Real Estate Information

The enrollment at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg continues to grow.  The privately owned university continues to expand as was announced in 2010.

Unlike most traditional colleges, BYU-Idaho is set up on a track system where students will be enrolled in 2 of the 3 semesters throughout the year.  This system allows the university to accept more students and offer schooling year-round.  In the past the summer semester has always had less students than the fall and winter semesters, now the summers has nearly the same enrollment numbers as the other 2 semesters.  This is good news for investors who own student housing complexes.  Now they can keep units occupied year round without having a lull in the summer.

According to BYU-Idaho the spring semester of 2011 saw a 9.5% increase over spring semester of 2010.  Currently there are 14,296 students attending the University.  This semester, the student body consists of 3863 Freshman, 3786 Sophomores, 2937 Juniors, and 3659 Seniors.

With the expansion there is a need for additional housing.  Currently there are several projects underway for single student housing but I think the need for married student housing will increase over the next couple of years.  In the next post I will explain the rules that this private university has when it comes to housing for single students.

Previously I explained how the rent to own option works when buying real estate in East Idaho.  This post will explain what an Owner Contract is and why it is something that both Buyers and Sellers should consider when buying Real Estate.

An Owner contract is simply where the owner of a property acts as a bank and carries the contract on a property.  Typically you set up the payment plan through an escrow company where the payments are made and disbursed.  The owner contract which is also referred to as an owner carry-back can benefit the buyer in the following ways:

Buyer can't get conventional mortage. With the real estate struggling in many areas of the country many people have had their credit hurt by a foreclosure or short sale and cannot qualify for a conventional mortgage.  As long as the Buyer has a current job, the owner carry option can be a great alternative while rebuilding credit.

Lower down payment options.  Many conventional lenders require 20% in order to receive the best terms.  In the Owner contract situation many times the buyer can negotiate a 10% down payment or even less is some circumstances. 

Less Hassle for Approval.  I still recommend using an attorney to draft some of the documents but this is not a requirement.  Because you are not dealing with large financial institutions you typically do not have to go through an approval process that is extensive.  Your closing costs are typically a lot less when doing an owner carry because you are not paying for origination fees and other expenses associated with getting a loan, appraisals are recommended but not a requirement.

What are the benefits for the owner on a Owner Carry Back?

Open the door to more buyers.  By offering the option of a Owner carry, Sellers will open the door to a larger pool of Buyers.  This can be a positive advantage in a very competitive real estate market.

Residual Income.  If Sellers are in a position where they do not need the full equity out of their property then the Owner Carry back is a great option.  You can still enjoy the monthly income steam.  The other benefit of setting up an owner carry instead of just renting the property is not dealing with landlord issues, the owner is responsible for paying taxes, fixing anything that is broken and paying the homeowners insurance.

Since our market has shown signs of decline, which actually includes the nation as a whole, there have been an increase of people looking for rent to buy options.  The phrase has several variations which include lease option purchase and rent to own options. Banks tightening up their loan guidelines has also made this a good option.  I will explain what this option really means. 

A Rent to Buy option has 2 separate contracts, a rental contract and a purchase contract...both contracts should reference each other.  Typically the seller will ask for a deposit which can actually serve as Earnest Money when you begin the purchase process, this deposit is typically non-refundable and is higher than a typical rental deposit.  The reason for the non-refundable deposit is for the seller to ensure that Buyer is a serious buyer and not just a renter.  If you are the buyer and uncomfortable with putting down non-refundable deposit/earnest money you may want to just look into renting for a time period.  The rental period is pre-determined and there is a closing date that is referenced in the purchase contract.  During the rental period a portion of the rent can go towards the down payment, this will vary depending on the terms of your agreement. All of the terms are negotiable, both parties should seek the advise from a competent professional.

The Rent to Buy option can work great if you have relocated to an area and cannot qualify for a loan, the reasons could be because of a new job, or maybe you are still trying to sell your previous home.  The Rent to Buy option is a great way to lock in a price and find a home that will someday be yours.

A Rent to Buy option can be a great option but can also be complicated, it is a good idea to use a professional for setting up these types of contracts.  Sometimes it is also wise to include an attorney for these types of purchases.

Another option that is becoming more popular is having the Seller carry the contract (Owner Carry) on the property.  This topic will be discussed further in next weeks post.

