About McCurtain County, OK

This post has nothing to do with selling real estate in Oklahoma.

It does have to do with an Oklahoma real estate broker taking a break away from the office and going somewhere else, looking at some different scenery,

so that she can do a better job when she gets back.

If you're a client of mine, you may find it hard to believe that real estate brokers need to walk away from it all for a few days. I know because I called those of you that have transactions waiting to close, etc... and a couple could not believe that I was going to be gone for 2 to 3 days out of the office even though I have my laptop and cell phone with me..

You see there NEVER is a time when I DO NOT HAVE TRANSACTIONS WORKING THROUGH THE STEPS TO GET TO CLOSING, because I'm good at what I do and my pipeline has never been empty.So by that logic, there NEVER is a good time for me to take a break from my work.

Because I am very involved in every step of your transaction from the time that I list your property until you receive a check for it's sale, and even past that...

Let me assure you that I spent 2 days making sure that closers, surveyors, title people, lenders, insurance agents, lawyers, etc had everything they needed or could possibly need for the time period that I'm going to be gone.

My laptop has every conceivable form on it and a word processor if I need to ad lib...and it's never out of my reach, even on vacation.

So let me tell you about what I did today for stress relief...

I love visiting a good zoo. When we have a trip planned to a city that has a zoo, I always try to plan at least a half day to visit their zoo, always hoping for a good experience and willing to take the chance.

Today I was NOT disappointed. In fact, I was elated. My husband and I have visited several zoos around the country and I have to tell you that the Memphis Zoo ranks, if not at THE top, then at the top with some others.

In fact, according to an article on the My Fox Memphis Webiste. site, the zoo was named as the country’s highest ranked for the last 2 years. Once by the 2008 Cultural Attraction Benchmark Report, conducted by an entertainment research firm and also by Trip Advisor website. Although the zoo is not as large as some other top ranked zoos around the country, the zoo is extremely well maintained, clean, and a pleasure to spend time at.

The Memphis Zoo is over 100 years old. It was started before Oklahoma became a state in 1907! The zoo was established in 1906. It has an Egyptian theme throughout the park. I was told that it’s in honor of the city’s namesake, Memphis, the capital of ancient Egypt.

The zoo has giant pandas on loan from China. There are only four zoos in the US that have the giant pandas. The other three are Washington, DC, San Diego, Atlanta.

They have been working on some of the exhibits so we did not see the polar bears today. I remember seeing the polar bears at the Oklahoma City zoo as a small child of four years old. They were so BIG and so scary to me then. I've seen them several times since then and they still are HUGE and scary... Today a large turtle was scary to one little boy.

If you LIKE zoos, you will LOVE the Memphis Zoo. I shot 200 photographs today, just couldn’t help myself. I am envious of people that live near a good zoo. We do not have a zoo in McCurtain County... we do not have enough population to support one.

Below are a couple more of those photos. So at this time, please take a restful glimpse into the zoo with me, whether you are one of my clients or a fellow broker/agent that needs a break because you are so involved in your job..

I'm not sure what''s on the schedule for tomorrow... for now though someone else is doing the cooking and the cleaning... not me.

I will be back into the thick of it all, my files, clients, transactions, in a couple of days... with a much clearer and more rested mind and body.

I've never seen a more relaxed, comfortable looking, laid back cat, whether tame or wild...

both front and back shots reveal how he's just spreading out there on that log looking the folks over...

Haworth School, about 9 miles east of Idabel has cancelled classes for the rest of the week due to absences. Flu like symptoms have kept about 20% of the school population absent. Some have already tested positive for H1N1 virus, commonly called the Swine Flu.

One 6 yr old boy from Texarkana, about 80 miles from Idabel has died from the swine flu this week.

It is very important that you wash and sanitize your hands often during the day.

Regular flu shots will be given this Saturday at the idabel Public School. 9 am to 4 pm. To be vacinnated for Swine flu, you must first take the vacination for reguarl flu.

We've had so much rain during the last 30 days.

It is the wettest September that I remember in some time in McCurtain and Choctaw Counties in Southeast Oklahoma.

In fact it's been a wet July and August too.

Usually during those months our grass suffers but not this year.

The unusually high moisture content has given us...

FOGGY MORNINGS on the farm.

I've been reminded of some of those old London movies.

.

Our average rainfall is approximately 50 inches per year in Idabel (the extreme southeast corner of Oklahoma) Extreme Southeast being about 20 miles from Arkansas and 20 miles from Texas.

So far, the year 2009 is ranked about the 50th wettest year during the period that records have been kept, 1895 - 2009.

The month of July was the 27th wettest July for that same time keeping period.

if you are considering moving to our corner of the world , or if you're just curious about the climate in Southeast Oklahoma, The Oklahoma Climatological Survey maintains a website with all of the data and facts about Oklahoma weather.

Some links to information on their site:

Normals & Extremes

County Climate Summaries

Rainfall & Drought Update

Monthly Summaries

Seasonal Summaries

Annual Summaries

Climate Event Summaries

Weather Timeline

Climate TrendsCoop Data

During the last couple of months, I've had numerous phone calls from out-of-state folks that are wanting to move to Oklahoma, and wanting a "little" place in the country. .. anything from 10 acres to 300 acres..

