North Idaho Janna

Coeur d'Alene Lake Bank Repo Success Story!

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:03:58 -0600

Coeur d'Alene Lake Bank Repo REO Success Story!

On Labor Day I received a call from a wonderful family who wanted to look at a couple of bank repo homes for sale on Coeur d'Alene Lake. They had decided the timing was right to purchase a vacation home on Coeur d'Alene Lake and it was my privilege to assist them in getting a great value on a stellar property. Inventory is high and buyers are scarce. There has NEVER been a better time than right now to be a buyer on Coeur d'Alene Lake!

This has been a long distance closing, they live out of state and I am in Colorado at the moment on a working vacation with my son's family. The call just came in that the transaction has funded and has been recorded. We're closed! No Success Story photo with my smiling clients this time, but imagine the photo ops this summer as they park their boat outside their back door or spend time on the private Captain Kidd Association sandy beach. Or spend evenings watching the twinkling lights at the Coeur d'Alene Resort across the bay.

The home they chose is a charming A-frame on a peninsula with three other homes, in Kidd Island Bay. It's a 1,938 square foot two story with an attached double garage and water frontage in front AND back! It was last purchased in 2006 for $575,000. It had been listed for a time as a short sale at $450,000. When we made our offer it was an REO that had recently been reduced to just under $400,000. We negotiated for a few weeks, and in the end they are getting a true SCREAMING DEAL on a stellar Coeur d'Alene Lake waterfront home for $340,000! Congratulations Jack and Gayle!

THIS is the best part of my job!

Click here if you would like to take a look at ALL waterfront homes for sale on Coeur d'Alene Lake. You'll find details, photos and other information that has been uploaded by the listing agents. This link will remain active for 30 days and will be updated daily. Give me a call if you would like to see any of them and create your own Coeur d'alene Lake waterfront Success Story!

Click here if you would like to take a look at all Kootenai County bank repos (Called REOs for Real Estate Owned which is a line item on the banks balance sheet). This link will also remain active for 30 days and be updated daily. Give me a call if you would like a personal tour of REO homes in Kootenai County. The best REO homes don't last long, so if you are sitting on the fence, it's time to hop down!

Janna Rankin Scharf provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.com to search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

Wondering which way to turn for sound real estate advice in Coeur d'Alene?

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 01:02:18 -0600

My son took this picture this morning in downtown
Coeur d'Alene for a school photography project. I got a big kick out of it. I have had days that feel like this! I think we all have. Dreary days of indecision. Days where no matter how determined we are to stay positive, we just can't seem to find that silver lining.

Sometimes, we all come to a fork in the road of our lives where none of our options appear to be good ones. Especially when circumstances beyond our control seem to be forcing us down a road we don't want to travel.

If you find
yourself wondering which way to turn for sound real estate advice, please give me a call. Sometimes just talking about it can bring a better course of action into focus.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

Coeur d'Alene Short Sale Q&A ~ Can I short sale my house to avoid foreclosure if I have an IRS tax lien?

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 00:30:13 -0600

Coeur d'Alene Short Sale Q&A ~ Can I short sale my house to avoid foreclosure if I have an IRS tax lien?

I received this question from someone who was trying to decide what their best course of action was to avoid foreclosure:

Our small business failed and as a result we had a lot of business bills that we were personally responsible for. Now we have an IRS tax lien and a judgment filed against our house. We can't afford to pay those debts off right now. We owe more than our house is worth. Is short selling our house to avoid foreclosure even an option?

First of all, let me say that I am not an attorney and can't give legal advice. But I can tell you what has been my experience with this situation.

In general, creditors who have placed a lien against your home will release that lien to allow your short sale to go through with the stipulation that YOU are not receiving any proceeds of the sale. This even holds true for the IRS.

The creditors place the lien on your home for the express purpose of being paid off with your equity if you sell your home before you have paid the debt. If there is no equity above what you owe on your mortgage for them to claim, then it is fruitless for them. They have no interest in blocking your sale just to be mean and vindictive. Yes, even the IRS!

