The Spokane-Coeur D’Alene Home Guy Blog

Just recently I heard that most conventional 100% financing options are gone (for the time being).  There are still options to go 100% financed with FHA or VA (with VA probably being one of the best options).   What does this mean to sellers?

Offering FHA is a GREAT option when selling your home - if it qualifies.  The buyer pool for FHA loans is growing more and more every day.  FHA still has some legal gift programs such as Neamiah where sellers can gift funds to help buyers get into homes easier with less down.  For the conventional buyer - you’re going to need a down payment.

Why is this happening?  The banks can write the notes, but they can’t get their Privat Mortgage Insurance to cover the loan, which is why FHA and VA can still do it - they are government backed loan programs which aren’t affected by the PMI issues. 

For more information - I’d be happy to put you in touch with my lender, give me a call or shoot me an email and we’ll discuss it! 

Tags: Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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I’ve always been facinated with Manito Park and the whole Manito area.  So much neat Real Estate around there.

I thought this was interesting - the Friends of Manito are putting on a Tropical Plant Sale. Check it out!

Tags: Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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With the tightening grip of lending institutions and stricter requirements to get a loan, many home buyers are turning to alternatives.  One of these alternatives is a Lease with Option to purchase. 

 I’ve seen many different ways sellers structure their Lease Options, some say put something in writing and we’ll go from there, others want a very large, non-refundable option price, and a rather high monthly payment, and some want you to enroll in credit repair programs to ensure you’ll be able to excersize your option during the period.

What is a Lease Option?  A lease option is an interest in Real Property that gives you the right to purchase the property at a pre-determined & pre-negotiated price anytime within a negotiated period of time.  The option typically costs money to purchase and is usually preferred second to a conventional method of finiancing (loan).  Options can be protected by recordation at the courthouse for a minimal fee.

Options can be setup as Purchase and Sale agreements with early posession / delayed closing, or elaborate documents prepared by competant attorneys.  Either way there is a lot to consider.

Most options have:

1) Option Price - can be several thousand or tens of thousands, depending on the terms the seller is willing to accept.
2) Monthly payment
3) Timeframe

A lease option is still a lease, so you are still a tenant while you are in the home so don’t be surprised if the seller does not want you to make improvements or do anything that a typical landlord wouldn’t let you do.  I suggest having the option managed by an escrow company (from a buyers perspective) to ensure that the seller is paying the mortgage, taxes and other items required by the property owner (property taxes can be negotiated either way in an option). 

If you are tight on credit or are considering a Lease Option - I’d be glad to assist and help in any way possible.  Please give me a shout.

Tags: Idaho Real Estate, Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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I had the opportunity to speak with an entreprenur in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area regarding a unique business he runs nationally.  He runs Real Estate Auctions for homes that need to have a guaranteed sell - fast.

Their most current auction is in Idaho, over on Colfax street (Dalton Gardens) and opening bid starts at $50,000.  The bidding is expected to end at a competitive price point upwards of 300-400k  The home has previously been listed for much more.

Real Estate Auctions are a unique idea and buyers and sellers can (and should be) represented by a competant Agent to help determine bids (based on comps) and to facilitate the process.

For more information on Auctions in the Spokane & Coeur d’Alene area - please contact me!

Tags: Idaho Real Estate, Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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But it’s not all doom and gloom.  I was asked Monday by a Krem reporter (in response to one of my recent posts) whether I thought the weather had anything to do with the 42% slump in closed & pending sales for the month of January as compared to the same period last year.

My answer was No.  I didn’t think that was the only reason.  Some buyers were staying in, but many (at least ones I’m working with) have been out tredging through the snow and looking at properties.  While closed sales are down - the median and average prices are up almost 7%.  The cause - I don’t think there is just one.  There’s a smaller number of people who qualify for loans, the loan underwriting process is a tad tougher than it used to be (and it should be).  Lenders are now requiring you to do more than fog a mirror to get a loan.

 If you are thinking of buying a home in the next year -START NOW.  Check your credit.  Work with a Mortgage Professional and get a plan in place.  It’s too late to fix your credit when you’ve found the home of your dreams and pull a credit report that day.  Know what’s on your credit, know what you need to do to keep it, raise it or bring it where you need to be.  If you need any information - please contact me - I can point you in the right direction.

Tags: Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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I’ve been watching the multi-units in the Spokane–Coeur D’Alene area for almost a year now and have been tracking the ups and downs of the rents, interest rates and estimated nets after mortgage, insurance and taxes.

I’ve found it surprising that there are actually quite a few properties that when only considering rents vs. debt service - there is often $100-$300 positive on many of them.  Some of them with Cap Rates (capital return rate - i.e. how much of your investment is returned each year) of 9% and Cash on Cash (your rate of return on the cash invested) of 5-20% depending on the terms.

I keep up this spreadsheet on a weekly-biweekly basis depending on how many properties are available - if you’d like to receive a copy - please contact me.

Tags: Idaho Real Estate, Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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I probably get this question two to three times a day - “Is business slow with all this snow?” and my answer is always a confident - “No.”

Spokane still has a lot of buyers and they have a TON of inventory to look at.  My Sunday open houses have been very successful - much more so than they were in the heat of last summer.  I’m finding many people out driving in the snow, tredging through the piles on the sides of the road and previewing homes despite the weather.

Spokane’s market hasn’t missed a beat - we’re still selling.  People are out looking and that’s good. 

One change I have noticed in this current market is that buyers are being more discriminating.  They don’t just leap on one of the first 5 homes they view - I’m averaging 10-30 homes for most buyers before they make a decision.  I don’t mind the work and am ultimately happy we did the extra work to find something that really worked.  A practice I’d like to see continue into the tighter, more competitive buying markets in the future.

Tags: Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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I’m in receipt of the current market overview for Spokane and I’m liking what I’m seeing.  As of 1/14/08 - sellers are getting 96.3% of asking price on average.  Depending on the price range this can vary from a low of 89% in the $70,000 and below range to nearing 100% in the higher price ranges.

What does this mean?  Sellers are getting closer to their asking price and the myth that sellers will take 10 & 20% below asking price is just not happening.  Of cource, there are always exceptions - significantly overpriced properties, highly motivated sellers (short sales, job transfer, etc.) can sometimes yield lower than average return for the seller, but overall the outlook is good.

Before you make an offer on any property it’s extremely important to pull comparable sales and come up with a reasonable offering price, sometimes you’ll find out that asking price is a great deal, sometimes you’ll find it needs adjustment.

 So just how long are homes sitting?  On average 58 days according to this report.  The upper price ranges (700-1 million) are experiencing 80+, but the mid 500k down through 70k are experiencing 45-58 days.

If you have any questions or would like a copy of the market overview - contact me.

Tags: Spokane Real Estate by Spokane Home Guy (509) 990-7653
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