USDA Loan Program Post Falls The USDA Rural development Loan Program is a great opportunity for first time home buyers. The definition of a first time home buyer, "Someone that has never owned a home or someone that hasn't owned a home in the last three years." Up to 115% of median income is allowed. Check out the limits for your area on the USDA site. The USDA loan as per the Rural Development Housing website has no down payment requirements. That's what I said, "NO DOWN PAYMENT REQUIREMENTS!" Which means that this can be a zero down loan. You can therefore purchase a house with no money, that is if you have an exceptable credit score a job that allows you to qualify and the RIGHT REAL ESTATE AGENT NEGOTIATING ON YOUR BEHALF. The guidlines state that housing must be modest in: size des... 09/09/2010

Legion Manor Post Falls Block Party - Neighbors Actually Do Mend Fences! A Neighborhood that mends fences together becomes a great place to live! The Story Starts Out Like This: A kid from another neighborhood comes through my subdivision and decides to kick the tar out of our community fence. You can see the damage below. He decided to kick something out of each section, creating as much damage as possible. He was caught about 4:00 in the morning and booked into juvenile hall. The Rest Of The Story: I was able to organize my neighbors with two goals in mind. 1) Fix the fence before it sits forever unrepaired and further deteriorates, and 2) Create an opportunity for everyone to come together and get to know each other ... A Block Party! So the date was set, and about half of the reside... 08/21/2010

Janna Rankin Scharf, GRI, CLHMS, SFR - River Run Community in Post Falls, Idaho - 2010 Real Estate Market Report River Run is a gated commmunity in Post Falls, Idaho.  It is located south of First Street and directly east of Templins.  The community features a heated swimming pool with beautiful views overlooking the Spokane River.  There is also a private, sandy beach for the enjoyment of River Run residents. A look at the MLS shows slow activity in River Run for 2010.  As of August 21, 2010, year to date there have been no closed sales in River Run.  There is currently one sale pending at $169,000.  This home has been on the market for 173 days.  One listing expired in River Run at $239,000.  Three listings, with an average price of 238,267, were cancelled in 2010. There are currently... 08/21/2010

Post Falls Property Management Company Provides Great Service! I have enjoyed hearing from several of our new clients that our service is considered "Top Level!" Coeur d'Alene Rental Group a relative new comer to the local property management landscape has already been recognized as offering great customer service to both tenants and property owners or investors. "I am absolutely pleased with the speed in which you placed a qualified renter in my home." Susan M. - Post Falls "It starts with a commitment to want to help people" says Bob Nelson, co-owner of Coeur d'Alene Rental Group. "We made a personal commitment to always take a call or return a call within the hour. Of course no one is perfect, there are times when we miss the mark, however, our clients already realize that we are dif... 08/17/2010

Unscrupulous Post Falls Lender & Realtor in cahoots! Have you ever said, "I never thought that would happen to me"? So, I have a buyer all signed to a buyers representation agreement. This is a first time home buyer so I take the position of a patient teacher. We start looking at homes and I  am learning their wants and needs. Well in a matter of a few short days this "represented" buyer stumbles across a less than honest lender in Post Falls, ID, nearby. This Post Falls lender states that I can help you qualify for a USDA loan but, "you must use my preferred Realtor." I get wind of this and talk to my client. My client apologizes and says that they didn't know that this was wrong. They had told the Realtor that they had signed a paper with me. Now, I have a confused client that is sour... 08/06/2010

I had to chuckle when I read that pending home sales "fell off a cliff".  Not that the slump in the real estate market is funny, but the phrase was certainly catchy.  And I couldn't help wondering why people seem to be so surprised by the fact that pending home sales are down dramatically after the tax credits expired. In the Coeur d'Alene real estate market, we have known for many months that the uptick in sales has been fueled by the first time and repeat buyer tax credits.  Nearly 70% of all sales have been under $200,000.  And my observation is WELL under.  First time homebuyers, for the most part.  Yet we continued to hear a lot of positive spin of good numbers.  I agree, anything positive to report should be reported along with all the doom and gloom. Today came the report from th... 07/02/2010

In the summer Community 1st Bank in Post Falls, Idaho holds a customer and community appreciation BBQ on the third Friday of the month. They added a little "girl power" to the Celebrity Chef line up in May, inviting Chamber President/CEO Pam Houser and Post Falls City Councilor Kerri Thoreson to do the grilling honors.  My celebrity chef sister Kerri gave me a grillside phone call inviting me to come on over for lunch.  It sounded like a nice diversion from putting out fires all morning, so I headed on over to join in the fun.  The rain was holding off and the burgers and dogs were sizzling.  It was fun and festive, as the bank executives cooked and served and mingled with their customers from throughout the community.  Kerri gave me a little background on Community 1st Bank, which was ... 05/22/2010