I was going back through information that I had sent them and remembered that I had worked up a lot of info into the following blog. So if you are thinking of "going rural" in OK.. please read.

You want to move to the country.... you were raised in a rural location,....or you've never had the opportunity and now you can make that choice

Whatever the reason for wanting to reach out past city limits for your new home, make sure that you do your homework.

Does a public water district serve the area? If so, what are the installation and monthly fees? If not, are good water wells serving the neighbors? What is the cost of drilling, how deep are the wells in the area and what assurance if any do you have that you will end up with plenty of good water? What permits are required and what fees? Are there fire district fees associated with the public water district fees? Where is the nearest fire department? Are they a volunteer department or staffed? Where is the nearest fire hydrant? How does the fire department location and type affect your home owners insurance?

Is there a public sewer service available to the property? If not, what are your options? Depending upon the soil profile, waste treatment could get expensive and could be a "high maintenance" system. Ask questions about installation costs, maintenance costs, hassle, etc.

What about electrical service? In our rural areas, power probably comes via overhead lines. Is this a co-op that serves your area? If so, find out who your representative is on the board, when they have their board meetings and when do they have their annual meeting? You may not ever need this information but when and if you do have a problem, you want this information already filed away somewhere. Ask the neighbors if service is disrupted very often. If so, or if this is an area that has been plagued by snow storms or other types of storms that have knocked out power in the past, you may want to invest in a practical size generator just for insurance, which means keeping some fuel on hand for the generator. If it's a gasoline generator, gasoline is not always easily siphoned out of your automobile to put in the generator. Find out what the utility charges for installation. This may make a difference in whether they run the electricity near your house or at the property line and you have an electrician do the job of getting the line closer to your new home, possibly getting it underground even if the utility company only runs overhead.

Surveys: Get one. Period. Whether the seller furnishes it, you have to do it, or you split the cost...get one. If the seller has one that they can pass on to you, good. It needs to sketches of structures, fences, and other improvements. There needs to be stakes in the ground so that you can easily find the corners and easements on the property. Which brings me to the next one:

Easements. Check to see if the property has any, what types they are and what the consequences of them are and could be in the future. It never hurts to be aware and it might make a difference in your decision.

Mineral Rights. Are there any with the surface rights that you are thinking of purchasing?

Soil Type of the property that you are thinking of buying. Call your local conservation district and ask. If solid maps are available, get one. Talk to them also about the location and ask for advice, especially if you are thinking of installing a pond on the property. They can give advice about soil erosion, suitability of the soil to different improvements and plants. They will help you with conservation planning.

In Oklahoma, ask about the abstract. Are you getting a complete abstract or is it a supplemental. This can be a negotiating point on the price of the property. If you are only getting a supplemental, who owns the base. You might save yourself some money also if you know the last time that it was looked at by an attorney, or if it has title insurance on the property. If there has been an attorney's opinion, sometimes going back to the same attorney will allow you to get the opinion extended to cover the additional documents that have been added to the abstract since the last opinion.

Is there a live creek on the property and if so, where is the flood zone?

If you have children, what school district is the property in...is the property served by the school bus route?

Find out how property taxes are calculated and how property is assessed. It will probably change when you purchase and especially when you build on it, so don't count on it staying the same as the previous owners.

Are there any zoning ordinances that cover the location and are building permits required? If the property is not covered by protective covenants, you still will want to know if there are any deed restrictions.

If the road to the property is not paved...ask about maintenance on the road and what it's like after a rain.

There may be other issues and concerns so ask your lender if there is anything else that you should be concerned about.

Then after you're satisfied that all is right, enjoy knowing that you did your homework.

According to a story in the McCurtain Gazette, Inmates in a Houston, Texas jail, the Harris County Jail have been working a scam on residents in McCurtain County. It is believed that someone there has a local phone book and they have been selecting phone numbers at random.

According to the newspaper, local residents have received a collect phone call from the jail from someone that identifies themselves as an officer. That person tells the resident that they need to press *72. They use any number of reasons to convince the person to press those numbers.

When the person called presses *72, it transfers their phone number to the caller and the caller can then make long distance calls from the jail and the bill will be sent to the victim that was called.

So if anyone calls you and asks you to press *72, DO NOT DO IT

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Life in Southeast Oklahoma is GREAT! If you're looking for a home or land in my part of the country, give me a call: Judi Barrett, broker, Integrity Real Estate Services, 580-212-5946

Or visit one of our websites:

Integrity Realty

Integrity Real Estate

Lake Raymond Gary Homes

Fort Towson Homes

Valliant Homes

McCurtain County

Choctaw County

Broken Bow Lake

Lake Raymond Gary

Raymond Gary Lake

Commercial Property List

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Judi Barrett

Broker - Integrity Real Estate Services
Our Name Says It All.
Real Estate Services You Can Trust.
580-212-5946