Property Management is just one of the services that I provide as a Real Estate Agent.  As such, I’ve decided to ditch my old property management website and put all of my available rentals here on Boise Real Estate Soup.

You’ll notice that at the top of the site along the navigation bar, you’ll see a page that says “Rentals”.  Click that button and you’ll see that I have them categorized in the areas that we currently have availability.  Right now we have a few homes for rent in Boise and one home for rent in Meridian.

If you know of people looking for a place to rent, just send em over to the site or have us call em!

Also, don’t forget to sign up on my RSS Feed for notifications by email or on your Google Homepage!

Buying and selling real estate can be easy, it can also be very complicated.  Making the right choice as a home buyer and getting all your ducks in a row as a home seller is also very difficult.  For these and many other reasons, people hire Realtors.  But, how can you know for sure that your Realtor isn’t drinking the same Kool-Aid that lots of other agents drink.

I’ve put together the some common deceptions used by Realtors.   I must warn you, this may invoke a bit of discomfort if you’re already working with a guy or gal who’s uttered one of these fibs, if they were in the right context, then chances are they’re trustworthy…out of context could cost you years of your financial future!

Lie #1- “The Seller Pays the Commission”

Probably the most common Realtor lie.  While technically true, the seller does pay the commission, but they just raised the price of the home to cover the cost in most if not all circumstances.  Don’t be fooled, you, as the buyer are financing the entire commission!

If you’re buying a house, the good news is that you don’t have to cough up a payment for an agent, unless it’s a situation where the seller has not agreed to pay for a buyers agent — a situation sometimes found with For Sale By Owners (FSBO’s).

The reality is that there is cost to doing business and a good real estate agent can save you far more money than they cost.  Ditching a good agent to save the small fee will cost you more in the long run.

So if you agent tells you that you don’t have to pay them, they’re not being truthful!

Lie #2- “You Can Write Off Your Interest From Your Home Loan”

…continued with:  “So, you’re loan payment is $1500, but after taxes and deductions etc. it really only feels like $1100″.  This generally always followed with, “But you’d better check with your tax adviser.”

Almost EVERY real estate agent and loan originator have been a part of the Mortgage Interest Deduction Hustle.   The Federal Government does allow you to write off any interest paid on your loan, if you itemize on your taxes.

NOTE* It may not necessarily be to your advantage to itemize on your taxes, and if you do, there is no guarantee that you will get any type of savings or that “paying more actually feels like paying less”.

Lie #3- If You Can’t Sell Your Home For What You Ow On It, Do a Short Sale

A lot of agent’s feel comfortable telling their clients to stop paying on their mortgage so they can do a short sale.  This has probably originated from the rash of $50  “Short Sale Expert Trainings” at the Holiday Inn.

The truth is, most banks will allow short sales as an option to getting rid of your toxic asset liability — but generally not until you have missed payments, which is why agents suggest missing a few payments.

What the agent isn’t telling you is that it can take up to a year or more in a bad scenario short sale to get the banks full cooperation and get the home sold.  This has left multiple 30 day lates (or even 120+ days late) on your credit rating which may not matter to you now, but in the future, lenders may not differentiate between a foreclosure and a short sale because of so many late payments.

There’s also the issue of a deficiency judgment, or getting stuck with having to pay off a portion if not all of the amount you were short.

Best case for you is to talk with an attorney BEFORE you talk about selling.  Find out your options and leave the Realtors out until you’ve gotten good council and know  your best option.

Lie #4- The Real Estate Market Has Hit Bottom

What agent hasn’t said that?  What’s more, if agents think that a couple of months of reduced inventory and a small rise in prices and increased home sales is the foundation to recovery, they’re crazy.  Economies are far more complicated than that and since when did Realtors have a crystal ball and where was it before the collapse?

As I’ve said before, some markets are doing well while others are crashing and some are crashing while others are doing well.  Markets are local and can be as isolated as a particular street.  Without thorough examination, there is no way to tell if your market is on the rebound (whatever the heck that might be)

Some people including many Realtors want to see a rebound in the real estate market so bad that they are willing to take fairly insignificant stats out of context or out of the bigger picture and make fairy tale realities for their clients.

Listen folks, until people get jobs, the market is still in the tank. A spike in pricing, increased sales, and lower inventory are good things, but they are shallow indicators of a healthy economic reality.

Buying and selling should be based on what suits your family needs and goals, not solely on what the market is or isn’t doing.

There are certain areas within Boise where real estate will always do well and pricing while compressed and sales down,  have more sustainable value and worth than their speculative counterparts.  If you’d like a list of those areas, just let me know .

Conclusion — Work with an honest educated agent!

