It’s time to open up those foundation vents, folks!

You did close them last Fall, right?

It’s critically-important to allow air flow through your foundation vents to avoid a buildup of moisture, which can lead to serious problems (spelled m-o-l-d) in your crawlspace.

Available Homes
# Available: 4,879
# Vacant: 2,487
Vacant Percent: 51%
Average Asking Price: $355,556
Median Asking Price: $269,900

Pending Sales
# Pending:  758
Average Asking Price: $280,830
Median Asking Price: $216,900

Closed Sales – April 2007
# Closed:  715
Average Sales Price: $268,147
Median Sales Price: $230,000

Closed Sales – April 2008
# Closed: 472
% Change:  -34%

Average Sales Price: $252,207
% Change: -5.9%

Median Sales Price: $210,000
% Change:  -8.7%

Am I the only one who giggles when yet another “expert” predicts the precise moment when the housing market will recover?

Depending upon the expert du jour, we can select from the following:

• Tomorrow
• Next week
• Next month
• Fall 2008
• Spring 2009
• Fall 2009
• Sometime in 2010
• Sometime in 2011
• Sometime in 2012

I had a thought the other day (didn’t even hurt!).

What if there is no recovery?

What if this is it?

What if . . .

• Demand remains lower that expected?
• Supply eventually equals demand?
• Prices stabilize at affordable levels?
• The speculators/flippers lick their wounds and move on to the next big thing?
• Credit tightens further and buyers have to have a substantial down payment, stellar credit, and be able to afford the home they’re buying?
• Homes appreciate at 2-3% annually like they did five years ago?
• People once again buy a home to live in instead of using it as their personal ATM?

What if this IS the future?

My best guess?

If you’re waiting for “Back To 2005”, it’s going to be a long wait!

Sometimes I dream of offering ala carte fees for each service I provide.

And, when I dream, I wonder what it would be like to get paid for:

• Each home I show to a buyer (with fond memories of the buyer I showed 200 homes ).
• Each listing proposal I present to a seller who thinks I’m “negative”.
• Each home I preview for a buyer.
• Each home inspection I arrange and attend.
• Each negotiation over price, terms, closing date, possession, personal property included/excluded, and home inspection repairs that I successfully conclude.
• Each document I prepare.
• Each document I review.
• Each question I answer.
• Each phone call I return.
• Each e-mail I reply to (with fond memories of the buyer who exchanged 565 e-mails with me, then bought one of the homes I recommended from another agent).
• Each home I photograph.
• Each virtual tour I prepare.
• Each flyer I prepare/print.
• Each closing I attend.
• Each time I tell the truth, even it’s to my detriment.

Most of all, I dream of getting paid for my services when I provide them instead of only getting paid if and when a transaction closes.

If I could get paid for each service I provide, when I provide it, I wouldn’t have to charge a percentage-based commission and listen to people complain about how my fee.

But, for now, I must stick with the existing system, regardless of how flawed it may be.

I must settle for getting paid only for results.

Which is, perhaps, as it should be.

Listing agents are taught, from day #1, to get the listing ~ no matter what.

Why?

Because the broker wants more signs up to create the appearance of a larger-than-life market presence, and because listings provide listing agents with “inventory” and a chance of making a sale.

Listing agents hope to get a call from someone who drove by, pulled a flyer (if they had flyers in the box ), and liked the curb appeal of the home.

Plus, listing agents have a chance of getting paid if another agent in MLS sells their listing.

But, all of those opportunities turn into challenges when a listing agent overreaches and takes a listing just for the sake of trying to win the monthly office listing contest.

One current popular strategy is for agents to list as many homes as possible while hoping they will get lucky and some of them will sell.

I know agents who are currently carrying 25-50 listings, hoping that "something" will work! 

Wow, what a concept ~ having to “get lucky” in order to get paid?

My strategy is precisely the opposite ~ I won’t take a listing unless I’m sure I can sell it.

Which is why I routinely decline most of the listings I am offered.

And, why I manage to sell nearly all of the listings I take, including this one yesterday.

