• write the offer and get required signatures, preapproval letter, initial deposit check
• submit offer to the listing agency
• if offer is countered, prepare response and counter offer
• if accepted, get all the necessary disclosures and  documents signed by both parties
• open escrow with the title company that will be handling the closing by giving copy of the agreement, names/numbers/emails of all parties involved in the transaction
• get preliminary title report on the property and review with buyer
• connect with the lender by giving copy of executed agreement
• coordinate bank appraisal
• follow up with loan underwriter after appraisal to find out if property appraises for the amount of the loan
• schedule inspections if necessary
• if not an REO (bank-owned) prepare request for repairs as needed following inspections
• negotiate request for repairs and/or credits
• outline and monitor timelines for contingency release for loan appraisal/approval and buyer investigation periods
• get buyer to release contingencies at the appropriate times or request extension
• give closing terms to escrow officer
• verify closing statements
• phone calls to listing agent and buyer throughout the process
• help you avoid any legal problems
• be there with you through out the entire closing process to look out for your best interest

As you can see using a agent to help you buy or sell a piece of property is well worth any commission that is paid for their services.  They are professionals that will save you time and money and help you avoid costly mistakes with you real estate transaction.  Call a realtor® today.  They will be there for you all the way.

UPdated listing!! Check out this home! 80 acres with home and improvements. Farm ground is dry farm. Home is spacious and hosts spectacular views from every direction. Location is very private and sits 1/4 mile off the main road. 6 bed 5 bath with fireplace in master. Lots of storage! Electric heat and 3 water heaters. Excellent grain storage facility. 2 fuel tanks with pumps 2000 gallons each.

Are you a first time home buyer or some one who hasn’t owned a home for the past three years?  If you are there is good news for you.  The government is willing to give you a gift of $8000 just for purchasing a home.  “What’s the catch,” you may ask?  This time there really isn’t one.  There are only a couple of simple criteria to meet and you are on your way.  The first thing that I already mentioned is that you must be buying your first home or you must have not owned a home in the past three years.  That’s pretty straight forward and simple.  Beside that you must remain in you home for 3 years before moving or selling that home.  If you move to a different primary residence before that time the government is going to want that money returned.  There are no other restrictions on the money.

“Do I have to use the money for the home purchase,” you may ask?  The answer to that is simple and straight forward as well.  You can use the money for anything you want.  You may choose to use the money for the down payment and closing costs.  That can be arranged through either Idaho Housing loans or FHA loans.  Maybe you want to use the money to purchase furniture for you new home.  That is just fine as well.  Perhaps you have other financial needs or wants.  You can use the money any way you’d like.  Not bad for a government program that usually has all kinds of strings attached.

“How do I go about getting the money,” you may ask?  That is relatively easy to do as well.  As soon as you put a property under contract you can file an amended tax return for 2008 with a simple one page form and submit it to the IRS.  Within a few weeks you will have your cash in hand.  You can also weight until you file you 2009 taxes and make the application then.  If you owe taxes for 2009 you will receive a check for the difference of what you owe and the $8000.  If you are getting a refund the $8000 will be added to the refund amount.  A third way to get the money, which requires using either of the afore mentioned details, is to use FHA or IHA loans to finance your purchase.  These loan guarantee companies will lend you $7000 up front to be used as part of your down payment and closing costs at a very low interest rate.  Then when you get your refund you will have the means to pay back the $7000 plus the interest charge.  This is probably the best option if you need the money for closing.  You could take a chance on getting the money back by filling the 2008 amended tax return but if the money did not get back in time for closing you could be in trouble.  I personally would not recommend that option.

The other thing you need to know is that this offer only lasts until the end of November of this year.  That may seem like quite a long way out but the deal needs to be closed by that date in order to get the money back.  In our currant housing/financial market closing times are being extended beyond the usual 30 days form the time of applying for the loan and actually closing the deal and taking possession of the home.  In some cases it may be 60 or even 90days to close.  You won’t want to push that deadline too close and miss out on the refund.  There are a couple of things that are happening that are making the closings take more time.  Lenders are inundated right now with home refinancing because interest rates have fallen to record lows as of late.  They have also cut back on personal just like most other companies in these tough economic times.  That means that your application may set at the bottom of a pile of applications for several days or weeks before it even gets looked at.  Then if there happens to be a problem the whole process could start all over again.  The other thing you need to be aware of is that there are tighter rules as to who can qualify for a loan.

My suggestion is this.  If you have any intention of purchasing a home this year then now is the time to act.  Start with one of the local realtors® who can and will be happy to help you get through the process as quickly and smoothly as possible.  He or she can help you find a lender that will pre-approve you for a loan ahead of time.  That way you will be in a position to act as soon as you find the home you want.  There are no delays and you can make an offer on the spot.

There has not been a better time to purchase a home and get out of your rental than right now.  Interest rates are at all time lows and the $8000 tax credit is a bonus that won’t last for ever.  Talk with a Realtor® today.  Happy home hunting!

