Real Estate Information Archive

Snow!! Yes, some wet stuff is falling today. A cold front is passing through and giving us a little white, so far nothing is sticking in the valley, but should be in the mountains.

Hunting season opened last Sunday. You could feel the buzz in the air. Not a lot of success, but never the less many wait months for the chance to walk around in the woods looking for game.

Successful closing on my first REO - bank owned property. I had a seller and even with the extra paper work, went very smoothly. The good thing about an REO, there is no delay in a response back from the seller (lender). In a short sale you can literally wait for months for an answer. In my way of thinking, my buyer got a great deal since this house should have been around $200k and sold for $182k.

Off to deliver home books to 2 of my new listings!

It has been a busy week in my real estate business. I have hardly put my head up to see what is going on around me in the valley. 4 new listings, 1 large commercial property, 3 more closings before the end of the month - LOTS of paperwork!! It is all good. The nice thing about being in this business for so long is referrals from past clients. 2 of those just this week.

     Election for mayor of Kalispell is picking up speed as far as campaigning goes. Watching with interest to see if there will be a changing of the guard. I really have no say since I don't live in the city limits, but it does effect me anyway since I work and sell real estate in the city.

     Fresh Life church is a fairly new Calvary church in Kalispell. They meet in a former movie theater in town and have just bought another, the Liberty, to do a simulcast service since they max out their space even with 3 services. Dynamic teaching and great music. Levi, the pastor, is in his 20's but definitely has a gift for teaching.

     Off to take photos of a new listing. Watch my web site for the newest listings. www.KalispellCary.com

Halloween is just around the corner and the Flathead Valley area is offering many family friendly fun events Enjoy and have a safe and spooky holiday!

 13th Annual Halloween Trick or Treat Trail & Boo Bash

This free event on Oct. 30th offers a Trick or Treat Trail and a Halloween Carnival of Fun! Trick or Treat Trail opens at 6:30 p.m. and will run thru 7:30 p.m.  Come to show off your costume, trick or treat with friends and participate in various Halloween Games. We are looking forward to spending a Ghoulish afternoon with you!

Age Group: All Ages
Venue: Immanuel Lutheran Home
Address: 185 Crestline Ave. Kalispell

Bigfork Playhouse Children’s Theatre Fundraiser: Haunted House Halloween

Come have a good scare while helping a good cause. There are two sections to this haunted house – a less scary part for the younger ‘trick-or-treater’ and a second, more scary for the brave! Tickets are $3 at the door and are tax deductible.

Saturday, Oct. 31   Age Group: All Ages
Venue: Bigfork Center for the Performing Arts
Address: 526 Electric Ave, Bigfork
Phone: 837-4886
 

Ghoulish Grounds Haunted Yard

Ghoulish Grounds presents 3rd annual Saturday Nite Fright, haunted yard starts at 5:30 p.m and ends 10:00 p.m on Oct. 31st. Parental advisory for kids under 12. Free admission, and will except donations for next years event. It will be a SCREAM!

Age Group: Family
Venue: Haunted Yard
Address: 1221 6th Ave East Kalispell
Phone: 406-212-2278

Whitefish ParentShare Halloween Party

Calling all pirates and princesses! Meet at the Episcopal Church (on Conn Rd. in Whitefish) for a Halloween Party! The party starts at 11:00 AM.   The Nurturing Center sponsors ParentShare, a birth to five support group that brings together mothers with young children to talk about the joys and challenges of being a parent. ParentShare provides an opportunity to connect with other parents who share similar interests and concerns. Visit www.nurturingcenter.org for more information or call 756-1414.

    Sailboat came out of Flathead Lake today for the winter. The lake gets drawn down in preparation for next Spring's snow melt, so the 30' boat is lifted out and put on blocks for the winter. Always a little sad to see another sailing season pass, but looking forward to skiing!!

    Kalispell and Whitefish city elections are coming up. The Daily Interlake is full of campaign news and opinions. Be interesting to see if there is a changing of the guard in November.

    It appears that the long awaited Kalispell Highway 93 bypass construction will be going out to bid very soon. I have yet to hear where the funds are coming from to actually build it, but they must be there available to use.

    I had lunch yesterday at Kalispell Regional Hospital with client and friend Dr. Melissa Hulvat. Melissa is the new breast surgeon at the hospital. She has been very busy speaking during this breast cancer awareness month. If you have to go through such a trauma, Dr. Hulvat is the gal you want to take care of you! I got a tour of her clinic, very homey and comfortable - for a doctor's "digs" as she calls them.

WINTER??? What is normal weather for NW Montana? Who knows. 2 weeks ago we were 15-20 degrees above normal. Now we are the same difference below normal. Snow yesterday, now today, bitter cold. My horses are putting on their winter fir as quickly as they can, but will blanket them for the next couple of days. Next week the weather promises to return to "normal" temperatures.

     Kalispell Ski Club swap is this weekend at the fair grounds. Plan on getting my ski pass for Whitefish Mountain Resort photo taken so I am ready when the mountain is ready.

     Winterizing the bee hives this week. They are hunkered down in the bottom feed box trying to stay warm. A lot of honey there for them to eat and get through the winter.

     Flathead Valley Community College has a very well done play we saw last night, "The Art of Dining". Good for a few laughs. Great turnout. Love the new theater.

     Good day for knitting. Camas Creek Yarns has a beginning class this morning. Stop by Colter Coffee for an Americano and walk down to the yarn shop to be in the cozy store and re-learn

I'm often asked if this is a good time to buy a home. Some clients are concerned that home prices may fall further than they have already. They are assuming that the best course of action is to wait for the bottom in the market and then buy. The problem with this approach is that you don't know where the bottom is until you see it in the rear view mirror, meaning until you've missed it!

Home prices are one factor in determining your cost of ownership, but so are interest rates and financing availability. Even though interest rates have gone up in the last six months, they are still near historic lows. Since your monthly mortgage payment is a combination of paying down your principal and paying the interest owed, if home prices come down a little further but interest rates go up, it could cost you even more to service a mortgage on an identical home!

While a home is a major investment, it is also the center of your personal life. It's important to live in a home that reflects your taste and values, yet is within your financial "comfort zone." To that end, it may be more important to lock in today's relatively low interest rates and low home prices, rather than to hope for a further break in prices in the future.

Please give me a call if I can be of any assistance in determining how much home you can afford in today's market.