Each creditor will have to issue a release, and this will take some time and diligent effort to make happen. A savvy Realtor working with a sharp escrow officer will be your best friends in this situation.

If you are short selling your home to avoid foreclosure, then you are unquestionably in a situation where you will not receive any proceeds from the sale. This is the perfect environment for creditors to agree to release their liens. This doesn't mean that you don't still owe them on the debt. Just that you can short sell your home to avoid foreclosure.

Please call me if you would like to discuss whether a short sale is a good option for you. Knowledge is power!

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

HUD awards Coeur d'Alene Tribe $2 million housing grant

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:50:00 -0500

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe has received a $2 million federal stimulus grant to build 10 homes at the site of the old tribal headquarters on the southwest outskirts of Plummer.

The planned homes are to be for low-to moderate-income families and are expected to be constructed next year.

The Coeur d'Alene Tribal Housing Authority and the University of Idaho Bioregional Planning Program, which supports sustainable community development, designed the project, to be called The Gathering Place.

The first phase should be completed by the fall of 2010, and the tribe is seeking additional funds to build a second phase of 10 homes. About 70 families are on the tribe's waiting list for affordable housing.

HUD awarded 50 grants totaling $100 million to American Indian tribes across the country. The grants are intended to help tribes improve the quality of their housing stock, develop viable communities, promote energy efficiency, and create jobs, says HUD secretary Shaun Donovan.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

Kootenai County Homeowners Property Tax Exemption Changes in 2010

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 23:31:16 -0500

The Homeowners Exemption has decreased from a maximum of $104,471 in 2009 to $101,153 in 2010.

What is the Homeowners Exemption?

The Homeowners Exemption is an exemption provided by state law that saves property owners money on their property taxes. The exemption deducts 1/2 of the assessed value of the building and up to one acre of land as the home site - up to the maximum of $101,153 or 50% whichever is less. After the exemption is deducted from the assessed value of your home, the remaining value is what is taxed.

Who Qualifies?

A property owner who occupies the home as their primary residence and is an Idaho resident.

How do I qualify?

You have a valid Idaho drivers license, if you drive.
Your vehicle is licensed in Idaho, if you own a vehicle.
You're a registered Idaho voter, if you vote.
If you file income tax, at the appropriate time you file a full year Idaho resident income tax return.
You reside in Idaho a majority of the year.

When do I file?

On new construction the owner must apply within 30 days of purchase.
On existing homes the deadline for applying is April 15 of the year that you occupied the home.

Where do I file?

The Homeowners Exemption Applications are available, and must be filed in the Assessor's office. The Assessor's Office is located at 451 Government Way on the main floor of the Administration Building, next to the information desk.

Kootenai County Assessor's Office
Administration Building
451 Government Way
Coeur d'Alene, ID 83814
(208) 446-1513
bwilliams@kcgov.us

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

No TRICKS just TREATS on these SCREAMING DEALS on Homes for Sale in Coeurd'Alene!

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 16:17:34 -0500

Looking for a SCREAMING DEAL on homes for sale in Coeur d'Alene????????????????????????????????

These homes are all priced to compete with the short sales. There is no need for you to HOWL AT THE MOON! SAVE YOURSELF from HEAD BANGING FRUSTRATION of waiting for months at the mercy of a loss mitigation departments. These homes can close faster than you can say ABRACADBRA!

$175,000 ~ This charming house sits on the 6th fairway of Avondale Golf Course with 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths! It's seen such a drastic price reduction that it's SCARY! It's the least expensive home on the cemetery golf course. Let this one get away and it may HAUNT YOU FOREVER!

$245,000 ~ No CREAKS in this lovely home that sits directly across from THE CEMETERY PARK! 5 bedrooms provide space for all your LITTLE GOBLINS and there are no neighbors in front or back to HAUNT YOU! I DOUBLE DARE YOU to find a better 5 bedroom house for the price!

$165,000 ~ It's STARTLING to see a 4 bedroom home at this price! The master is huge with a closet so big that you may never find the MISSING BODIES SOCKS! Do the monster MONSTER MASH down the street to beautiful big SUNSHINE MEADOWS CEMETERY PARK!

