debbie holmes: I need the sun to shine so the photos will look better.
- 11/06/13 10:43 PM
The weather in Boise is usually wonderful. It is sunny and bright. I have a listing and rental and it has been gloomy when I had my photographer take the pictures for the rental. The listing pictures I took and they are gloomy. I am thinking to wait until it is sunny to have her come over. Today is gloomy too. Any ideas on how to brighten up the home?
Happy Halloween! This is my baby's Halloween costume. He is the other Josh! Fortunately he shouldn't be giving any little kids nightmares since He is a junior in college. He might give his professors shivers. Remember to watch out for kids trick or treating tonight. Tonight can be fun if we all are careful.
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debbie holmes: Wow I am a deck of cards old.....
- 10/29/13 11:40 PM
Today I am a deck of cards old. What I want for my birthday is some of my nibbles turn into clients. It is funny because 2 years ago I ended up sitting an open house because the paper made a mistake and advertised last weeks open house. I had a very good summer but things sort of stopped cold when the Government closed down. It seemed that no one was interested in buying a home when the news was of self inflicted wounds on the economy. Over the weekend I started getting calls. If one of them would become a … (4 comments)
debbie holmes: Woman in Nampa owns half a home.
- 10/18/13 12:47 AM
http://www.ktvb.com/news/Valley-woman-says-she-bought-half-a-house-228121911.html In this news article an old woman bought a homen from Fannie Mae for cash. The buyer didn't realize that the property line went right through her home. I read this and I am thinking that a lot of people didn't do their jobs correctly. My title officer would have picked it up (as would most others). Fannie Mae should have picked it up before they marketed the home. The Realtor should have read the comittment document. The net result is that this old lady owns half a home. Without the loan underwriters looking at this transaction everyone else must … (2 comments)
debbie holmes: It is time to blow out your sprinklers in Idaho!
- 10/17/13 06:39 AM
Winter is coming and so is the frost. It is time to have your sprinklers blown out for the winter. In the Treasure Valley of Idaho I use the Sprinkler Guy. His phone number is 208-376-4207. Failing to get the sprinklers blown out in Idaho (or any place that has hard frosts) can lead to epensive repairs in the spring. Let me know if I can help you! Call Debbie Holmes, Gold Key Real Estate. 208-761-2551. I also manage properties. Have a great October! … (0 comments)
debbie holmes: Friday the thirteenth looks good for me!
- 09/11/13 12:52 AM
The homes were supposed to close 2 weeks apart! One had issues the other was smooth sailing. In one mold had to be re-mediated and then we had a low appraisal. We settled towards closing yesterday. The other has been easy so far. Offer and counter. Inspection great and appraisal met. So on Friday the thirteenth I am set to close both deals. Later one of my clients and her niece will come to my home for dinner for the eruv Yom Kippur dinner before we go to Kol Nidre. Basically we eat before and after the fast. The only problem … (1 comments)
debbie holmes: My clients home sold!
- 08/28/13 11:22 PM
In our business we have all sorts of strategies to sell homes. We price the home competitively. We help them decide what improvements (if any) to make. We advertise the home. We make filers. We have open houses (some of us). We remain in contact with our sellers. We talk up our listings. We have knowledge of the other homes in the area of the listing. You do all this and list the home. Sometimes nothing happens. You get nervous. You try to explain to the client that we might need a price reduction. Nothing is happening. You have a joint … (0 comments)
It means that buyers can purchase this property with a rural development loan. What is so great about that you may ask? How does zero down and no private mortgage insurance sound? Sounds pretty good to me. I worked with my loan officer to double check. There are income guidelines but they are not to limiting. So instead of going FHA with a PMI of $150 or more per month you can be in the home for less. You can … (0 comments)
debbie holmes: A tale of two inspections........
- 07/17/13 01:38 AM
It is always interesting on how a buyer will react to the inspection report. It will depend on the market but it also depends on the nature of the buyer. I had 2 offers settle on the same day. The inspections were on the same day. One I was the buyers agent the other I was the sellers agent. The one where I was the sellers agent is a really nice home with very little wrong with it. Somehow the inspector spent 6.5 hours at the home. He actually fixed a few things while he was there. His report was very … (1 comments)
debbie holmes: Big loan companies seem to slow the loan process....
- 06/12/13 11:53 PM
I try hard to recommend great loan specialists. I have my favorite in Dona Jeka, Pacific Residential services. My least favorite is big banks. It isn’t that I am opposed to the idea of big banks it is more that there are so many levels of bureaucracy that the loan will be held up somewhere. Today’s giant loan place is Quicken…..
For Christmas my client gave his wife a loan approval letter. I was called the next day! We started looking. My favorite still is the first home we saw but it went away before they were settled. We … (0 comments)
debbie holmes: As a Jew this time of the year is a quiet family time...
