Just Visited Post Falls - Hayden Areas (Sandpoint, Star: mortgage, credit)

[LBear]

We just got back from our trip to the Post Falls area. The area was very beautiful but we were surprised to learn the following:

1 - Even though the data showed housing prices to be BELOW the national average, when we got there and looked around we found that was NOT true. Housing was very pricey in the Post Falls and Hayden areas. Coeur D'Alene was RIDICULOUS.

2 - Realtors stated that the housing was reasonable and under the national average. WRONG! The houses we looked at were all in the upper $300K and $400K range. Anything in the lower $300s or $200s were old and run-down.

I believe the data about the housing is OLD data. It was probably taken back during the 2000 census. Which makes it useless as the market has changed A LOT since then.

Had a couple questions to those living in the Post Falls area:

1 - How are the teaching jobs?? My wife is a teacher and wants to teach K-4. Is it hard to get a job?

2 - Are the winters really that bad?? Lots of snow and overcast days?

THANKS

[Sage of Sagle]

Did you pull up the MLS first and see all the houses (some 2000-2006 construction) available for under $250K? THERE'S A BUNCH....sounds like the realtor showed you what they WANTED to show you.

Here are some listings when I pulled up the CdA MLS online. Obviously I'm not endorsing them....just throwing out some online search results....but these aren't old dumpy houses....

http://www.exitrealtysandpoint.com/s...loginlinks%3D1

http://www.exitrealtysandpoint.com/s...loginlinks%3D1

http://www.exitrealtysandpoint.com/s...loginlinks%3D1

http://www.exitrealtysandpoint.com/s...loginlinks%3D1

http://www.exitrealtysandpoint.com/s...loginlinks%3D1

http://www.exitrealtysandpoint.com/s...loginlinks%3D1

The list goes on and on....from $150K-$225K I found 22 pages of listings.....look here for the master list I pulled up. I used the following criteria for my search: 3+ bed, 2+ bath, 1500sf minimum, 1970 oldest build date. But you'll find most are 1800-2500sf though....

http://www.exitrealtysandpoint.com/s...nologinlinks=1

Hope this helps....but don't get talked into spending $400K for a home in a subdivision.

Just my $.02.....

[kukla1]

I would sure like to know the name of the realtor you used. We will be visiting the same area in a few weeks, and we would like to talk to a realtor...but obviously not YOURS! Sounds like Sage is right...he/she showed you what they WANTED to show you. Easy for them to show you yucky houses in your price range so you would adjust your thinking to a higher bracket. Stinkers!

[LBear]

We will be doing our own search from now on. It is just hard to get MLS access without a realtor. I will try the site you gave me. THANKS! I REALLY hate Realtors. They are like used car salesmen.

We will visit that area again in a couple of weeks. This will be either a YES or NO this second time around. Hopefully our search turns-up better. We also like the Liberty Lake, WA area but the homes there were in the mid-upper $300s. Nice homes but it would be around $400K for Liberty Lake.

[Sage of Sagle]

Start at ExitRealtySandpoint.com, then go to MLS search. Note that I'm not advertising for them, although I used them. The point is that they show EVERY realtor's listings that are active in the MLS, so you'll note that "all realtors" have a fair shake in what you'll be looking at.

Before your next trip (3-5 days out), pull up 10-15 homes in this MLS list that you want to see. Then contact the firm that has the listing (it's listed on there), and call them to arrange to see their stuff.

Or, if you're like us, I wanted ONE realtor to work with. So I told my realtor the 15-20 listings I wanted to look at, and had one realtor shuttle me around from place to place.

Point is, YOU CHOOSE the listings you want to look at, and insist on at least looking at the places over a 2-4 day period so you can take your time. You'll quickly get a solid feel for the desirable neighborhoods versus places to avoid (older/run down areas). The newer 2003-2006 construction is going on in mostly newer subdivisions, so I'd think about those areas first. And if you're willing to go $275K, it gets VERY nice.

