Yes, I hear this all the time.  Prospective buyers will insist they know the area whether through their own research or perhaps they have even visited the area once, twice, maybe even yearly for the past 30 years.  Hum… that definitely replaces daily interaction in the community and extensive knowledge of the area and it’s neighborhoods.

2. The home was supposed to be a wonderful investment, it looked GREAT in the pictures!

Yes, because we all know that pictures show everything we need to know about a property… NOT!  A tear down can be made to look like a show home (and I’m not exaggerating, I’ve seen it!!) and that “steal of a deal” price really… isn’t.

3. Your friend moved to the area 4 years ago and they told you that the home next to theirs is available for a “Steal of a deal” right from the owner… no commissions!!!

Ok, this one sort of gets me.  Why on earth would anyone allow a “friend” to advise them on a $200,000 purchase, when that “friend” is not in anyway educated or experienced in the real estate business?  I mean come on, it’s not their money they are messing with!!!  It’s YOUR money.  Afer all, my neighbor the plumber told me I needed brain surgery, so of course I went ahead and had it.

4. You know you’ll get a “better deal” buying directly through the listing agent because the seller won’t have to pay “double” commission!!

Let’s just look at this one realistically.  First of all, the commission is a negotiated agreement between the listing agent and the seller.  Going directly to the listing agent is not going to save you any money, here’s why: The listing agent can not change or renegotiate the terms of the commission agreement with you, an unrelated party to the listing contract.  The seller agreed to pay a certain commission, whether the listing agent brings the buyer or whether the listing agent pays another buyer’s agent. It’s that simple.  Yes, in the buyers mind they think that gives the seller “room to negotiate more” when in reality, if the seller has agreed
to take a lower commission if the listing agent brings the buyer, it means more money goes into the sellers pocket - NOT that less will come out of the buyers pocket.

5. Heck, the extra money you have to put into the property in improvements is made up for by the extra appreciation a particular neighborhood will have.

I can not count the number of times this has been brought to my attention.  Investors who purchased through other agents and were advised by those agents to buy “an older home”.  ARGH - if you don’t live in the area, don’t do this!  An older home in a “mature neighborhood” is not going to appreciate faster than a newer home in a newer neighborhood.  I’ve had multiple clients dump dollar after dollar (thousands) into older homes and then not being able to sell at a high enough price to recoup their investment.

6. You believe that either all agents are created equal or all agents suck, why on earth do I need an investment property expert?

After all, what does it matter?  95% of the REALTORS(R) in the Kootenai County Market have not sold a SINGLE PROPERTY in the last 3 months.  60% of the REALTORS(R) in the area did not sell a single property in the last year.  I’m sure that the advice they give an investor owner is well educated, well researched and very experienced… NOT.  Be very careful about lumping agents together.  Less than 8% of the agents are doing 92% of the business, that’s pretty amazing and quite frankly, “production” DOES matter.  Don’t let agents who do very little (if any) business tell you otherwise.  Look at it this way, if you needed surgery you’d pick a surgeon who has done hundreds of the surgery you need over the surgeon who’s done 2 of the surgery you need.  The higher the numbers, the lower the mortality rate.

7. Hey, this management company cost me less money in repairs and maintenance every month.  I can take care of that stuff later (or, it’s unnecessary work).

Oh boy do I see this A LOT!  People worried about their monthly expenses compromising maintenance issues they should not compromise all in the name of “it’s not ‘necessary’, it can wait, I don’t have the money now.. yadda yadda yadda”.  I also see owners choosing property management company’s because the company doesn’t require specific maintenance (ie, fertilize the lawns, painting between tenants, lock changes between tenants, etc).  They choose to delay and then they want to sell… and the expenses they have at selling are significantly higher than if they had simply taken care of the property all along or, if they refuse to make the repairs and updates prior to selling, they take a serious hit in the sales price (more than if they had simply done the work) in order to get the property sold.

The thing is, it’s imperative that the property management company you hire actually wants to do more than “get you a tenant”.  Most could care less.  You want a company that wants your property to appreciate in value, that cares as much about your investment as you do.

