When you’re looking at homes for sale in Boise, Meridian, Eagle etc., you often times can get a flyer off of the sign in the flyer box.

BUT

Today you can text a code number thats listed on the sign and get a text message sent to your phone with pictures, details and even a virtual tour!

POLL QUESTION: Which would you prefer: A color flyer or an INSTANT interactive Text Message?

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What is Appreciation?

Appreciation is an increase in the value of an asset, in this case real estate,  over time.  Driving factors that may cause the increase are:  increased demand or weakening supply, or as a result of changes in inflation or interest rates.  This is the opposite of depreciation, which is a decrease over time.  Obviously the Boise Real Estate market has seen some pretty serious decline in appreciation due to a multitude of factors.

Here is Idaho’s Chart on Appreciation from 1991 to 2009 Quarter 3

Click for larger view

Buying and selling real estate can be easy, it can also be very complicated.  Making the right choice as a home buyer and getting all your ducks in a row as a home seller is also very difficult.  For these and many other reasons, people hire Real Estate Agents.  But, how can you know for sure that your Real Estate Agent isn’t drinking the same Kool-Aid that lots of other agents drink.

I’ve put together the some common deceptions used by Agents.   I must warn you, this may invoke a bit of discomfort if you’re already working with a guy or gal who’s uttered one of these fibs, if they were in the right context, then chances are they’re trustworthy…out of context could cost you years of your financial future!

Lie #1- “The Seller Pays the Commission”

Probably the most common Real Estate Age lie.  While technically true, the seller does pay the commission, but they just raised the price of the home to cover the cost in most if not all circumstances.  Don’t be fooled, you, as the buyer are financing the entire commission!

If you’re buying a house, the good news is that you don’t have to cough up a payment for an agent, unless it’s a situation where the seller has not agreed to pay for a buyers agent — a situation sometimes found with For Sale By Owners (FSBO’s).

The reality is that there is cost to doing business and a good real estate agent can save you far more money than they cost.  Ditching a good agent to save the small fee will cost you more in the long run.

So if you agent tells you that you don’t have to pay them, they’re not being truthful!

Lie #2- “You Can Write Off Your Interest From Your Home Loan”

…continued with:  “So, you’re loan payment is $1500, but after taxes and deductions etc. it really only feels like $1100″.  This generally always followed with, “But you’d better check with your tax adviser.”

Almost EVERY real estate agent and loan originator have been a part of the Mortgage Interest Deduction Hustle.   The Federal Government does allow you to write off any interest paid on your loan, if you itemize on your taxes.

NOTE* It may not necessarily be to your advantage to itemize on your taxes, and if you do, there is no guarantee that you will get any type of savings or that “paying more actually feels like paying less”.

Lie #3- If You Can’t Sell Your Home For What You Ow On It, Do a Short Sale

A lot of agent’s feel comfortable telling their clients to stop paying on their mortgage so they can do a short sale.  This has probably originated from the rash of $50  “Short Sale Expert Trainings” at the Holiday Inn.

The truth is, most banks will allow short sales as an option to getting rid of your toxic asset liability — but generally not until you have missed payments, which is why agents suggest missing a few payments.

What the agent isn’t telling you is that it can take up to a year or more in a bad scenario short sale to get the banks full cooperation and get the home sold.  This has left multiple 30 day lates (or even 120+ days late) on your credit rating which may not matter to you now, but in the future, lenders may not differentiate between a foreclosure and a short sale because of so many late payments.

There’s also the issue of a deficiency judgment, or getting stuck with having to pay off a portion if not all of the amount you were short.

Best case for you is to talk with an attorney BEFORE you talk about selling.  Find out your options and leave the Real Estate Agent out until you’ve gotten good council and know  your best option.

Lie #4- The Real Estate Market Has Hit Bottom

What agent hasn’t said that?  What’s more, if agents think that a couple of months of reduced inventory and a small rise in prices and increased home sales is the foundation to recovery, they’re crazy.  Economies are far more complicated than that and since when did Real Estate Agent have a crystal ball and where was it before the collapse?

As I’ve said before, some markets are doing well while others are crashing and some are crashing while others are doing well.  Markets are local and can be as isolated as a particular street.  Without thorough examination, there is no way to tell if your market is on the rebound (whatever the heck that might be)

Some people including many Real want to see a rebound in the real estate market so bad that they are willing to take fairly insignificant stats out of context or out of the bigger picture and make fairy tale realities for their clients.

Listen folks, until people get jobs, the market is still in the tank. A spike in pricing, increased sales, and lower inventory are good things, but they are shallow indicators of a healthy economic reality.

Buying and selling should be based on what suits your family needs and goals, not solely on what the market is or isn’t doing.

There are certain areas within Boise where real estate will always do well and pricing while compressed and sales down,  have more sustainable value and worth than their speculative counterparts.  If you’d like a list of those areas, just let me know .

Conclusion — Work with an honest educated agent!

Finding an honest educated agent takes work.  When the Boise real estate market was hot, there were schools that were graduating over 100 agents per month into the Boise area!

The best way to find an honest agent who is look out for your needs it to call me!  Honestly !  If you don’t want to do that, then you need to interview agents to find out what they’re about.  They need to have a good grasp of the market data, know how to negotiate, and most important, they need to be able help you look out for your goals!

For a list of references and testimonials from past clients, shoot me an email or give me a call!

