Dover Bay Waterfront Resort has continued to be aggressive in marketing and selling its array of distinctive neighborhoods.  Some of the recent transactions: a Marina Town condo is pending after two closings a few months ago, one closed and one pending Parkside Bungalow, and a closed Cottage.  Dover Bay has introduced a very appealing finance incentive that is currently available through the month of February.

Dover Bay has teamed up with Mountain West Bank to offer the following terms on standing inventory at Dover Bay, whether this be a waterfront vacation home, waterfront or secondary condominium, bungalow, cottage, or waterfront homesite. This is a straightforward 30 year fixed loan (NOT an ARM), and Dover has negotiated a 'rate buydown' for its customers offering 3% Interest in year 1, 4% in year 2, and a guaranteed 5% in years 3-30 for conforming loan amounts based on approval.  Perhaps more exciting is the incredible savings Dover has negotiated on Jumbo Loans, offering 3.875% in year 1, 4.875% in year 2, and 5.875% in years 3-30.  This is a substantial savings from any jumbo loan rates available in our market today!

For Example...

4.875% for second year

5.875% for years 3-30

Down Payment: 10% to 20%

Year  Interest Rate    Monthly Pymt     Yearly Pymt    Monthly Savings    Yearly Savings    % Savings

1       3.000%           $1,472.24          $17,666.90         $402.34          $2,848.08           21.5%

2       4.000%           $1,667.13          $20,005.61         $207.45          $2,489.36           11.1%

3-30  5.000%            $1,874.58          $22,494.97      

 * Interest rate 3.00% for first year only, 4.00% for second year, 5.00% for years 3-30, (APR 4.50%). Primary home purchase only. Secondary home purchase down payments vary. Jumbo rates 5/1ARM, call for 30 year rate. Condominium financing available call for financing options. Rates quoted as of 01/27/10; subject to change without notice. Available to buyers with excellent credit. Only applicable on selected standing inventory. Home loans and vacant land loans subject to banking requirements and approval. Expires 3/1/10.

In addition to great financing, Dover Bay has recently lowered pricing on some of its inventory including the luxurious waterfront Marina Town condos.  This includes waterfront plans over 2000 square feet, with lofts, in the $500,000s.

It definitely seems like Dover Bay is seeing some renewed interest in the new year as buyers who have stood on the fence for sometimes years are returning and generally loving what they are finding.  For more information on Dover Bay, visit http://www.SandpointResortRealty.com/resort or give me a call at 208-304-5665.

My brother and I participated in the 2nd annual 24 Hours for Hank Ski Race at Schweitzer Mountain Resort this past weekend, along with our friends Kyler Wolf and Blake. The race had approximately 150 participants, up from 109 last year. This is apparently the only 24 ski race in the country, and its quite the event.  24 Hours for Hank is a benefit event for the Cystinosis Foundation. 

Cystinosis is a rare genetic disease that affects approximately 500 people in the United States (mostly children), and about 2,000 people worldwide. This disease causes the amino acid "cystine" to accumulate in the body's cells. Over time, cystine buildup slowly destroys various organs including the kidneys, liver, muscles, white blood cells, eyes and central nervous system.  Hank Sturgis is a local boy in Sandpoint that was diagnosed with this terrible disease in November 2007.  Hank's parents have worked hard to raise money to find a cure, and this 24 Hour race is part of that effort.  To learn more, visit http://www.24hoursforhank.org/

Although the ski race is really all about having a good time for a good cause, the event of course stimulates many of our creative juices.  Since our team had placed second last year, we were amped up to really compete hard this time.  Unfortunately my brother had to drop out of the race early on because his wife was sick at home with pneumonia.  However he returned to the mountain and really stepped up as our pit crew from 10p until almost 2a.  Evans Brothers Coffee (owned by my brother and I) was also a sponsor of this event, providing coffee for the full 24 hours of this race.  Randy brought a couple of airpots out to the lift and served up hot coffee shots to all the racers at around midnight.

The race started at 10a on Friday in the Village, where we raced over to Sunnyside chair and skied Quicksilver from 10a until 4p.  This was definitely the craziest part of the race, with skiers just screaming down the mountain over and over again.  At 4p we moved to Basin chair where we would remain until 1:30 in the morning!  Essentially this part of the race involved tucking it from top to bottom and racing to pick up a chair or two on the guy ahead.  We then moved from Basin to Musical Chairs, for a miserable 5 hours on the slowest chair lift at Schweitzer.  After the sun finally rose we raced back over to Sunnyside for a long three hour finish.

I raced the entire 24 hours without stopping... and still didn't win.  However I did complete 185 laps, taking 6th place.  My friend Blake, also on the Evans Brothers team, was two laps ahead of me and finished in 3rd place. 

I'm still recovering.  Next year I think I'll take it easy, get 100 laps in, and take a few breaks.  Either that or we'll all step it up and Evans Brothers Coffee team will take home the gold!

