Sales of previously owned homes rose 5.3 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, according to the report. Purchases climbed 11.7 percent in the Midwest, 6.6 percent in the Northeast, 4.1 percent in the South, and 1.4 percent in the West.

Fannie Mae, the nation’s biggest mortgage-finance company, today reported a $2.7 billion first-quarter profit after a $6.5 billion loss a year earlier, citing smaller declines in home prices as one of the reasons for improvement. The Washington- based company said that it won’t need Treasury Department aid to balance its books for the first time since it was seized by federal regulators in 2008.

I just looked for home sale data in Kuna this morning. Kuna is a small town eight miles south of Meridian but still in Ada County, Idaho. BTW, I don’t mind working on Saturdays as long as I get French Toast with real Vermont maple syrup for breakfast.

In any event, what I found might shock the buyer who is waiting for The Bottom to announce itself on CNN or the seller who thinks their home will sit on the MLS for months with no action.

There are 50 homes in the zero to 125k asking price range. BTW it’s a price range, not a “price point”. What is it with these Madison Avenue terms anyway?

Be that as it may, I am not talking about manufactured homes or new homes that are listed in the MLS as being for sale but are not built yet. All had at least two baths and three bedrooms. There were exactly 50 for sale as of 8 AM.

Here’s the big news. Ready? Of the 50, 44 were “contingent short sale” which in our MLS  means an offer has been accepted but the lender has yet to agree to taking less than is due them. Soft market? Think again. High demand and low supply? Everybody knows what happens next.

Jump to the wider Ada County real estate picture. Comparing 4/11 with 4/12 median resale home prices are up 16%. Comparing April to March 2012 we are up 25%. These are MARKET FACTS from our local MLS. No Zillow-ration or Realty off-track.

BTW did you know that one big name data provider – not to be mentioned – was counting each distressed property twice due to a flaw in their data mining technique. But they were right on it and a couple of years later fixed the problem. Amazingly, the number of “Underwater Homes” dropped by half. And did you know that another major real estate data cruncher will tell you that based on data they collect from 20 big cities (that’s right – 20) that your home in Eagle or Meridian Idaho is worth X amount. Boy are they smart.

BTW, Mark Zandi, top economist at Moody’s, wrecked my day by predicting that Boise home prices would suffer due to trouble in nearby ski areas. Really Mark? Try Googling Sun Valley and Boise and notice the two-hour drive between them Mark. It’s a wonder the lights come on every day.

At any rate, here’s another FACT for you and I hope Mr. Case and Mr. Shiller are listening. The median sales price for a home sold in Ada County was up 4% April over March and up 18% since April of 2011. This is not a fluke, a blip or an anomolie. This is a trend. This is not an expert-opinion-for-a-fee. This not coming from people who can’t read maps or who use algorithmic voodoo and spit out a view of the housing market in general that continues to be widely regarded as gospel in spite of the FACTS.

Contact me and I can give you value histories on specific address that you cannot find on any website without a lot of digging if at all. John@boisefreehomesearch.com

Hopefully, this opportunity will never present itself again!

Paste this cumbersome link into your browser to see an interactive map of the off-leash dog parks in Boise. Sometimes our real estate buyers drive here to Idaho to scope out the real estate market and bring their four-legged family members with them.

In Meridian it’s a short list.  Meridian’s Bark Park is about it. However let’s take a look at some more creative ways to get your buddy some real exercize.  Our Border collie, Kelpie mix is a nut case if she does not get a real “walk” every day.  And ambling along at our speed does not cut it.

Many of the canal banks have dandy two-track dirt roads that follow the canals throughout the valley.  The entrance might be posted or it might not.  After 20 years of walking dogs past these signs and passing canal maintenance workers who smile and wave, I get the distinct impression that they don’t give a hoot.  Careless people do drown in these waterways so use common sense (not so common these days it seems).  Beware of dangers like wire or trapped debris that could snare  a swimming dog.  If there are head gates check them out.  Make sure your dog cannot be sucked in.  Sometimes the safety grates are damaged or missing.