In the mean time, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!

Swiss Army Knives can do almost anything, so can the new and improved Boise Real Estate Soup! It’s taken some time but I’m excited to get the new site up an running.  The changes were pretty straight forward; mostly design/graphic, but more important are the navigational changes, but, I’ve added some great features that are very useful for home buyers and home sellers alike!  Check out the updates and sign-up now for email updates or RSS updates.  Also, find me on Facebook, Twitter and Linked-In!  The site doesn’t have a corkscrew, but, if you bring your bottle of wine over, I’ll open it for you!

Searching For Boise Real Estate Just Got Easier!

I’ve added three options for getting to my Boise Real Estate home search.  You can now access the entire Boise MLS by clicking the icon in the header of the site, you can also search for Boise homes by clicking the link under the ‘Multi-Media Box, that says “Search Like An Agent” or, you can follow the tab in the navigation tab at the top of the page under the header image.  ***I am still waiting for my new search engine to be uploaded which should be done by the end of the week, so for now, enjoy what’s available!***

What’s That Home Worth?

Another feature of the site that I am really happy about is the Market Snapshot.  The Market Snapshot is a free tool that I am offering home buyers and home owners.  Basically, Market Snapshot will give you the ‘SOLD’ Market for any neighborhood.  So, if you are looking to buy and want to know what sales have been like in a particular area, submit your request and get a Market Snapshot of the area.  Likewise, if you are selling a home and want to know what homes like yours have sold for, feel free to use the tool by punching in the required info.

It’s pretty amazing information, you should try it out just for fun!

Linked-In, Facebook and Twitter, Oh My!

Like an article?!  Please share it with your friends using the ‘Share and Enjoy’ buttons below each article.  Connect with me on popular Social Networking sites like Twitter, Facebook and Linked-In.  Also, do me a favor and sign up for the RSS reader feeds or RSS Email Feeds.  You’ll be notified of important community events, market updates and other valuable information as it pertains to Boise Real Estate or the Boise Area at large!

Tweet This!

If you read a post that you like, do me a favor:  Click the green “Tweet” button at the bottom of the article.  Your “Tweets” are tangible ways to help me become a more recognized and trusted authority in the Boise Real Estate World!

Continued Updates and Content

As things develop, I will continue to make important changes and upgrades to the site.  Look for new content weekly by subscribing to the RSS feed and please please please leave your comments, ideas and support!!!

How many homes are for sale in Boise?  The simple answer is 2748 as of 8/3/2009.  This is confusing though.  Many people who are certain that it’s a buyers market in Boise are coming to the realization that good homes that meet their needs are in short supply.

Let’s take some buyers that I am currently working with and see if they can find a home for sale in Boise that meets their needs.

As I said, there are currently 2748 homes for sale in Boise.

Eeny, meeny, miny, moe

They want to live in a single family, not a condo or town home, so now, they have 2125 homes to look at.

They don’t want to spend more than $225,000 (fake number…confidential info), yikes, now they get to choose from 1265 homes.

They need 3 bedrooms and at least 2 bathrooms…only 947 to look at now.

Because they don’t want to commute to work and like North Boise, North East Boise and South East Boise they only have 118 that will meet the criteria.

Like many buyers, they are only putting 3.5% down using FHA and only 79 homes for sale in Boise currently meet those requirements (and the other requirements combined).

They aren’t really interested in looking as far away as Columbia Village, so that limits the homes for sale in Boise to 19!

In all reality, their wants and needs aren’t too different from most clients I meet or other people who are out there searching for a home.  The truth is, we haven’t even begun to discuss what those 19 homes look like.

Many of them may need work, have bad floor plans, located on a busy street, who knows.  By the end of the day, they are going to have to sign up (they already did!)for one of my buyer tools like John L. Scott Property Tracker or with Listing Book, and get daily updates on new homes that meet their wants and needs.

Is it really a buyers market for homes for sale in Boise?

In this particular instance, its definitely not.  And as I mentioned, these buyers aren’t unlike most others with regard to their wants and needs.  Certainly different people will be more open to different circumstances, but on the other hand, many others wont be.

Because buyer have certain likes and dislikes finding the perfect home is not as easy as you might think.  Good deals sell fast and the best homes withing a certain price range sell fast too!

So, What’s the best way to keep track of homes for sale in Boise (or any other area for that matter)?

Well, there are a few ways but here are 3 that I can tell you will give you the most effective outcome.

• Hire Me– Sounds shameless I know, but that’s the truth.  When you hire me to help you find your perfect home, we work together on putting an action plan in place that will show you results.  I have access to the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) and I do real estate for a living.  I hear of deals before they hit the market and know where the top buys are at any given time.
• John L. Scott.com — I’ve mentioned some of the tools that I have at John L. Scott like, Property Tracker, Home Delivery and Neighborhood Wizard.  These tools will keep you informed ‘real time’ of new listings on the market so that you can be swift to decide whether or not to schedule a showing or to keep looking.
• Listingbook– Listing book is a newer program with different features that are a must to any home buyer.  You get daily updates about new homes that meet your criteria and you can save/watch/schedule appointments for any listings.  It’s tied directly to the MLS, so you know the information is accurate and up to date unlike many other popular sites like Trulia and Zillow (even competitors sites).

Sign up now! Email me and I will get you set up with both of these programs as well as the MLS!