Money is here! Final phase of work is starting!   Frontier Ice Arena in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho is in full swing finishing all the details so the Ice Arena can open mid June; with a Grand Opening planned for July 14th.  What a great accomplishment for all the groups that have helped here in the community to raise the money.  This truly has been a group effort.  So we are glad that the Money is here! And The Final phase of work is starting!   This new Ice Arena has party rooms available to rent by the public so you can support the rink if you are planning a party.  The Dasher Boards are up as well as the plastic shields around the rink.  Also this rink has great viewing areas to watch the skaters.   There are still advertising opportunities available, you can get a Dasher Board or a Banner ... 04/13/2012

Janna Scharf, GRI, CLHMS, SFR - Coeur d'Alene Idaho Homes For Sale It's to buy a ticket for the North Idaho College Foundation's Really BIG Raffle!  Each year a lucky ticket holder walks away with a BRAND NEW Energy Star homebuilt by the college's construction department.  This year's raffle will take place on July 11, 2012, and only 500 tickets will be sold for $100 each.  Tickets will sell out, as usual.  There are twenty cool prizes in all, including a new car, boat, vacation, and shopping spree.   For complete information you can go to The Really BIG Raffle website by clicking this link. If you would like to find a new home the old fashioned way, give me a call today.  I would love to assist you in making your real estate dreams come true! 03/26/2012

Janna Rankin Scharf, GRI, CLHMS, SFR - Coeur d'Alene Idaho Short Sales Today, two homes that I listed back in June as Coeur d'Alene, Idaho short sales, closed!  It was a happy day of relief for the homeowners who wanted so much to avoid foreclosure.  They have succeeded in doing so, which for them was making the best of very unfortunate circumstances over which they had no control. It was a long and emotional journey through the Coeur d'Alene, Idaho short sale quagmire.  Running a gauntlet of sorts through the madness of the process which would try the patience of Job.  Not all short sales are difficult, but these two certainly were. Their bonus for hanging in to the bitter sweet end was receiving $3000 from their lenders, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, for relocation expenses through... 03/23/2012

What a great day in North Idaho!  Frontier Ice Arena has met their financial goal with the last $14,000 donation coming in the past week.    Work at completing the ice arena which is at 90% completion and is now moving forward towards opening day in June 2012.  Our community has lots of kids and adults waiting to get on the ice to skate, play hockey and broom-ball.This new facility has space for birthday parties and other get-togethers so if you can remember to book your parties here at the ice arena it will help as they get up and running.   Frontier Ice Arena is located just off Seltice Way and Atlas in Coeur d’Alene and will be serving all the areas in North Idaho.  This is such a great addition to our community, as the traveling hockey teams come from all over the Pacific North West... 03/09/2012

    Big + Beautiful on 10 Level Acres With Shop + Apartment Location: Rathdrum, ID Here's a lovely and distinctive home that offers privacy and seclusion yet is located conveniently close to Hwy 41 and Hwy 53. It's a just quick trip to everywhere you need to be!The most stunning feature to greet you as you step inside is the extensive use of sophisticated Pebble Tech flooring. An inlaid elk silhouette adorns the entry and punctuates the home's gracious design.This upscale high tech flooring is beautiful and durable. It offers years of low maintenance upkeep in the high traffic areas of the home, including the beautiful staircase. At the front entry is a spacious home office. Opposite is the oversized formal dining room where you will entertain your guests in style. The living room has ... 02/22/2012

You may be able to get $3000 to short sale your home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho!   If you are struggling with your mortgage payments or are facing financial hardship, you still have options.  The sooner you begin trying to resolve your situation, the more control you have over the outcome.   Did you know that with a successful short sale of their primary residence, most homeowners can qualify for a $3000 check at closing to help with moving expenses!   Being upside down doesn’t mean you’re out of options.  I can help you investigate all the available solutions that make sense for your situation and find the one that offers you the best outcome.  That could be a check for $3000 to you at closing, with your bank agreeing to forgive the deficiency between what you owe and what your home sells... 02/20/2012

Had some exciting news today!  Frontier Ice Arena is getting very close to their goal of opening and the new projected date is June 2012.  They just had the cement poured for the Lobby area, and this is with radiant heat, so it will be so nice for all the visitors coming to enjoy the Ice Arena.    They just got another corporate sponsor:  STCU (Spokane Teachers Credit Union).  This arena is such a great addition to our communities of Coeur d’Alene, PostFalls, Hayden and all of North Idaho.  In Addition there will be teams from all over the Pacific Northwest and Canada coming here to our area and so we will be a benefit in so many ways for all of our businesses in the community.   If you do not know where the Ice Arena is located you can call 208 765-4423 or go to info@kyro.org for more ... 02/08/2012

