Presidents Day Quote: President Herbert Hoover on home OWNERSHIP VS. renting

On this very special day, we look back to the past and give thanks to the wonderful men that have lead this country. I found a old quote from President Herber Hoover from 1931 on home ownership in contrast to renting. The words are actually powerful, and moving even today some 81 years later:

“Next to food and clothing, the housing of a nation is its most vital problem. . . . The sentiment for home ownership is embedded in the American heart [of] millions of people who dwell in tenements, apartments and rented rows of solid brick. . . . This aspiration penetrates the heart of our national wellbeing. It makes for happier married life. It makes for better children. It makes for courage to meet the battle of life. . . . There is a wide distinction between homes and mere housing. Those immortal ballads, ‘Home, Sweet Home,’ ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ and ‘The Little Grey Home in the West’ were not written about tenements or apartments. . . . They were written about an individual abode, alive with tender associations of childhood, the family life at the fireside, the free out-of-doors, the independence, the security and the pride in possession of the family’s own home. . . . Many of our people must live under other conditions. But they never sing songs about a pile of rent receipts. . . .”

May the American dream never die of home OWNERSHIP! Please know that as a realtor I along with every other realtor are fighting in your behalf to make sure that opportunity continues and never goes away. :)



Happy Presidents Day! :)

Sellers or Buyers Market in Boise Idaho?? (Remember we're not concerned what the market is doing in New York!)

In case you don't read any farther then this, let me just inform you that currently the Treasure Valley Real Estate market is indeed a SELLER'S Market.

The numbers for the first month just came out for both Ada and Canyon county, and the numbers are pretty amazing.

First of all, in any market a "6 months supply of homes" is a STABLE market.  Now what does "months supply" mean.??.....

Currently there are 1,976 Single Family units on the market in Ada county. If starting today not a single home more was allowed to be put on the market "months supply" would tell us how long we'd have homes to sell before they were all gone.  (It's kind of like NASCAR.... if you watch NASCAR some times it shows how many seconds behind a particular car is from the leader. Basically if the leader car were to come to a complete stop, how many seconds would it take for the trailing car to catch up. Same idea..:) hope that helped)

In the January we just had, there were 381 homes sold. And now there are only 1,976 left. So lets do the math:

1976 ÷ 381 =  5.1    or 5.1 month supply of homes.  

Now remember 6 months supply is STABLE.  More than 6 is buyers market... however less that 6 is a Sellers market.


Not only is this evidence of a SELLERS market, but you can also look at the number of homes on that market as of Jan. the past 4 years and see a very shocking number!!

Total number of homes on the Ada Market in :

January 2008 -  4,307
January 2009 -  3,764
Januray 2010 -  2,991
January 2011 -  2,232
January 2012 -  1,976

As you can tell that number continues to drop, and with the number of homes shrinking, and the number of buyers increasing, it really is as simple as SUPPLY vs DEMAND!

Why so many buyers?:

1. Interest rates are still below 4%. If you are going to buy, rates have never been better.

2. Renters are tired of renting and hearing about their friends paying less on a mortgage.

3. Treasure Valley rental Vacancy at a 5 year low! Lots of renters, no place to rent = high rent.

4. Investors!!! With vacancy rates low, investors can buy a home and charge double the mortgage to instantly cash flow on a property.


The Boise market is unique! It doesn't follow what you, your parents, your barber, your yoga instructor, read and see everyday in the New York Times or on CNN.

As a licensed Realtor with experiance in the Treasure Valley Market, I am here to help you either buy or sell and make sure you get the best deal possible in THIS market!

You can call or email me with more questions you may have about our local market. 208-631-8775 or jeff@househuntersofidaho.com. Or just go to my website to search the market for yourself. www.jeff.househuntersofidaho.com

So, you gave her the RING.... but now.. WHAT ABOUT THE HOUSE??

Congrats to all you Boise, ID love birds that are either just getting engaged today, or are renewing your love for one another on this Valentines Day! .....BUT....

If you did just get engaged, what are you plans for once the two of you move in together?  Or maybe you already live together and will be combining your finances for the first time.... Where are you planning on starting out this new journy together?? Renting...or Buying???

I bet that RING you just bought wasn't cheap, and probably was the majority if not all of your tax return.  So now if you even wanted to think about putting a down payment down, you're going to have to wait at least 6-8 months to save up right....??????

NOPE!! There are actually quite a few options depending on your credit score and the location where you are wanting to buy, that you can actually get 100% financing (aka $0 down) and walk into a brand new home with nothing out of pocket!

But why buy just starting out? Why not!! In our local market in Boise, rental vacancies are extremely low, meaning it is hard to find something nice that is going to be pushing $1,000 dollars a month.(and that's just an apartment!)

However, with the interest rates still below 4% on 30 year fixed loans... you can easily be living in a very nice home, that is YOURS, that you are putting money away on to build equity and have a mortage closer to $800 or $850! If you don't believe me, just give me a call! 208-631-8775.

Or better yet, register on my website to start looking at homes now! www.jeff.househuntersofidaho.com

So once again, congrats on the new steps you are about to take!! And although like the oldie song by the Beatles says, " Can't buy me love"... if you are wise and don't though it away early on in your new relationship, you may just end up having more of it at the end!   Com Muito Amor Jeff

I CAN DO ANYTHING YOU CAN BETTER.......

"Work is love made visible"”

Kahlil Gibran (1883–1931)
Lebanese poet and philosopher

Everday is a chance to either be average, or to raise above the average. Stop living you life down there, and live it in everyway more up here.

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR CREDIT SCORE IN 5 MIN.!!!

