This morning (in bandcamp- I mean bootcamp) I found myself wondering as how not to drip sweat off my forehead while doing pushups in front of the camp counselor. It's kind of distracting when I'm trying to look cool. For a while, I could work out and feel fine, but the last month or so, I have left sore everytime. If you need a HIGHLY recommended workout from 6-7 on Tues and Thurs, I have it. Currently, I think he's all filled up. Call me and I'll hook you up. My dad said I looked skinny yesterday. I think he thought it was a complement, so I'm going with it. 

Had a great day being re-energized by some different options and people in Real Estate. I have the coolest new tool that you will have to, again, call me, and I'll hook you up. Have all Ada Co. defaults/ foreclosures/ auctions and can get you the BEST deal on a house right now! I love this new tool but it's not cheap, so you have to be my loyal client first. But it's off the hook.

I had a great lunch with someone who's recruiting for the company I left last year and it has got me considering some options. I really enjoyed talking to him; he has an extremely cool background and was totally interesting. I love meeting new people. And for once, someone knew more people at a coffee shop than I did.  When I can expand on this more, I will.

Thank goodness for my receptionist Jordan today because I was coming unhinged at the cobbled CMA program at work. It should not have to be that hard. So thanks honey.

I am going to have Tamara show me how to better blog- thanks again- you rock!

After my horrible injury sidelined run yesterday (it was supposed to be an easy six but was three miles of torture) I was left grappling with the thought that this injury might be here to stay a while. 

So, how long?? I am thinking I will take a couple days off, ice (need to do still), stretch (need to do still) and take some Aleve, which my step mom has convinced me is different than Vitamin I, as my friend Angela calls it and which I am seriously against.  

Then I'll go out for a quickie and will put no pressure on myself to go further, faster, because I have a big race coming up. Noooo. I will just check things out. But I swear I think I feel better already today. Anyway... 

Boot camp tomorrow. Lots of new gals. It's a great workout and I might show you my ab, which I think I actually have now. As my sister in law was leaving we were lifting our shirts, showing each other our "abs". Thank goodness she lives two houses away.

This morning I had we had our big Building Contractors Association meeting for the Parade of Homes and it was a great turnout and I think it went really well. I was wondering when I was leaving messages yesterday if people would understand what MANDATORY meant, and all but two people understood! There was lots of good information presented and all speakers did a great job. Melissa Galli, my business partner from Windermere Capital Group spoke on scheduling and selling, Ron Ellsworth, who is a former BPD officer spoke on personal safety and Dwayne Speegle, from Speegle Leavitt Agency spoke on liability issues in the homes. A great group and big kudos to them all. 

I also took a referral today from my friend Eve Marie Bergren who runs the Boise Guest House www.Boiseguesthouse.com (the coolest and best place to stay in Boise- why stay in a hotel?) and does property management. She put me in touch with some really nice people who've already left Boise and have a great house on 8th St. I went by and looked at it today and am sure I can help them sell it quickly. More information on it soon.

I had lunch with my Dad and his wife today at Dong Khang and my Dad tells me he is going to Iraq for a month. He is an engineer. I am excited for him and want to go to, even though I know it is dangerous. 

Did get some cardio today, although it was INDOORS and do not think this REALLY counts. Can't get over the spin instructor's way of riding the bike. 

I had my sister in laws over for dinner with the cousins and all that. Told them about my deliema with my cousins and our cabin and they suggested an attorney, trust agreement, you know, the best way to handle families and Real Estate.  I am sure that when I email them all about it tomorrow the S#()$) will hit the fan, given the fact we cannot even agree on what online calendar to use. It is really not cool and I wonder sometimes how we are even related (I have thought this since I was five, but anyway). I need to say it though, and I will because I don't like to suffer silently. It has to be said now or someone will pay later, you know?

Maybe it won't rain tomorrow. Have an interesting meeting and have to finish my market analysis for 8th, so it may be easy for me to "rest" with the rain coming down. It's already getting on my nerves, this resting, though. But the goal is to FINISH ROBIE. So there.

 

Hasta manana amigos.

in a NUTshell...