$159,000 ~ STEAL this crypt home with a main floor master and three more bedrooms upstairs! It's priced $40K less than he paid for it! Seller may be SCREAMING but you don't have to! It comes with a Washer & Dryer to help you CLEAN UP THE EVIDENCE LAUNDRY!

No need to wait for a FULL MOON to give me a SHOUT! These SCREAMING DEALS can close quickly.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

No TRICKS just TREATS cuz these Coeur d'Alene homes for sale are SCREAMING DEALS!

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:53:20 -0500

If you are looking for a TREAT, take a look at these SCREAMING DEALS!

All of these sellers have reduced their homes to be priced competitively with SHORT SALES - but what a TREAT it will be to NOT bring you MONTHS of HEAD BANGING UNCERTAINTY. These homes can all close quickly! No TRICKS or overwhelmed loss mitigation departments to SUCK THELIFE OUTA YOU for trying to get a good deal!

$175,000 This first house is absolutely charming and would be a perfect starter or retirement home. Empty nesters or snowbirds who like to head south for the winter? This home sits on the 6th Fairway of BEAUTIFUL AVONDALE GOLF COURSE! It is the least expensive home on the golf course, and although compact, it has 3 bedrooms and two full baths! Add a garden shed, heated and insulated garage and an RV parking pad. WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE YOU WAITING FOR?????????????????

Click here to see photos and details!

$245,000 If you need more bedrooms than a typical suburban home YOUR SEARCH IS OVER! This BEAUTY has no BEASTLY price tag, the seller is selling for less than she paid BEFORE she finished the basement! That's enough to make anyone SCREAM! FIVE BEDROOMS means there is a private HIDEOUT for all the little goblins! This great home sits on almost a quarter acre and is directly across from a beautiful cemetery park! No neighbors to HAUNT you directly out front, or out back! I DOUBLE DARE YOU to find a better 5 bedroom home anywhere close to this price!

Click here to see photos and details!

$165,000 HOLY SMOKE! Here is a 4 bedroom house that is for sale for many thousands less than he paid for it! No TERROR in this price tag! The master bedroom is huge, with a closet so big you may never find the missing bodies sock! All four bedrooms are upstairs. You can do the MONSTER MASH right on down the street to haunted BEAUTIFUL Sunshine Meadows Park. No need to wait for a FULL MOON to STEAL THIS HOUSE! Get moving today before someone BEATS YOU to it!

More Pictures and details COMING SOON to www.JannaScharf.com!

$159,000 If you are looking for a main level master bedroom, HERE IT IS! BOO! This is a STARTLING PRICE for a great & nearly new 4 bedroom home in The Landings just a STONES THROW from a fabulous NEW CEMETERY PARK! No HOWLING AT THE MOON in frustration trying to get a SCREAMING DEAL that can CLOSE QUICKLY! Two full baths and three more bedrooms upstairs make this a real TREAT. The washer and dryer are included to help you CLEAN UP THE EVIDENCE LAUNDRY! Give me a SHOUT to get the ball rolling!

More Pictures and details COMNG SOON to www.JannaScharf.com!

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

Mortgage Interest Rates 10/30/2009

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 00:54:02 -0500

Here are todays interest rates, which as you can see are AMAZING!

Conforming (Up to 417K):

30 year - 4.875%
15 year - 4.375%
7/1 arm - 3.875% *Rate is fixed for 7 years at 3.875%, pay 2 pts and get a 3.25% rate!
5/1 arm - 3.625%

* my favorite

Jumbo programs($417K and up):

30 year - 5.625%
5/1 arm - 4.875%

FHA/VA:

30 year - 5.0%
15 year - 4.5%
5/1 Arm - 3.75%

Give me a call today for referal to some exceptional loan officers who can explain the different loan programs on the market today, and the requirements of each of them.

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, this is a GREAT time to be a buyer!

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

Senators Agree to Extend First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit!

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 22:57:29 -0500

They've AGREED to it, but it still needs to pass a vote and get the President's signature...