Many of you know that my brother Randy and I both moved our families to Sandpoint with the idea of planting roots, raising our families together, and perhaps building a business.  Randy has been a ‘coffee geek' for over a decade, having worked with the best in the industry in the coffee meccas of Seattle, Italy, and Hawaii.  He is committed to his craft and is highly skilled in sourcing, roasting, preparing, and educating on coffee. 

For years I had been encouraging my brother to write a business plan and to pursue his dream.  It started to occur to me last winter that I might help him with this venture, and before long I was as excited about the idea as he was.  Our vision literally came together last winter over the long rides on Chair 6, where we made the decision to pursue our goal of building a quality based artisan coffee roasting business that would bring something fun and exciting to our community and would stand the test of time.

It has been incredibly exciting, and challenging, in combining my business and marketing background with my brother's passion and skill in the coffee world.  We feel blessed to have had the support of our community, who have truly embraced us.  Our coffee is now served and sold at several of the top cafes and markets in the area, including Dish Restaurant, Ivano's Ristorante, Tango Café, Winter Ridge Natural Market, and The Gourmandie at Schweitzer.  To order coffee or learn about our upcoming events including monthly Neighborhood Tastings, visit www.EvansBrothersCoffee.com, find us on Facebook, or just give me a call.  I hope you will also visit the Evans Brothers Coffee Roasting Studio next time you are in Sandpoint, located at 524 Church.

The Spires community at Schweitzer in my opinion offers some of the most unique and valuable real estate at any ski area in the country.  It is rare to have property literally at the top of the ski mountain, offering both a pristine and tranquil setting, with great ski access at the same time.  

The development of Spires actually begins just before Boundary Chute off Schweitzer's South Bowl, extending east along the ridge and dropping another 1000 feet or so through gladed powder stashes.  Individual homesites are available at the top of these expert ski runs.  Local powder hounds are often familiar with the treed powder lines that run from the ‘out of ski area' lines down 1000 feet through the Spires land - commonly known as ‘Reservoir Run'.  Property owners in The Spires have always had a very unique and amazing ski run to their home, however this had been limited to advanced skiers that could handle ungroomed tree runs. 

Now the owner has purchased a Snowcat Groomer and has begun grooming the intermediate level, moderately sloped ski trail connecting Spires directly to the Crystal Springs trails back to Schweitzer Village. 

If you ski through this very natural development, you will now see the first Yurt that will become a part of a Yurt Village in the center of the community.  The plan is to offer 30 foot Yert's with a sleeping loft, fireplace and living area, and kitchen and bath.   Prices will start in the high $300,000s to include fee simple ownership of a gorgeous homesite and the yert.  The setup is ideal in offering a romantic, tranquil ski retreat literally tucked into the alpine forest at 5000 feet, now with true ski-in and out access, but with the private setting away from the busy Village.

The feeling of community has already taken shape with the owner's first yert, where you can sip hot chocolate in front of a warm fire, and visit with a small but welcoming group of owners and friends.  Regular bonfires, snow shoeing, and gatherings have become the norm. Those that have purchased in the Spires realize the true value in this community.  They can ski home on a groomed trail or through untracked powder stashes from the top of Schweitzer. Coupled with this is the feeling of ‘getting away from it all', with incredible views of the lake and mountain, an old growth snow-covered forest that gives meaning to the term ‘spires', along with very smart design that ensures ski and view corridors for everyone.

No photos today, but there is a ton of snow at Schweitzer Mountain!  I finally dusted off my gear and went skiing today-- just what the doctor ordered!

I had my mind set on skiing today, after hearing from my friends who have been skinning up for the past week or so.  I arrived at around 1p and met up with a couple of buddies, Mike and Marty.  We skinned in from the Spires, at the end of Tall Timber Road.  Great way to get to the South Ridge fairly quickly.

It was amazing getting back on the snow after the off season.  It dumped all day, and it showed.  The conditions were actually really good, with some nice powder for at least 2/3 of the way.  The rock skies won't even be necessary in a few days.

I skied A chute and just loved it.  Word is that Schweitzer will open its lifts this Friday.

I'm ready for my favorite season in Sandpoint- Winter!

What are the best values for condos and homes at Schweitzer Mountain?  This is a question that I always get from prospective Schweitzer buyers, and I take pride in having found and negotiated some tremendous deals for Schweitzer buyers in the past couple years.  Today was the annual Schweitzer property tour for our Selkirk MLS, where we had a chance to preview 38 listings before the ski season gets started.

The best values to me overall are in the middle price levels, from $400 to $600k.  Also I would encourage people to consider some of the condos and homes that are not necessarily ski-in/ski-out, as the price/value gets much better for some of these units.  The Schweitzer Recreation District started a free ski shuttle on the mountain last season, picking people up from their residences within 15 minutes of calling.  There is also a new ski bridge at the end of Telemark Road that makes the ski access to Musical Chairs way better than before for property owners in this neighborhood.

