As I mentioned in my last camping blog, my husband and I are going to attempt to take quite a few one-night camping trips to nearby locations this summer. One night means we won't miss any days in the garden and greenhouse, but also gives us some time to explore and play. I thought it would be fun to provide an overview of the campgrounds we visit. I'm also going to make clear we aren't really roughing it. We have a self-sufficient 19+ foot camper-van with all the amenities we need - a kitchen, bathroom, shower, queen sized bed, heat, air conditioning, solar, etc.  That being said, I'll provide information about whether the campground being reported on is good for tent and RV camping as well. So this past week we were not able to go camping, since the weather worked against us. Instead ... 06/15/2026

*ARIZONA WINTER HOMES SPECIAL* Arizona Great 4Beds Bungalow Home for Sale in Acacia Crossings  44701 W PARAISO LaneMaricopa, Arizona $155,000   Beds: 4 Bath: 2 Type: Single Family - Detached Sq Ft: 1754 Built: 2004 MLS: 5366178    Arizona Great 4Beds Bungalow Home for Sale in Acacia CrossingsGreat single level bungalow in Acacia Crossings!!Stone Accents on front of Home Corner lot. Do not miss this wonderful single level light and bright home in Maricopa. Interior features include 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, Walk In shower in Owners Suite, Private toliet, big walk in closet. A spacious eat-in-kitchen with a bay window and vaulted ceilings. Great room has a tv niche. Neutral window treatments throughout. Blinds and Curtains Convey Accent lighting. All appliances convey. new water heater, Ne... 01/21/2016

»»»GREAT WINTER HOMES FOR SALE««« Maricopa 2Story 3Beds Home for Sale in The Villages at Rancho El Dorado 43314 W DELIA Blvd MARICOPA ARIZONA 85138 $189,900  3 BEDROOMS |3 BATHROOMS | 2743 SQUARE FEET | MLS: 5178373   Maricopa 2Story 3Beds Home for Sale in The Villages at Rancho El Dorado   A Great Two Story 4 car garage home. Tile in all the right places, Nice open Kitchen, Granite, new paint and Carpet with new Stainless appliances Refrig w/Ice and Water in the door included with full price offer. Gas Range, Island with Breakfast Bar, 2'' mini blinds. Exit to Covered patio from Kitchen. Large back yard, room enough for a pool. Huge Master Suite with double door entry. Bedrooms split 2 bedrooms on east side and MST Bed and Bath on west side of home. Master Bathroom has separate tub an... 12/21/2014

***AFFORDABLE WINTER HOMES SPECIAL***   Maricopa Perfect Move-in-Ready Home for Sale in Maricopa Meadows   $125,000  45630 W TULIP LN  4 Beds/ 2 Baths1908 SqFt of living space MLS# 5091667       Maricopa Perfect Move-in-Ready Home for Sale in Maricopa Meadows        Maricopa Meadows Entrance      To Get a FREE and complete list of beautiful   Homes for Sale in Maricopa AZ,  visit my website, www.FindMaricopaHomes.com  Thank you for visiting this page about  Maricopa Perfect Move-in-Ready Home for Sale in Maricopa Meadows Let me help you find your next home in Arizona! Call or text (480)3698277 for information even if you just wish to talk about an area Search entire Phoenix MLS for FREE at www.discovergoodyear.com or at www.findmaricopahomes.com Get a FREE report on YOUR HOME's Value at... 12/13/2014

***GREAT WINTER HOME SPECIAL*** Arizona Great 2Story 4Car Garage Home for Sale 43314 W DELIA Blvd  MARICOPA ARIZONA 85138 $189,900  3 BEDROOMS |3 BATHROOMS | 2743 SQUARE FEET | MLS: 5178373   Arizona Great 2Story 4Car Garage Home for Sale   A Great Two Story 4 car garage home. Tile in all the right places, Nice open Kitchen, Granite, new paint and Carpet with new Stainless appliances Refrig w/Ice and Water in the door included with full price offer. Gas Range, Island with Breakfast Bar, 2'' mini blinds. Exit to Covered patio from Kitchen. Large back yard, room enough for a pool. Huge Master Suite with double door entry. Bedrooms split 2 bedrooms on east side and MST Bed and Bath on west side of home. Master Bathroom has separate tub and shower double sinks. Large Laundry Room upstairs.... 11/26/2014

