ActiveRain Community

With this being the final Sandpoint Realty Friday Flag of July, I thought I'd treat you to a two-for-one. These are some of my favorite Friday Flag photos, as there's something especially meaningful about seeing Old Glory proudly flying over a construction site.The primary photo features Old Glory flying proudly atop one of two cranes at a major construction project along Interstate 90, between Highway 95 in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Highway 41 in Post Falls, Idaho. The cranes tower so high above the site that capturing both the flag and the base of the crane in a single photo simply isn't possible.The inset photo was taken in Ponderay, Idaho, where a hardworking paving crew proudly displays our USA Flag. It's always refreshing to see our nation's colors flying alongside those who help b... 07/31/2026

📊🏡 ECONOMY SLOWS...BUT MORTGAGE RATE RELIEF MAY HAVE TO WAIT 🏡📊The latest economic reports delivered a mixed message:📉 U.S. GDP grew at an annualized rate of 1.5% in the second quarter of 2026, below the expected 1.8%, signaling that the economy is slowing.However...📈 Inflation remains stubbornly above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.The Fed's preferred inflation gauge (PCE) came in at:🔹 3.7% overall (down from 4.1% in May)🔹 3.3% Core PCE, showing inflation is easing only gradually.🏦 What Does This Mean?Even though economic growth has slowed...🚫 The Federal Reserve is still not expected to cut interest rates anytime soon.In fact, three Fed officials recently voted in favor of raising rates, highlighting continued concern about inflation.🏠 What About Mortgage Rates?Mortgage rates continu... 07/30/2026

Garrett Park is a small, charming town in Montgomery County with a rich history. Although it is a small town, there are still plenty of things to do in Garrett Park and the surrounding areas.Suggestions On What To Do Visit the Garrett Park Farmers Market: This farmers market takes place on Saturdays from May through November and features fresh produce, baked goods, and handmade crafts. Explore the town: The Park has a small, walkable downtown area that’s worth exploring. Take a stroll through the town to see the historic homes and buildings, visit the post office, and stop by the Garrett Park Town Hall.  The town has preserved many of its historic buildings and landmarks, including the B&O Railroad Station, which is now home to the Garrett Park Historical Society. Visit the Black Market... 07/30/2026

San Mateo, CAGood News: The IRS Has a New Way to Help with Tax PenaltiesIf you've ever made a mistake on your taxes—paid a little late or filed a few months behind—you might have worried about facing a penalty.The IRS just made things easier for responsible taxpayers like you.What's the New Automatic Penalty Relief Program?The IRS just introduced something called Automatic Exemption from Penalty (AEP). Think of it as the IRS giving you a "do-over" for honest mistakes if you've been a responsible taxpayer most of the time. This automatic tax penalty relief replaces the old First Time Abate program and eliminates the need to call the IRS and request help.Who Qualifies for Automatic Penalty Relief?You qualify for this IRS penalty forgiveness program if you've been filing on time and paying... 07/30/2026

Solid Ground: Intentional Living   In a fast evolving world, purpose, direction and clear intention aren’t optional. Without them people can drift into places never intended to land, sometimes getting stuck in the muck and mire as a result.    Time and again, ebb & flow, it’s easy to get swept into situations, jobs and relationships that never matched the real dream. Anyone can grow, evolve and adapt when the desire runs deep enough, though.   Let’s face it, sometimes the only honest way forward is a thoughtful shift by releasing yesterdays comfort. That means never settling again for a safer, smaller version of life that once felt “good enough.”   The past has always been meant to gauge growth. I'm someone who remains present, showing up like the reliable tide, ready, day after day, e... 07/30/2026

  AI and I Had a Tiny Argument Today This morning I was absolutely committed to getting my new listing along with photos uploaded before anything else. I knew what I was doing. AI was equally convinced I didn't. I was trying to upload photos to the MLS while keeping ChatGPT open on one screen and the MLS on the other. Sounds simple, right? Not so fast. I clicked. AI disappeared. I clicked again. AI came back...but not where I left it. I announced, "You disappeared!" AI politely replied, "No, you opened a new window."  I insisted I hadn't. AI calmly suggested another step. I may have suggested AI needed a nap. Back and forth we went like two friends trying to assemble a bicycle without reading the directions. Then it hit me. This wasn't a battle between me and artificial intelligence. It... 07/30/2026