Well the numbers are out!  That's right, the 1st Quarter numbers for the East Idaho Real Estate market are out.  To be honest I have been a little nervous to see what they looked like compared to the 1st Quarter of 2010.  I think we all expected there to be a sharp decline this year since we are comparing to last year when Buyers could still take advantage of the Federal Tax incentive of $8000.  As you can see by the chart below, some of the counties actually had an increase in the number of transactions, those counties include Jefferson County and Bingham Counties.  Bonneville County saw a sharp decline and Madison was also down for the 1st Quarter.

Of the properties that have sold in 2011, 42% were distressed properties which include bank owned properties and short sale properties.  The bank owned properties alone made up 31% of our total sales.  The distressed properties currently listed only make up 15% of our total market inventory.  The aggressive pricing by the banks explain the low number in inventory but high number of sales.

If you are a buyer, take advantage of some of the great buys on properties that we have not seen for years, click here to search for properties. 

If you are a seller in this challenging market, it is important that you employ an agent that understands the changing market and can help you price your home accordingly.  Click here to find out what your home is worth.

Brigham Young University-Idaho located in Rexburg Idaho graduated 1562 students last week in the new BYU-Idaho Center which is the newest addition to campus which has a seating capacity of 15,000 people.  The number of graduates was a record number for the university which continues to grow.  There will only be a week long break before the spring semester begins.  The spring semester numbers are still slightly lower than the fall and winter semesters but contiue to grow.  The housing situation in Rexburg is still growing as well, as you drive around town you can't miss some of the construction projects that are underway.  I beleive there continues to be a need for married student housing around Rexburg, it seems like most of the current construction is for single student housing.

Another positive thing that the university is adding is online classes for high school students that will count toward college credit.  The new program will target Juniors and Seniors, currently there are going to be 5 courses that will be offered.  If the high school students will take advantage of this program they could start college with a semester under their belt.

BYU-Idaho continues to grow and as they grow so does the Rexburg area.  If you have any interest in building or buying BYU-Idaho approved housing, please feel free to contact me, I would be happy to answer any questions you may have!

So what is all the talk about interest rates you ask.  How big of a difference do they make when buying a home?  The first and most obvious reason to try and obtain a low interest rate is the money saving aspect over the long run.  Today I am going to be discussing the affordability factor that interest rates allow as well as the length of the loan that can be greatly affected by interest rates.

Hypothetically lets say that you would like to keep your house payment around $1200 per month to fit within your budget.  This payment will include the property taxes ($2000) and homeowners insurance ($300).  With the current interest rates hovering around or slightly below 5% you could buy a home for $189,000.  Now compare a 7% interest rate, keeping your payment the same, you would only be able to buy a home for $151,000.  With exception to the interest rate, the 2 loans have the same terms and will be paid off in the same amount of time, the difference is you are spending your money on a bigger nicer home instead of paying the bank that amount of money.  As i have mentioned in previous posts, there are some great deals out there on homes and anybody who is thinking of buying should really take advantage of the interest rates because I can almost guarantee that they will not be this low for much longer.

Now consider getting a 15 year loan vs the popular 30 year loan.  If you were to buy a home for $150,000 and obtained a 15 year loan your payment including the taxes and insurance would be $1338 at a 4.5% interest rate, the payment is a bit higher than the 30 year loan but you pay off your home 15 years sooner and save over $80,000 in interest.

Click here to use my 19-In-1 Mortgage Calculator

So the answer to the question, Interest Rates-How big of a difference does it make?  I think the examples show the difference...call me today and lets go look at homes!

So the big question buyers in East Idaho are asking is whether to continue to rent or buy a home.  It is a good question and one that has a lot of Buyers wondering which option is the best.   Although there were some good incentives like the Federal Tax Credit that have expired, it is still a very good time to buy.

Home prices have adjusted to a level that makes them affordable again, Buyers should take advantage of some of the bargains out there.  Whether you are looking for a single family home, a town home or even a multi-family home there are deals out there in most areas and in most price ranges.  Buyers can find great deals on distressed properties which include short sales, and bank owned properties and even motivated Sellers that still have equity in their homes

I often hear of people saying that they are waiting to buy a home until the banks loosen up their lending guidelines.  Don't get hung up on this, there are still some great loan programs available and the process is not that bad if you will use a good lender...I can help with a recommendation.  With decent credit scores there are still loan programs out there that are 100%, certain areas will not qualify due to population.  For most the FHA loan is still a great option and only requires 3.5% down. 

