real estate: Turning Back the Clock on the Older Home - Part II - 05/08/08 02:24 PM
It's Crunch Time - You just got orders, are buying a bigger house or just need to sell and move on. You've dealt, as much as possible, with the major items (see Part I of this post) but what final adjustments should you make to your older home just before putting … (0 comments)
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real estate: Turning Back the Clock on The Older Home - Part I - 04/15/08 04:05 PM
The clock starts running on a new home when the Mountain Home, Idaho Building Department signs the building permit. Advances in building science and changing economic conditions work together to cause our homes to rapidly become something less than "state of the art" and worth less than the "next new thing". … (0 comments)
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real estate: Keeping the Wolf Away - Still Few Foreclosures to Report - 03/25/08 06:00 PM
Don't get me wrong - homes sales are clearly off from a year ago and I currently have more time to catch up on old paper work than I care to. Still, despite the media's constant wailing and gnashing of teeth, the Mountain Home, Idaho real estate market remains in pretty … (0 comments)
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real estate: The End of the Ever Larger Home? - 02/14/08 01:39 AM
After running my weekly analysis of what's going on in the Mountain Home, Idaho real estate market, I'm now of the suspicion (and working towards the conclusion) that new home prices may have finally reached the point where local builders are drafting new game plans. In 2007, for the first time … (1 comments)
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real estate: Residential Garage Fires - Serious Problem, Simple Solution - 01/24/08 06:44 PM
An Interesting Fact that's probably as true in Mountain Home Idaho as anywhere else. Did you know that nearly 1/4 of all fatal home fires begin in the garage? These fires are especially deadly because they spread quickly and are well underway before occupants are alerted to the blaze. Gas Cans, fumes from spills … (5 comments)
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real estate: Keeping Secrets from Our Clients - 01/09/08 06:52 PM
Every Day we hear about how today's home buyers are fixated on value. They're smarter, more sophisticated and have access to tools and information that makes them more informed and astute buyers. That may all be true but, after reading the engagement agreements of more than a few relocation/referral companies, I've … (0 comments)
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real estate: Mountain Home, ID Real Estate Wrap Up and Forecast - 01/09/08 03:14 AM
Activity and Prices By historical standards, 2007 was a good but not record setting year for Mountain Home. Sales of both new and existing homes were off about 19% from 2006. During the same period, the median price of existing homes increased by 12% to $152,000 while new homes saw a … (0 comments)
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real estate: Is Energy Efficiency a Leading Cause of Energy Consumption? - 12/12/07 03:20 PM
According to Canadian scientists, increasing energy efficiency also increases overall energy consumption. You heard it here first - consumers are taking their newly acquired energy savings and plowing it back into more and bigger energy guzzling products.
The conclusions by CIBC World Markets were reached, in part, by studying the effects of increased efficiency standards for new, Canadian homes. The results indicate … (3 comments)
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real estate: Not All the Real Estate News is Grim - 11/07/07 05:29 PM
Time to put aside all the media hysteria, gloom and doom and look at a couple of fun things that have absolutely no relevance to Mountain Home Idaho real estate. Naked Carpenter Acquitted!
A Bay area (why does this not surprise me?) carpenter has been found not guilty of indecent exposure … (0 comments)
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real estate: Warm Winds From Washington Waft - Real Estate News - Mountain Home, ID - 11/01/07 04:10 AM
Prompted by the meltdown of the subprime mortgage market and the resulting flood of foreclosures, House Democrats have reacted (over-reacted?) with HR3915 the "Mortgage Reform and Anti-Predatory Lending Act of 2007". Among other provisions, the Act would prohibit prepayment penalties on "High Cost" mortgages (including loans already in existence) and require … (0 comments)
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real estate: It Isn't Easy Being Green (Yet!) - Energy Efficiency - Mountain Home, ID - 10/18/07 03:58 PM
I just completed a year long (well, it took ME a year) program leading to certification under the ECOBroker program. The primary goal of ECOBroker is to train real estate professionals about residential energy efficiency and home environmental issues (e.g. indoor air quality) so that we can can then provide knowledgeable … (2 comments)
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real estate: Real Estate Investment Goes Bust - Real Estate News - Mountain Home, ID - 10/05/07 03:15 PM
I'm not quite sure how to handle this (true) story. I'll try to do so with sensitivity and dignity but.....