The Boise River has many entry points and many have no dog rules.  Beware of downed trees the white water folks call “strainers” that might entangle him.  Most of the river is shallow and your dog will have a grand time romping and fetching sticks.  Your feet will be wet and the car will smell like wet dog but hey, it’s all worth it to see them wag to beat the band.

The Foothills trails are regulated and well used.  You may have to contend with bikers and hikers and lots of other dogs.  Driving a little farther up into the hills and you can park on a Forest Service road and hike to Montana if you want.  To the south of Boise is BLM land and the Birds of Prey Conservation area which stretch to the horizon.  This wide-open chaparral country makes for great dog walking in the colder months.

So if you visit and want to bring your best friend along to look a homes for sale please do!  We can swing a discount for a great pet-friendly hotel in Meridian.  Just alert us and we’ll set it up.

For buyers with good credit this opportunity may never present itself again.  I mean that in all sincerity.  The combination of low rates, low prices and government help is unprecedented.  But it’s all about credit scores these days folks.  Checking your credit periodically WILL NOT hurt your score.  In fact, if there are problems they need to be addressed well in advance of even looking at a new home.  Otherwise you will not know how much house to look for.

Short sales are very different than foreclosures.  Patience is a virtue but it’s also essential when dealing with short sales.  Foreclosures are much easier but still the hoops are many and pitfalls deep.  We have recently been on both sides of the closing table with sellers and buyers and we are making sense of the foreclosure process escrow by escrow.

If a friend or family member needs some honest guidance, please put us in contact.  The best way is to share their email or phone number with us.  We will not be pests and we promise to take excellent care of them.

PS Here’s our official Privacy Policy in its entirety: WE HATE SPAM TOO! WE DO NOT SELL OR SHARE YOUR INFO WITH ANYONE EVER. PERIOD.

Ms. A is the head of the trustee sale department which means she is up to her elbows in short sales and bank-owned disasters.  She told me that on rare occasions, home owner’s associations (HOA’s) have written into the bylaws (CCR’s) that a lien against a homeowner does, in fact, survive foreclosure.  In most cases all liens and obligations are wiped out in foreclosure with the notable exception of tax liens.  She also suggested reviewing the title records for an HOA and then contacting them directly and asking about back dues.

The IRS has 120 days to “redeem” a property for back taxes.  This means they can confiscate it for the sales price within this window.  If you paid 200k for it and added a swimming pool – tough darts.  You get your 200k back interest free and hey thanks for the nifty pool.

So beware of hidden liens when trying to purchase a short sale.  A single lien can wreck the deal and your plans.  The price gap between short sales and bank-owned properties has all but disappeared, at least in the Boise area real estate market, so the incentive to go after short sales over foreclosed homes has been all but eliminated.

Val was raised in San Diego and not used to four seasons.  By that I mean winter.  This is what kept us up at night as we planned the big move:

- How will Val take the cold?
- How will we be accepted into the community as ex-Californians?
- What is there to do with no beach, zoo or Wild Animal Park?
- Where are the good Mexican restaurants???
- How are the medical facilities?
- How do the schools rank?
- How is traffic?
- How is the crime?
- How are the taxes?

Dentists, vets, new plates, driver’s license, fishing license, dog license EEEEAAAAAAAA where do I start!!!

Please let us know that you would like some guidance in getting relocated in Boise area. We recommend people and services that we have personally tried and like. If they do a lousy job they get no more business from us. If our clients are unhappy we are even unhappier.

Let us help you plan a scouting trip. If you are here to visit friends or family let us suggest an outing or a fun place to visit. If it’s warm weather do you like white water rafting? If it’s winter do like to ski or snowmobile? Are you a fly fisher or hunter? A BSU fan? How about horse racing or boating? We have Wine Country to tour and scenic byways galore.

Don’t get me started on the back country opportunities here. There’s nothing more fun than to set out a day’s ride in the sunshine with some friends on horses, bikes or ATV’s through Idaho’s mountains and desert country. Over half of Idaho is public land and you can always find a peak to climb, a sand wash to ride or a stream to wade, paddle or float.

Ask us about hotel discounts and dinner coupons! Who says there’s no free lunch?

