While I was starting my day today I took note, as I always do, of the expired  listings that popped up in the MLS system. One of them was a home owned by  the Montana Housing Authority. Originally being from Idaho and practicing the  art of real estate down there for the first 7 years of my career, I didn't really  know how things worked here in Montana so I made a few calls and visited a  few websites to find out more. 

  Some of the information I found out about housing authorities was a complete  surprise to me. Housing Authorities are usually publicly owned corporations ran  by boards of members elected by local government and residents in the areas  they provide services. The mission of these housing authorities is to place low  income to moderate income families into affordable housing that will fit their  budget. When asked what a housing authority is, most people will immediately tell you of a housing complex located somewhere in the city and not offer any further information. While this is true, I think people don't fully understand how much more housing authorities have to offer.

  Housing authorities do indeed offer public housing to low and moderate income producing families, but they also offer other types of subsidized housing and provide a great deal of information on section 8 housing and how to apply for it. One of the interesting things I learned by visiting some different housing authority websites was that they provide counseling for low to moderate income families. This counseling is usually funded through HUD and other government grants for the purpose of helping people understand the process. I was also educated on loan programs that were available for people to obtain affordable financing if they meet certain criteria. After printing off material showing me income limits and resources available for this financing, I was surprised to learn just how available these programs really are for people. I will be using this in my everyday travels as a real estate professional. 

  Here are some links where I found this information available. I would highly encourage people to visit these sites to learn more about these programs.

Montana Housing Division Home - Section 8 information and qualification guidelines. 

Missoula Housing Authority - This site is still under construction but offers information on how to contact.

View Larger Map

When a person starts their search for a home in Missoula Montana it can be a daunting process. Though there are only about 107,000 people as of 2008 in Missoula County, the area covered is much greater than most will realize. For example, a person may come to me and tell me a general price range, number of bedrooms and bathrooms they are looking for and possibly a square footage range to look for. I'll narrow the search down to fit what they're looking for and pass on the list for their approval. This list may consist of 5-10 prime properties that fit their descriptions but it will take a full 2-3 days and 500 miles to look at them all. I used to cover a 5 or 10 property list in a half a day in south eastern Idaho where I used to show properties but not here! 

One thing that holds true in most places in the state of Montana is that there is a lot of area to cover. Lifestyle, hobbies and special interests are going to be the golden key for people moving to Montana. One thing is pretty clear, if you like out door activities you can pretty much find them anywhere within minutes of wherever you live but the life you live will vary greatly. If you're more into night life, politics and community, there are much better areas to live in than others. Some people live for the farmers market and other old down town community events every weekend in the summer months and want to live as close as possible to walk to these events. Others enjoy hunting, camping, hiking and actually living with the bears and may like to live in areas that are less conjested and easier to access these activities. We also have a University in the area that some of you may be familiar with called the University of Montana or better known as the "Home of the Grizzlies!" The university district in Missoula offers a very "acedemic" way of life that many are drawn to. If it's horses you want, horse properties you get! In most areas of the country it's easy to find these equestrian areas but, in Montana, they litter the countryside! ... Literally!

The bottom line, Missoula and it's surrounding areas are full of diversity and different ways of living. Finding a home can look and feel like a daunting task but needs not be with the proper guidance of a good qualified resident or resident Realtor. The diversity of the area and different ways of life that follow are conducive to almost anyone with a heart beat! Western Montana, in general, is the coolest place I've ever lived and a great deal of people feel the same way I do.

All of this information and I haven't even touched on elementary, middle and high schools for the kids or the medical and professional community around the area. I guess this leaves more blogging fader for me in the future but described in a short three words... Second to none. 

** As a side note here, the top picture is a picture of my oldest son enjoying a community car show. The second picture is of my oldest and youngest taking in the farmers market. Visit my website for a list of community events taking place on a weekly basis all over Missoula. **

Until next time...

