Kathy Judy

I had to fill out a form with menu choices about what kind of business I'm in, nothing fit so I chose "non-profit! LOL We have turned the corner finally! What a brutal year! We've cut and cut. However when we decided to cut out our franchise that was too much. We took a step back and cussed and discussed (literally) and decided to stick with it. We've learned what we can do without and do with less of!

Newspaper advertising is an area we way reduced but didn't eliminate.

We also cut phone lines, secretary and bookeeper time and space for huge savings and to reflect the reduced number of agents.

We're seeing good call volume and good walk-ins (yes that matters here in this rural area).

And it doesn't hurt that the sun is shining today and it's beautiful here on the Oregon Idaho border!

I live and work in the Intermountain West. This is the area between the mountain ranges in California and Oregon/Washington and the Rockies.

Along about late August the focus of many people here turns to hunting. Many trips are taken to the hills and mountains "scouting for deer and elk". Guns are cleaned and vechicles and horses are readied for the adventure ahead. This whole thing is a HUGE business. Hunting season is the focus of many people's whole year not just here but nationwide.

It's important here however because the Intermountain West is where it's at! People save all year and plan their vacations to coincide with their trips to where we are every day. I live on the Oregon Idaho border. It's just an hour or less in any direction to fantastic hunting and fishing. We take it as our right and sometimes don't appreciate our area enough.

It's no accident that we have a Cabelas store in Boise! We love that stuff! I have mentioned before that I don't hunt now (we fish) but I did as a youngster with my Dad. The deer were never in danger. It was an excuse to go camping ride horses and cook in a dutch oven.

It makes me happy to see people enjoying the absolute beauty of our high desert area here - the hunting is just an added bonus.

Surrounded on all sides by sad Republicans, I couldn't resist singing the Demo's theme song "Happy Days Are Here Again" at the Countrywide Office's open house yesterday in Payette Idaho. They didn' t tar and feather me and it was a pleasant occasion. I can't help but see good things coming from the merger with Bank America.

On another note - we DECIDED TO STAY RE/MAX. What a topsy turvy month. We'll concentrate more on using what Remax has to offer including getting more hands on help for the money we spend with them.

It doesn't benefit Kathy Judy if Remax opens an office in Madagascar - I want them to help me now!!

I just changed my profile photo to one of me working the Democratic booth at Malheur County's fair. This is actual proof that a realtor is a Democrat! One of the things our clients expect is that we are informed on the local issues that we'll all be voting on in November along with the big national votes. I applaud the realtors who serve on local planning and zoning commissions. I think I'll name names so our local ones get the credit they deserve. These are present and recent past realtors serving in our area on the border of Idaho and Oregon. In Oregon, Larry Wilson, Coldwell Banker Malheur Realty, Tom Phillips, Tom Phillips Realty. In Idaho, Brent King Remax Tri-Cities, Vickie Cox Premier Group, Barb Hutchinson Premier Group. Let's all remember to mention to our clients to remember to vote. This is especially easy in Oregon where the voters enacted VOTE BY MAIL. All elections are mail in (or drop off) so we'll start voting very soon now!

Yes it has to do with money, we got paid for two sales this week and will have another check!!! In the money turmoil that's happening it's easy to forget the basic. People just want to buy a home. The clients we worked with as buyer's agents felt that way. They both got good FHA loans with very low interest rates, one got one of the last down payment assistance loans, the other one could have gone that route but chose not to. I was trying to figure out how the money crisis affected my buyers. Initially I thought it hadn't, but in both cases, the houses purchased had had deals fall through because financing didn't come through. The sellers had lowered the prices and were anxious to work with good qualifed buyers. Motivation!