8. Of course you should go straight to the builder.  They will give you the best price possible.  After all, You’re experienced, You’ve “done this” a few times!

Let me get very blunt here: no matter how many times you may have “done this”, you still haven’t “done it” more than I have, period.  That’s the point - I have sold more homes than any one person has sold of their own properties and that’s what you want, EXPERIENCE!!  Secondly, the builder is NOT going to reduce the price of a home just because you think they don’t have to “pay a commission”.  Their price is their price and that’s what you are paying, plain and simple.  I guarantee you, buying through the builder will NOT get you a better price.  In fact, because we work with several of the largest builders, we do have an “in” and can get you a much better price on some specific properties than the builder will EVER negotiate directly with the buyer.  Since the price of having a specialized Buyer’s Agent is already included in the price you’ll pay through a builder, why on earth wouldn’t you want to have one?  Have your own Buyer’s Agent who can negotiate a better price than you can on your own (that is if you have a good Buyer’s Agent) and save you money!!

Ok, clearly this list was written a bit satirically, but I guarantee you it’s contents are true.  I’ve worked with clients that have done one, a few, most or all of these and lived to tell about it.  They all too often come to me regretting their previous experiences but, they also know I will do my best to help, no matter what the past entailed.

• North Idaho is great for vacations - especially affordable ones!

• Idaho holds it’s own in the 2009 ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index

• Video tour of a beautiful Coeur d’Alene Idaho custom home on acreage - it’s my first, enjoy!

• Idaho holds it’s own in the 2009 ALEC-Laffer State Economic Competitiveness Index

• Video tour of a beautiful Coeur d’Alene Idaho custom home on acreage - it’s my first, enjoy!

• A 6,000+ seat event arena, in Coeur d’Alene? It can be done!

• What do spiders and robins have in common???

• All right, here it is - Going directly to the builder WILL NOT save you money in the Coeur d’Alene Area!!! ARGGGHHH!!!

• Idaho ranks #8 in “Healthiest States”

• Stop giving away information to consumers - they won’t “need” us . . .

• The economy is helping some industries - North Idaho Nudist Community

• Need tailoring services in Coeur d’Alene Idaho? Then stay FAR away from . . .

• Mica Flats (Coeur d’Alene, Idaho) puts new community on the drawing board - and it’s drawing debate…

• In a time of extreme unemployment, you’d think “time is of the essence” would be important! Post Falls Life Care Facility - NOW OPEN!

• Wordless Wednesday - Ribbit

• Wazza up with the online version of the Coeur d’Alene Press??

• You too can “know the future”… all it takes is watching the present with eyes wide open…

• Coeur d’Alene Idaho ranks #2 for best performing cities - We’ve done it again!

• Do you know that geese are LOUD???

• Coeur d’Alene Real Estate - Short Sale Opportunities

• Post Falls is examining 277 acre annexation request… for immediate development.

• Out with the old and in with the new!!! And no, this isn’t another resolutions/goal post

• Recession cuts Idaho’s numbers, but state still has sixth-fastest rate

• I’m running a business, not a charity - but apparently, all too many agents think the opposite.

• Ok people - relax, calm down, I’m not stalking you if I have your mailing address…

It is my hope that by going through this, I can significantly improve this blog for you, the reader and user of the blog.

So, you’ll begin to see some transformations going on over the next 31 days… let me know what you think both likes and dislikes!

Frankly, blogging takes a lot of time.  The beauty is, I very much enjoy my interactions with y’all, both virtually and live.  It’s been busy the past 2 months.

So, what does “busy” mean?

The North Idaho Dream Team LLC is now powered by SKE Realty Group LLC. The brokerage we were affiliated with, GMAC Northwest Real Estate essentially went “belly-up”.  The owners closed down the business and we had all of 24 hours to relocate.  Thank goodness we had already begun the work necessary to form our own brokerage.  It was our intention to open our brokerage in late spring of this year (2009) but with the advent of the actions of our previous brokerage, we opened on January 5th, 2009.  So, it was up to me to do 5 months worth of work in as short of a time as possible - and yes, I achieved that, but not without some downside - one being consistent updates to y’all via this blog.