Following are the properties that stood apart as being very good values relative to everything else on Schweitzer:

115 Crystal Run #10 - $299,021 -- 1600 sft, 2bdr, 3 bath -- Ski in/Ski out -- this is definitely one of the best buys on the market in my opinion.  Located just above the Village with the ski trail to its door - nothing in this price range on the ski trail other than Selkirk Lodge.  There are no rental restrictions.  The downstairs garage was converted into a separate studio along with a hot tub room.  You could rent out the studio separate from the upstairs main condo.  This is a bit dated but you could fix it up pretty nicely.

Snowdrift Condo #B2, listed at $279,000, 750sft, 2/1.  Snowdrift is located on the left just before entering the Main Village parking lot.  This unit has been completely redone, and the ski and village access is great.

130 Stella Lane #202 -- not on tour, trustee sale taking place on 12/23 with First American. My sources tell me the bank would accept $215,000.  The property next door is listed at $385k, near the most recent sale.

20 Snowghost, Cedar Ridge unit 2- $589,000, 2007 sft, 3/3.  Very nice unit sold furnished including a huge flat screen, two story townhouse next to the St Bernard with good ski access from the trail behind Chapel Point.

Cornice Condos #202 - $349,000, 1330 sft, 2/2.  Very nice, vaulted ceiling, 2+ loft, big jacuzzi tub in master bath, furnished, big fireplace; ski access is average but a very nice place for the money.

369 Telemark Road-- $495,000 -- 2268 sft, single family house, lake views, very nice open floor plan.  This is a great house and one of my favorite places on the mountain.  The ski access is much better now with the new bridge at the end of Telemark Road.  One of the rare single family homes available, meaning no HOA, no rental restrictions or rules.  Also has a good rental history.

205 Ullr - $550,000 -- Beautiful residence with high vaulted ceiling near The Ridge.  Finishings are very high end including Viking appliances and hydronic flooring.  4bdr 3 bath, 2628 sft.  A creek runs by the property.  One of the nicer places on the mountain. 

Whiplash Circle #10-- $339,000-- also at The Ridge, 9 of the 12 of these condos have sold, with the most recent closing at $365,000.  3bdr, 2.5 bath, and 1918 sft makes it best price per square foot at Schweitzer.

Granite Peaks -- several units still available, now at short sale prices starting at $359,000 for 1700 sft with high end finishes and near Schweitzer Village.  Problem was the landscape engineering from the beginning, but these challenges have apparently been addressed.

Also noteworthy is that Schweitzer Resort is moving forward rapidly on the first three homes in their new neighborhood above the Village.  Two of these will be sold as 1/8 fractions supposedly under $200k per fraction.  The homes look beautiful at this point with unbelievable views.  Schweitzer has done a nice job replatting the former Trappers Creek neighborhood into all single family residences, with a new plan that seems to make sense for the market. 

For all of the details on any of the above, visit my website at www.SandpointResortRealty.com and go to Property Search.  Or call me at 208-304-5665 or email Rick@SandpointResortRealty.com to schedule a tour.

I have to admit I am just now jumping on the bandwagon to support our Sandpoint High School football team.  I really hadn't been to any high school games that I can remember....well, probably since I was in high school myself.

But high school football in Sandpoint is really a fun and exciting event.  We live just a couple blocks from Memorial Field, and I remember earlier in the season hearing an incredible amount of noise coming from the stadium.  I had walked down with my dog and my son to check it out, and saw a completely packed house of raving fans cheering on the local high school team.

This support seems to be there for every home game.  I have tried to stop in to check it out when I'm around.  And its always a good time, with seemingly everyone in town showing up to suppor the team.  To me this is quintessential small town living at its best, and I love it! 

I'm encouraging my fifteen month old son to pay close attention, as this year's team is pretty awesome.  They just won their semi-final game of the 4A division Idaho State High School Playoffs, 20-8, over Hillcrest.  This puts them in the State Finals for 4A, which takes place on Nov 20 in Moscow, against Blackfoot HS.  I believe this is the first finals appearance for the school in about 15 or 20 years!

We learned some interesting stats at our weekly meeting for Tomlinson Sandpoint Sothebys Intl Realty.  Total real estate sales in our MLS year to date is actually slightly more this year than it was in 2002.  So why do so many realtors feel so poor right now...because there are So Many Realtors.

In 2002 there were 73 producing Agents (those who had at least one closed transaction), sharing a total of $245 million in revenues (year to date through October).  In 2003 there were 79 producing agents in the Selkirk MLS, producing YTD revenues of $325 million.  The average Agent that year made $83,000.  In 04 as the market was beginning to heat up, there were 107 agents earning an average income of $103 million.  The market continued to heat up into early 2007, and has slowed off since then.

