About Kootenai County, ID

I have a client that is looking for a home in the Post Falls, Rathdrum or Spirit Lake area that is less than $67,000. If you have a home in this range that is for sale let me know.

An article in this morning's Coeur d'Alene Press stated what we already knew. The rate of foreclosures is up, and rising. According to newly-released data from First American CoreLogic on foreclosures for the Coeur d'Alene area, the rate of foreclosures among outstanding mortgage loans is 2.35 percent for the month of December, an increase of 1.27 percentage points compared to December of 2008 when the rate was 1.08 percent. Foreclosure activity in Coeur d'Alene is lower than the national foreclosure rate which was 3.16 percent for December 2009, representing a 0.81 percentage point difference.

In Coeur d'Alene, the mortgage delinquency rate has increased. For December 2009, 6.02 percent of mortgage loans were 90 days or more delinquent compared to 2.74 percent for the same period last year, representing an increase of 3.28 percentage points. Page after page in each day's newspaper of foreclosure notices remind us daily of the trend.

Check out the full story on foreclosure rates in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho here.

The graphs and historical information show an increasing trend in rising rates of defaults and foreclosures. What this means
is that short sales and foreclosures are going to be a fact of life here in north Idaho for a quite some time to come.

Renovation financing is available locally on both FHA and conventional loans. This is a wonderful tool for a variety of purposes, and I predict its popularity to grow as more and more folks become aware of it.

Here's one scenario for which renovation financing would be ideal: you find a home in an area you like, but it needs work beyond simply cosmetic. A new roof perhaps, or a furnace. Dry rot in the deck, rusted out water heater? How about a home that is a little tight on space, and you need one more bathroom, or even another bedroom?

With renovation financingyou would enter into a contract with the seller to purchase it as-is for whatever you agree on as the purchase price. However, your appraisal and loan amount would be based on the RENOVATED market value after the new roof, water heater, extra bedroom and bathroom were completed. The money for those renovations would be escrowed at closing. Typically the renovations would need to be completed by a contractor within six months of closing.

There are other scenarios where renovation financing would be valuable, and in fact could mean the difference between closing a sale or not. It can be used for refinances as well as purchases.

I'm excited to be able to offer this as a financing option to both my sellers and buyers in certain circumstances. For a booklet with complete renovation financing details, just give me a call or shoot me an email.

The Poo Police - They're #1 in the #2 business in Coeur d'Alene Idaho!

A few days ago I was visiting a friend who was caring for her daughter's dog, and not too happy about it. The conversation turned to the bottom line of caring for a dog - someone has to clean up all that dog poo!

Yesterday an associate of mine was venting about the neighbor adjacent to one of his listed properties. The yard next door was FULL of disgusting piles of dog poo from multiple dogs. Look out the window and it was staring you right in the face. Step out in the back yard and well, run back inside to get away from it. Ugh!

Whose American dream of home ownership includes
living with copious quantities of your neighbors dog poo?

I had to chuckle when this morning I was going through some papers and came across a flyer for The Poo Police. At some point, The Poo Police had visited my office and left flyers promoting their service! And what a great service it is. Touting to be #1 in the #2 business, the flyer asks the riveting question -

Are you tired of looking out for your little buddy's land mines in your yard?

All kidding aside, this is an awesome service with very reasonable prices. They have a nice website with other services - dog walking for example. Even some frequently asked questions and answers where I learned that most of the time they hang with the dogs while they pick up the poo. What do they do with all that poo? They deposit it in YOUR trash can before they leave.

Check them out here: The Poo Police

As soon as I get this posted, I am forwarding a link to my associate who is fretting about how to get his listing sold. Sounds like it's time to call The Poo Police!

Looking for answers about how to get your home sold fast, and for more money? Give me a call!