Last week I was showing property out by the Spokane River in Post Falls.  Driving to meet my client, I passed the home on the corner of 1st Street and Ross Point Road.  A crew was constructing a shop, and I thought to myself that it looked like a BEAUTIFUL shop, as far as shops go.  On my way home, I noticed that the Custom Sheds, Inc. crew had set out a sign, and a hand made sign, at that.  I smiled and had the thought that those guys, who were doing a great job of building a quality shop, were rightly proud of their work.  I should take a picture, I thought.  But time didn't allow, so I continued on back to Coeur d'Alene. A couple days later, my clients wanted to take a second look at the Post Falls home.  As I drove past the shop house again, the shop was completed and the fence comp... 05/05/2010

Just about 7 miles west of Coeur d'Alene is the charming little river town of Post Falls, Idaho.  And it's residents love living there! In the city with a population of about 26,000, a total of 1,200 random households were surveyed and 429 responses were received.  Post Falls received high marks for library services, safety, air quality, animal control, sewer/water services, ease of bike and car travel, garbage correction, ans availabliity of affordable, quality housing.  Post Falls Demographics Post Falls has enjoyed healthy real estate activity as droves of first time homebuyers, anxious to buy in time to claim the $8000 tax credit, have sought out the favorable terms of USDA Rural Development loans.  Neither Coeur d'Alene or Hayden qualify for the USDA loans because they are lumped i... 03/29/2010

Legion Manor - Post Falls, Idaho ... named for its proximity to the American Legion Hall (American Legion Post 143) which was newly constructed in 2005. The American Legion offers several community based offerings throughout the week and year for local neighbors, including a Sunday a.m. breakfast, monthly bingo and a Thanksgiving meal. Phase I of Legion Manor subdivision consists of 33 lots. The neighborhoods appearance is modern with a few touches of the craftsman styling throughout. There are both single story and 2 story homes throughout the neighborhood with a range from 1200sqft to 2800sqft represented. Legion Manor Phase II adds an additional 18 lots and a common area in between that abuts the nearby park. Legion Manor is characterized by newer well built homes with dramatic gable... 03/27/2010

Price: $1,098,000 FIZBER.com ID 13678259 Acreage/Land with in NAA Apple Blossom Rd Post falls, ID, 83854 http://www.fizber.com/13678259/ NAA Apple Blossom Rd - For Sale By Owner Property Details: Type: Acreage/Land Address: NAA Apple Blossom Rd, Post falls, ID, 83854 Sq footage: 0.0 Floors: n/a Bathrooms: 0.0 Bedrooms: 0 Year built: 0 View full property details and seller's contacts. View more Idaho homes for sale. Homes for Sale by Owner. Description: Rare Large North Idaho View Properties For Sale Up for sale is a large view property overlooking the city of Post Falls and the Rathdrum Prairie. Located just 4 miles south of Intersate 90 and the city center of Post Falls, these parcels offer an easy commute to either Spokane, Washington or Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. Properties this large AN... 02/02/2010

My sister Kerri has long written a weekly column in The Coeur d'Alene Press titled Main Street.  She recently began an online version of her column at www.cdapress.com.  It is a wonderful place to get a glimpse of the who, what, why, when and where of beautiful north Idaho, often through the lense of her camera.  I love this photo she took last winter.  (She is also affectionately known as the Bird Lady of Pioneer Ridge.)  Check her out online at More Main Street.  12/20/2009

Another North Idaho Loan Modification Company, HomeModifier, Gets Busted! It wasn't long ago that Apply 2 Save went down in legal flames after ripping off scads of vulnerable homeowners trying to make the best of a bad situation.  In the news this week is the tale of another loan modification company that didn't deliver what people paid big money for them to do.  APS Northwest LLC, operating under the name HomeModifier in Spokane Valley and Post Falls, is being charged with a scam by the Idaho attorney general.  The AG filed legal action in the First District Court this week with an order to hand over tens of thousands in civil penalties for false representation, false advertising, and failing to perform services.  The complaint states, "Defendants accepted thousands of dollars from doz... 11/08/2009