Living up near the 45th parallel, the days are growing shorter and the temperatures have been consistently dropping. My son started grid kid football last week and my friends that are Denver Broncos fans on Facebook have been chattering about Tebow and driving me nuts. Yup, Winter time must be in the air and around the corner! Most people would probably consider me nuts but I love the winter season and seasonal changes in general. I guess it always reminds me that things will always change. Perhaps next year the Raiders will get their own form of a Tebow? :o)

The market conditions here in Missoula County have declined in the past year but still remain strong in key areas with regards to the existing housing market. In the last 7 days we've had 18 new listings, 9 sold or under contract, 26 expired and 65 pending listings. The median price range of the new listings was around $235,000.

The picture gets a little more interesting when you look at the year to date numbers for our area. Year to date numbers for this time last year were hovering around 603 under contract/sold properties and this years numbers come in slightly lower at 557. Average Days on Market (ADOM) numbers have increased slightly with the average YTD showing around 117. In the last 7 days the Average Days on Market numbers came in at 147 showing a normal "end of summer" trend for the area. Time will tell over the next couple of months with regards to the ADOM number. We shall see... I've always watched this number closely as it's usually the one property owners ask me first when talking to them about listing their properties.

Western Montana is a different market than what I'm used to seeing in South Eastern Idaho. This morning I was out the door at 0800 to take my son to school and head off to a new listing appointment. I'm very surprised to see so many 2 bedroom homes on the market. The property I visited this morning was a 1300 finished square foot, 2 bedroom home with no basement. Beautiful granite counter tops adorned the kitchen and bathrooms with high quality plumbing fixtures and tile flooring throughout. Fourteen foot ceilings, canned lighting, hard wood flooring, etc... . All this in a very nice subdivision in the beginning of the Hwy 12 Valley of the Lolo National Forest on a .40 acre lot. The views are astounding and the subdivision is teaming with family life and kids. I couldn't help but ask myself, "Why would a builder build a 2 bedroom home in this area?" In my eyes, it's not the right floor plan for the area... it's going to be a tough sell... .

Order up! One CMA, well done and a listing packet on the side! I should have this one under contract in a couple of days. Pictures and descriptions to follow...

Until next time dear blog... This is Paul Griffin, signing off for Western Montana!

So, I'm sitting in my office today working on a CMA for a client and I get a call. A voice comes through the line and says,

"I'd like to look at homes in the Missoula area!"

Great!! I thought to myself, let's start looking for a home for him in the Missoula area and get a contract drawn up as soon as possible! I'm just getting started in the Real Estate world again and could use a deal or two!

The conversation continued... 

"I'm starting a new business dealing medical marijuana." the gentleman stated.

"Ok." I said cautiously.

"It's all legal and I have an attorney to back me up. I won't be doing anything illegal or under the cover and I've been prequalified." he continued.

"What would you like to find in a house Mr. Buyer?" I asked remaining completely neutral. 

"I would like at least 2 bedrooms upstairs and a big full unfinished basement. I need it to be in an area that's not too active if you don't mind. Anything in the $250,000 price range would be fine but no higher than that. Just send me a list to [email]." he said.

Now, I know how I handled this situation but how would you? 

How do you think legalizing medical marijuana dispensaries is going to have an effect on house values if any?

Lets Help Jack Together!

We are now up to 191.52 in donations!! Please keep them coming! Thank you so much for all you're doing! 

Recently I posted a blog to help a friend / colleague of mine in my office at EXiT Realty of Idaho Falls, ID.  His name is Jack Wise and he has just recently been diagnosed with throat cancer and has very poor chances of recovery.  As you can probably imagine, this is a very emotional and traumatic experience for Jack and his family as it would be for any one of us and our families. 

Like a good majority of us "independent contractors," Jack has no health insurance coverage for he and his family because of the high costs of private insurance plans.  Without this necessary medical coverage it usually means that health providers in our wonderful medical industry here in the United States probably will not give him the kind of care every one of us would deserve.  In Jacks case, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that he, as so many others without insurance, will probably suffer beyond what he should have to suffer while battling this terrible ailment.

In my opinion, the last thing in the world a family should have to worry about in a time like this is money.  Unfortunately, the sad truth is that they will probably have to just like any of us would.  It is for this reason that I'm writing this blog post.  I have created a PayPal account and a website for people to go and donate money to Jack and his family in their time of need.  Please visit the following site and donate any amount you can for Jack and his family.  Even if a few thousand people donated just one dollar it would help the family immensely with the living costs that they will need during this trying time.

