http://www.cityburb.com/blog Tue, 19 Aug 2008 23:40:47 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en CityBurb.com Real Estate is having a party! I've talked about it for some time now and although my real estate life here in Boise is still busy, life outside of real estate has settled down some. So, what better time to throw a party! And since we ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/08/16/party-time/ Green, environmentally friendly, eco-conscious , biodegradable, natural, carbon offsetting, organic, hybrid, sustainable and recycled. We've been hearing a lot of these terms lately, but how do you distinguish the good green from the bad? Well, in real estate it's easy. Just look for a Certified EcoBroker. Actually, it's ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/08/13/boise-are-you-working-with-an-ecobroker-yet/ Well, maybe not squeaky clean, but significantly cleaner than it has ever been. Thanks to Jim and Suzanne Holl, Susan and Conor Thompson, Nick Miller and John West (John West Lending Team 208-321-4161) for all their help in cleaning the CityBurb.com section of highway. Now, as you pass ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/08/12/squeaky-clean/ You may have driven past this sign a few times if you travel on State St. between Glenwood and Hwy. 55. Well, it's not just a pretty sign; we actually have to clean up that section of highway. We are scheduled to clean up our two mile stretch of highway ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/08/04/summer-cleanup/ I rarely talk about the disadvantages of owning real estate as I am a major proponent of real estate ownership. However, there are some expenses you'll have as a property owner that you wouldn't have as a renter, mainly property taxes. If you own a home here in the Treasure ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/24/property-tax-relief/ The general public (not you, the educated readers of this blog) have always struggled to understand how the real estate industry works. I still get calls from buyers that want to know how much we charge (buyer's agents are paid by the seller) and sellers that wonder if they ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/16/bigger-is-not-better/ The Idaho Business Review reported that the national foreclosure rate was down 3% last month. Good news, right? Not really. The national foreclosure rate is still up 53% over last year. Of course, that is the national foreclosure rate, not the local rate. The Idaho foreclosure rate ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/14/foreclosure-rate-dropping/ Since the temperature is starting to increase and my allergies are kicking up, I thought it would be a good time to share this Statesmen article. I don't particularly like grass with all that watering and mowing, but as long as I've got some in the front yard, I ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/23/high-desert-lawns/ I absolutely love the radio show "This American Life." Normally, I wouldn't be sharing this type of information, but last week's show had some great information about the "credit crisis." The show does a great job of explaining this country's financial situation and how we got to where ... http://www.cityburb.com/blog/index.php/2008/05/13/big-pool-of-money/ Gas prices seem to be rising to an absurd level lately and it got me thinking about the cost of the everyday commute to work and back. I live 9.2 miles from my office. That works out to 368 commuting miles each month. At 50 MPG, I ... http://www.cityburb.com