave the table.

It kind of sounds like life in the Bakken doesn’t it?

Small or not we were ‘the house’ for friends and family when they visited the area. I spent more of my childhood with guests sleeping on the couch, in tents in the yard or in my bed with me relegated to the floor, than I spent quietly slumbering with just family snug in their own little beds. What I know now is that “Place Back” was not such a bad thing, as long as we remembered it really didn’t matter. There was room for everyone, we just had to get over seat competitions, mind our manners and give way to reason more often than rivalry.

Kind of like life during energy expansion.

In the Bakken everyone seems to be looking for a place to sit, a place to dine, and a place to call their own. People are calling “Place Back” and they are hoping their butt hits the cushion when they do find a spot. Because I am old enough to know how to change a TV without a remote, I am old enough to tell you this. There is a place for everyone, all we have to do is mind our manners, share the seats at the table and work together.

Copyright 2011 Karen Grosz and Canvas Creek Team Building

Target Logistics Management provides comfortable lodging, dining and recreation facilities for workers in the Bakken oil field.

The prices of homes has been rising steadily in the area so it is difficult to find homes for sale. Here is a look at the town of Williston, ND provided by Bakken Realty.

The Associated Press posted a report on housing in North Dakota. The housing market is being fueled by the influx of workers needed to work in the Bakken and Three Forks Formations.