What a grand experience I had first-hand this week at the KROC Center in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. Our company, Keller Williams Realty Coeur d’Alene, had their annual Vision Meeting breakfast at the KROC center.  The meeting area for our breakfast consisted of three interconnected rooms (the River, Osprey & Cedar) merged into a single large meeting area.  The resulting comfortable and roomy area was arranged with ample space with crisp tablecloths on the tables.  The breakfast (catered by the Kroc Center) was served buffet style.  We had scrambled eggs, a wonderful potato dish (there were 4 or 5 different kinds of potatoes), bacon, sausage, biscuits & gravy and lots of fresh fruit.  It was a very nice breakfast. But back to the meeting rooms, there are three large viewing screens strategical... 02/02/2012

Janna Rankin Scharf, GRI, CLHMS, SFR - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Real Estate Sales These days, one thing EVERY buyer has in common is that they are looking for a SCREAMING DEAL!  Often, they look for that deal in the form of a foreclosure.  These are properties that unfortunate homeowners have lost to their bank.  They are now bank owned, and the banks refer to them as REO properties, short for Real Estate Owned.  REO is one of the lines on a bank's balance sheet.  Click here to see every bank owned home currently listed for sale in the Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service. As of today, 1/29/12, there are 106 active REO foreclosure listings of homes for sale in the Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service.  Another 26 Coeur d'Alene REO foreclosure properties are in escrow with pending sales.... 01/29/2012

Janna Rankin Scharf, GRI, CLHMS, SFR - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Short Sale Specialis A former short sale client of mine called me the other day.  He asked me to look up some information for tax purposes and I was more than happy to help him out. In our conversation I mentioned how many people I have recently run into who have simply given up in despair and let their house go back to the bank in foreclosure.  Most of the time, they would have been far better off in several different ways to have sold their house through a short sale. The next morning I awoke to find this kind endorsement in my mailbox.  If you or someone you know is wondering if a short sale may be a good option for you, please read Jake's experience and then give me a call for a confidential consultation: For anyone out the... 01/29/2012

Janna Rankin Scharf, GRI, CLHMS, SFR - Coeur d'Alene Idaho Short Sale Specialist If you are in the market to purchase a short sale property in Coeur d'Alene, or in Kootenai or Shoshone counties, here is a handy link that will take you to all properties currently listed as short sales in the Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service: All Properties Currently Listed as Short Sales in the Coeur d'Alene Multiple Listing Service As of today, January 29, 2012, there are 211 active short sale property listings in the Coeur d'Alene area, and another 70 Coeur d'Alene area short sale listings are in escrow with sales pending.  A little bit of trivia - 5 of those pending short sale properties are my listings!  At the high end of the price spectrum is a stately home at The Club at Black Rock, listed a... 01/29/2012

Today was most interesting.  If you have not yet been to the Kroc Center, here in Coeur d’Alene, you are most definitely missing out on one of the star attractions in our community.  I had the privilege of going on a tour of the facility this morning and the place was a beehive of activity; from infants, (swimming pool) to kids of all ages, (there was no school today) to moms and dads, and of course lots of folks with silver hair.  The climbing rock was busy with groups of boys and girls, ages 5-7 years, learning how to rock climb.  And they were so excited!  What fun to watch.  Then we were at the Cove pool. The Cove pool is an area where you can just walk in the water, just like on the beach. The smaller children were having so much fun, the water is very shallow, so not at all scary.... 01/27/2012

Fully Furnished Coeur d'Alene Condo for Lease in Riverstone Village at the heart of the city's thriving energy! If you have been looking for the perfect place, with the perfect finishes, in the perfect location ... then now is the perfect time to act. This Fully Furnished Coeur d'Alene Condo for Lease is close to retaurants, shopping, highways, public transportation, parks and trails. Check out the virtual tour ... or the web site below. Fully Furnished Coeur d'Alene Condo for Lease Fully Furnished Coeur d'Alene Condo for Lease 01/26/2012

Janna Rankin Scharf, CLHMS, SFR, GRI - Coeur d'Alene Lake Waterfront Homes For SaleThe year 2011 saw 179 property listings of waterfront homes for sale on Coeur d'Alene Lake.  Of these, 29 were successfully sold over the course of the year.  The sold prices ranged from a low of $300,000 to a high of $2,200,000.   The year ended with 47 waterfront homes actively listed for sale on Coeur d'Alene Lake.  I'm pleased to claim one of these beautiful Coeur d'Alene Lake waterfront homes as a listing of mine. Of the Coeur d'Alene Lake waterfront homes actively listed on December 31, the lowest priced home was listed at $299,900 with the highest being listed at $5,900,000.Four Coeur d'Alene Lake waterfront homes were in escrow with sales pending at year's end.  List prices were $180,000 to $650,0... 01/22/2012