John@JohnREmery.com 208.484.9230

ValerieEmery@gmail.com 208.484.9232

In retrospect, rather than lose my pass, I might have let him get right behind me, set an aggressive edge and shot off, all but sideways, into the big spruce stand we call Poke Face.  I’d follow the snowshoe hare tracks into the Aspen grove and disappear for an hour or two.  By the time he could have even reacted, he would have been downhill from me and my escape route.  An Olympian without ski poles could never keep up if I side-hilled and wriggled into my rabbit warren of trees and brush.  After a bit, when I thought the coast was clear, I’d pop out of the trees at the bottom right by my truck and boogie home.

At the base area I was instructed to enter the office of the Ops Manager.  I quickly sized him up to be a no BS, straight-shooting fellow about my age.  I was to spend a half an hour in his office feeling like a kid who had been sent to see the Principal.

He explained that last week three idiots on snowboards ducked the rope, didn’t know where they were going and got lost.  They managed to get one call off to the sheriff before their cell phone went dead. No provisions, no fire starter, no clue.  The sheriff called the OM and he had to send a search crew out to find these dipshits on his nickel.  When rescued, they were not even appreciative, never mind contrite.  The OM said, “John, I yanked those guys’ passes. Why shouldn’t I yank yours?” It was only then that I realized my ski season might end right then and there.

25 years of dealing with all kinds of people kicked in hard.  I sensed he had a sense of humor and was a fair-minded man.  I said, “Well you didn’t have to spend any money to catch me!”  His eyes twinkled and I knew I was on the right track.  I played the age/experience card.  I told him that I have been skiing for over 50 years and was brought up in an era of personal responsibility.  If you wanted to go out-of-bounds and get killed in an avalanche – hey, go for it.  He nodded like that was a whole different topic he could relate to and allowed as how he didn’t have to go look for anybody who ducks the rope.  His conscious just wouldn’t let him let them freeze to death at the bottom of a nameless canyon.

I was rolling now.  I told him that Bob Greenwood (name dropping) had showed me that area to ski. (BTW Bob is still, at age 86, a local fixture and an avid skier)  I reminded he that I could call in my own rescue team and that I had a charged cell phone, fire starter, food and water (preparedness).  I impressed upon him that I know what I am doing (experience) and I know the area well (regular guy, outdoorsman, bait and bullet type) having hiked it with my dogs and ridden all around it on two wheels.  The chances of me getting hurt are slim and of getting lost and costing him any money about zero.  I admitted I had seen the sign but that the world is full of signs – keep off the grass, don’t feed the bears etc. etc.  I told him that I like to walk my dog along the canal banks.  There are keep-out signs posted but when the canal employees see you walking along they wave and smile.  It’s quite obviously posted for the benefit of the insurance companies.

It was all true and he knew it.  His eyes pierced me.  By then I was slumping in the chair a little.

I kept it going.  When I told him that I had read the sign stating that it’s a violation of the Forest Service Special Use Permit to go past the rope he started grinning.  I said, “I hunt, hike, swim, canoe, fish, ride and camp on Forest Service land all the time.  I know all about Federal rules and regulations.  Honestly, I really did think the rope was there to keep morons from getting lost”.  I was betting Mike was the kind of guy who laments the many rules, especially Federal, that are created to protect the idiot minority from themselves at the expense of the vast majority who use their brains.  He was nodding in agreement.  I was almost home free!

Finally, the OM stood up and extended a thick-fingered hand. “You help me and I’ll help you,” he said and I knew my pass was safe. “Tell your buddies not to duck the ropes.  And John, I am putting you In My Computer.  Don’t let me hear about you again.”  I said, “No sir, you will not. I didn’t get this old by being stupid!”  He laughed out loud at that.

Before he let my hand go the OM narrowed his eyes a bit and said. “Man, there are some nice powder runs back in there”.  I left the Principle’s office meekly, snapped into my bindings and skied away. I haven’t ducked a rope since.

“The housing market is showing some signs of shaking off the depression-like conditions that have plagued it for much of the past few years,” according to the report. “As if awakening from hibernation, housing starts and home sales moved to higher levels of activity.”

