idaho: I am leaving. This probably will mean my listing gets an offer...
- 12/01/13 05:50 AM
I am going on a short trip to Northern Virginia to celebrate my brothers 50 th birthday party! It has been a tough 1.5 years for him. Despite metastatic cancer and some heart desease he will make it to his birthday. Right now he seems to be relatively healthy. So I leave on Wed. and come back on Monday. Most times I go away business picks up. I get offers and buyers. It is a time I would like it quiet but it rarely happens. It is scary when nothing happens when I am away. I got an offer last time … (4 comments)
idaho: Season passes for Bogus Basin on sale now!
- 11/15/13 07:27 AM
The Idaho Statesman just reported that Season passes are on sale. Here is a link to the article. Bogus Basin is Boise's ski resort. It is just 16 miles from Boise. The passes are on sale between 5 PM on Friday and midnight on Sunday for $299 instead of $429. We are supposed to get snow this weekend. Last year Bogus opened on Dec. 21. If you ski in Boise this is a great deal. Just go to www.bogusbasin.com. Just one of the many exciting things to do in IDAHO!!! … (0 comments)
idaho: Lets raise the minimum wage in Idaho
- 11/15/13 12:10 AM
I live in of the most beautiful states in the country. We have majestic mountains, rivers, lots of empty space. Even our dessert has its own stark beauty. The biggest problem we have is that many of our workers earn minimum wage or near minimum wage. That means people are trying to feed their families on $7.25 hour. Sometimes times 2 for both adults. These people work very hard for their money. They qualify for food stamps and their children qualify for free lunches and medicaid. These people can be home buyers. Heck they cant feed themselves without help. Many work 60 … (6 comments)
idaho: I may be showing houses today.... Then again I may not....
- 11/13/13 11:07 PM
Today I have two separate clients to show homes too. Problem is one persons husband is still away and the other has changed plans twice already. When I say I like real estate because everyday is different this is not what I meant. To get ready to show the homes I need to research the surrounding market. Then I need to be ready and hope the appointment hold. Yesterday I had a two fold appointment in Nampa. One to show a home the other to meet with my friend and have dinner and go to a meeting. Unless of course the … (3 comments)
idaho: Computer glitch with Intermountain mls. I clogged my clients email.
- 11/13/13 01:23 AM
This morning I woke up and went to the office to do some paper work. I turned on my computer to check my email. My in-box was clogged by BCC's of my clients emails. I opened some of them up and they were totally random across 1/2 the state. Idaho is a pretty big state. I didn't know how to fix it so I called the technical support of the Intermountain multiple listing service. Turns out this is happening with everyone. They updated the computer system and this morning realized that we clogging everyone's in box. They think it is fixed. The … (3 comments)
idaho: Thank you veterans... Especially my dad!
- 11/10/13 10:44 PM
It takes a special person who will volunteer to defend our country. The veteran puts their lives on hold and trains to protect all of us. They are deployed overseas.... Sees horrors most of us don't deal with. They come home changed. Thank you my dad and my father in law. Two of my favorite veterans. My dad is disabled from being swung into a gun mount. My father in law died from a cancer induced by exposure to agent orange. They both served our country well. I salute the veterans. Without them we would not be free!
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idaho: Great open house
- 11/10/13 01:37 AM
Yesterday I opened up my new listing. I was a bit nervous because my colleagues haven't shown this wonderful townhouse. At the open house I had at least 12 couples comes through. A few seemed generally interested in the home (and they needed a Realtor). Others were neighbors. Some of the buyers got to talking to some of the neighbors. It sort of felt like a party (without food). I found out I knew not 3 residents but 4 in the complex. The residents might end up helping me sell this house by talking up the neighborhood. I also noted that the … (0 comments)
idaho: the roller coaster of real estate...
- 11/08/13 11:53 PM
Sometimes I feel like I am on a roller coaster. Yesterday would be a great example. First we can start the day with I had a plan for having 8 for dinner at 6 PM.... I go by the home I am trying to list and I see a FSBO sign. I call the number on it and it is the sister to the person I am trying to deal with. At the moment my broker is offering 70k and they haven't decided what they want to do. I am trying to push the broker up to 80K but so far … (4 comments)
idaho: Open House
- 11/07/13 09:36 PM
Tomorrow I run an open house on my new listing 7182 W. Cascade. Why do I do it? Some say that it is not a good marketing tool. 1) My listing gets exposure. I get to see how people react to the home! Open houses are great for feedback! 2) It gives people a chance to see the home without much pressure. 3) Gives me the opportunity to pick a buyer. 4) I have yet to sell a home in an open house but I have met a lot of buyers who have bought the house. Twice I am sure I was … (0 comments)
idaho: 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)
idaho: My tenant died in the apartment....