With interest rates here in Boise below 5%, heck below even 4.5% I have had lots of clients looking at funding and getting approved, and it isn't rare to see them a handful of points away from being able to be approved, or get a better rate!

In my two years of real estate experience, the FASTEST and most EFFECTIVE way to raise your score up to 25 points in short amount of time is " optoutprescreen.com  "

Most of us receive pre-approved emails in the mail all the time. The credit bureaus know that you receive these, and this does have an effect on your credit score! When you go to optoutprescreen.com, you can opt out of receiving these types of mailers for up to 5 years, and it will have an immediate POSITIVE effect on your credit!!

If you or someone you know here in the Boise area needs a little help getting there scores up, please let them know about this! And then let know to give me a call as well! I have a couple other tricks that can help significantly improve your credit score!  208-631-8775.

2011 First Quarter Renter Vacancy Rates hit ALL TIME LOW!!! ( RENTING vs BUYING)

Surveys that were just recently done on over 4,000 rental units shows that the Vacancy Rate on Rentals has dipped below the 3%!!! (Ok Jeffrey, but what in the world does that mean for me, you may be asking..?..)

If you are an investor or even thinking about investing your money in rentals, there literally has never been a better time!!! You will more than likely have no problem finding a renter and a good one at that! And if bought at the right price (which of course all you investor savy people are!) you will have no problem cash flowing instantly!

And second, for all you RENTERS out there! Lets go back to a very simple economic lesson that may be familiar to most.... What happens the price of product when you have a large amount of people demanding that product but a low supply of that product? PRICES GO UP!!!! If you are renting , there is a VERY real possibility that you could be OWNING  a home for the price or less expensive then you are renting!!!


If you are a investor that has questions on the possiblites that are out there right now, or if you are a RENTER that literally can't take another month of your LANDLORD please give me a call and lets see if we can figure out something for you.  208-631-8775

MARCH MADNESS!!! As a Realtor, are you a #1 seed, or a #16 seed?

As we enter the month of March, there is always an amazing energy around the game of basketball.... and as i sat and pondered today the future brackets I would be feeling out (by the way my basketball team is UNC!...what about you!?) I realized how similar basketball and real estate really are!

 I hope you enjoy my attempt below to draw very interesting comparisons between the two.

1. Both have a leader (Head Coach, or Broker). Both of which have it great when times are good, but always get the heat when things go wrong.

2. 10 players on the same 94 x 50 foot court. ( I bet sometimes it can feel like there are even more agents in your area per square foot doesn’t it!) But the well prepared, in shape, and hard working always rise above the others.  Preparation is key to both successes.

3. There are people that go under the radar and don't always get the lime light, but it could not happen with out them. (Assistant coaches, physical trainers, weight coaches, physical therapist:  Underwriters, Loan officers, Title officers, Appraisers, etc etc) How grateful we are for them! (well, unless the

appraisal comes back low! :)   

4. The basketball is very similar to our clients, as much as we pass them around to touch and deal with all our teammates, (lenders, title companies etc), we must take extra special care of them, as not to "turn them over to our competitors.

5. And finally making a jump shot is just under pressure with the game on the line is just like closing the deal with our clients (the ball). The balls home is the hoop, and we hope to do the same by sending our clients to their new "home" as well. And unless we are able to perform and close under pressure, everything else is for not!

So as we enter the craziness of March Madness I hope you not only take a second to fill out a bracket, but also reflect on the great comparisons between real estate and basketball!

Oh, and finally, GO TAR HEELS!!! :)

Enjoy the below video! It's March Baby!! Magic is in the air!!!!

AGENTS: Your clients need to know about this information!

Currently on a $100,000 loan the monthly Mortgage Insurance is $75.00
Beginning April 18th, $100,000 loan amount, the monthly MI will be $95.78, or a increase of $20.78/$100,000.
Pass it along to any homebuyers sitting on the fence post, although home prices are going down, interest rates and NOW MI rates are going up.See this link below for more info.

HUD Link

Also, let your buyers know that if they wait for prices to fall, and rates do increase then they in the end would lose! See graph below:

15 sales days left this month, 38 left this quarter Saturday, February 5

“ I attribute my success to this:
I never gave or took an excuse. ”
Florence Nightingale (1820–1910)
English pioneer of modern nursing

Sales reminder...

Objections are a requirement to a successful sales day.

It means you're engaging your prospects and customers and helps you

move the sales process along (or end the process with an unqualified prospect).

All along, make sure you're qualifying continually!
__________

If you've not seen it or need a reminder, 1 minute from Nike...

DON’T MAKE EXCUSES!

EXCUSE VIDEO

500 bones to roll with!!

There is a pretty good chance that if you are reading this blog that you yourself live in a CBH Home! Or you know someone that does. CBH is by far the largest builder in the State of Idaho, so it's not that unlikely!

BUT!!!! Here is what you probably did not know! If you reside in a CBH Home and refer ANY (or all :) of your friends to buy a new CBH Home, you will get "$500 big ones", "$500 Benjamins", "$500 ways to make it rain", "$500 bones to roll with"!!!!!

So if you know anyone looking, send him my way.......and then invite me to the after party!

Click to start your CASH PROJECT

OPEN HOUSE PARTY!!!! Boise New Construction!! CBH Homes (Bridgeview)

I am hosting an open house today 1/28/2011 from noon till 5:30 at 8300 Grubstake Ave. Boise, ID. I will be desplaying and showing homes in our Bridgeview Community!

Brideview is just off of Amity and Cole, and minutes from the freeway! And i have brand new homes starting in at $108k! And that is 1413 sq ft.!!! 

Please feel free to call me as well for more information!!!

Map: 
Location of OPEN HOUSE!