USAToday is reporting that Senators agreed Wednesday to extend a popular tax credit for first-time home buyers and to offer a reduced credit to some repeat buyers. Senators agreed to extend the existing tax credit for first-time home buyers while offering a reduced credit of up to $6,500 to repeat buyers who have owned their current homes for at least five years. They would have until the end of June to close on their new homes, according to a summary of the legislation being circulated among lawmakers. The Commerce Department said Wednesday that new home sales fell 3.6% in September, and some industry representatives blamed uncertainty about the tax credit. The tax credits would be available to home buyers who sign sales agreements by the end of April.

House leaders have also said they support extending the tax credit for home buyers. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., has been negotiating for several weeks with Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., to craft an extended tax credit for homebuyers that would pass the Senate. Lawmakers didn't release a cost estimate for extending the tax credit, though similar proposals were projected to cost about $10 billion.

Industry representatives said uncertainty about the tax credit is hurting new home sales. September's decline was the first since March. It takes 45 days to 60 days to close on a house, making it unlikely a sale made today would be consummated by the end of November, said Lucien Salvant, spokesman for the National Association of Realtors. "Buyers right now have an incentive to hold off, not knowing whether the credit will be extended," Salvant said. About 1.4 million first-time homebuyers have qualified for the credit through August. The National Association of Realtors estimates that 350,000 of them would not have purchased their homes without the credit.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

Do you REALLY know your neighbors? Click to find convicted felons in your neighborhood.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 13:06:01 -0500

Do you know your neighbors? I mean REALLY know your neighbors?

I'm blessed to live in a wonderful community that is postcard pretty, peaceful and relatively safe. That being said, there are criminals amongst us, no matter where we live. People who have, and would, do harm to us and ours. Are you safe? You have a right to know.

Life would be good if the dangerous and unsavory characters were readily apparent, if something about them made it obvious to us that danger was present so we would know to keep our distance and keep our guard up.

That is not the reality, but there is a site we can go to that will pull up a map of our neighborhood with homes of felons flagged. It's felonspy.com. Just enter your address and up pops your neighborhood map flagged with names, age of the felons and crimes committed. I pulled up my own rural neighborhood and was surprised by the close proximity of 5 men from 22 to 45 who had been convicted of: attempted rape, 1st degree unlawful imprisonment, attempted sexual conduct with a child, and two convicted of aggravated sexual abuse.

Take a minute to check out your neighborhood, and then pass the link on to the people you love and care about.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

Coeur d'Alene Real Estate ~ Happy Endings and New Beginings!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:56:15 -0500

Today is a GOOD DAY!

Back in June I received an email from a woman who had stumbled in cyberspace upon a story I had just posted to my blog. It was about REALLY BAD photos I had just come across when doing a search of high end homes. Those awful photos are a pet peeve of mine, they leave me scratching my head in amazement. From time to time I post them on my blog so you can be amazed and astonished, too!

In her email, Jennifer asked me if I could recommend a good real estate agent to sell her LOW end home, since I prefer HIGH end homes. Holy Moses! I quickly convinced her that I love to market homes of ANY price that are well cared for and priced correctly! (ESPECIALLY in a market where 68% of homes sold last month were under $200K, and just 12% were above $300K...)

We set out on June 9 to get her cute-as-a-button 728 sq. ft. vintage home sold in time for her wedding in September. Jen works from home and needs high speed internet. Her fiance had a house and a job in the Silver Valley, without access to high speed internet. Hmmm. Each home was perfect for them as individuals, neither would work well for them as a couple.

As cute as it is, and well maintained, Jen's house proved a challenge because it was so petite! As time passed and her Hawaiian wedding approached, Jen resigned herself to Plan B. As it turned out, the day that Jen and John were saying their wedding vows beside the ocean, the offer came in. I got to call her on the morning of her first day of married life to present the offer. She countered via the fax machine at the library near the beach on Kauai.

This morning, I was privileged to witness Jen get her happy ending to homeownership as a single woman. It's a new beginning for her and John as they begin their search for the perfect house for their life together. Working with Jen has been the absolute bright spot in a long season full of distressed sellers and difficult transactions. May she and John live happily ever after!