Finding an honest educated agent isn’t easy.  When the Boise real estate market was hot, there were schools that were graduating over 100 agents per month into the Boise area!

The best way to find an honest agent who is look out for your needs it to call me!  Honestly !  If you don’t want to do that, then you need to interview agents to find out what they’re about.  They need to have a good grasp of the market data, know how to negotiate, and most important, they need to be able help you look out for your goals!

For a list of references and testimonials from past clients, shoot me an email or give me a call!

In the mean time, don’t forget to subscribe to my blog!

Like it or not, the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit has been extended from it’s original deadline of November 30th, 2009 to April 30th, 2010. Not only did the Tax Credit get extended, it also got expanded.

First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Changes

Extension

• Tax Credit Expires April 30th (must have a binding contract to purchase), 2010, HOWEVER, you  have until July 1, 2010 to close (sign escrow paperwork)
• $8000 Tax Credit applies to First-Time Home Buyers.

Expansion

The New Tax Credit goes beyond First Time Home Buyers

• Tax Credit Expanded to include current homeowners who are selling or who have sold a home that they lived in (primary residence) for 5 out of the last 8 years.

For more information about the tax credit, please call me, email or leave your comments here on Boise Real Estate Soup dot com.  Or, click HERE for a flier on the Tax Credit.

I am pleased to announce my new position with O2 Marketing Group here in Boise.  I’ve been offered a chance to work with some of the best agents in the new construction business, Kami Brandt and Alicia Lopez.  They have  combined experience, education and vision unrivaled by many.

For over a decade, Kami and Alicia have been instrumental in the on-site sales and marketing of some of Treasure Valleys most successful developments and planned communities.  Their shared passion for their work and clients is evident in the echoes of past and current clients of O2 Marketing Group.

What Does O2 Marketing Group Do?

O2 is a full service real estate marketing company that specializes in the creation and staffing of on-site new homes sales programs.  O2 also offers a comprehensive marketing plan customizable to each re-sale client as well.  The team at O2 has a combined experience of over 40 years in the real estate business helping buyers and sellers realize their real estate goals.

I am proud to be a part of this team and soon you will some some very cool blog updates about our current and new projects:  Paramount, Mill District At Harris Ranch, Bown Crossing to name just a few!

Get in touch with me!

I can still be reached on my cell and through the blog.  If you want to email me go for it aaronmcatt at gmail.com and I want you to be connecting with me on Facebook, Twitter and the like!  As I mentioned, keep your eye out for our new Bown Crossing Blog!

Ok, I just left the polls and the ladies who were volunteering were nearly asleep.  In case you didn’t know, there are 3 seats up for Boise City Council and you need to vote for your favorite candidate who is going to represent your ideology and the City you live in.

A Few Important Issues

• The Trolley- (to nowhere) as some have put it is definitely a hot button issue and there are candidates who “might” support it and ones who definitely don’t.
• Smart Growth- It’s still up in the air what defines ’smart growth’ but undoubtedly, every candidate supports it.
• Public Transportation- In the coming years, good public transportation WILL be an issue, when energy prices rise (and you know they will) having a populous who can get to work might be important eh?  Personally, I think improving our Bus System is a far better investment than a 2 mile amusement park ride in downtown.
• City Services- They tax us…what do they do in return.  City services like the new curbside-recycling program make sense.
• Taxes- Who doesn’t love to pay taxes?  Should we be paying more or less?
• Transparency- There’s been a lot of garble about how transparent the City Council has not been…or have they.  Decisions have been made without public input which stinks of an apathetic public participation and controlling leadership.

Boise City Council Candidates

Here is a list of the Candidates, courtesy of the Boise Weekly.  Follow the links, do your research and vote on the issues not the fricking party line.

Where Do I Vote?

If you’re not sure where to vote click here!

Boise is a great city with so much to offer, and you should really be excited to get out an have a part in how the City of Trees is lead.  It just takes a moment and you’ll feel great for getting out and getting your voice heard!

The Senate reached a compromise today to extend the $8000 tax credit for first-time home buyers in an effort to help the flailing real estate market out of it’s tail spin.  We’ll see if the bill passes.

The Wall Street Journal reports that not only will the tax credit of $8000 be extended, but that it would also be expanded to some existing homeowners  offering a new credit of up to $6,500 for, Senate aides said.  One of the qualifying factors in the expanded $6,500 tax credit is that the buyer would have to have been in their current residence for a consecutive five-year period in the past eight years.

Personally, I think the extension comes at a good time (as far as spending tax payers money goes) but the time frame of the extension I’m a little iffy about.

What about the timing of the extension?