In fact, the signs have prompted Freddie Mac to revise its forecast upwards for home sales and originations. One economic contributor that’s helping to stabilize housing: The drop in the unemployment rate to 8.3 percent, its lowest level in three years, according to the report.

“A variety of encouraging indicators suggest that the housing market may be feeling a nascent recovery … and more neighborhoods may see a stabilization in overall demand and housing values this spring,” says Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Median home sale prices are up, despite a slight drop in new and existing home sales, Freddie Mac reports. About a half of the increase in housing starts has been for construction of rental apartments in multi-unit buildings to meet the increasing demand, the report notes. New rental construction, at its current pace, is expected to reach its highest level since 2005.

“Housing starts continue to run below net household formations [and will allow for absorption of existing vacant homes],” according to the report.

Source: “Freddie Mac: Economic Growth Expected to Stabilize Housing Market,” Dow Jones Newswires (March 28, 2012)

Our commutes were hellish.  I would arrive at work PO’d and get home tired and PO’d.  We waited in line to get fuel, for dinner on any night of the week and even to hit the beach on a summer day.  The drinking water destroyed my car radiators.  The smog made me wheeze.  The thundering phalanx of helicopters spraying fruit fly poison all over creation made me want to head for the hills – better yet to the mountains 900 miles to the east.

We looked all over the Mountain Time Zone states and one by one eliminated every city but Bend OR, Salt Lake and Portland.  Val couldn’t take the rainy weather in Oregon and Salt Lake was too big and smoggy. The addresses go like South 300 West and East 200 North.  I still can’t get my brain around that. Bend felt like more of the same SoCal we were trying desperately to escape and that left Boise – the last city standing.

We made a scouting trip in February of 1991 and arrived in our sweaters and coats to find people running around in shorts in seventy degree weather enjoying an unusual warm spell.  Several things jumped out at us right away as we drove around Boise in our little rental car.  Where were all the cops?  We drove for days without seeing one. There was, I believe, one semi-authentic Mexican restaurant in all of downtown.  Not great but workable.

Having breakfast in the erstwhile T&A Cafe we overheard a table of locals lamenting the behavior of the local teens.  Kids in our neighborhood had back problems from lugging their heavy backpacks to school.  All the lockers were locked by the school to cut down on drugs and weapons.  What could devilment could possibly be going on in Boise Idaho that had it’s citizens opining in the T&A? Brace yourselves.  They were stuffing the pant legs of their jeans into the tops of their boots! That’s right. Society unraveling before your eyes. We were expecting more like heroin and handguns and didn’t make any new friends with our making light of the issue.

We took the rental car on a dirt road that headed up out of town into the foothills that frame Boise’s north side.  The higher up we drove, the more of Idaho we could see.  Mountains stacked up as far as the 100-mile horizon and beyond.  Wow.  The best skylines are not man-made.

So here we are 20 years later come this August.  More family has followed us and we have friends, careers and a sense of community here.  Boise and the Treasure Valley had everything we were looking for, complete with a great little ski area 16 miles out of town and endless places to ride, fish and hike.  Sitting in the rental car in 1991, looking down at Boise’s compact but international airport, I didn’t want to leave.  Why go back to the earthquakes, the porous border mess, the wild fires and the mudslides?  How cool would it be to smog my car for $12?  There were rainbow trout in the river I could see running smack through downtown!  Back then many people didn’t lock their front doors never mind their cars.  All I wanted to do was sell our home in CA and get the heck out of Dodge.

Now when we go away on vacation or business it is always a fine feeling to come sailing in over the mountains and drop into the Treasure Valley over wide expanses of high chaparral, farm land, ’burbs and city high-rises.  Not too big.  Not too small.  Just right.

According to CNN Money (11 Tax Audit Red Flags) most – not many – cases begin with a tip from a tattletale. You brag about how you gamed the system to a friend, colleague, or spouse, and one of them turns you in.

Even your closest pals may be tempted to rat you out since the IRS offers whistleblowers a reward of up to 30% of any additional tax or penalties it collects from tax cheaters.

And with the popularity of social media, it’s now much easier to publish private information publicly. So if you did something you think was questionable, don’t post it all over Facebook.