Guest Blog Contributed by Chamber Member Kyle Bunch American Family Insurance

Float On With These Boat Safety Tips

Does a wave of anticipation wash over you before each day on the water? With common sense boat safety training, there can be less worry and more excitement.

Are You the Captain?

The captain of the boat is the leader on the water. Knowing how to avoid incidents and having a plan if something does happen will give all your passengers peace of mind.

Completing a boater’s safety course before embarking will help you understand state laws and brush up on first aid. State links can be found at boat-ed.com.

Keep your distance. Staying 100-150 feet from shores, docks, buoys, other boats, swimmers, and mooring or swimming fields is required.… Read the rest

Guest Blog Contributed by Chamber Member Beltran Properties Group

Ready to Buy a Home?

House hunting can be very fun! And yet the process can get confusing and overwhelming at times. Hiring and working with a strong real estate agent is the best way to ensure a smooth home-buying experience. Since I meet a lot of people in the beginning stages of their house hunting, often at open houses, it becomes second nature for me to recognize the signs of those who may need guidance.

Here’s a short list of expectations to keep front of mind through your home-purchase process.

Get Pre-Approved: As exciting as looking at new homes may be, taking a step back and speaking with a lender should be the first step before actually touring with an agent.… Read the rest

Guest Blog Contributed by Chamber Member Lori Powers of Academy Mortgage Corporation

Spring is here — and with it comes the most popular time of year to shop for a home. Many people have mistaken ideas about down payments that keep them from becoming homeowners.

Here are five down payment myths and why they’re false:

MYTH 1: I must pay a 20% down payment.

Not true. The typical down payment today is between 5% and 10%, according to SmartAsset.

MYTH 2: My down payment has to be all my own money.

Not true. Borrowers have several options for saving for a home, including gifts from family, such as wedding gifts; grants from nonprofit agencies or public institutions; state down payment assistance programs; and employer assistance.… Read the rest

Guest Blog Contributed by Chamber Member Ron Le Vine, Efficient Portal

Over the years, we have had many people ask us about SEO. So, I thought I would write about it for a bit. First, I will start with some history and then get into how to think about SEO in the current times.

Back in the early days of the Internet people would build a site and then tell their friends and colleges about it. Sometimes the sites were useful. Sometimes not.

Later on, the search engines were developed with the idea of providing users of the Internet a way to search the thousands of websites for information they needed. Sites like Infoseek.com, Yahoo.com, and so on, came into being and successful by providing this service.… Read the rest