ActiveRain Challenge: Celebrating America's BirthdayKathy Streib and Kathleen Daniels, Probate & Trust Real Estate Svcs. are hosting the July ActiveRain Challenge as we celebrate our nation's 250th Birthday. Members are asked to share their stories with the ActiveRain community.I was born on August 21, 1937 at the Parish Memorial Hospital in Portsmouth, Virginia and am probably the oldest active member of ActiveRain. I was raised in Cradock, a planned community on the south side of Portsmouth. Cradock was originally developed during the era of World War I to house workers at the nearby Norfolk Naval Shipyard. When I was a kid during the era of World War II, there was still a trolly service to provide transportation to the shipyard. My parents were real estate investors and most of the r... 07/30/2026

The Build-to-Rent industry has reached an inflection point.Institutional capital has embraced BTR because demand is real. The challenge now isn't whether people want rental housing. It's whether we can deliver communities fast enough, with enough certainty, to meet investor expectations.For years, we've talked about modular construction as a better way to build. I believe that's the wrong conversation.The real conversation is about capital efficiency.Every month a project is delayed ties up equity, increases carrying costs, pushes lease-up further into the future, and reduces returns. Those aren't construction problems. They're investment problems.That's why I'm excited to be speaking at IMN's Build-to-Rent Fall Forum in Dallas this September.During the pre-conference workshop, we'll ex... 07/30/2026

In modern real estate transactions, the real estate agent serves as the trusted guide between buyers, sellers, title companies, and lenders. However, as transaction workflows have shifted heavily into digital spaces, cybercriminals have targeted the closing process. Through Business Email Compromise (BEC), phishing, synthetic impersonation, and altered payment instructions, bad actors systematically exploit communication gaps to intercept closing funds, earnest money deposits, and seller proceeds.For real estate agents, protecting your clients isn't just an administrative chore—it is an essential operational responsibility. Preventing wire fraud requires moving beyond passive awareness and adopting standardized, non-negotiable security protocols across every stage of the real estate lif... 07/29/2026

Garrett Park is a small town in Maryland and as such, there are limited schools within its boundaries. However, here are some schools that serve students in the area.List of School Options1. Garrett Park Elementary School at 4810 Oxford St, this public elementary school is located within Garrett Park and serves students in grades K-5. It is ranked 6 out of 10 by GreatSchools.org.2. Tilden Middle School – This public middle school is located in Rockville, MD, about 4 miles from the Park. It serves students in grades 6-8 and is ranked 7 out of 10 by GreatSchools.org.3. Walter Johnson High School – This public high school is located in Bethesda, MD, about 5 miles from the Park. It serves students in grades 9-12.  Located at 6400 Rock Spring Drive, it is ranked 8 out of 10 by Great Schools.... 07/29/2026

Today’s home prices have a lot of buyers, especially first-time buyers, wondering if there’s even anything out there that’s in their budget. But owning a home may be more within reach than you think. Sometimes, it just means considering a different type of home.Condos and townhomes can be a great way to buy without stretching every last dollar. And right now, two things make them worth a serious look.There Are More Condos and Townhomes To Choose FromMaybe you feel like there’s just nothing out there for you, and you’ve exhausted all your options. But have you considered condos or townhomes? A lot of buyers start by looking for a single-family, detached home without even realizing what that search omits from their pool of choices.According to HousingWire Data, there were 233,030 condos a... 07/29/2026

Journal Entry for July 29, 2026 Tonight is the Full Moon!  Will the cow jump over the moon? I've enclosed dates for all the full moons in 2026. Our last full moon in 2026 will be December 25! Full Moon Calendar 2026 January 3, 2026 – Wolf Moon (Cancer) at 5:03 AM ET February 1, 2026 – Snow Moon (Leo) at 5:09 PM ET March 3, 2026 – Worm Moon / Total Lunar Eclipse (Virgo) at 6:38 AM ET April 1, 2026 – Pink Moon (Libra) at 10:12 PM ET May 1, 2026 – Flower Moon at 1:23 PM ET May 31, 2026 – Blue Moon (second full moon in May) June 30, 2026 – Strawberry Moon at 12:58 AM BST (GMT+1) July 29, 2026 – Buck Moon August 28, 2026 – Sturgeon Moon September 27, 2026 – Harvest Moon October 26, 2026 – Hunter’s Moon November 25, 2026 – Beaver Moon December 25, 2026 – Cold Moon  For people who love to watc... 07/29/2026

 Being Right Is Not The Same as Doing RightBy Margaret Rome 7. 29. 2026One of the greatest misconceptions about real estate is that it is simply a matter of putting a house on the market, accepting an offer, signing papers, and going to settlement.If only it were that simple.Behind every successful transaction are hundreds of decisions, countless conversations, legal requirements, inspections, financing deadlines, title work, negotiations, and dozens of moments when things can go wonderfully right or terribly wrong.After more than three decades in real estate, I have come to believe there is one lesson more important than any contract clause, disclosure, or legal form.There is a difference between being legally right and doing what is morally right.Our contracts have grown from a page o... 07/29/2026

