The developer of some of the most exclusive real estate properties in Kootenai County and Spokane is optimistic but realistic in what the future holds for him and others in the business.
"Anybody today in the development business who tells you things are a bowl of cherries is a liar," Chesrown said.
He's right. It's not the end of the world, but it's definitely a different world.
"No one anticipated the slowdown to be as deep and wide as it's been. When we budgeted for 2006 -2007 or 2007-2008 we were looking at a slowdown estimated at 20 percent, not 75 to 100 percent."
Black Rock cut about 70 percent of its administrative personnel to a staff of about 25 and closed its downtown sales office. Chesrown has taken on the position of sales director.
He started putting his personal property on the market early last year. He sold one home in California, while Black Rock Ranch near Harrison and another ranch in Texas are for sale, with plans to keep the one that does not sell.
"Obviously the ranch is a passion, but to have those kind of things, you can't put those kind of assets ahead of your business," he said. "The other thing, when you're asking lenders and different entities to work with you on restructuring, you have to be willing to make the tough decisions. The tough decision sometimes is on a personal note."
Now this I admire - it takes a confident man to make hard decisions and then live by them.
"Trying is lying. There is no such thing as trying. You do it or you don't. You get results in life or you have excuses why you didn't. When people say, 'I'll try,' they usually mean, 'I'm not going to do it now.'"— Dick Sutphen: Psychic researcher and author and speaker on hypnotherapy
Or, as Yoda, Jedi Master said: Do, or do not. There is no Try.
What do you try? What do you do?
I've taken to not responding with: I'll try. Instead I give either an affirmative or a negative. Do, or do not. There is not try is taking away a lot of stuff off my plate. When I force myself to respond with yes I will do it or no, I am not able to do it, WOW, how powerful it is!
This is good news on a national level. Perhaps this is why Kootenai County's unemployment actually went down 3/10th's of a percent from 7.7 to 7.4 in the last month. Unemployment in the greater Coeur d'Alene area is actually expected to reach the 9-10% range by late summer. While not good, it's also not the worst we've seen in the last 20 or so years.
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Curious about the true sellable value of your home? Visit North Idaho House Values to obtain a market analysis.
Tired of flipping through homes magazines only to have to call multiple people and then finding out the property is no longer available? Visit Coeur d'Alene House Hunter and receive free, no obligation, up-to-the-minute updates on homes for sale that fit your parameters!
Pend Oreille Lake, from the shores of Farragut State Park Summer 2008Photo Credit: Christina Ethridge
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Curious about the true sellable value of your home? Visit North Idaho House Values to obtain a market analysis.
Tired of flipping through homes magazines only to have to call multiple people and then finding out the property is no longer available? Visit Coeur d'Alene House Hunter and receive free, no obligation, up-to-the-minute updates on homes for sale that fit your parameters!
Steve Griffitts is confident in his weather prediction: The sun is going to come out in April and eventually, it will stop snowing here.
He has the same confidence in his economic forecast that businesses will rebound, jobs will bounce back, shoppers will return to stores and things will get better.
"People are not afraid of what happened," said the president of Jobs Plus. "They're afraid of what's to come. Let me put you at rest."
North Idaho has gone from a resource-based economy dependent on lumber and mining to a diverse and expanding one marked by growth in medicine, finance and tourism.
"We have seen so much investment in our area," Griffitts said. "Not only financial investment, but intellectual investment."
A cornerstone of the area's success has been manufacturing.
Interesting... so the fact that I've been telling people that medical and manufacturing are the strongest employers in the area is TRUE - wow, fancy that ;)
I wrote a post on my North Idaho Real Estate Blog, a list post. I'm actually participating in the #31DBBB challenge and yesterday's challenge was to write a list post.
Anyway, while it's satirical, it's based firmly in reality, so here is a synopsis of the post. You can read more over at that North Idaho Real Estate Blog.
1. What more is there to know about the area? You heard what a great place it is from your brother’s sister’s cousin who has a friend who drove through here once on their trip from Seattle to Montana.