Quickly, because everyone is outside, here's what I've been doing in a nutshell:

Saturday- 6 am ran 14 with Lauren and Gretchen up to the waterfall (lower and upper Hulls). This was a painful but great run. I am super tight and not in a good way. 

Then I chaffured kids around a bit and pitched in a bit helping my friends who had a huge felled tree. I stayed as long as I could and then took Ellie and her friend to the Patagonia Wild and Scenic Film Festival, to support the Land Trust of the Treasure Valley, where I am on the board (www.lttv.org). Great organization working to preserve open space close to home! 

Then I went home to change the sap off my shirt and went back to the members reception. Even got free parking because the parking guy thought I was funny (I am- really, really funny!)Fully sapped myself but the Stella Artois helped me get into the groove. Visited with all of our great members and finally felt like I was helping out (Ellie and friend were distracting me at the matinee). Went home feeling pretty good and wondering if I would get my tushy out of bed for...

Sunday- met the girls (Angela, Wendy and Tiffany) at 7 at Java for an 8 miler. Forgot to eat dinner the night before (there is a sandwich in every Stella..) so wasn't sure how I would feel. BUT! Like always, once I start running, I feel great (usually) and the morning was gorgeous. I do have some advice here that has helped push me past many many hangovers: I never regret running but I do regret NOT running. 

Anyway... Great run- felt like, ok, I may be ready for Robie. Did cram a bit, not having a number for a while and all but feeling good about my base.

Took a few calls about my Willow Wood Way listing- I can't believe the house hasn't sold. It is in such a great neightborhood and is so pretty and the yard is large and private... the market sometimes doesn't understand what is a good thing. So, let me tell you all (my, like one reader- Tamara- thank you!) it is a great home at a great price!

Today was good and eventfull, got a lot of work done and may have shored up a speaker for the Realtor Commitee of the Parade of Homes, which I have been working on. Even had a check in my box.  

Tomorrow I have a six miler and was going to try to ski but reality is I have some phone calls to make and a few other things to deal with, so maybe should wait until Thursday... but it's supposed to be so nice... anyway, we'll see. Boot camp in the morning might change my ambitions on both fronts.

See ya~

A briefing in Real Estate

Well, where the EFF did the day go? You have one meeting about having a meeting and it's just gone! I am, however pleasantly surprised that my committee for the Parade of Homes is totally on top of it and April 8, my role will be over.

Let me back up a bit- started the day by yelling at my sleeping husband- he kept me up all night (midnight! that is just not right!) reading and so I yelled at him when I got up "I don't want to get up right now". I think he just rolled over. I did get up though, for what I'm going to start calling bootycamp because "it" needs some "toning". Damn the things that stick with you. Well, I half-assed it today, I will admit. I was in a funk from no sleep, so sometimes you just do what you do to get by. It still hurt from Tuesday and it hurt even though I still half assed it. Wanted to puke during the squat holds... Moving on...

So getting back to Real Estate related topics, here is what I am finally grasping. The market has changed. It will never be like what it was before. I'm not saying it will never be a Seller's market again, I'm saying the underlying structure of financing, escrow, title, trustees, etc. has new rules and they are changing daily.

Sometimes, people that hang on to the past and are resistant to change are characterized as "crabs". Well, and I don't want to be a crab for many reasons. I embrace change and look for opportunities. I heard a quote from a guy named Matthew Kelly: "Change only takes place to the extent we develop new habits". Sounds simple and it is.

Terry Heffner of Guild Mortgage gave a great presentation on Wednesday on what he calls a S.W.O.T. analysis, which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats, in relation to the Real Estate and mortgage market. Here is what he shared.

Strengths:

1. Historically low mortgage rates

2. Low home prices

3. New financing programs daily

Weaknesses:

1. The fundamentals of the current economy are really, really scary (yeah!)

2. Foreclosures continue to plauge our markets and push home prices lower

3. Stimulus package money will move our economy to a more "socialist" system (which I disagree- read this great Newsweek article first: http://www.newsweek.com/id/188154)

4. Rates will be low for a while but could shoot up (again, I have heard this for years, but... I am not the fed or the crystal ball of the bond markets)

5. Unemployment is up and could get into double digits

6. Incomes continue to drop which means home prices will continue to fall.

Ok, so there are a lot more weaknesses in this report. BUT! Do not lose hope! Here are the opportunites!