Here's a listing in Hayden I just found, 4BR, 2BA, 3724sf, built in 2005. Full unfurnished basement, etc.

http://www.exitrealtysandpoint.com/s...loginlinks%3D1

And there are a bunch more like it, 6 pages of listings from $225-275K.....with 4BR/2BA built since 2000...so take a look....

So seriously....do your homework first, and you'll find a LOT of great options out there. I wish you all the best. I really hope it helps.

[LBear]

Sage of Sagle -

Thanks for all the help!! That link did not work. Are you able to resend it??

I see that you live in Sandpoint. I hear it is GORGEOUS but we did not go there as it was at least 30 minutes NORTH of Post Falls. I also hear that Sandpoint is growing fast and getting expensive??

Which area (besides Sandpoint) would you choose??

[Torrie]

Ok guys, I AM a realtor and we are all not bad!

Just to clarify things a good realtor will show you homes that your are Pre-approved for. It doesn't make sense to put a client in the car and start showing them everything their heart desires if they are not qualified for that price range and believe me, there are a lot of people that don't understand that and get mad at you if you tell them you're not going to show them homes outside their price range. It is a waste of a realtors time and more importantly it just makes their client disappointed when they find out that the houses they've been looking at aren't something they can afford.

I can tell you that some of the people I have to deal with are rude and ignorant. I get tired of people putting down realtors. I bust my tail for people showing them everything under the sun, only to be treated like I'm dirt. Realtors don't get paid an hourly wage like most employees. We don't get paid till the house closes, and sometimes after all the work we've done, the house never closes and the deal goes sour and we get nothing! Dealing with the general public is extremely diffficult. Many clients don't want to listen to what their realtor is telling them because it's not what they want to hear.

Let me repeat:MANY CLIENTS DON'T WANT TO LISTEN TO WHAT THEIR REALTOR IS TELLING THEM BECAUSE IT'S NOT WHAT THEY WANT TO HEAR. Example: The client wants to price the house they're selling higher than what the market is dictating, and if their house doesn't sell at that high price it's suddenly the stupid realtors fault. And if that realtor refuses to price the house at what the client wants, the realtor runs the risk of loosing the client all together.

Not all realtors are bad. I love what I do, I love helping people find the place they call home or helping them sell their home so that they may move on to something new. I do eveything I can in the best interest of my client, not myself!

The best thing you can do before you make some poor realtor drive you around is GET PRE-APPROVED! Go to a loan officer that is licensed in the state you want to move to, not your state and find out what you can afford, then pick the price range you would be comfortable with; keeping you're mortgage payment in mind. And oh ya, make sure you find a lender that doesn't charge you junk fees. A good realtor will know what those are and hopefully be able to give you names of lenders who don't have excessive fees.

Keep in mind the realtor might show you the top range of your price limit, but it's not always for the reason you might think. No it's not because we want a bigger commission check. In this type of market, where it's a buyer's market, there is always the possibilty that you can make an offer below the asking price, therefore you could possibly get into a larger house for less money. WHY? Because there are things in MLS that us "stupid realtors " can see that you can't, that give us information about that piece of property that helps us negotiate a better deal for you, the client!

So please, before you start dishing on realtors, put the shoe on the other foot. There is so much behind the scenes that we do and educate ourselves to better serve you, that most of you aren't even aware of and take for granted. I am not a used car salesman. Did you know that all realtors are required to follow a code of ethics? We raise our right hand and are sworn in and agree to uphold these codes. Have some people broken them? YOU BET! Have police officers, you know the ones that uphold the law, been known to break the very same laws they're suppose to support. YOU BET! That does not make all realtors and police officers bad.

I offer a service that hopefully provides you with a home that you will enjoy for years to come. I try to make the transaction hassle-free and help guide you through all the paperwork that most people have no idea what half of it means. If you hate realtors, than I say you are not spending enough time finding the right one. Are there jerks out there? YES! Just like there are jerk doctors, lawyers, teacher, etc. So you move on until you find someone that meets your needs or clicks with your personality. Unfortunately us realtors don't have that luxury, we have to work with all walks of life whether we like them or not.

And that's my .02.......

[LBear]

Torrie-

I understand what you are saying. Unfortunately, the profession you have chosen is not well received or liked by most people. Polls show that real estate agents are looked upon as being in the same category as used car salesman, IRS and lawyers.