Journal Entry for July 29, 2026 "Maturity is realizing that other people are not mind readers"which emphasize the need for clear communicationinstead of expecting others to guess our feelings. If you watched the rescheduled White House Correspondents Dinner and roast and saw Mentalist Oz Pearlman entertain the cabinet members and guests, you may have been charmed and wondered - how did he do that?Shortly after the Oz Pearlman's book was published, I bought the book. What drew me in to purchase the book was this published formula:Learn how to: Master the art of influence to read people, win trust, and shape outcomes Sharpen your cognitive and emotional intelligence Overcome rejection, procrastination, and self-doubt Tap into the psychology of connection and persuasion Overall, it was a g... 07/29/2026

Most developers think modular is a construction strategy. It isn't. It is a capital strategy that happens to use a different construction process. That distinction is far more important than most people realize because it completely changes how you evaluate a project.Too many conversations about modular immediately focus on factories, transportation, cranes, or cost per square foot. Those are operational details. They matter, but they are not what determines whether a development creates exceptional returns. Capital doesn't care how you build. Capital cares about predictability and velocity.Predictability is one of the most valuable assets a developer can have. Factory production creates a controlled environment where labor, materials, quality, and schedules are far more consistent than... 07/29/2026

As I was cleaning out some old files recently,  I realized I'd forgotten about a few of my favorite magic shows.They all happened more than 25 years ago, but the memories came rushing back. Looking back, I realized they all had something in common: I was performing for audiences where English wasn't the primary language.The Portuguese Community Center – San JoseMy first experience was at the Portuguese Community Center in San Jose.Before the show, I asked, "Everyone speaks English, right?""Of course," I was told.A few minutes into the show I invited a young woman, probably in her twenties, to help me on stage. She looked at me with a puzzled expression.She didn't speak a single word of English. That's when I realized she probably wasn't the only one.Well...there wasn't much I could do e... 07/28/2026

Garrett Park is a town located in Montgomery County, Maryland. The land that now comprises the Park was originally part of a large tract of land known as the “Harrison Tract.” The land was purchased by John W. Garrett, the son of Robert W. Garrett, in 1898. John W. Garrett subsequently established the Garrett Park Company, which was responsible for the development of the town. John W. Garrett named the town after Robert W. Garrett, who was the president of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad from 1896 to 1904.The Railroad’s Impact on the Park’s Growth as a Summer Vacation DestinationGarrett Park was primarily an agricultural community with a few scattered homes and businesses.  In the late 1880s, the B&O Railroad arrived and built a train station in the area, which spurred the growth of the... 07/28/2026

I am proud to be an American because my ancestors left everything behind to seek out freedom, opting out of heavy-handed, outside political rule. Their sheer bravery afforded the way for me to become a patriotic American.  🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 To Live FREE in AMERICA 🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸     In the rolling hills of Bohemia, papa & mama Kubat often dreamt of freedom from foreign rule. Strangers in their own land, they lived under an outside government that dictated every law and crushed every hope. Their growing family crowded into one small room above a dusty workshop.   🇺🇸 🇺🇸 🇺🇸   Most nights they shared only bread and potatoes, the children’s stomachs still rumbled as they fell asleep. Work was scarce. A brighter future seemed impossible. Then one day, a letter arrived from cousins in America: “Join us. We h... 07/29/2026

Most Realtors know how to sell homes. Far fewer understand how homes are actually built. That knowledge gap is becoming a competitive disadvantage. Buyers today are asking tougher questions about construction methods, timelines, financing, energy efficiency, customization, and long term value. They are researching online before they ever contact an agent. If you cannot confidently explain modular construction, someone else will.The housing industry is changing. Rising construction costs, labor shortages, and the need to deliver homes faster are driving more builders, developers, and investors toward offsite construction. Modular is no longer an alternative. It is becoming an important part of the future of housing. Realtors who understand this shift will be positioned as trusted advisor... 07/28/2026

Waiting for a Paper IRS Refund Check? Your Refund May Be Waiting for YouThe IRS is phasing out paper refund checks and making direct deposit the primary method for issuing individual tax refunds. The change generally applies to 2025 federal income tax returns filed during 2026.The goal is to issue refunds faster and reduce checks that are lost, stolen, altered or returned as undeliverable. But there is an important catch: taxpayers who fail to provide correct banking information may experience a significant refund delay.Why Is This Happening?The change results from Executive Order 14247, “Modernizing Payments To and From America’s Bank Account,” signed on March 25, 2025.The order directed federal agencies, including the IRS and U.S. Department of the Treasury, to stop issuing most paper... 07/27/2026