Robert Vegas Bob Swetz ISO The Cheapest Vacant Land in America   Vegas Bob is searching for "Vacant Land" across America for future investment for himself and family & friends.     Now VB is not just searching for any Vacant Land, because VB could look Vacant Land up anywhere within the World Wide Web.     VB is searching for the "Smoking Deals" just like every "Tom, Dick and Harry" across the nation.     So for any Brokers or Agents that are reading this post that have any tips, etc. on VB interests in Vacant Land, please contact him by email at:   VideosByVegasBob@gmail.com   Robert Vegas Bob Swetz enjoying life looking at vacant land ... activerain.trulia.com/.../robert-vegas-bob-swetz-enjoying-life-looking-at-... Cached   Sep 18, 2014 - Robert Vegas Bob Swetz enjoying life looking ... 11/13/2014

I woke up this morning to some sad and frustrating news.  As another city in Montana was debating about passing an ordinance which would protect LGBT individuals from discrimination the vote came down to the tie-breaker from the mayor.  The mayor of Billings is also a Realtor, his name is Tom Hanel.  We met once about 5 years ago.  Tom is a friendly and approachable guy, he's a long-time Realtor and was a budding leader at the state level who backed off once elected as mayor of Billings.   Billings has been grappling with an NDO for a while now, other towns in Montana already have them and I recognize there's a lot of details that certain people take exception to.  However in reading many of the testimonies at the hearings the Realtor in me noticed something.  Many same-sex couples were... 08/12/2014

It's just beyond halftime in Missoula's real estate market.  I wanted to get a quick summary together to take a look at the first 6 months of real estate data in our area so we can look at how things have fared in Missoula, and where it's headed.   Overall the first half has seen a slower pace of sales than the year before.  So should we panic?  No, I don't think so.  The first six months of 2014 had 449 total residential sales, down 76 total sales compared to the 1st half of 2013 which had 525 sales.  That's a decrease of about 17%.  That's a good sized drop!   However, one interesting thing to look at is the pace of sales as we've hiked back up from the "floor" of our market which was 2011.  Take a look at this chart that I quickly put together that tracked 1st half sales volume going... 07/17/2014

Molly Austin represents home buyers and sellers and is the exclusive Homes for Heroes Realtor  in the Missoula, Montana area. She has been providing professional and attentive real estate services in Western Montana for over 8 years. Molly’s previous work experience has been focused around customer service. She worked in retail sales and management, and the experience she gained working as a Senior Peer Advisor in the education department at Boise State University, has been invaluable in determining how to assist different people with different needs.  She was raised in a real estate family and was taught the importance of hard work and integrity. Molly has been with the Lambros family for almost 8 years. She is professional, honest, ethical, and very detail oriented.  Molly will work h... 03/20/2014

While we're already just about 3 weeks into the new year I figured it was as good a time as any to give you all an early look at how the residential real estate market in Missoula turned out.  As you'll see in the charts below Missoula has seen continued recovery, which is great.  There are some other mixed signals coming out now and some challenges ahead, I'll touch on those in a bit. First off, how did Missoula do in 2013?  The quick answer, pretty darn good.  Missoula's residential market saw it's sales figures climb back up over 1000 homes reported sold for the first time since 2007.  Additionally we saw a slight increase in both the median and average sales price.  This is good on a few accounts, first it shows that current homeowners have accumulated some increased value due to ma... 01/20/2014

Where Is It Invested? You’ve saved for a rainy day or retirement. Congratulations but don’t get too comfortable yet; where is it invested? It’s estimated that over 25% of Americans have their long-term savings in cash instead of investments like stocks, bonds or real estate. The memories of the financial crisis of 2008 are recent enough to understand why some people may want to avoid the stock market and real estate. Even though Wall Street and housing have rebounded considerably, uncertain investors are sitting on their cash. However, trying to avoid a bad decision can have serious costs too. If your money is not earning at least the current inflation rate, you’re losing the purchasing power of your dollars. Bankrate.com estimates the average money-market deposit yields 0.11% and the a... 10/30/2013

Get Regular Check-ups Following his heart surgerya few months back, after an issue was discovered during his annual physical, President George W. Bush encouraged everyone to get regular check-ups.  Another important checkup that should be done on a regular basis and can be just as beneficial for your finances is an annual homeowner advisory. Why would you treat your investment in your home with less care than you treat your car or even your HVAC system? Consider investigating the following: • Know the value of your home by obtaining a list of comparable sales in your immediate area as well as what is currently on the market for sale. • Have you compared your assessed value for tax purposes to the fair market value in order to possibly reduce your property taxes? • Even if you’ve refinan... 10/30/2013

