Are you becoming better in this market?

Is everyone tired of getting asked how the market is? I will tell you I am not tired of the question itself. However I am very tired of what the answer is expected to be. This time of year creates more communication with family, friends, spouses co-workers, etc. and It seems that the question always comes up. "How's Business? Pretty tough?" I am not a real estate veteran, I have only been in the business for 5 years, and the first year I was so Green I had no idea what was going on. I started in the Treasure Valley Market four years ago with Idaho's number one builder CBH Homes, and when I started can be traced back to the beginning of this downturn. Guess What? I'm not worried at all, this is the business I have chosen and I am embracing it with open arms and hitting it with full stride. The old saying "What doesn't kill us, makes us stronger" is a fairly accurate way of describing how I am dealing with this apparent "Bad Market." If you're not becoming better at your job during this time then shame on you. Now is the time we learn the most and become the best. This is what I like to call "Dealing with Adversity to become a better version of ourselves." Stop making excusses and become better, This is an opportunity of a lifetime to build your future. I have a few things that have come to mind below that are important during this time:

1. Be your own Compass: It starts with you, look in the mirror! Are you happy with what you've done this year? Are you excited about 2011?

2. Surrond yourself with the best: I recently heard a speech done by Boise State Football Coach Chris Peterson and he said these very powerful words: "You are who you Roll with." Think about that for a second? You are no better than the people you surround yourself with, chose wisely, chose people that are going to make you BETTER.

3. STOP COMPLAINING: Thank your lucky stars for everything you've got, you've done and more importanly WILL DO. Make a plan, and put the plan in to action, "Don't talk about it, be about it."

4. Focus on Trust: Now is the time where trust is more important than it every was before. Which is a shame, because trust should ALWAYS be important. It's not about you trusting people in this business, it's about them trusting you. FYI, that means you have to EARN IT and WORK FOR IT, it does not happen over night. Ask yourself these questions: Do your buyers trust you? Do your co-workers trust you? Do your bosses trust you? Does your Seller Trust you?

5. Work Harder on Past Relationships: I have been on the wrong end of the referal side the last five years and that is my fault. I have personally made a commitment to provide a service for friends, family, and past clients to generate repeat and referal business. What are you going to do?

This is not the written word of success, just my own thoughts. Love or it hate it, it's the way I feel. And remember before you complain about anything, check yourself first.

Winterize your Home

Keep your home in tip-top shape with these simple homeowner maintenance items:

:: Have your sprinklers blown out & shut off.

:: Disconnect hoses from hose bibs.

:: Check weather stripping around doors & windows. Replace
if needed. Caulk any gaps where openings meet siding &
around inside of windows where they meet wood or
sheetrock.

:: Feel outlets and light switches on exterior walls. If they
are cool or even allowing air intrusion, install outlet and
switch insulators from Home Depot or Lowes ($2 for a 6 pack).

:: Check drainage around foundation, confirm that there is no
pooling and that ground slopes away from home.

:: Clean out gutters and make sure they are draining properly.

:: Inspect roof from the ground and look for any missing
shingles or loose vents. Hire a professional for repairs
if needed.

CBH HOMES DEAL OF A LIFETIME.

It's back! That's right the "Deal of a lifetime" from CBH Homes is back and better than ever. Can you say 150 homes going on sale for 3 days only? That's right, once in a lifetime opportunity to have instant equity on a discounted BRAND NEW HOME, never been lived in. If your renting you need to be at the Boise Square One office off of Overland between Maple Grove and Five Mile in the Union Square Community. We will have the exclusive list of the homes that go on sale. Don't know if you are approved? No worries, we have onsite lending to get your approval. Don't miss this opportunity, call 208-362-7785 for more info and you must stop by to get the exclusive list, they are available October 22nd, at 9 am.

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

I was sitting here hard at work and I got to thinking about the home buying process and how easy it is when you have a great advisor. My next thought was this to all of you people out there that don't own homes: WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? Yeah I said it out loud; it's time to buy a home. If you can buy now and you haven't, shame on you, if you can't buy now then you need to get a game plan to buy eventually. Fortunately for you I can help you with both. Some quick Math and facts for you:

$700 a month rent, costs you $8400 a year and what does it get you? NOTHING! Ok, I'll give you one positive to renting and that's you have a roof over your head, and that is important. However the alternative is much better.

$700 a month mortgage (which is doable in this market) same out of pocket yearly expense $8400 a year and what does that get you? EVERYTHING? It equals a rental right off the bat by giving you a roof over your head, and after that it BLOWS RENTING OUT OF THE WATER. Some people don't think of a home like this, but maybe it will help: It's a "Bank Account", or a "Retirement fund. A piece of that $8400 you pay a year to "have a roof over your head" goes into that "Bank Account" or Retirement Fund." In other words, it's making you money and putting yourself in a position to provide for yourself, your future and your family or future family.

Trust me I could go on and on about the benefits, but do yourself a favor, multiple all of rent payments you have made in your life. What is that number? Sadly enough it could be hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then ask yourself this: What do you have to show for it? There are a few types of people in this country when it comes to the mere thought of homeownership and they are as follows.

1. The Homeowner: Which by definition is "one who owns the home he or she lives in." However my definition is this: "one that has done the necessary research and taken the necessary steps to put themselves in a position to better there financial situation in the long run." Plus it's the American Dream, congrats to all of you.

2. The Not Sure, un-informed Buyer: One that is potentially able to buy, but has not yet bought due to lack of knowledge. Tip: Call a professional, my number is 208-371-2284, I'm here to serve. One might say "I'm sure I can't afford to buy." And I say "How can you afford not to know." It’s simply a SMART DECSISION to find out where you are at right now there are only two possible answers: 1. Yes you can buy 2. No you cannot buy at this time. From that point it's easy, there's always a solution!

