About Flathead County, MT

Rent To Own! 50% rent credit! Beautiful 5 br / 2 ba 2400 sq ft home on Douglas Lake in the Many Lakes neighborhood in Kalispell, MT!! It sits on a 1/2 acre lot overlooking the gorgeous Douglas Lake where you can swim and fish! The home has new siding, new front entrance, new deck, new stain on outside, professionally landscaped, new carpet, new paint, new 2 car garage door. Rent is only $1500/mo and first months rent and money down required to move in. Please contact us at 406-250-9553 with any questions. Until next time...

Pete Olsen

Rent To Own Homes, LLC

www.50statesrent2own.com

www.activerain.com/blogs/peteolsen01

Summer continues!! The weather has been nothing but sunny and warm. The garden continues to produce and we are taking every summer day we can get!!

Took in some amazing homes last Friday on the Parade of Homes put on by the Flathead Building Association. Outstanding craftmanship in some of the homes I visited.

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce had their monthly luncheon at the Flathead Community College this week. I cannot say enough about this educational resource right here in our valley. Enrollment is up 38% this year! There are many programs that enable students to stay in the Flathead Valley and obtain a 4 year degree. The culinary arts program does weekly Friday night dinners in their kitchen. We are going to the one tonight with some friends. For $38 we will get a 4 course gourmet dinner served by the students with explanations of the cooking and prep process. Crown of the Continent lecture series has started weekly at the college. Speakers lecturing on geology and everything else that makes Glacier National Park what it is.

For the 2nd time in 2 weeks, I have received multiple offers on one of my listings! Yes they are $200k or below, but that is what we need to get this market back on track. Showings since Labor Day have also taken off.

This week: a market update

As soon as August hit, showings started escalating in all price ranges. A brief lull the last week of the month then last week offers started flying in. I received 3 offers on one listing and through a multiple counter offer, went over the asking price.

Price range: under $200k inventory is what is really moving. I have a buyer under $200k and her choices are drying up quickly. I am losing one renter to a home purchase. Buyers in the lower ranges are feeling the need to lock something up if they are first time home buyers. They need to close no later than December 1. Between FHA and Rural Development, there are good programs out there for 0 to very little down payment.

I expect Sept/Oct to be much hotter. Traditionally these months were always strong but the last 2 years proved it is anyone's guess right now.

Don't wait too long if you are a buyer, the tables will turn and it won't be a buyer's market at some point.

Okay, I missed last week's blog. Glacier National Park was calling my name and I had to get one more camping trip in this summer. We loaded up our camper with bikes and kayaks and headed to Many Glacier on the east side. The campground was full already so headed back towards East Glacier and the Two Medicine campground. What a gem! See photos below. We camped on the lake, went to the evening ranger talks, hiked, biked and kayaked. The campground empties out each morning with everyone heading for the trails. We took the easy hike to 3 different waterfalls with a moose siting on the way. Day trippers drive into the parking lot and take a boat tour of the lake or stop in at the historic general store. We will be back next year!

Flathead County Library designs are in for the new Kalispell branch. Location yet to be determined. We'll see where it goes.

Harvest time: 2 big totes of apples from my trees, tomatoes ripening, squash and pumpkins coming along nicely. The honey bee hives in the garden have helped out immensely! Could do without this nasty year of hornets however.

Had an afternoon sail on Flathead Lake this week. A storm brewed up and it got very gusty quickly. 30 mph gusts are no fun! Took the sails down and headed for safe harbor.

University of Montana Griz game tomorrow in Missoula. Never been and looking forward to it. An easy drive down and back. Should be fun.

Craming all the fun into the remaining days of summer. Never know when the first frost might hit. Real estate sales are definitely picking up so working quite a bit as well. New listings, new buyers, both taking advantage of the slowly turning market.

Why did I want to type in July instead of August for the date of this blog? Is it because summer is flying by and I want a do over on the last month?

We have had some cold and rainy weather in the last week but supposed to be very hot the end of this week. The cold and rainy weather had terrible timing for our rafting trip - 3 days - on the North Fork. We were drenched and cold even with wet suits on. It was a cabin float so stayed in real beds the 2 nights out, Our guide, Dean, was awesome!! Made it as comfortable as possible. All the food was great. What a lot of work lugging all that stuff around. www.glacierguides.com is the place to go for rafting, guided backpacking in Glacier National Park, hikes, fly fishing, etc. Awesome company and great guides. Most guides return year after year, so a lot of experience there.

It is fair week. We will pass on attending this year. Lots of other activities to choose from. Saw Alpine Theater Project's latest play Sunday. Fantastic as always. Whitefish attracts many Broadway performers for each play that they do in the summer.

Working on shelter and fencing for dairy goats - just 2. A new farm land experience. Got 5 layer hens this week. Looking forward to my own eggs again. They are so much better than store bought. Molly the golden retriever is guarding them. Can't figure out if she wants to play with them, attack them, or mother them. Never leaves the coop though.

Real Estate is picking up! 2-3 showings on my listings each day. Got an offer last week and one this week. Buyers are getting much more active and I am receiving many contacts a week through my web site. So encouraging!