It Can't Hurt to Wait, Can It?  It’s been said that more money has been lost due to indecision than was ever lost because of a bad decision. Regardless of whether you agree with the statement, delaying the decision to buy in today’s market is going to cost the buyer more.  Home prices have gone up considerably in almost every market in the country in the past year and while inventories are beginning to grow, prices are expected to continue to rise. Mortgage rates jumped 1% from the beginning of May to now. They could easily reach 5% by the end of the year and continue to rise in 2014. Many of the financial experts in the country believe that the economy will not be strong until rates are in the 7% area. The two components that move the cost of housing are price and mortgage rates. Escal... 10/30/2013

Real Estate 411 - 10/28/2013  When you’re buying or selling, the obvious source to get your real estate question answered is your agent but where do you go the rest of the time?  As a homeowner for many years to come, you’ll need reliable help and solid suggestions. Our business goal is to have a select group of our friends and past customers who consider us their lifelong real estate professional. We want to earn that trusted position so they’ll enthusiastically refer their friends to us.  Our plan to achieve this is simply to help these people with all of their real estate needs not just when they buy or sell but for all the years in between. Throughout the year, we offer reminders and suggestions by email and social media that benefit your homeowner experience.  When we find good art... 10/30/2013

Find the "Right" Agent Before the "Right" Home - 8/26/2013  It’s a common practice for buyers to make a list of what they want in a home during the search process and to explain it to their agent. However, maybe the first list they should make would have the skills they want their agent to have. The Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers identifies what buyers want most from their agents and as you’d expect, help with finding the right home was ranked highest most often. While it is important, it may not be the most unique of the desired area of expertise. Equally essential to the success of the transaction are the combination of help with price and terms negotiations and assistance with the paperwork, comparable sales, qualifying and financing. To summarize the responses in the survey, Buy... 10/22/2013

Rating Your Best Friend Man’s best friend enjoys many of the benefits of his master’s home besides food and shelter and a comfortable place to live and play.  In return, dog owners expect companionship and possibly, protection; after all, even a small dog can bark to signal intruders. Few people doubt that most dog owners love their pets and treat them well.  The costs associated with having a dog can include medical and dental that rivals human expenses, premium food, toys, grooming and license fees.  However, one of the expenses not anticipated by pet owners is a higher homeowner’s insurance premium. There are almost five million dog bites a year with children being the main victims. “Dog bites accounted for more than one-third of all homeowner’s insurance liability claim dollars paid... 10/21/2013

Equity Dynamics   Equity is the difference in what your home is worth and what you owe. Ideally, as the value goes up and the unpaid balance goes down with each amortized payment made, the equity grows from two directions. This dynamic leads to increasing a person’s net worth much faster than many other investments. A homeowner has minimal control over value. It is necessary to maintain the property to avoid depreciation and make good decisions on capital improvements. After that, appreciation is generally controlled by supply and demand and the economy. Mortgage management is something that the homeowner does have control. Making the decision to select a shorter term mortgage at a lower interest rate can have an impact on equity build-up. Lower interest rates amortize faster than highe... 10/21/2013

Don't Do It!  You’ve seen lists telling buyers what to do to find the right home but knowing what not to do can be just as important.  After finding the right home, negotiating a contract, making a loan application and inspections, buyers, understandably, start making plans to move and put their personal touches on the home. In today’s tenuous lending environment, little things can derail the process which isn’t over until the papers are signed at settlement and funds distributed to the seller. Verifications are made by a lender at the beginning of the loan process to determine if the buyer qualifies for the mortgage. The verifications are usually done again just prior to the closing to determine if there have been any material changes to the borrower’s credit or income that might disqu... 10/21/2013

Lower Anxieties/Improve Marketability -   One of the anxiety highpoints during the sale of a home is waiting for the buyer’s home inspection report.  Most sellers willingly disclose what they know about their home to any potential buyers.  The concern stems from the inspector finding something that they’re totally unaware of and that it will either cost them a lot of money to correct or the buyer will simply use it to void the contract. If the inspection does reveal some unknown problem with the home, it’s probably as big a surprise to the buyer who is not as emotionally or financially invested as the seller.  It is human nature to fear what you don’t understand and when a report identifies defects, they may simply opt-out of the home. The solution to the situation may be for the seller... 10/21/2013

Why Borrowers Pay Different Rates - 10/21/2013  Lenders, like any business, have to make a profit.  The cost of acquiring the funds, the operating costs to service and the expected profit margin are easily identified.  The variable in pricing is the type of mortgage and the credit worthiness of the borrower.  A loan with a 3.5% down payment is riskier than a loan with 20% down payment.  If the lender has to take the property back to recover their expense, the margin is greater between what is owed and what the property is worth on an 80% mortgage.  Credit scoring is a risk-based pricing method that allows a lender to be competitive in the market for the best loans from different borrower groups.  Individual lenders set their own levels for what they consider “A” credit which is reserved... 10/21/2013