I caught something out of the corner of my eye this morning.  If you look to the right column of my Blog, on the screen you are reading this on, scroll down a bit and you will see a little Trulia widget that displays a year's graph of the average listing prices in Post Falls as well as Hayden.  It says LOCAL REAL ESTATE TRENDS. (For some reason, Trulia doesn't display Coeur d'alene stats, still haven't figured out why.)  This morning I noticed the graph showed a very sharp SPIKE in average listing price in Post Falls.  HOLY BANANAS, one might think.  What the Average Joe would have no idea about, is that on August 9 an exceptional property on the Spokane River in Post Falls went on the market for almost $20,000,000!  Right at the time the average listing price in that small town shot up... 09/03/2009

Janna Rankin Scharf, GRI, CLHMS - Click here  to see ALL Coeur d'Alene Area Waterfront Homes for Sale on the Spokane River!  If the link has expired, you will be able to find a fresh link at www.JannaScharf.com.This is part three in a series of seven market reports of waterfront homes for sale on our area's magnificent lakes and rivers.  You can take a look at details and photos of all homes for sale on the Spokane River in our MLS by clicking the link above.  This list will be automatically updated daily through September 15 with new listings.  Sold or expired listings will be dropped from the list.  You can find links to the other reports in this series at the end of this post.The Spokane River runs from the northwestern tip of Lake Coeur d'Alene west through Post Falls to the Washing... 08/17/2009

MLS Summary Statistics for:   POST FALL & Urban areasFrom 1/1/2009 to 6/1/2009 Search Parameters: Property type: Residential Status of: 'Active', 'Closed'Sold Date between: '1/1/2009' and '6/8/2009' Area of: '02 - Post Falls   Total Total List Volume Median List Price Average List Price DOM Total Sold Volume Median Sold Price Average Sold Price SP/LP SP/OLP Sold 215 $41,904,772 $164,900 $194,905 124 $40,482,976 $163,000 $188,292 96.61 92.27 List/Sold 77 $15,166,321 $159,900 $196,965 109 $14,605,295 $159,900 $189,679 96.30 92.01 Co-Broker 138 $26,738,451 $168,800 $193,756 132 $25,877,681 $167,750 $187,519 96.78 92.42 New 572 $172,599,005 $192,000 $301,746 64           Pending 216 $42,035,833 $168,000 $194,610 76           Withdrawn 2 $374,900 $175,000 $187,450 66           Cancelled 2 $6... 06/08/2009

This report contains some great information on the Post Falls, Idaho real estate market.  I pay to have these Total Market Overview Reports compiled weekly, although I don't post them to my blog each week.  If you would like the most current, up-to-date report, just give me a call.  I can email you a copy of any of these reports that would be of interest to you.  I am also happy to help you interperet the data and how it can help you.  As a buyer, this information will help insure that you don't overpay for a home.  As a seller, the information will help you determine a selling strategy for success.  03/16/2009

Post Falls - Market Report - Past 60 days For 1/1/2009 To 3/6/2009Todays date: 3/6/2009Price Range: 0 to 999,999,999,999There are currently 468 Active Listings.  There have been 56 Sold/Closed Escrow listings within past 60 days.  There are 78 listings currently under contract. Property Type: Residential Area: 0002 MLS Total Current Active Listings   Number 468 List Price Volume 144,408,884 List Price Average 308,566 Average Days on Market 121 Total Sold   Number 56 List Price Volume 12,937,148 List Price Average 231,020 Sale Price volume 12,314,930 Sale Price Average 219,909 Average Days on Market 158 Under Contract Listings   Number 78 List Price Volume 15,328,992 List Price Average 196,526 Average Days on Market 116 Please contact me with any of your Real Estate / Relocation / New Co... 03/05/2009

The Coeur d'Alene Press announced on March 1 that Post Falls has approved Wal-Mart's site plans to build a 154,000-square foot store in The Pointe at Post Falls.  The Pointe project is anchored by Cabels's. It is expected that the company's building permit will be issued soon, and that construction will begin later this year.  The article also mentioned that Wal-Mart will need to pay the City of Post Falls about $500,000 in fees before construction begins.  Janna Rankin Scharf, AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS, provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.comto search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho. Janna Rankin Scharf, 208.651.9700  NorthIdahoJanna@gmai... 03/02/2009

If you are buying or selling luxury real estate in the beautiful River City of Post Falls, Idaho, here is some valuable information for you.  Let me know if you would like me to email these graphs to you full size so they will be easier for you to read.  The graphs might be easier to read at http://activerain.com/blogs/jscharf Here are my Post Falls Real Estate Market Graphs for 2008 through October 31.  I included all properties priced $400K and above, and isolated properties in the Post Falls area.  This will give you a better understanding of the local Post falls market than you can get when the statistics are lumped with other towns.  Remember, all real estate markets are LOCAL.  One interesting bit of info that isn't on the graphs is the price per square foot that the sold properti... 11/05/2008