Paul Bowen

So you want to sell your home but you are reluctant to try in the current market.  That is understandable given the state of the economy and the news hype that seems to be mostly negative.  “Is now even a good time to think about selling”, you may ask?  The answer is; it all depends on your individual circumstance.  Why do you want to sell your home?  Do you need to sell for financial reasonns? Maybe you just want to sell and move up to a larger or newer home?  There could be any number of reasons but each one will determine your particular selling strategy.

Let’s take a look at the current housing competition first of all.  In Madison County there are currently 192 homes for sale including single family homes, town home/condominiums, and manufactured homes.  That are 24 more homes on the market today than wereavailable in February of this year.  In Jefferson County there are 281 homes, 36 more than in February, and in Fremont County there are 244 homes available, 49 more than in February.  The trend here is an increase in the amount of inventory or competition for the buyers looking for housing.  Since the competition is greater your home will have to stand out from the crowd in order to get noticed.

Here are a few guidelines to make you home more marketable:

1. Clean up the yard.  Trim hedges, lawn edges, and trees as needed to make the outside yard area look its best.
2. Check the exterior of the home.  Is there any peeling or faded paint that could use a touch up?  Are there loose or damaged pieces of siding?  How about rain gutters?  Are they clean and attached well.  Check the roof for loose or missing shingles.  The exterior of the home and the yard are the first impression that you are trying to create.  Many buyers, in fact most buyers do a drive-by before they even make a contact for a showing of the inside.  Make the outside look as good as possible.
3. Now on the inside.  First of all “de-clutter” the home.  Not that your home is necessarily cluttered; what I mean here is to make space.  Taking a dozen pictures off from a wall and replacing it with one.  Reduce the number of pieces of furniture in each room.  Remove as many items from kitchen counter tops as practical.  Office areas can be clean and neat.  You may need to place things in storage or a garage while you are selling the home.  All this de-cluttering will have the effect of opening the home and making it look larger.
4. Think light.  Open curtains, add a lamp, and paint walls a light color, anything to make it look lighter and brighter.  And speaking of paint; a fresh coat of paint is relatively inexpensive, you can do it yourself, and it will make the home look fresh and clean.
5. Depending on the age of the home, you may want to consider new siding and windows.  You can get tax credits for energy efficient windows and insulation.  This will help defray the costs some. 
6. That takes care of many of the appearance items; now let’s take a look at pricing.  In a competitive market like we are in right now where there are fewer buyers. Pricing is everything.  If the home is priced right it will sell.  Trying to squeeze every last penny out of your home is a sure fire way to be sure your home is the last one to sell rather than the first.  Many of the home improvements that you do to a home will not yield you dollar for dollar in the sale price.  What it will do is make the home more marketable.  Here is where the use of a realtor® is invaluable.  A realtor® will meet with you and do a market analysis for you so you can price your home for what it will sell for not just the price you think you would like to have out of your home. Realtors® do not charge for this service even if you decide to try and sell the home on your own. It is just human nature to think your home is worth more than it will really sell for and that the home you are looking at is over priced.  We all do that either consciously or unconsciously.  That unbiased opinion brings us back to reality.
7. What about advertising?  How do you get the word out that you have a home for sale?  You put a sign in the front yard of course.  Many people think that that is all a realtor® does so you’d ought to be able to do that your self.  Then just take the check when the buyer knocks on the door and you have saved yourself the sales commission.  That may work too if you are in a highly desirable area with high traffic flow and a lot of people can see your sign.  Most likely you will need more than that.  A realtor® will do much more for you than that and at their expense not yours.  Almost all home buyers these days find their homes on the internet.  A realtor® will have your home in front of internet searchers from the first day where your home is most likely to be seen.  Also when a realtor puts your home on the local multiple listing service (MLS) then you in effect not only hire your listing agent but you are hiring hundreds of selling agents who will have access to you home information so they can bring you a buyer.
8. What about liability?  Are you ready to take the risk of selling your home by yourself and take the risk of a law suit because you forgot to tell the buyers some material fact about the home that they found out about latter and now want you to mitigate the problem?  A realtor® can really help you there as well.

I hope that a few of these ideas will help you with the sale of your home.  Even in today’s market a home will sell if it looks good, is priced right, and your home is put in front of the buyers that are out there.  Contact a realtor® today and ask them for help.  They will be more than happy to give you the help you need to get your home sold at a reasonable price.  They can also help you find the replacement home you are looking for.  Leave the work ato them and enjoy the process.

Paul Bowen

Remodeled in 2004, this home has all the upgrades without skipping a beat on the charm! The layout of the home features 5 bedrooms and 2 full bathrooms plus a new kitchen with custom maple cabinets and all new appliances. New carpet and paint throughout the home and the kitchen and baths have italian porceline tile. The exterior of home has new top of the line vinyl siding and mature landscaping and trees fill out the rest of the 1.69 acre property.  Don't let this one go! Give us a call today!!