3. The Willing Unable Buyer: One that knows the benefits of homeownership but maybe is not in a position to buy yet for whatever reason. Maybe you are a college student and have no job, or maybe you've seen your credit score and it's not quite at the point it needs to be. Don't worry, your time will come, but it comes from you. College will end for you soon enough, and believe it or not Credit Scores do go up, call us to find out how.

4. The Willing Able Buyer: One that can buy today and will buy today, but needs to find the right home. Piece of advice: In this market, you could literally look FOREVER. Forever is a scary word with Interest rates threatening to go up and the bottom of the price barrel being right in front of our faces. You need a professional to help you make a decision, call me at 208-371-2284.

5. The Un-Willing Able Buyer: One that can buy today but won't for whatever reason. The main reason I’ve heard is "We are waiting for the bottom of the market." News Flash, it's here.. And sadly you probably won't realize it until it's gone.. So WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

6. The Un-Willing Un-Able Buyer: Enough Said.

Please Figure out where you fall and do yourself a favor take the necessary steps to put yourself in the number one slot as a HOMEOWNER. And remember this: "It's YOUR "BANK ACCOUNT," and It's YOUR FUTURE. And remember it's not whether you can afford it? It's whether you can afford not to? SO WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?

We love what we do, we welcome change, we are CBH HOMES.

Back to the Basics: Why Buy a home?

We are almost three months removed from the Government Tax Credit being expired and as a real estate professional I could not be more excited. I have actually heard these three months as referred to as the "Post Tax Credit Hangover." I'm not going to sit here and blow smoke to you, I can not say that we are as busy as we were during the heart of the tax credit. However, I can tell you this: I LOVE THIS MARKET, this market is real, it's rational, and it's where the best separate themselves from the rest. At least a dozen times in the last three months I have heard completely irrational, mind warped potential buyers utter these sad little words: "We are going to wait until another tax credit is put in to place." I simply respond with a simple yet fair question! "Really, you were only buying a home for the free money?" Most of them answer by saying, "Well no, but it was sure nice." Immediately the tone of the conversation changes at that point and we as CBH Sales agents can begin to have a logical discussion with our prospects. Sure the tax credit was nice, but now more than ever as real estate professionals we must show the advantages of homeownership, it's simple really. I call these Joel's Top Ten reasons why people should BUY NOW and STOP RENTING!

10. You aren't paying your landlords mortgage: (I'm sure they send their condolences)
9. Interests rates are lower than ever before, ask your parents and grandparents.
8. You get a huge Tax write off every year: (i.e. your tax return is LARGER)
7. Your Cousin, friend, brother, sister hasn't bought one yet: (They will envy you)
6. News Flash: Homes are on sale It's cheaper to BUY than RENT(Call me 208-371-2284)
5. It's an investment: (Code: when it's paid off, it's worth MONEY) How much is
your rental worth after paying it off? Oh that’s' right ZERO, at least to you!
4. Even if the Markets not ideal, you THROW Away less money away than renting
3. More Options than Ever! It's like a buffet of homes, choose what you want.
2. Don't believe everything you hear: Loans are stronger than ever.
1. IT's YOURS! Would you rather Rent your clothes, or buy them... NO BRAINER..

I hope you enjoyed my fun blog on the reasons to buy a home. Thank you for reading: We LOVE WHAT WE DO, We WELCOME CHANGE, WE ARE CBH HOMES.

What is your Definition of Value?

If you haven't heard of the Devonshire Community in Southwest Boise from CBH Homes Now is your chance. It is located off of Lake Hazel Road, between Five Mile and Maple Grove. We are currently working on Devonshire Phase 4 which should add some extra value to those that are looking to buy with CBH Homes in Devonshire.

I have Been involved with Devonshire since October 2006 shortly after it opened for business. Since opening up Devonshire has been a top selling community in all of the Treasure Vally and will continue to do so, with future phases on the horizon.

I know you are saying to yourself right now, WOW I wonder what makes Devonshire so great? The answer is "VALUE." Value is a very powerful term because it's open for discussion and debate. Believe it or not difference of opinion is the key to success in any industry. Whether the market be Real Estate, Cars, Vaccums, appliances, computers, even food. Everyone's definition or opinion of Value is different, if you surveyed 10 people in any given industry and asked them this one question: "How would you define value?" Not one of them would answer the same, and that's the truth..

Some people might say value is the home with the best price. One person might say value is the home with the nicest interior. One Person might say value is the home with the biggest yard or the most rooms, or the red house. I have to tell you that all of those people are RIGHT! They are right because that's what they consider value to be. If someone asked me what value was, I'd say "Value is one's personal assessment of something that makes it suitable in their eyes, or the perfect scenario for ones specific situation."

I'm not sure what else I can say other than CBH Homes has more Value than any other builder in Idaho. I know this becuase we have more options for more people than anybody else Idaho. What this means is that we have more "Perfect Homes" for potential buyers than anyone. I could bore you all day long with stats, construction processes, codes, prices, etc, but I won't. My mom always use to say to me "actions speak louder than words." Little did I know that the meaning of that phrase would have many different levels. Think about that for a second: I don't have to tell you we are the best value, we just show you. We show you day by day, week by week, and year by year.

Thank you for reading: We LOVE WHAT WE DO, We WELCOME CHANGE, WE ARE CBH HOMES.

CBH Homes - Corey Barton Interview

A Fact you need to know is that CBH Homes is stimulating the economy and creating jobs. CBH Homes creates jobs for hundreds! Thank you to CBH Homes, current homeowners, and buyers in contract for helping stimulate the economy.