- 08/14/13 03:10 AM
I am a Realtor and I have a property management business on the side. I manage a 5 plex for my step mom with a friend of mine. It isn't in a terribly good section of Caldwell nor is it a particularly nice place. I have found it depressing in the past. Yesterday I got a call from one of my tenants. She found the mother of a young man screaming with his dog in her arms that her son was dead. She called 911. The police, detectives and the coroner were out there. I knew the son had some issues … (1 comments)
idaho: Great Home no traffic.... Trying a mass open house today....
- 08/11/13 12:16 AM
Sometimes you get a great home and price it competively and no one comes. I have thought about major price reductions but the seller is in charge. Seems that people with enough money to buy the home do not want to live in Kuna. There are 6 homes in the development. I called the 5 other agents and 3 of us will have an open home at the same time. We hope to increase traffic. I have done this before with homes that are hard to sell. I have what is a mass open house. Kuna is a little out of … (3 comments)
idaho: 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)
idaho: "N. Idaho HAM gets 3 years in prison"
- 02/20/13 11:00 PM
This is from our local paper: http://www.idahostatesman.com/2013/02/21/2460571/n-idaho-ham-gets-3-years-in-prison.html is one dangerous Porker from North Idaho....I wasn't sure that you can incarcerate food. Of course some might say farming does that. I sure don't want to see that ham when it gets out..... Even hams should pay their taxes... I wonder how to get something into "The tonight show" headline segments? OK I want to hear funny comments.... I have had a hard month....
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idaho: Has anyone done a short sale with Greentree recently?
- 01/31/13 08:39 AM
I am negotiating a short sale contract and the seller countered with a committment for a 60 day wait before the buyer can terminate the contract. This makes me very nervous since the prices are rising quickly in my area and I am afraid my buyers could be priced out of the market if we fail to settle. Has anyone worked with Greentree recently? What would be the wait time with them. I would like my buyers to have the ability to walk if I found something they could buy. I would love to hear that they are settling reasonably quickly … (4 comments)
idaho: The agony and the extacy.... All personal not real estate....
- 12/19/12 07:09 AM
Kidney cancer and runs in my family. My grandfather died of it. My dad was diagnosed in 2003 and my brother in 2012.... My dad and father were selected for a study in familial kidney cancer at the National Institute of Health. They poked and prodded both of them yesterday. For confidentiality they were kept separated when they saw the doctors. This morning we found out that my brother has a 1.5 cm mass in his lungs. An hour later we found out that my dad had 9 different small legions in his kidneys. Needless to say we are reeling. Either … (3 comments)
Yesterday I found a political ally has changed his views and is now working on legislation I strongly oppose. As Democrats in Idaho we have very little influence in how our state is run. When the Idaho’s education secretary proposed then succeeded in passing three laws that hurt Idaho’s children and teachers there was a bi-partisan outcry among the populace. The outcry was so great that the laws are up for a vote in December. Most of my ally’s and some of my usual political adversaries were working to change the laws. Yesterday I found that my friend … (8 comments)
idaho: Alcohol sales inititive ..... The poll.....
- 01/11/12 09:54 AM
Last night, while my husband and I were relaxing, I had call from a pollster... I always take political polls because I have strong views and I want them known. .. This poll started out like most polls.... Then they started asking me what stores I shopped at... that seemed weird... Why would a political party care whether I hate Walmart or like Costco.... My reasons for where I shop has a great deal on how I perceive that the workers are treated. Then the pollster asked what I thought of the privatization of the state liquor stores... At first I … (1 comments)
idaho: Safer short sales...When I show the home to first time buyers....
- 01/10/12 04:48 AM
Short sales are notoriously hard to settle.... Nothing is certain until we have third party approval (the bank).... Real estate ethics sometimes fly out the window as offer after offer is presented to the banks by some agents... Reasonable time lines are a joke.... It makes an agent nervous to show a owner occupant.... Especially a first timer or someone who needs to be in the home quickly..... So when do I show a short sale to an owner occupied buyer? First I do not send them short sale listings unless they request it. I look at the available short sales … (2 comments)
Here in Idaho the Democratic Party has had a Caucus every four years. I have participated in the caucus every four years... This year the Idaho Republican party decided to emulate us and have a caucus too.... I think they are afraid that we Democrats go to our caucus then go vote in the Republican primary..... Today I have been thinking about the caucus... I really do not like the party caucus... First I will describe it for all you primary goers.... The caucus at … (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.
I am going on a short trip to Northern Virginia to celebrate my brothers 50 th birthday party! It has been a tough 1.5 years for him. Despite metastatic cancer and some heart desease he will make it to his birthday. Right now he seems to be relatively healthy. So I leave on Wed. and come back on Monday. 
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