Who should buy a rural home in Priest River, Idaho? Anyone who loves mountains, wildlife, clean air, and sparkling streams.
Priest River, Idaho began life as a logging town, and it has remained so throughout the years. Residents cling stubbornly to their logging heritage, and recreation is almost entirely centered around the great outdoors.
As the logging industry wanes, the town has become a haven for tele-commuters, artists, and retirees who seek quiet and solitude. The majority of newcomers arrive looking not for a home within the Priest River City limits, but for a rural home within a few miles of Priest River. They want privacy. Most choose a home with acreage that gives a buffer between residents and their neighbors.
The town offers basic shopping opportunities - a grocery store, hardware store, drug store, and of course a liquor store! You can also find a limited supply of "gifty" items, furniture, and two businesses who will be happy to install new carpet in the home you purchase.
Unless you're a "thrift shopper" you won't find clothing to buy in Priest River. If you are, you'll be in heaven, as the town boasts four establishments selling used clothing.
Shopping centers, entertainment, and hospitals are a mere hour's drive away in Spokane, Washington or Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Priest River does have a medical and dental clinic, and a small hospital is located just 6 miles away in Newport, Washington.
Main street died out several years ago, but is now coming back to life, with old buildings being remodeled for new purposes. Along with others being renovated, the Historic Beardmore Building is finding new life. It was purchased by a grand-son of the original owner, who has been remodeling it into office suites and retail spaces. Residents were treated to a sneak preview last fall, during Priest River's first (hopefully) Annual Octoberfest.
Main street is also home to the Priest River Branch of the West Bonner County Library. This is a busy spot, with computer stations filled most days, and residents enjoying the ongoing activities for children and adults alike. Andrew Carnegie would be proud to see how this small community makes use of the opportunity he so believed in.
Residents tend to watch out for each other - as evidenced by the number of active volunteers at both the food bank and the Monday Soup Kitchen, held at the Priest River Senior Center. Here is where anyone can walk in and get a good meal of soup, sandwiches, salads, and deserts - and pay whatever they can, if they can. The food is provided and served by volunteers from local churches, service groups such as the Rotary, and even local businesses. Two of the town's three banks take their turn at hosting this event.
If you're yearning for a taste of yesterday - small town life the way it was - then you should definitely consider purchasing a home in Priest River, Idaho.
You see the hype on TV all the time. I even see it and I seldom watch TV. I've grown to like the guy who sings his little ditties about how life would be better if he had only gotten his free credit report earlier.
I thought the idea was a bit silly - until I did the research and found out WHY we should all be keeping a close watch on our credit reports. And why the free reports you can get annually from the credit bureaus are not good enough.
The first, and perhaps most important reason, is to know immediately if your identity has been stolen. Your credit report offers tell-tale signs. For instance, an incorrect address.This could merely be a data entry error, or it could be a sign that an identity thief is at work. By gaining access to your accounts and making a change of address, your thief can use your credit for a very long time without you knowing - because the bills won't come to you.
You might not find out until you attempt to borrow and find out that your credit has been destroyed.
The second sign is credit inquiries from companies you have not contacted. "Soft" inquiries won't show up - those are the routine checks done by credit card companies before they send you offers.
Another is, of course, accounts in your name that you know nothing about.
When you routinely check your credit report, or sign up for a monitoring service, you can take immediate steps to halt a thief in his or her tracks.
The second important reason, and the reason why the free reports from the credit bureaus aren't good enough, is that you need to know your FICO scores. Those reports don't include the scores.
If something has happened to lower them, it takes time to fix the problem. You don't want to wait until you need to use your credit to address the issue.
Use of your credit by an identity thief will lower your scores, but so will data entry errors, reporting mistakes, and the way you use your credit.
For instance, if you have 3 credit cards, each with a $5,000 credit line, and you have a $4,500 balance on one while the others show a zero balance, your score will be lower than if that balance was spread between the three cards. It makes no sense, but that's how it is.
Of course you want your buyers to come in with the highest scores possible, so urge them to get their report before they ever find the house they want to purchase. Then counsel them on ways to improve those scores. They'll love you when their interest rate is lower as a result!
For articles and advice on raising your credit scores and protecting your identity, please visit the site I built as a result of my recent resarch: www.allcreditscoresnow.com. I'm adding more articles weekly, so check back often.
Here's to lower interest rates!
I'm a freelance copywriter specializing in real estate and related fields. In addition, I offer marketing help to agents via my weekly ezine, pre-written real estate letters, e-books, and courses.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
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