Coeur d'Alene Real Estate - Come Live the Life Style - Christina Ethridge

Yes, they are. I'm sitting here, getting ready to write another post and I again here the loud honk of geese. What's really funny is to just watch them fly over head and "really" listen to their honking. Sometimes they sound like they are just carrying on a conversation...

"Say, how do my feathers look today? Do they make my butt look big?"

"Not at all, very slimming."

"Excellenttttt... I'll have to wear them this way again!"

Other times it sounds like they are yelling at each other...

"What are you doing? Don't you know you are supposed to be catching that other air current? Thanks a lot, making us work harder just 'cause you wanted to check out that field over there..."

Ok, so clearly there is a reason I am not a script writer :)

Be that as it may, I love listening to the geese flying over head - they are loud and funny and beautiful all at once. This is but one of the many pleasures I have living in gorgeous Coeur d'Alene, Idaho.

So you want to get a "deal", a "bargain" and in your eyes, that means a SHORT SALE.

Be prepared for many things 1) rejection, 2) long waits, 3) rejection, 4) hard work, 5) rejection.

There it is. Short sales can be a great opportunity to get a wonderful home at below current market value AKA a "deal".

The thing is, the majority of short sales are listed by agents who haven't the foggiest idea how to make a short sale transaction work - how to get them to closing. So... if you want to buy a short sale, you need to connect yourself with an excellent buyers agent that knows and understands exactly what a listing agent can (or can not) and should (or should not) do to close a short sale transaction.

In short - The North Idaho Dream Team knows what we are doing and we have had excellent success in actually closing short sale transactions for both our buyers and our sellers.

Looking for a short sale in North Idaho? Check out these in Coeur d'Alene:

Coeur d'Alene Short Sales (This link is valid until 4/15/2009)

Give us a call when you are ready to schedule a showing. Please remember - some of these properties are priced appropriately (ie, slightly below market, not at a price that covers the loan).

Believe it or not - development is still moving forward in the North Idaho area - even in this economy.

Developers want 277 acres for shopping center, housing

POST FALLS -- Someday the north side of Prairie Avenue at Highway 41 will be developed.

But there's a question of whether that activity will start this year.

The Post Falls City Council will consider a group of developers' 277-acre annexation request for multiple uses at the intersection's northwest and northeast corners on Tuesday night after a public hearing.

Multiple uses - the largest focus is a 50 acre shopping facility with a major retailer. This location, in my opinion, is the perfect location for a grocery store and a couple of other retailers. I happen to live fairly close to this location and would much prefer to drive in that direction than in the direction of the other 2 grocery stores (traffic is nutty in that direction).

A lively debate of whether annexing the site is necessary now is expected to continue on Tuesday.

Some believe the city should focus on "in-fill" annexations first before developing farther onto the prairie, that there is already a housing glut and it would stretch city services thin amid a tight budget.

Others argue the project will create jobs, revenue for the city to provide services and help stimulate the economy. They also believe the project is a logical fit at the intersection since 19,000 vehicles travel on Highway 41 per day and 10,000 on Prairie and it is conveniently located between Post Falls, Rathdrum and Hayden.

Count me in with "the others".

Article here.

Hello Dear Readers:

2009 brought with it a nice big change. The North Idaho Dream Team LLC is now with SKE Realty Group LLC. Well, actually, we own and operate SKE Realty Group LLC.

Our brokerage, GMAC Real Estate Northwest ceased doing business as of December 31st. The Dream Team had been preparing for the potential of this happening and we were ready!

We've opened our own brokerage with Kraig Kincheloe (my brother-in-law) as our designated broker and yours truly as the Manager-Operations-Sales-Leader-Whatever-you-want-to-call-me-I-run-it-all-person-and-the-buck-stops-with-me-person.

We are very excited to do this for a multitude of reasons. First and foremost, we can offer our clients exceptional service our way, not defined by someone unaffiliated with our business. Secondly, we are excited to help enhance other agents businesses by equiping them to build their businesses and offer their clients exceptional service their way.

There will be a 5-7 day transition and then we will be off and running. I am looking forward to serving my past and future clients in 2009!

Here's to 2009!!

Idaho remained one of the nation's fastest growing states in 2008, but the recession slowed that growth dramatically, according to statistics recently released Monday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The agency estimates the state's population grew 1.85 percent between mid-2007 and mid-2008, the sixth-fastest rate among the states but the slowest growth rate for Idaho since 2002 in the aftermath of the last national recession.

The top five fast-growing states were, in order, Utah (2.53 percent), Arizona (2.31), Texas (2.03), North Carolina (2.0) and Colorado (2.0).

"While Idaho's economy has slowed dramatically, it started from one of the strongest bases of any state and the situation, while serious to the people in Idaho, is comparatively better than it is in places like the Midwest, Upper Midwest and the West Coast," said Bob Fick, spokesman for the Idaho Department of Labor. "Whether that continues remains to be seen."

Idaho's population is still going strong, despite the economy.

Full article here.