Janna Rankin Scharf, CLHMS, SFR, GRI - Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Waterfront Homes For SaleA look at the activity for Coeur d'Alene area waterfront home sales in 2011 shows very little activity of any kind at Fernan Lake.  Only two waterfront homes were listed for sale on Fernan Lake at any time in all of 2011.  There were no sales.Fernan Lake is just a stone's throw from Coeur d'Alene Lake at the eastern end of Sherman Avenue.  Fernan Lake Village, on the northern shore of Fernan Lake, is a charming enclave that is actually its own incorporated city within Coeur d'Alene. One home for sale on Fernan Lake in 2011 expired without selling.  It was listed at $725,000.  It's the lovely white home that sits adjacent to the public boat launch.  I have admired that beautiful home in its picture prett... 01/22/2012

Janna Rankin Scharf, SFR, GRI, CLHMS – Coeur d’Alene Idaho Short Sale Realtor   Short sale success! I love to share Coeur d’Alene Idaho short sale success stories whenever I can.  One recent successful short sale closing came after 30 months of intense effort and an unimaginable list of obstacles flying out of left field.    This Coeur d’Alene short sale far exceeds my previous record for the longest and most difficult short sale to accomplish.  In fact, it’s off the charts!   It is truly mind blowing, and in all actuality I believe we received a bit of divine intervention to get ‘er done!  Because truly, it was going to take a miracle.    I blogged about my frustrating experience few times over the course of those 30 months.  Here’s my blog post from February 2010.  Early on, it seemed... 01/21/2012

This past weekend was a great time to go Eagle watching on Lake Coeur d’Alene.  When we were out driving and Eagle watching, we saw a lot of eagles hitting the water as they were going after fish.  Many eagles were just sitting in the trees too.  They are easy to spot with their distinctive white heads, brown bodies, and of course they are big. To find the eagles, head east out of Coeur d’Alene on Interstate 90 to Wolf Lodge exit (about 9 miles).  Take the Wolf Lodge exit and start the drive on 97 and you will see numerous turnouts and many cars.  A great place to watch the eagles is at Beauty Bay and there are lots of parking in this area.  On the weekends the Rangers usually have a few stuffed eagles set up for viewing, so you can see up close just how big the birds are. You do need t... 01/03/2012

My December Short Sale Success Stories!   7601 N. Winter View Drive, Coeur d’Alene What a Christmas blessing it was for this little family to avoid foreclosure and be released from liability for the deficiency between what their home sold for and their mortgage balance.  At closing, their lender, Bank of America, paid their outstanding utility bills and their delinquent property taxes.  They were thrilled to actually receive a big check from Bank of America at closing for moving and relocation expenses!   6554 W. Majestic, Rathdrum   This was the most difficult short sale I have completed, and for a while I thought it would be the downfall of my 100% success rate.  It took tracking down executives at First Horizon, Nationstar and 1st Tennessee to eventually get to a successful closing. ... 01/01/2012

Housing of all varieties are available here in North Idaho, we have new construction, large homes, small homes, re-sales and of course land to build your dream home on.  You can be out by Lake Coeur d’Alene and have views of the eagles doing their thing, or you can find a condo on waters edge, or even live in a house boat on one of the nearby lakes.  And if you really like your privacy, we have lots of acreage properties within 30 minutes of Coeur d’Alene. Did I tell you that here in North Idaho we have our own little bit of paradise.  This is a super location in which to live; we have a great 4 season year that allows us to participate in all of the outdoor activities from biking, swimming, fishing, kayaking, skiing, snowboarding, hunting, boating and hiking. Great photo opportunities ... 12/30/2011

The Northwest Sacred Music Chorale will present their annual Christmas concerts (5:00 PM & 8:00 PM) tomorrow evening (Wednesday, Dec 21st) at the Kroc Center in Coeur d’Alene.  Their concert theme “Come Home to the Sounds and Spirit of Christmas”  has been extremely popular and well-attended for years and promises to be so again this year. The Chorale welcomes Mary Sims Johnson in her debut performance as Conductor to lead this exciting performance.  The Concert features beautiful arrangements of traditional Christmas music including God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, I Saw Three Ships, Good King Wenceslaus, O Holy Night, Deck the Hall, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, etc.  In addition to these well-known Christmas songs, the Treble Voices of the NWSMC will present Benjamin Britten’s “A Ceremo... 12/20/2011