The new extension deadline of April 30th, 2010 comes just before the best time of our seasonal market in June & July.  So, if their intent is to try and prop up the market through what is historically a bad market (winter) then I suppose I challenge the reasoning behind the deadline for the extension.  Any extension should have been through August 2010 where the momentum of spring and summer month sales could carry us into the fall of next year.  Or, as some suggested, that it began to phase out from $8,000, to $6,000, to $4,000 and so on over a period of months.

Has the tax credit helped our Boise Real Estate Market?

Some question whether or not the first-time home buyer tax credit has made a dent in the market.  Locally, sales are up 8% YTD from the same time last year (re-sale in Ada County).  I think it will breath a bit of life into some of the short sales that many agents have been ignoring lately because of the current tax credit deadline of Nov. 30th, 2009.  Short sales can take months and many buyers can’t risk losing the tax credit because of missed deadlines.  Hopefully we’ll now see them getting some good deals from banks and making those deadlines.

If you’re in the market and hoping to get a tax credit, all signs seem to be pointing to an extension–and why wouldn’t it, our Government is spending money at a rate we’ve never seen before–then you can relax a bit and maybe even get some better pricing through the winter months.   Just make sure you the tax credit get’s extended first…duh.

For questions about the tax credit, please give me a call or shoot me an email.  I’d love to help you out!

If you’re new to the Boise area or are new to owning a home in the Boise area, then chances are, you might also be new to the idea of blowing out your sprinkler system.

There are cheap-o signs everywhere advertising this service for around $25 and it is worth every penny of it.  In addition, you can call almost any landscape, sprinkler system or back-flow company to come out and blow the system out so that the standing water doesn’t freeze and cost you thousands of dollars in springtime repairs.

If you don’t have someone to do it for you or can’t round anybody up, call me, I’ll have my guy get in touch with you, but don’t wait too long!

I had a client (you know who you are) ask me today what the median home price is for the Meridian area.  I didn’t know it right off hand, so I thought that I’d look.  It would be a waste of information if I didn’t share it with you so here goes:

The Median Home Price For Homes For Sale In Meridian

• Active (For Sale):  $179,900
• Sold: $170,000

The Median Home Price For Homes For Sale In Boise

• Active (For Sale): $185,000
• Sold: $165,100

Obviously not very good news for those who might be trying to get their home sold (unless you bought it prior to the boom).

As far as Ada County is concerned the 3rd quarter median price for a home is $168,900 down 17.61% from the same time last year!  Wow.  Only time will tell if the free fall of prices has stopped.  Lets hope it has!

Of the 1962 homes on the Boise MLS listed as single family for sale, 503 of them are subject to ‘Short Sale’ and 143 of them are ‘In Foreclosure’ and 86 of them are REO, or owned by the bank.

Good deals are still out there, but if you have to wait for banks approval, don’t chance the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit on a tedious Short Sale and miss the deadline.

November 30th, 2009 is the deadline for the current First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit of $8000.  If you want it, you better go out and buy your home and have it closed by then.  The buzz however, is that the first-time home buyer tax credit is not only going to get an extension, but also an expansion.

At this point, there is nothing in writing except a bill simply called,  the “Home Buyer Tax Credit Act of 2009″ sponsored by Johnny Isakson which suggests that the current Tax Credit be extended and expanded to $15000 and to ‘any’ buyer who buys a home for a primary residence.

Should I wait to buy my first home?

Many people are asking me if they should wait to buy a home because the Tax Credit might get extended. Honestly, I can’t speculate whether or not the extenstion will pass.  My gut tells me that it will, but again, it really boils down to each and every buyer situation.  What I can tell you for certain is that there is currently $8000 on the table for you and there is something of a chance that December 1st, 2009 there won’t be.

Determine your needs, your financial health and make your decision based on the facts, not the unknown.  I imagine that the closer we get to the current Tax Credit deadline, we’ll know more.  But remember, it takes at least 30 days to get through escrow and close so don’t risk it unless you can afford the home without the tax credit.

How Much Does The First-Time Home Buyer Tax Credit Cost Tax Payers?

Approximately 1.5 million homes have been purchased this year.  Of which, 350,000 were first-time home buyers.  It’s estimated that less than half of those first-time home buyers actually needed it to close the home.  “If you do the math, that breaks out to $43,000 per first-time home buyer – a pretty hefty fee”, says Martha White of the BigMoney.com .

Tell Us Your Thoughts:  Do YOU think the tax credit will be extended/expanded?

Leave your comments below and let us know what you think!

• Will the tax credit get an extension?
• Will the Tax Credit Act of 2009 pass and get expanded beyond first-time home buyers to include ANY buyer?
• Should we extend the tax credit?
• Should we expand the tax credit?