2. The home was supposed to be a wonderful investment, it looked GREAT in the pictures!
3. Your friend moved to the area 4 years ago and they told you that the home next to theirs is available for a “Steal of a deal” right from the owner… no commissions!!!
4. You know you’ll get a “better deal” buying directly through the listing agent because the seller won’t have to pay “double” commission!!
5. Heck, the extra money you have to put into the property in improvements is made up for by the extra appreciation a particular neighborhood will have.
6. You believe that either all agents are created equal or all agents suck, why on earth do I need an investment property expert?
7. Hey, this management company cost me less money in repairs and maintenance every month. I can take care of that stuff later (or, it’s unnecessary work).
8. Of course you should go straight to the builder. They will give you the best price possible. After all, You’re experienced, You’ve “done this” a few times!
30% of all sales are vacation-home buyers and investment home buyers. Sure that number has dropped from 33%, but it's still a very strong number.
Who are the buyers? Investment-home buyers in 2008 had a median age of 47, earned $85,000, and bought a home that was fairly close to their primary residence.
The thing is, the investors that are buying now are much more financially stronger than the bulk of investors that purchased 3-5 years ago. Today they are coming in with at least 30-35% down and all too often, cash for full purchase. They are also looking for serious deals, which has resulted in the buying of REO's and Short-Sales more frequently than a traditional re-sale.
I found a lovely blogsite bashing all REALTORS(R) - by lovely, I mean that while I get the point of it (at least I think I do, let me take a stab at it: it's written by someone who believes that REALTORS(R) are a waste of time and are even harmful to a real estate transaction. I haven't decided if the author is vengeful, crazy or just passionate about something they believe to be a necessary change. I choose to believe the passion part), I think it's a tad bit extreme, accusatory, slanderous and...
Ok, everyone is entitled to their opinion and often, based upon our own anecdotal evidence, our opinions may seem very solid and almost factual. But, they are still opinions none the less.
I really wanted to address something I read on that site (well actually, I'd like to address a whole lot of things but it's not my goal in life to try to change the writers opinion about REALTORS(R) so anyway...).
The guest writer makes the following statement: "...in light of the current mortgage mess. The basis of it all is that people paid too much for their houses. Period..."
The guest writer is saying that the reason why people paid "too much" for their home is because REALTORS(R) should have known homes were over priced and guided buyers accordingly. That because REALTORS(R) are paid based upon a percentage of the sales price, it was in their best interest to keep pushing home prices higher and higher.
In other words, REALTORS(R) should always have crystal balls. Yes, we should cleary know and predict (with 100% accuracy mind you) the future value of any real estate we sell.
Gosh golly gee, it's no wonder no REALTOR(R) can make the grade she's set.
Let's completely ignore the fact that prices rise when the demand is high and the supply is low. That without a single REALTOR(R) involved in any transaction, sellers would have still kept their prices high and buyers would still have bought just about anything sight-unseen.
It was a frenzy.Credit was very loose and lenders were lending like crazy. In fact, Fannie and Freddie were FORCING lending institutions to lend to severly unqualified buyers on the basis of "anti-discrimination, steering and other politically correct reasons". In other words, money was flowing freely and "reverse" discrimination was mandatory.
I know from our experience, it didn't matter WHAT we said to people, they were going to do what they were going to do. If we advised that perhaps they shouldn't use a zero down, negative ammortization I/O loan to buy their 8th property in a month (in a market where rents were paying 1/2 the mortgage cost at the peak), they simply either ignored us or went to another REALTOR(R) and bought what they wanted.
In other words, a REALTOR(R) can give the best possible advice but it is ENTIRELY up to the buyer to either heed that advice or ignore it. It's also convenient how quickly a buyer "forgets" the advice given to them, which explains why the advice I give is in writing, and signed and dated by both the buyer and myself.
At some point with some consumers, you just have to shut up and do what they want you to do. Kind of stinks, we get slammed because we don't "advise enough" and we get slammed because "I know what I'm doing, I'm only using you because I have to".
A major catch 22.