Opportunities:

1. Our economy is forever changing and the wealthy made their fortunes when times were tough. Record mortgage volume in 2009 is coming! 2 trillion with about 56% of that being refinancing.

2. Stimulus package and tax incentives are here to help now.

3. First time buyers will lead the recovery in our industry. The Echo- Boomers (1982-2005) are the largest group since the baby boomers. This is the era of collaboration with this group: education, counseling and credit repair. The trophy children...

Threats: (almost done!)

1. There will be some near term gain as a result of low rates and 900 billion in tax money. It will be important to not "chase" markets and focus on fundamentals.

2. Then bust is always harder than the boom- it will not be easy as we downsize our economy and we need to be diciplined.

3. We will be working harder for less but this will not last forever.

4. The recent retraction of lending and lack of availability of money- we need to understand all program guidelines, grants and government programs.

5. The tax incentives have been designed to temporarily soften the blow but will be phased out by the end of 2009. (Contact me if you would like a helpful tax credit information sheet)

On the 16th at 10 am I will be attending the Breakfast Club Speaking Series at Pioneer Title to hear Todd Lindsey, a very successful entrepreneur speak on credit markets, TARP and the Senate finance committee. Todd has been in DC and will have a lot of great information to share and I, in turn will share with you.

Time to bone up!

I am overflowing with financing information today. I need to spend some time tomorrow rehashing it all so that I know I understand it well enough to talk about it with my clients. So much has changed in the last few months, it is a full time job keeping up with it. I will post you on it soon.

There are a lot of opportunities in the market right now and it's my job to decide what is valuable to my clients and what we need to evaluate further. I'm glad to have Melissa to bounce ideas off of.

Ran with Wendy through the North End and up behind C-back and up THE OTHER WAY on Chica-dee ridge (call us crazy). Love the North End. I can see a different house everyday. Lots of new projects going on. I think because people are feeling a little cautious about moving around now they are doing more home improvements, but I think Home Depot and Lowe's latest profit reports do not support this hypothisis. 

After seeing my cousin-in-law, Amy Seidl in Aspen last week, am going to read up on all of the wonderful books she told me about, including hers: Early Spring. She is an ecologist in Vermont and was in Aspen attending the environmental forumn that is held annually. So much to learn about Green Building. More to consider! Guess I better start now! 

WTF? I can't walk well today as my quads are totally shot. My glutes and hamstrings, too, but you can't tell that until I sit down. ouch. Woke up at 2:30 and finally fell asleep before my alarm went off at 4:45. I texted Lauren that I couldn't walk. My running reminder on my phone went off at 5:25 and then 5:30 then Lauren texted me back at 5:33, annoyed. I'm so bad. Shooting for one thirty now.
Attending Terry Heffner's Surviving the Market presentation, giving much more thought to Home Tending business (ughh- the liability!) and then lunch with JJ Astorkia and Melissa at 11:45 at Jenny's Lunch line (mmmm..) then run, then back to work getting MLS and advertising squared. Maybe John will pick up the kids?
BTW, Barak Obama and I are fourth cousins- facebook has just notified me of this nice fact.
Catch ya later!

Here's where to start

Went to bootcamp this morning- always interesting- don't know where this guy comes up with the things he makes us do. Love the girls I get to play with at that godforesaken hour. Going running with Angela later, always a great way to check out the new for sale signs, although daily hotsheet is on a time basis a much better way. I like my little pockets in Boise, so running them is better to familiarize myself with them. Funny how we get into comfortable little runs. Like a certain spot of crunchy gravel on Owl's Roost. Or that dead squirrel for months (months!) on 11th. Getting away from myself here....
Office meeting this morning only made me more agitated at appraisers (not bothering to capitalize). Trying to chill.
Today: Hometender into Willow Wood, need to finalize paint with the really nice painter, Nate Forrest. Going to Willow Wood with my gorgeous flyers (if i do say so) Extend Pheasant Cir. listing, chat with Melissa, figure out running schedule with chicas, pick up children.... you know the usual. Social media. Hmmm.... Maybe too much for one day.