THIS is the best part of my job!

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

I Love My LOW-END Listing!

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 23:33:57 -0500

A couple weeks ago an email popped into my mailbox. The subject said Low-end listing. I was intrigued, and started reading what I thought would be just a piece of spam. It turned out to be a very sincere and intelligent Email. The writer stated that she knew I specialized in high-end listings but wanted to know if I could recommend someone who would do a good job of marketing her low-end listing.

Immediately I knew that she had to have stumbled upon this post I had recently written. For starters, although I have achieved Million Dollar Guild status with the Institute For Luxury Home Marketing, I have made it a point since relocating to Idaho last year NOT to position myself as a luxury broker. Last I checked there was over 10 years inventory in those high-end listings! Our local stats show 70% of sales are under $200,000 at the present time. I had found in the past that when ordinary folks perceive me as a luxury broker, they mistakenly believe that I wouldn't be interested in selling their ordinary property.

Yes, I confess, I LOVE THOSE HIGH-END LISTINGS, but I just as enthusiastically love ANY listing that is priced right, affordable and shows well. Because after all, the point to taking ANY listing is to sell it!

I was able to convince the owner of that low-end listing to meet with me. I was then able to convince her that I would be honored to list her beautiful, well-kept home with a lovely yard and tons of curb appeal. She was so sweet and so concerned that because of the low listing price of $114,800 it wouldn't be worth my while! We have it listed now, and I am enjoying working with my first-time home seller who has proven to be simply delightful. I LOVE my low-end listing! (I would never have described it that way, but it's how she refers to it, so I do so too, affectionately, with tongue in cheek.)

Today, I listed a beautiful home in the historical neighborhood of The Fort Grounds near Coeur d'Alene City Beach, for $1,200,000. Almost TEN TIMES the price of my low-end listing! I confess that I am thrilled to have that high-end listing, and that those sophisticated sellers have enough confidence in my abilities to select me to work for them. But I can honestly say that not one more bit of energy or enthusiasm will be spent on marketing that beautiful restored classic Craftsman near the lake. Oh, don't get me wrong, I will be a marketing maniac with that listing. THAT is the benefit to people hiring me to market their ordinary homes. I put everything I have into all of my listings. I am used to sophisticated sellers holding me to a high standard and requiring accountability.

I don't shift gears and slack off proportionately to the listed price!

So whether a home is selling for $114,800 or $1,200,000, I will not rest until I have done everything I can to get it in front of the likely buyer.

There you have it, the fun story of my favorite low-end listing. And another validation of the value of time spent blogging!

Janna Rankin Scharf provides a superior level of real estate services to home buyers and sellers in Coeur d'Alene and Kootenai County, Idaho. Visit www.JannaScharf.com to search for homes in the Coeur d'Alene MLS for anywhere in spectacular North Idaho.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf, AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700 NorthIdahoJanna@gmail.com

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

These MLS photos are JUST WRONG! I think my head is going to EXPLODE!

Mon, 18 May 2009 01:26:19 -0500

I was minding my own business doing an MLS search of high end homes for a prospective luxury buyer client. There are some nice homes on the market, and in the million dollar plus range there is high inventory and some great deals to be had in the Coeur d'Alene area real estate market.

The luxury home niche happens to be my speciality. I love those big, beautiful homes and estates. LOVE to market them, promote them and strategize with their sellers on the profile of the most likely buyer, and how to go about reeling him in. My associates laugh at me, say they would much rather have 5 homes priced at $200K than one home priced at a million, because their five homes will sell before my one. Well, yes, they do have a point. But I just laugh back and tell them that I can't help myself.

I was clicking on the details of one local home for sale, priced at $2,700,000. A very nice home indeed. I clicked on the photos and as I scrolled through I ALMOST FELL OUT OF MY CHAIR! The photos are so WRONG! How can an agent who is savvy enough to land such a listing be so dumb about what constitutes an acceptable marketing photo? And how can a seller, sharp enough to own a $2,700,000 house, not be aware of how incompetent his agent is and how bad his marketing photos are. HELLO????????? These photos would be unacceptable no matter the price of the home, but for a multi-million dollar listing it is OUTRAGEOUS!

