The Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are advising people to exercise caution along the Boise River as stream flows are set to increase while flood control releases that began on March 21 continue.

Flows from Lucky Peak Dam will increase this week to about 5,800 cubic feet per second at the Glenwood Bridge gauging station by Wednesday, this is an increase of about 3,300 cfs.  Flows of 6,500 cfs is considered bank full, and 7,000 cfs is considered flood-stage at that location.

River flows have reached this level around this time in each of the last three years.

“Continuing precipitation and cool weather in March have resulted in an increase in mountain snowpack and raised the runoff forecast to slightly above normal,” said Brian Sauer, Reclamation hydraulic engineer.

“These releases will help reduce the risk of greater flooding impacts later in the spring which can occur with warm temperatures, rapidly melting snow, and precipitation.”

Officials will continue to advise people of the dangers associated with increased flows, such as rapidly moving deep water and cold temperatures near 45 degrees.

For further information contact: John Redding,  (208) 378-5212 or Brian Sauer, (208) 383-2282.  www.usbr.gov

If you need flood insurance, NOW is the time to get it ~ there’s a 30-day waiting period!

Credit: Ada County Sheriff’s Office

Newcomers to the Boise area often ask “what’s pressurized irrigation water?”, so here’s a brief explanation.

Before we had subdivisions in the Treasure Valley, three dams were built up in the mountains for flood control and irrigation purposes.

They are Arrow Rock, Anderson Ranch, and Lucky Peak.

Then, a network of open irrigation canals (ditches) were built to distribute the water to land owners in the valley with water rights.

Which begat us the term “ditch water”.

Back in the old days, the farmers used their water rights from the reservoirs to irrigate their crops in what was originally arid desert land.

As growth occurred in the Treasure Valley (Boise area), those farmers sold out to developers and their water rights went with their land.

Then, as the developers converted the farm land into subdivisions, they installed pumping/pressurization equipment in their new subdivisions and provided piped, untreated, pressurized irrigation water to each lot in their subdivisions.

Thus, the term “pressurized irrigation water” came into existence.

The advantage of watering landscaping with this water is that it’s cheaper than treated city water.

Ditch water delivery usually starts in April, and ends in the Fall, depending upon how much water is available in the reservoirs.

Some subdivisions provide pressurized irrigation water at no additional cost as part of their homeowner association dues.

Others assess an extra charge, often based upon lot size.

Sadly, several people drown in our irrigation canals each year.

It’s often small children, left unwatched for even a moment, but every now and then we lose an adult who has consumed an adult beverage or three and thinks it’s a terrific idea to go for a swim.

The current in those canals is often strong and the sides of the canals are slippery.

It’s best to keep your kids, pets, and your favorite squeeze away from those canals if you want to have them around in the future.

Now you know all about ditches and pressurized irrigation water.

Much of the Boise area has an underlying layer of clay just beneath the soil’s surface.

That layer of clay prevents surface water from being absorbed, and can result in that water moving in “sheets” above the layer of clay.

Sounds kinda technical, right?

Well, here’s what it means (in plain English) to you as a homeowner.

If your home doesn’t have proper drainage, you can end up with moisture in your crawl space and perhaps mold.

Mold is the kiss of death in real estate.

Once you have mold in your home, you must disclose it (material fact) to all future buyers, and most of them will run away after they hear about it.

And, if you file a water damage claim with your insurance company, your home will likely get listed on the national CLUE database, which can result in not being able to get insurance in the future, which may result in future buyers not being able to obtain financing when you want to sell.

Not to mention that it’s very expensive to remediate mold problems these days.

Moisture in crawl spaces can be avoided through some common-sense practices, including:

Watering Your Lawn Sensibly

I often see homes where the lawns are being over-watered.

It’s often best to water once/day at 6:00 a.m., with less water.  You don’t need to water two or three times a day for 30 minutes per station.

Directing Rain Water Away From Your Foundation

Here are some examples of downspouts that I see:

Least Desirable

Better

Best

The last option is the best one with the rain water being piped to a dry well (a pit full of drain rock that penetrates the layer of clay) away from the home.

It’s also desirable to have full gutters on your home to avoid rain water running directly off the roof and being absorbed into the ground adjacent to the foundation.

Here’s an example of a home without full gutters that is more likely to cause moisture in the crawl space.

BTW – you’ve seen those chain downspouts, right?

Well, I have them on my home and I’m way kewl, but they don’t work very well.

The water doesn’t follow the chains when it rains hard, and the gushing water blows the bark/rock away when it finally hits the ground.

Hope this helps ~ now get your mind out of the gutter, will ya?

You can drive down Eagle Road, the main connector between I-84 and the community of Eagle, and still see open fields being under-utilized to grow sod.

In most other cities of Boise’s size, you would see a huge shopping center sitting on that dirt.

There’s still a lot of opportunity here for those with enough vision to see what is coming.

Just a few years ago, our residential real estate market consisted of entry-level homes starting around $100,000, a middle move-up market of about $200,000, and a few homes selling above $300,000.

Then, along came cheap mortgage money in the aftermath of 9-11 and the stock market collapse, as The Fed loosened up the money supply to reflate the economy and restore consumer confidence.

The Boise real estate market took off overnight and went from a steady 3-5% appreciation rate to a couple of years of mind-numbing  appreciation.

Now, we are returning to normal and prices have come down by 30% or more in many areas.