I also was inaugurated as the local chapter President of the Coeur d’Alene Chapter of the Women’s Council of Realtors. An honor and I very grateful for and am enjoying immensely.

AND, although number of sales are down this year over last year (so far), I’ve been incredibly busy working with sellers (and Chuck has been busy working with buyers) and well, actually ASSISTING you in your real estate transaction is our number 1 priority so this blog became a #3 priority.  But that is OK!

So, although we are still very busy helping you buy and sell real estate, I’m not as busy with the “nuts and bolts” of opening up a new business (SKE Realty Group LLC) as I was in January and February and, I feel as though I’ve “settled in” to my position as President so, I am fairly sure I’m back to keeping you updated on the real estate goings on of Kootenai County.

It is my absolute pleasure to assist you!

Residential Real Estate in Kootenai County:

• 2,521 residential properties are available for sale
• 30 properties received offers and went into pending status.
• 39 properties were closed and recorded (sold)
• 144 properties expired (failed to sell)
• 32 properties were canceled (taken off the market until another time)
• 5 properties were withdrawn (temporarily taken off the market)

Inventory is decreasing which is very typical for this time of the year.  So many people think of it as taking the last gulp of air right around the end of October and start breathing again in March.  The thing is, properties still sell in the winter - people still move.  The key?  Price your home perfectly so it doesn’t languish on the market over the winter months.  Buyers are in a prime position - plenty of options, not much buyer competition.

Multi-Family Real Estate in Kootenai County

• 91 multi-family properties available for sale
• 0 properties received offers and went into pending status
• 1 property was closed and recorded (sold)
• 2 properties expired (failed to sell)
• 0 property was canceled (taken off the market until another time)
• 0 properties were withdrawn (temporarily taken off the market)

There are plenty of Multi-Family properties available right now.  This is a ripe time to buy as properties have been languishing on the market and many sellers are ready and willing to consider lower but serious offers.

This Newsletter is full of interesting and useful information that we think you will enjoy whether you are a buyer, seller, homeowner, or renter.

This month’s issue includes topics such as:

“Smaller Homeowner Relief Already In Place“;
“Good News for Qualified Buyers“;
“Credit Unions To The Rescue“;
“Finding Discounted Homes For Sale“;
“FHA Still Going Strong“;
“Investor Report: Bailout to Aid Investors“;

Plus a roundup of October real estate activity for the Coeur d’Alene area as well as much more advice and information.

We hope you enjoy this monthly newsletter. If you have any comments, please e-mail them to us. Or, if you would like to see a certain topic covered in future months, let us know that too!

Residential Real Estate in Kootenai County:

• 2,619 residential properties are available for sale
• 28 properties received offers and went into pending status.
• 31 properties were closed and recorded (sold)
• 65 properties expired (failed to sell)
• 38 properties were canceled (taken off the market until another time)
• 3 properties were withdrawn (temporarily taken off the market)

Homes are still selling, buyers are still buying.  North Idaho Real Estate is still going strong.

Multi-Family Real Estate in Kootenai County

• 93 multi-family properties available for sale
• 0 properties received offers and went into pending status
• 1 property was closed and recorded (sold)
• 7 properties expired (failed to sell)
• 1 property was canceled (taken off the market until another time)
• 0 properties were withdrawn (temporarily taken off the market)

There are plenty of Multi-Family properties available right now.  This is a ripe time to buy as properties have been languishing on the market and many sellers are ready and willing to consider lower buy serious offers.

This Newsletter is full of interesting and useful information perfect for buyers, sellers, homeowners, or renters.

This month’s issue includes topics such as:

“What the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 Means for You”;
“Moving Away From Heavy Gasoline Use”;
“New Fed Rules To Prevent Future Runs on Bad Loans”;
“Open The Doors And Buyers Shall Come — But Prepare First!”;
“Investor Report: Hidden Tax Pitfall”;
“Don’t Overlook The Garage When Getting Your Home Ready To Sell”;

Plus a roundup of August real estate activity as well as much more advice and information.

Enjoy. If you have any comments, let us know. Or, if you would like to see a certain topic covered in future months, let us know that too!