Another option that is a little less traditional but becoming more popular is looking into a lease option purchase or an owner carry option, these deals are out there and has become an incentive that Sellers have used to sell their properties.

If you would like to see the numbers on which is better: rent vs buy in East Idaho you can use the rent vs buy calculator click here to use the calculator

Take advantage of the low interest rates, great prices on homes and quite paying rent and throwing your money down the drain, there are many advantages to home ownership the you should take advantage of.

The next post I will discuss how a 2% change in interest rate will affect the price of the house you can afford while maintaining the same monthly payment.

Time sure does seem to be flying by so far this year.  We are excited to see the snow melting and the season changing.

As we inch closer to the end of the 1st Quarter, it is interesting to take a look at how this year compares to last year and all other previous years in the real estate market.  The East Idaho Real Estate market is still adjusting and in a period of transition.  It appears as though this year is off to a better start than last year.  This is a good sign, especially when you take into account that last year we were still using the Federal Governments 1st time buyer tax credit of $8000.  I will try and update this blog with the latest East Idaho Real Estate Statistics each quarter.  As you look at the graph below you can see that the first part of each year is typically the slow time of year.  January of 2009 and 2010 were very similar in the number of transaction sold and we did not see the sharp drop late last year.

So what is the difference this year versus last year?  In my opinion, buyers are anxious to buy and take advantage of the low interest rates and the deals on homes that we have not had for several years.  If any of you are buyers and thinking of taking advantage of the deals out there now, please contact me and lets get something going.  Take advantage of these low interest rates; take this into consideration: if you were trying to keep your payment at $1200 per month for PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance) a 2% raise in interest rates would limit the price range of a home you could afford by nearly $38,000 which also is going to make a big difference in the age of home and size of home.

Thank you for taking time to read this blog, please contact me if you have any questions or if you have suggestions for future blog articles

With the 2010 Census data now available we can see where the growth has been for the past 10 years.  Idaho growth is the 4th highest in the nation, something that has not come as a big surprise.  This ranking is taken by the percentage of population growth, keep in mind that the state population is estimated at 1,567,582...not too bad when you figure we are the 14th largest state.  The primary reason for growth in this area, from a Real Estate Brokers point of view, is the fine quality of life and the open space.  The population density in Idaho is a whopping 18 persons per square mile...compare that to the city of Los Angeles with a city population of 3,833,995, that works out to be 1674 persons per square mile.

The cities of Idaho Falls, Pocatello and Rexburg were among others in the state that have had substanial growth over the past 10 years.  Rexburg's growth can be greatly attributed to the growth of Brigham Young University-Idaho, a privately owned univeristy that anounced the expansion of its campus when converting from a 2 year junior college to a 4 year univeristy.   Rexburg, Idaho Falls and the other communities in East Idaho offer many benefits to those moving from other areas.  Located approx 70 miles from Yellowstone Park these great communities have plenty of outdoor activities that people travel from around the world to experience.  When the real estate markets in California were booming in the mid 2000's we were able to help hundreds of families that were looking for a better quality of life, they wanted open spaces, basically they wanted to experience good old small town USA.

Though I believe the growth of Idaho will continue in the years to come, we may slow down for the next couple of years as we strive to correct the struggling national and local economies. 

For any of those searching for a clean, safe, open space quality of life...we welcome you into our neighborhoods.

In an effort to continue providing up to date real estate listings and other relevant information for those interested in buying real estate or selling real estate I launched this website on March 1st.  For any of you that had visited my previous website, I hope you like the face lift and the changes.

I wanted to have a real estate website that was easy to use, had up to date technology and and provided valuable information to keep you coming back and referring your friends to this site...hint hint (I would love your referrals).  Some of the features that I am excited about is the map search feature that allows you to choose an area and the map will populate with markers of where the properties are located.  The map is accurate, however there are a couple properties on newer streets that Google just has a tough time mapping.  There is also less restrictions for buyers searching for homes, you can rest assured that you are getting all listings listed by every office and every agent. If you would like an automatic home search set up by the criteria you choose click here.

For Sellers there are new tools that will allow me to keep you up to date on showings.  If you are intersted in selling real estate and would like to know what the value of your homes is click here and I will send you a free, no obligation range of value on your home. 

I hope you like the new site and I would really appreciate any feedback or requests on anything new that you would like added to the site click here to leave any feedback. I hope your search for East Idaho Real Estate starts here.