Real estate is difficult enough without taking large numbers of listings that are overpriced, filthy, difficult to show, and owned by sellers who don’t care if they sell.

That said, I am never too busy to consider your listing if you have a salable property, are seriously-motivated to sell, and would like to benefit from my  experience.

I have survived and thrived through many down markets during my 36 years in real estate.

Our current market is a walk-in-the-park compared to 1982, 1991, 2001 and other "fun times".

I’m always interested in taking a salable listing, regardless of market conditions.

Thinking of selling?

Able to handle some straight talk?

Give me a call at (208)938-5533 Direct and let's figure out a time to sit down and talk about your situation, okay?

It’s amusing to watch sellers continually changing listing agents in our current market.

They list with ABC Realty at a 2005 price, then re-list with XYZ Realty 90 days later at the same price and blame their *&%$#@*^%$ listing agent because their home didn’t sell.

I’m even seeing some of those sellers increase their price when they list with their 2^nd or 3^rd listing agent!

Tragically, those sellers continue to make their mortgage payments month after month, taking their loss on the monthly installment plan, instead of facing reality.

In this market, the longer their home is on the market, the less they are likely to get.

Sellers need to figure out that listing agents can’t force buyers to look at their listings.

It’s usually not about the listing agent; it’s all about price and condition.

Granted, there are some flaky listing agents in this market, and if they can’t figure out how to return a phone call or keep flyers in the flyer box, they deserve to be replaced.

But, that often isn’t the case.

The twin culprits are usually price and condition, not the listing agent.

Buyers are still buying in this market, but they’re only buying the best homes at the best prices.

If you are a seller, you have less than a 1 in 10 chance of selling in any given month, so you’d better do everything right if you want to sell.

The buyers are the ones who are calling the shots.

That’s why it’s called a “buyer’s market.

Much of the Boise area has an underlying layer of clay just beneath the soil’s surface.

That layer of clay prevents surface water from being absorbed, and can result in that water moving in “sheets” above the layer of clay.

Sounds kinda technical, right?

Well, here’s what it means (in plain English) to you as a homeowner.

If your home doesn’t have proper drainage, you can end up with moisture in your crawl space and perhaps mold.

Mold is the kiss of death in real estate.

Once you have mold in your home, you must disclose it (material fact) to all future buyers, and most of them will run away after they hear about it.

And, if you file a water damage claim with your insurance company, your home will likely get listed on the national CLUE database, which can result in not being able to get insurance in the future, which may result in future buyers not being able to obtain financing when you want to sell.

Not to mention that it’s very expensive to remediate mold problems these days.

Moisture in crawl spaces can be avoided through some common-sense practices, including:

I often see homes where the lawns are being over-watered.

It’s often best to water once/day at 6:00 a.m., with less water.  You don't need to water two or three times a day for 30 minutes per station.

Here are some examples of downspouts that I see:

Least Desirable

Better

Best

The last option is the best one with the rain water being piped to a dry well (a pit full of drain rock that penetrates the layer of clay) away from the home.

It’s also desirable to have full gutters on your home to avoid rain water running directly off the roof and being absorbed into the ground adjacent to the foundation.

This is an example of a home without full gutters that is more likely to cause moisture in the crawl space.

BTW - you’ve seen those chain downspouts, right?

Well, I have them on my home and I’m way kewl, but they don’t work very well .

The water doesn’t follow the chains when it rains hard, and the gushing water blows the bark/rock away when it finally hits the ground.

People keep asking me “what’s a tandem garage”?

So, here’s a brief explanation.

A tandem garage usually means that you have one double garage door, and one or more of the stalls is deeper than usual.

I know you'll be shocked, but this actually results in some listing agents bragging that this is a 3-car garage!

To demystify this confusion, I have provided the following illustrations:

3-Car Garage (seen through the eyes of a Buyer)

3-Car Garage (seen through the eyes of some listing agents)

For whatever reason, most buyers seem to want the bragging rights (and convenience) of a true 3-car garage that actually has three garage doors in plain sight.

Now you know.