- 12/23/12 02:35 AM
My family doesn't celebrate Christmas. Oh we will go to Christmas parities and look at lights. We might help the less fortunate. We will wish people a Merry Christmas and not explain how we don't celebrate. My husband wasn't born Jewish... He converted when I we had our first child. When we married we decided we could celbrate Christmas with other people but we would not bring the holiday into our home. For the first few years we would go to my parents for the Jewish Holidays and his parents for Christmas. Everyone seemed happy with the arrangement. As his siblings … (8 comments)
1) HAVE YOU BLOWN OUT THE SPRINKLER SYSTEM AND CLEANED THE GUTTERS? 2) DISCONNECTED YOUR HOSES? 3) CHANGED YOUR FURNACE FILTERS? Need help? Give me a call! 208-761-2551 … (1 comments)
Okay today I woke up and many things hurt… I took 800 mg of Advil and hoped for the best…. Today we planned to go The Great Wall of China…. We were going to do it like the Chinese and take the train for $1/ each way… Today we are joined by Daniel Wenz from the College of Idaho. We had breakfast and realized we were running late so we took a cab to the train station. Then we found a huge line…. We waited on it for about 30 minutes. I sat … (0 comments)
This spring has been tough for me… The market seems to be a sellers market… The prices at the low end of the market have gone up and there are multiple offers… I am having trouble locating property for my first time homebuyers. I am looking into special city programs… Last year when I pulled up homes under $120K there were 40 or 50 of them with the 3 bed. 1.5 bath… Today there are 4… Since I seem to specialize in that market it is hard but I am working hard … (6 comments)
debbie holmes: Quiet time for me right now....
- 01/25/12 03:59 AM
Well the real estate market is a funny animal. Sometimes you are so busy you don't know where to turn. You are running around and falling in to bed late. Then it gets quiet for a bit... I am in one of my quiet bits... Perhaps the two are related... When you are running around you do not have as much time to prospect. With prospecting brings clients... When it calms down you prospect again. Ideally you never stop prospecting so the pipeline never slows... The quiet time is a bit convienent (except for the lack of sales) since my … (10 comments)
debbie holmes: Snow day!!!!!
- 01/18/12 09:51 AM
Well it finally happened! We have a snow day!!! As a matter of fact I think the winter storm warning was for the entire state of Idaho! I did a good job to warn my dad and wife to drive through last night and not stop in Salt Lake City....
We had 6 inches but it is already melting.... It was very peaceful.... It used to be that I had to run around in the snow driving children to school. Once in a while other cars would hit mine. I am a pretty good snow driver (coming from upstate New … (9 comments)
debbie holmes: Monday morning coffee.....Remnants of my Congressional campaign!
- 12/26/11 03:12 AM
In 2008 I won my parties nomination for Candidate for the House of Representatives in CD2 of Idaho....I was my parties sacrificial lamb against a 5 term incumbent... Mike Simpson....I ran mostly so the people in the second district would have a choice....I also felt that no one should be able to run for federal office unopposed. So I spent from March to November traveling my huge Congressional District.... Meeting and talking to the wonderful people who live with me in my District... The campaign had very little money so I stayed in supporters homes... I learned more about local issues … (3 comments)
debbie holmes: Tax sales horror......
- 12/23/11 03:00 AM
Tax sales.....Lots can go wrong.... During July 2010 I was contacted by an investor... His request was that I go by homes up for the Ada County tax sale and give him an approximate value. I investigated 5 or 6 houses. I also studied tax sales... They are not quite foreclosures. In Ada county you register via an Internet site. Then you start bidding... Ada county takes the highest bid and gives you a sheriffs deed. This title is not insurable right away. That makes it very hard to flip. That is the first tax sale horror! It seems that if … (4 comments)
debbie holmes: Yesterday ended up as one of those hectic days leading up to the holiday...Part 1 fixing my dishwasher!
- 12/21/11 12:58 AM
Yesterday I had one of those really hectic days leading up to the holiday…. I thought it was going to be a light day but in our industry When I woke up I started putting my dishes away and realized that they were gross… That meant the filter in my 2007 Whirlpool dishwasher had clogged yet again….It is a slow gradual decline… Then one day the glasses have a white layer of scum on them. I had paid 3 times for the repairman and paid him more then the dishwasher was worth to come and spend 10 minutes with it. … (1 comments)
This is a blog about all things real estate (and a few extras). I blog about my buyers, sellers, listings, short sales, the real estate market. I am internet savvy and am trying to learn more skills. I like blogging because I get to share information with other real estate professionals and my clients. I can find you a great home in the Treasure Valley. I was the Democratic Nominee for CD2, Idaho for the US Congress. I have two website: http://www.debbieholmes.net.
The weather in Boise is usually wonderful. It is sunny and bright. I have a listing and rental and it has been gloomy when I had my photographer take the pictures for the rental. The listing pictures I took and they are gloomy. I am thinking to wait until it is sunny to have her come over. Today is gloomy too. Any ideas on how to brighten up the home? 
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