It just makes no sense. I know from working with affluent sellers that they really hold one's feet to the fire to perform. They are used to running companies, hiring and firing employees and holding people in their employ accountable for a high level of performance. I just don't understand how it is possible that this home is on the market being presented to the public this way.

Yes, that is a guy sitting in the chair....

Look honey, room to throw lots of junk around.

Would it really have been too much trouble to flip on the lights and move that pile of papers out of the picture?????

And the icing on the cake is this one. The one that really, truely, makes my head feel like it is going to explode! Can somebody PLEASE PUT THE TOILET SEAT DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf, AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700 NorthIdahoJanna@gmail.com

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

Real Estate Randomness - two new things I learned today!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 01:11:41 -0500

Today dawned in the pouring rain, a busy day and lots to do. Tying up the last loose ends for a closing tomorrow, my buyer client asked me a question about the legal description. Within the legal description for the home they are buying is this bracketed bit: [IN GOVT LT3]

She asked me what that meant, and I had no idea. I made a call to my helpful friends at Pioneer Title for the answer. When a section in a Land Survey System legal description (as in Section,Township, Range) isn't a full section for some reason, it is called a Government Lot for legal description purposes. In our case, they are buying a home on the water, and the lake takes a bite out of a full section of land. Therefore, it's not in Section 3, but rather in Government Lot 3.

Fast forward to my soggy afternoon overseeing the lender ordered septic inspection for an out of state seller who had never lived in her house which was purchased as an investment. Let me just interject here that I am a city girl, and until 14 months ago I practiced real estate in a city where we didn't use sections, townships and ranges in legal descriptions and septic tanks were few and far between.

I learned how to find a septic tank when no one knows where it is! The friendly but wet and frustrated septic guy was finding it impossible to find the septic tank and I drove out to assist. He needed access to the vacant house to flush a transmitter. Huh? He explained that he was going to flush a transmitter that would travel through the system and into the septic tank. We then proceeded to wander through soggy hip-high weeds in the pouring rain with his big wand thing that reminded me of a metal detector. He said it would signal when it was over the transmitter that he had just flushed. He muttered something about hoping it wasn't under the big deck, and I said that would be a really stupid spot for someone to have put a septic tank, literally right outside the kitchen door. Well you guessed it. He picked up his signal under the deck, directly beneath where the hot tub is sitting.

We didn't get the septic tank pumped and inspected today, but I learned a couple of random things in the rain that I never knew I didn't know!

If you have a real estate related question, I would love to research the answer for you. The only dumb question is one that's never asked!

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700

At least 19,000 filers who hadn't bought homes have claimed $139 Million in tax credits

Sun, 25 Oct 2009 23:47:39 -0500

News articles all over the web this past week have been illuminating a massive amount of fraud being committed in connection with the $8000 first time homebuyer tax credit that is scheduled to expire on November 30th. I wonder how much effect this latest report by the treasury tax-oversight office will have on the intense lobbying efforts to have the tax credit extended.

According to Treasury oversight officials, in addition to those 19,000 filers, who have already received the $8000, there are an additional 74,000 tax-credit claims, valued at $500 million, where evidence of previous home ownership could make their claims invalid.

The tax credit has no minimum age requirement, and more than 500 people under the age of 18, including a 4-year-old, had their names on applications for the credit. Most of these claims were made by parents of the children who weren't qualified because their incomes were too high.

Johnny Isakson (R, Ga.) is leading the charge for congressional approval to extend the credit. He is hopeful that an extension can move in the Senate next week. "Just because someone used fraud doesn't mean the credit is a bad idea, it means there are some bad folks running around." he said.

No matter how grand or modest your real estate dreams may be, you can turn to me in confidence. Give me a call today and let me know what I can do to be of service to you!

Janna Rankin Scharf AB, GRI, CSP, CNS, CLHMS 208.651.9700