The reason?

You answered the question:
"Realtors don't get paid an hourly wage like most employees. We don't get paid till the house closes.."

So, that leaves the honest ones with a harder sell/career than those who are more aggressive and unscrupulous. Did you ever watch the "reality" show about the car dealer in Las Vegas? Good guys don't sell cars.

While I agree that real estate agents are a caliber above used car salesman (as used car salesman don't have any code of ethics that they swear to), both are careers which involve COMMISSIONS. They do NOT get paid until they sell something. No sell - no money. So this puts undue pressure on those, and as with any such circumstance; lying, cheating, aggressiveness, etc. become part of the game.

Now, I am NOT stating that you are one of those people. You are probably the exception to the rule. But closing on a deal that will bring you $20k-$30K will make some people do evil things. That is the nature of the beast.

As a police officer friend of mine would say. Do you want to be well-liked and everyone is happy to see you? Then become a fireman and NOT a police officer.

[Sage of Sagle]

Originally Posted by Pettrix

Sage of Sagle -

Thanks for all the help!! That link did not work. Are you able to resend it??

I see that you live in Sandpoint. I hear it is GORGEOUS but we did not go there as it was at least 30 minutes NORTH of Post Falls. I also hear that Sandpoint is growing fast and getting expensive??

Which area (besides Sandpoint) would you choose??

It will probably break up again, there's probably a space or formatting line break in there somewhere....try pasting it in, and then checking for spaces. Or go to exit realty's site, do the CdA MLS search, and then use the parameters I specified.

The Sandpoint area is beautiful. Even in mid-summer, it's even more green than CdA. Seriously, you'll drive up 95, it will be sorta brown along the road, green in the thicker spots. As you go north, it gets greener and greener even along the road. There's water everywhere. We have a creek running right through our property, and we're about 3000' from the PO river, and about 5 mi from the boat launch into LPO. But jobs are more scarce, so more of our friends who have moved to this area chose PF or CdA for that reason. 95 isn't a fun commute when it's really cruddy outside.

SP isn't growing that fast, but Ponderay, Sagle, Kootenai, and such are growing fast. The nice thing is that in our area, the minimum acreage you can subdivide to is 5 acres. And there is a push to raise that to 10-20 acres. So we're in a "neighborhood" where in a pretty large area there are only twenty or so 5-10 acre parcels.

Sandpoint (area) is getting pricey, but you get acreage so it's relative. So paying $500K for a house is a LOT of money, but when you consider that home is a small ranch on 10 acres, it's not that crazy. If I felt I needed to save money, I would look at those of the homes in CdA that are in that $250-350K price range.

[Sage of Sagle]

Originally Posted by Torrie

Ok guys, I AM a realtor and we are all not bad!

Just to clarify things a good realtor will show you homes that your are Pre-approved for. It doesn't make sense to put a client in the car and start showing them everything their heart desires if they are not qualified for that price range and believe me, there are a lot of people that don't understand that and get mad at you if you tell them you're not going to show them homes outside their price range. It is a waste of a realtors time and more importantly it just makes their client disappointed when they find out that the houses they've been looking at aren't something they can afford.

Torrie,

I understand what you're saying. But if the realtor is showing them dumpy places in the $200-300K range, something is REALLY wrong and there should be warning bells going off.

The realtor we used was a wonderful person who is the poster child for a professional realtor with a truly warm personal touch. I view it as a credit to your profession that we would up being friends after the transaction was closed. and you get bet your ass I'll be sending that person business (although I don't do it on here of course). Point is, for my friends moving to the Panhandle, they get my realtor's card....and you know, you can't buy that type of promotion...you have to earn it.

So while I am in agreement with you that there are several realtors who honor the profession, I have had enough friends with serious problems with realtors that I understand it's a crap shoot at times to "find a good one".

I do not think people should go looking for a realtor and use the first one they find. But neither should people assume that every realtor is going to treat them wrong. I think a healthy dose of discernment is due in choosing a realtor, much as in choosing an auto mechanic.