Just think, it costs $5.19 for one Carmel Macchiato from Starbucks or $4.00 or $5.00 for a McDonald's Value Meal from McDonald's.  Imagine if 1000 people from Active Rain and around the world donated the dollar amount of just one of these items to Jack and his family?

Please visit the following site and donate if you can...  At the very least, please e-mail this link to as many people as you can and spread the word for Jack and his family and keep them in your prayers.  Let's make a difference just this once in the life of a fellow Real Estate Professional without insurance.  This story is all too familiar...  let's make a difference this time!

The Jack Wise Donation Site

Thank you so much for any support...

Please also feel free to leave your comments on this blog to keep it alive as long as possible...

Paul

Recently I posted a blog to help a friend / colleague of mine in my office at EXiT Realty of Idaho Falls, ID.  His name is Jack Wise and he has just recently been diagnosed with throat cancer and has very poor chances of recovery.  As you can probably imagine, this is a very emotional and traumatic experience for Jack and his family as it would be for any one of us and our families. 

Like a good majority of us "independent contractors," Jack has no health insurance coverage for he and his family because of the high costs of private insurance plans.  Without this necessary medical coverage it usually means that health providers in our wonderful medical industry here in the United States probably will not give him the kind of care every one of us would deserve.  In Jacks case, the unfortunate fact of the matter is that he, as so many others without insurance, will probably suffer beyond what he should have to suffer while battling this terrible ailment.

In my opinion, the last thing in the world a family should have to worry about in a time like this is money.  Unfortunately, the sad truth is that they will probably have to just like any of us would.  It is for this reason that I'm writing this blog post.  I have created a PayPal account and a website for people to go and donate money to Jack and his family in their time of need.  Please visit the following site and donate any amount you can for Jack and his family.  Even if a few thousand people donated just one dollar it would help the family immensely with the living costs that they will need during this trying time.

Just think, it costs $5.19 for one Carmel Macchiato from Starbucks or $4.00 or $5.00 for a McDonald's Value Meal from McDonald's.  Imagine if 1000 people from Active Rain and around the world donated the dollar amount of just one of these items to Jack and his family?

Please visit the following site and donate if you can...  At the very least, please e-mail this link to as many people as you can and spread the word for Jack and his family and keep them in your prayers.  Let's make a difference just this once in the life of a fellow Real Estate Professional without insurance.  This story is all too familiar...  let's make a difference this time!

The Jack Wise Donation Site

Thank you so much for any support...

Please also feel free to leave your comments on this blog to keep it alive as long as possible...

Paul

Spam Premevara

I just love GMail!  I was clearing out my Spam box a few days back and noticed that you get free spam recipes every time you go into your spam box section of gmail!  I immediately proceeded to ask my wife if she could try one of these recipes out for me.  I'll be the first to admit, and I'm especially not ashamed to admit it right now, that I really like Spam!  It's high in cholesterol, fat, salt and all those good things for the body!  Anyway, I had her make this recipe for me and I would highly recommend it to all the closet Spam lovers out there!

HINT:

If you don't want to get too involved with a huge recipe using spam you can always just slice some up and throw a couple of slices of cheese and some mayo between two pieces of bread too!  Mmmmmm  Mmmmm  good!  I also like to make a grilled cheese sandwich with thinly sliced spam!

I'm not really sure why I'm blogging about this other than to support GMail!  It really does block out the spam mail that you get.  If you haven't tried it lately it comes highly recommended by me.... right along with the real spam!  :o)  Both are great resources for anyone in the RE world!

Have a blessed day!

I have a team member that needs prayer.  He is a great guy and was recently diagnosed with throat cancer and is now starting his treatment with chemo and radiation.  Please keep him in your prayers.  Thank you...

Update to original blog post (see also my comments in the comments section below)...  11/12/2008

Just an update to anyone that may be following this blog post.  My buddy came into the office the other day and stated that his doctor told him that he only had between 5% - 15% chance of survival.  To top things off, he and his family do not have insurance either...  Life is so tough for some... 