Several Boise investors were among those victimized in a $95 million dollar scam where a "1031 Exchange Accommodator" (more about this later) took the investors' money to purchase businesses for itself … (1 comments)
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real estate: Being Absorbed and Liking It - Market Conditions - Mountain Home, ID - 10/01/07 06:45 PM
If you've been keeping an eye on the "Market Conditions" page of my web site you probably know that it's my read that the Mountain Home real estate market is in "pretty good" shape at the moment. However, much as I hate to, I recognize that there are a few hard cases out … (0 comments)
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real estate: "Fixer Upper" or "Budget Buster"? - Real Estate - Mountain Home, ID - 09/05/07 02:33 PM
Many of my clients initially express an interest in moving into a home that "with a little work" will result in a fat profit on resale. Although a few ultimately take the plunge (some successfully), most quickly realize that these projects aren't for the faint of heart. In hopes of helping … (1 comments)
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real estate: And Now For Something Entirely Different - 08/28/07 03:03 PM
A bit of interesting news entirely unrelated to real estate. Veterans interested in starting their own businesses may want to jump all over the Small Business Administration's new "Patriot Express" (where dooo they get these names) Loan Program.
The program, also available to active duty personnel participating in the Transition Assistance … (0 comments)
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real estate: Greatest Real Estate Myths #1 - Real Estate - Mountain Home, ID - 08/13/07 05:57 PM
Myth #1 - A Listing Agent Who Doesn't Show Your Home to a Boatload of People is a Bum!
I recently acquired a listing from homeowners unhappy with their listing agent because "he never showed our home". Treading gently, I tried to communicate that the primary job of the listing agent is … (1 comments)
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real estate: Putting the Welcome Mat Back Out for VA Buyers - Real Estate - Mountain Home, ID - 07/25/07 06:24 PM
The primary goal of my blog is to promote real estate peace, love and understanding but there will be times when I will stray from my lofty purpose and grumble a bit. This is one of those times.I note that, as the Boise real estate market cools, a surge of what … (0 comments)
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real estate: Lies, Darned Lies and Real Estate Statistics - Market Conditions - Mountain Home, ID - 07/18/07 07:18 PM
Mountain Home Idaho real estate is, in large part, a numbers game. We need them to talk about prices, appraisals, sizes, interest rates, dimensions and the list goes on. But, like in any other industry, some of the numbers used are misleading, irrelevant or just plain wrong. Some examples. Local home … (0 comments)
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real estate: Mountain Home Idaho Market Conditions - 07/12/07 04:29 PM
After weathering a Spring slowdown, the Mountain Home Idaho real estate market is beginning to heat up. Inventories for proposed and lower priced homes are at higher than normal levels but there continues to be strong demand for homes in the $150-220K price range.
Although busy, activity is not at the near "frantic" levels of the recent past. Buyers now have … (0 comments)
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real estate: No More Chemical War - Real Estate - Mountain Home, ID - 05/08/07 05:46 PM
Unclogging your bathroom drains may seem an odd topic for a real estate blog but I'm so impressed with a product my wife brought home that I think I'll give it (and my wife) a plug.
"Zip-It" is a 24" long plastic doohickey with soft teeth (costs about $4 at Walgreens) that … (5 comments)
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real estate: A Penny Saved Might be A Dollar Lost - Real Estate - Mountain Home, ID - 05/02/07 03:05 PM
There's no two ways about it - new homes are breathtakingly expensive and it's only natural to cut costs where you can. Even so, there are several paths leading to false economy and pressuring your builder to buy materials and components from "cheaper" sources is among the worst. You may be … (0 comments)
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real estate: If it Ain't Broke Fix It! - Real Estate - Mountain Home, ID - 04/05/07 03:43 AM
With all of the obligations and commitments in most of our lives, it's not surprising that home owners often forget that our homes need regular preventative maintenance to keep them safe and in the peak of condition. Truth be told, we're often so absorbed in staying of the current day's activities that we're lucky if we remember to pull the dog hair out of furnace filters more … (0 comments)
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real estate: Frankenstein's Furnace?- Energy Efficiency - Mountain Home, ID - 03/27/07 01:20 AM
If you're thinking of building a new home or replacing your existing heating system, there's been a recent breakthrough in HVAC systems that you may want to look into.
Carrier Corporation has recently released a hybrid, residential HVAC system which combines combines a high efficiency (SEER 13) heat pump with an 81% … (0 comments)
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real estate: Pay a Lot for Water Heating? No Tanks! - Energy Efficiency - Mountain Home, ID - 03/27/07 01:06 AM
A sudden, if overdue, interest in residential energy efficiency is resulting in the installation of tankless water heating systems in several of Mountain Home's new homes.
Instead of a big tank keeping 50 gallons of water constantly hot, regardless of whether there's anyone around to use it, tankless systems use a wall … (1 comments)
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real estate: It Ain't the Sweet Smell of Success! - Real Estate- Mountain Home, ID - 03/27/07 12:55 AM
Almost all home buyers in the Mountain Home area now require a home inspection as a condition of sale. Although the diligent home inspectors crawl over, under and through the house, it's important to realize that there are important components that they SPECIFICALLY EXCLUDE from the inspection.
One of the most important of … (1 comments)
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