(The guest writer goes on to say that REALTORS(R) caused the whole fiasco. It's so much easier to cast blame than to look in the mirror as a consumer, isn't it!?)
P.S.I have a feeling I am totally setting myself up to be slammed, I sincerely hope the author of the blog doesn't do it. I've seen it done to other agents by this author, but I am not privy to the details so again, I choose to believe the best, that there was culpability on the part of the agents involved and the author was simply "outing" those agents.
P.P.S.The worst part about this particular blog?? The fact that we as REALTORS(R) have done nothing to truly show why we are a fundmentally necessary component to the sale of real estate. In other words, the public thinks all we do is throw the property in the MLS and show up at the closing table.
P.P.P.S. Hum... I just realized that the real product behind the posts is a subscription based website. Hum... in the interests of real estate transparency and something truly free, I believe I will do something a little unique... I will follow, document, journal, every detail of every working day of my life for 1 week (I may do more, but right now I'll commit to 1 week), in an attempt to teach you a smidgeon of what I know (or rather have to know) FOR FREE. I will work on recording my every thought process (even the ones that make me look stupid, politically incorrect, aggressive, angry, etc.) that reveals the reality of a real estate transaction.
P.P.P.P.S. Let's get one thing straight, I agree with the author of the blog in all too many instances. I agree that we need to see some major reform in the real estate industry (and not just with REALTORS(R).) I agree that licensing standards should be much more stringent and more costly. I agree that REALTORS(R) should be held to much higher standards than a simple "code of ethics". But, I also believe what we have is a start, a foundation, a place on which to build. I don't believe it's unchangable. I don't believe that all REALTORS(R) suck (just a few that make the rest of the industry smell like skunk).
Want to following the reality series? No, I won't make REALTORS(R) look stupid, but it will be reality. Then subscribe to this blog. I'll beginning "following myself" either tomorrow or the following day and will post approximately 48 hours after each day happens.
Active Rain members subscribe by clicking the "subscribe" button underneath my photo.
This one is a bit near and dear to my heart - one of my boys wants to build cars as his career and he needs to start out with a full understanding of the workings - aka, mechanics! Neither his father or I know enough to get him beyond the basics so the idea of a Vo-Tech high school campus in the Coeur d'Alene area is very attractive to us.
COEUR d'ALENE -- The House Revenue and Tax Committee unanimously approved a bill Tuesday that would give cooperative service agencies created by school districts the ability to use plant facilities levies to pay for new buildings.
A 100-acre parcel on the Rathdrum Prairie has been secured for use as a professional-technical campus through a partnership of North Idaho College, the North Idaho Manufacturers Consortium, the city of Rathdrum and the owners of the land, the Meyer family of Rathdrum, who all signed an agreement in October outlining their intentions.
NIC is purchasing 40 acres to develop its professional-technical programs, and the Lakeland School District is purchasing 20 acres to use as the site for a future school.
The final 20 acres have been set aside for the Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls and Lakeland school districts to use to build a professional-technical high school.
Bank files action for $14.6 million against luxury home project on Lake Coeur d’Alene
The complaint filed by American Bank, based in Bozeman, Mont., centers on Black Rock North, a 1,100-acre tract that Chesrown and his investment companies envisioned as an extension of the original Black Rock luxury golf club at Rockford Bay.
Though construction crews built the second golf course, the demand for luxury homes to pay for the project has collapsed. No homes or lots have been sold and the Black Rock North Development group has defaulted. The plans included 206 homes and 325 condo units overlooking the lake.
The development company hasn’t made a payment this year and efforts to reach a loan restructuring agreement with American Bank have so far failed, said Chesrown’s lawyer, Barry Davidson, a Spokane attorney specializing in bankruptcy, receiverships and business restructurings.
Davidson emphasized that Black Rock North is separate from the adjoining Club at Black Rock, the area’s first exclusive waterfront golf retreat.
It's all about North Idaho. Consistent appreciation, stunning ocation and never ending beauty make North Idaho an ideal place for investment, opportunity, living and thriving.
Oh and every so often I like to provide real estate marketing tips, thoughts and ideas.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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