May God please shine his light on Jack & his family and help them out in this dire time in their lives.  Oh Lord, please be with them!  Most of all, may Your Will be done...  Amen

If anyone would like to donate to this great guy and his family please contact Tello Baird, the broker/franchise owner, at the Idaho Falls EXiT Realty office.  He is taking donations from the local board here in our Snake River MLS as well.  Even a dollar or two would be most appreciated...  Please, if nothing else, keep the prayers coming!  The information for donations is as follows...

EXiT Realty of Idaho Falls

2157 E. 17th St.

Idaho Falls, ID 83404

Office: 208.522.0711

Fax: 208.522.0726

Tello Baird's Mobile: 208.339.0711

Tello Bairds E-Mail: tellobaird@gmail.com 

I have also set up a paypal donation button and web site for Jack and his family here.  Please donate freely if you are able!  Thanks so much in advance!

Computer Security

Let me just start by saying that I'm not a computer geek by any stretch of the words but I can boast just a little here...

I haven't ran computer virus software consistently for the last 8 years and I don't plan to run one anytime soon either.  The general media and computer stores of the world would have you believe that you can't get by without having some sort of expensive virus software installed, updated and running at all times on your computer while it's in use.  While, this may be true for many people that have absolutely no intellect when it comes to computers at all, my wife, kids & mother come to mind here, it's not always true for a great deal of people.  There are some things that you can do to protect yourself without using a virus scanner.  Education is the key!

A quick note about virus scanners...

Many people should use a virus scanner.  Many people will not take the time to learn about computers, the Internet and how it all works.  For people that don't want to take the time to learn (and I'm not saying that's a bad thing either!  We need to keep the computer savvy in a job!) there are a plethora of good virus scanners out there.  They can range in price anywhere from free (AVG) all the way to $135.00 for a two year download of Norton.  If you're going to use virus software I would recommend the following programs that I've played around with a little...

AVG (Free Addition) - http://www.avg.com  This one slows your system a little but not bad and does a good job of auto updating it's virus files.  I've had several friends that swore by this one.

Trend Micro PC-Cillin - ($85.00) - http://www.trendmicro.com   I was even actually talked in to using this one for a while by one of my truly geekish friends.  You hardly even know this one's installed until it asks you to pay another $85.00 to update it... 

Norton Security - ($135.00) - http://www.norton.com  I've heard it both ways on this software package...  People either love it or hate it.  I, personally, hate it.  If there's one that slows your system down at all this is it! 

These scanner systems can definitely keep you safe and secure (to a point) if you use them properly and keep them up to date.  The biggest problem I see with people is they do not keep these things updated once they've thrown the money out there to buy them!  Thousands of new virus' are discovered each month and the only way you can secure your computer with your virus scanners is to update them consistently.  The biggest mistake I see folks make is setting their scanner to auto-update and then they don't have a consistent connection to the Internet?  How's it suppose to download without a connection to the Internet?  Even with high speed Internet access it takes more than a quick e-mail check (on/off) session at Starbucks to update your virus engine.  I recommend connection to the Internet at night and have it update while you're sleeping if it needs to.

Password Safety!

Obviously, resetting your password often just makes sense.  Just because it makes sense, however, doesn't mean people do it!  I'm even guilty of this one.  Along with resetting passwords, here's what I also recommend...