THis year there has been $309 million in closed transactions, close to the 2003 mark which at the time was considered an excellent year.  This dispels the notion that sales transactions are significantly low and that there is no activity.  The big difference however, is that this 309 mil has been shared among 218 Agents, making an average income of just $28,000.

Another factor for us Realtors is that we are spending a great deal more money to market ourselves and our listings than we did 5 or 10 years ago. 

What we are seeing right now in this market is many Realtors leaving the business.  As difficult as this process is, it seems to be a natural part of the economic cycle and is a painful necessity.  The market is likely to remain below where it had been in the boom years from 04 thru 06, which means those of us planning to stay in the business have to buckle down and survive.

disclaimer: the above stats are deemed accurate but not guaranteed.  Stats were taken from the Selkirk MLS with a time period of Jan 1 to Oct 31, 2009.

As I was getting ready for a quick mountain bike ride the other day, our dog Bentley (a Shih Tzu) gave me the full guilt trip for leaving him at home.   I wasn't looking to work too hard anyway, so I figured I'd bring him along and at least let him run around for a bit before or after my ride.

We drove to the trailhead off of Pine Street Loop just past Syringa, and I figured I'd go ahead and ride half a mile in on the flatter part and let Bentley chase after me.  I almost turned back in the first couple minutes as he was already falling behind.  But every time I started to go back for him he would be coming around the corner.  Long story short, we ended up at the top of this fairly substantial climb that ends just off of Janish Drive several miles away.  I almost called my wife to meet me at the road to take my little dog back home.  But he just seemed to have his A game going, so I headed down and he followed.  I was absolutely shocked- this is a pretty fast and long downhill, and Bentley just scampered over everything and basically stayed with me all the way to the car. 

What a stud!  I'd like to see another Shih Tzu that can hang like that!

Incidentally, this is a great local Sandpoint ride that not many people know about.  There are a bunch of ways to go, but essentially this is single track that connects all the way from Pine Street Loop to Janish Drive (way up Baldy Road).  There are some relatively technical sections and also tons of fast and fun riding.

It's official. President Obama has signed a bill that extends the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs) into the first half of 2010. This program had been scheduled to expire on November 30, 2009.

In addition to extending the tax credit of up to $8,000 through June 30, 2010, the extension measure also opens up opportunities for others who are not buying a home for the first time.

So Who Gets What?
The program that has existed for FTHBs remains intact with the one exception that more people are now eligible based on an increase in the amount of income someone may now earn.

Additionally, the program now gives those who already own a residence some additional reasons to move to a new home. This incentive comes in the form of a tax credit of up to $6,500 for qualified purchasers who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years.

Deadlines
In order to qualify for the credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010.

Higher Income Caps in Effect
The amount of income someone can earn and qualify for the full amount of the credit has been increased.

Single tax filers who earn up to $125,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, single filers who earn $145,000 and above are ineligible.

Joint filers who earn up to $225,000 are eligible for the total credit amount. Those who earn more than this cap can receive a partial credit. However, joint filers who earn $245,000 and above are ineligible.

Maximum Purchase Price
Qualifying buyers may purchase a property with a maximum sales price of $800,000.

First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit - Frequently Asked Questions
Here are answers to some commonly asked questions about the tax credit.

What is a tax credit?
A tax credit is a direct reduction in tax liability owed by an individual to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). In the event no taxes are owed, the IRS will issue a check for the amount of the tax credit an individual is owed. Unlike the tax credit that existed in 2008, this credit does not require repayment unless the home, at any time in the first 36 months of ownership, is no longer an individual's primary residence.

What is the tax credit for first-time homebuyers (FTHBs)?
An eligible homebuyer may request from the IRS a tax credit of up to $8,000 or 10% of the purchase price for a home. If the amount of the home purchased is $75,000, the maximum amount the credit can be is $7,500. If the amount of the home purchased is $100,000, the amount of the credit may not exceed $8,000.

Who is eligible for the FTHB tax credit?
Anyone who has not owned a primary residence in the previous 36 months, prior to closing and the transfer of title, is eligible. This applies both to single taxpayers and married couples. In the case where there is a married couple, if either spouse has owned a primary residence in the last 36 months, neither would qualify. In the case where an individual has owned property that has not been a primary residence, such as a second home or investment property, that individual would be eligible.

As mentioned above, the tax credit has been expanded so that existing homeowners who have owned and occupied a primary residence for a period of five consecutive years during the last eight years are now eligible for a tax credit of up to $6,500.

How do I claim the credit?
For those taking advantage of the tax credit in 2009, you may choose to either apply for the credit with your 2009 tax return or you may apply for the credit sooner by filing an amended 2008 tax return with Form 5405 (http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f5405.pdf).