My crystal ball is a little cloudy, but I do have the advantage of a 37-year perspective in real estate.

I remember entering the real estate profession in San Jose in the mid-70s, when homes were selling for $40,000 to -$50,000.

I owned half a dozen rentals there at the time.

I wish I still had them, because even in a seriously-troubled California real estate market, they would be worth at least $400,000 each.

And, they would have been free/clear by now too.

Lessons learned.

If you consider what the Boise area offers and think ahead ten years, it’s pretty obvious that today’s prices will be the topic of many “I could’ve . . . .” conversations a few years from now.

The Boise area offers tremendous quality of life and our housing prices are very attractive when compared to other areas where homeowners are fleeing severe traffic problems, crime, illegal immigration, and high costs of living.

This was the view from my home office one morning recently as I was checking my e-mail, coffee in hand.

I heard the unmistakable whooshing sound of a hot air balloon, looked out my office window, and grabbed my camera.

Such scenes are common in the Eagle area during the early morning hours of our Spring and Summer days as ballooning enthusiasts take advantage of the cool, calm morning air.

It’s pretty cool to live in peacful Eagle, Idaho!

I used to trek to the Post Office and mail large printed relocation packages every time someone requested information about “moving to Boise”.

I met a lot of nice people while standing in line, but it was expensive, time-consuming, and inconsistent with my tech-savvy way of doing real estate.

So, I recently created a 30-page e-book titled Moving To Boise (clever title, eh?) that you can download from this blog.

Here are some of the topics in my e-book:

• Idaho Agency Law
• The Home Buying Process
• Inspections
• 10 Mistakes Buyers Make
• Overview Of The Boise Area
• Weather
• Education
• Restaurants
• Recreation
• Employment
• Health Care
• Churches
• Useful Phone Numbers
• Shopping
• Hotels
• Slideshows Of The Boise Area/Communities/Subdivisions
• Useful Links

So  .  .  .  what are you waiting for?

Click on the graphic over here -> -> -> -> and download your copy now !!

I guess you could call me a serious amateur photographer.

I love to capture the essence of a subject through the camera lens.

Now, I now have another outlet for my photography and it’s over here ->->->->

Just click on the “Phil’s Photography” link at the right side of this page to view my eclectic collection of photos.

I will continue to add images to these galleries, so be sure to check back to see what’s new!

P.S. ~ Check out my images displayed for sale at Rembrandt’s Coffee House in Eagle next time you drop in for coffee!

The Southwest Idaho chapter of the National Association of Residential Property Managers (NARPM) recently completed a vacancy survey rental properties in the Boise real estate market.

Here’s what they found:

Vacancy       Avg. Rent

Single-Family Homes

One-Bedroom Single-family Home                 3.8%                $    540

Two-Bedroom Single-Family Home               3.8%                $    680

Three-Bedroom Single-Family Home            6.8%                $    858

Four-Bedroom Single-Family Home              8 .3%               $1,023

Five-Bedroom+ Single-Family Home             7.5%               $1,275

Overall Single-Family Vacancy                         6.5%                  N/A

Apartments

Studio Apartment                                                  11.4%              $    400

One-Bedroom Apartment                                     4.2%               $   485

Two-Bedroom Apartment                                    7.5%              $    585

Three-Bedroom+ Apartment                              6.4%              $    782

Overall Apartment Vacancy                                6.5%                 N/A

This survey was a sampling with 14 of 39 property managers responding, comprised of 2,790 units, of which 1,193 were single-family homes and 1,597 were multi-family with 2-15 units.

Trey’s article says only 93 Treasure Valley builders pulled more than one permit in 2008.

Even more interesting is the fact that the pace of permits they pulled dwindled by 50% in the 2nd half of 2008.

Check out the article here.

Greed is an amazing thing.

Just three short years ago, the Boise real estate market was overrun with flippers and speculators flooding into our market hoping to get rich quick.

There was even one day when two busloads of “investors” (I use the term loosely) from Sacramento drove into one Meridian subdivision and tried to buy every existing home!

I first noticed the beginning of the feeding frenzy when I started getting offers above list price and multiple offers on my listings from people who hadn’t even seen my listings.

I also encountered buyer agents with Powers of Attorney from their absentee buyers, with instructions to “just get it bought and don’t worry about the price”.

Many of those buyers financed their purchases with “liar loans” (no documentation/stated income) loans or Option ARM loans (where you can skip payments, pay interest only, etc.)

This financing often resulted in substantial negative cashflow, not to mention no reserves for vacancies and repairs.

Well, guess what, folks?

Many of those absentee investors held on too long, failed to flip those properties for a profit, and have since become absentee landlords who haven’t a clue what’s going on with their properties.

I routinely see listings of these homes with burned up lawns, occupied by tenants with multiple Pit Bulls, with several cars parked in front of what’s supposed to be a single-family residence.

When the hapless sellers decide it’s finally time to take their beating and sell in our now-declined market, the properties are in poor condition and showings are obstructed by tenants who will do everything they can to keep the property from selling so they don’t have to move.

Worse yet, many of those properties were purchased with little or nothing down and now are “upside down” (see my previous post) with negative equity.

Flipping and speculating is not investing.

Investing requires a prudent analysis of present market conditions, future potential, cashflow considerations, and a long-term view.

Investing in real estate is not a get-rich-quick scheme.