1. Don't have just ONE set common password that you use for everything!  The most secure things most people use are banking sites and auto bill-pay sites in my opinion.  Unless they work for the CIA or something???  My suggestion...  Have ONE password for your banking site that is only used for YOUR banking site and change it every month.  For the rest of the auto bill-pay things you can have one common password and change it every few months or so or whenever it asks you to do so.
2. E-Mail Passwords:  I almost hold my e-mail password more super-secret than any other for a few reasons...  First, if a virus or hacker invades my e-mail, they can send out bad things to all my 800 contacts.  Contacts that I've done business with in the past, contacts that I'm trying to do business with in the future, family, friends, etc...  I don't know about you but I always feel so sorry for a fellow Realtor when I get an ad for viagra or antibiotics from them in my e-mail...  Second, it's the password I use the most and it's easiest for me to remember AND it's the easiest for me to "give up" to people... so be careful!  Thirdly, my e-mail is strictly confidential between me and my wife and whoever I'm talking to in that e-mail.  Yes, you heard me correctly, me and my wife!  I'll talk more about that later, however, on another blog...  Anyway, my e-mail is usually another separate password.  (** That makes 3 so far!)
3. All other passwords:   If it's not a super-secret secure site for me I'll usually use yet another common password for all the rest.  Examples would be Shopping Sites, Forums, Networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, AR, etc...
4. Never, Ever, Ever, Ever set your password to be remembered in your computer!  If you're using things like Google's Toolbar auto-fill feature or Windows auto-fill feature you're just asking for trouble.  Though these applications are secure they are NOT perfect and hackers are ever changing their techniques.  Do yourself a favor, keep a little notebook with you with all your passwords before you use this feature.  There are programs that claim to help keep all your information safe and secure.  These programs have consistently been hacked and proven to be ineffective.  If you've used these features in the past and don't know how to delete them e-mail me or call me and I'll help you erase them from your systems...  You don't want to be paying for someones coffee in Milan tomorrow morning!  Another thing, don't let your computer or websites "remember you" unless it's a password you don't hold dear to your heart.  If you allow a password to be "remembered" by a website you're risking someone else gaining access to that password... period.

So, there you have my ideas on passwords!  I have 4 official passwords!  One for banking, one for auto bill-pays, one for e-mail and one for all the rest...  Only my wife and I know them all!  Oh, and my advise on auto-fillers...  Never, Ever, Ever, Ever use them!  No matter what anyone tells you!  NEVER...

Surfing and all the rest...

Passwords and other information are stolen by hackers using several different methods.  Now a days you can visit a site, pick up a trojan worm and lose a password in less than 5 minutes if it's stored on your computer!  My advise to people using the Internet is to just use their common sense.  If it's a website you don't know about or that someone hasn't recommended to you for music, video or software downloads then don't use it!  Even if someone has recommended it to you, make sure you know their recommend is credible.  Here are some tips...

• Don't go to Internet sites unless you KNOW them.  NOTE:  A site being recommended to you by a friend may not be credible!
• Don't download ANYTHING unless you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt that the file is credible.  NOTE: A file being e-mailed to you from your best friend may not be credible!
• Learn file formats and what they can do!  Learn what a picture format extension looks like, (i.e. jpeg, tiff, img, gif, etc...) learn what fax extensions look like, (i.e. pdf, tiff, etc...) know what executable file extensions are, (i.e. exe).  Finally, understand what they can do.  (i.e. PDF files generally won't hurt you and won't deliver anything to your system.)

Just remember, if anything looks, feels or seems different at all in any way then don't mess with it.  Protect your passwords, learn extensions, learn how your computer works and you'll be just fine!  If you ever have any questions don't hesitate to ask me or someone that's very computer savvy and save yourself the headache of taking your machine in to be "cleaned" by a tech guy...  (They'll probably just recommend a very expensive virus software anyway!)

One last thought here... and some resources!

Don't let your kids, co-workers, colleagues, friends or anybody on your computer.  Buy them their own or tell them to use their own.  As a last resort, if they have to use yours and you don't want to seem rude then let them use it but stand over their shoulder till they're done!  I promise, you won't be sorry you did!  Here are a few resources you can utilize to help keep you safe!

For software downloads and trials...

http://www.downloads.com  or http://www.cnet.com (Also a great electronics review site!)

http://www.tucows.com  (Be vigilant here too!  This site has always been a good resource for me though.)

For music...

http://www.itunes.com (An obvious choice for most but I'll still post it here...)

For computer learning...

http://www.microsoft.com  (Look for free tutorials and editorials on computer & Internet security)

http://www.cnet.com  (Again, a great site for learning about software, computers and electronic gadgets.)

Blogs!  Find people with good computer blogs that know what they're talking about.  Subscribe to them and learn from their tips and tricks!  Remember, if you have any questions don't be afraid to ask me anytime!  Since RE isn't very busy I usually have plenty of time to help people!

Make it a great day!