I know, I know...I know it's not fair, but you should have made your offer instead of hesitating!   There are those that are waiting for the price to get lower.    They have missed the fact that it was already priced at a good buy.   But the family that looked yesterday didn't miss that fact.   They made their offer and the sellers accepted it.    So some nice family, is going to be enjoying this country home in McCurtain County even though there are several people waiting, thinking they were going to buy it at some point.     Saying "IT'S MINE" over and over will not get the offer in front of the sellers.   Sorry, it doesn't work that way. See bottom of post to review how it does work.                 Don't listen to those "tv commentators" about holding off on a purchase that you rea... 11/15/2008

We live in the middle of a cow/calf farm operation.  It has been one of the neatest things to be a part of.  We got started with this about twenty-six years ago....my, how time flies! Tuesday was a "work the cows" day, time to worm, vacinate, and wean.  Our herd is bascially divided into the spring herd and the fall herd depending upon what time of the year the cow has her calf.  Many cow - calf operators have their cows all having calves at the same time of the year, but we decided to have both a spring and a fall calving season because sometimes a cow will slip a little time, this allows her to be a part of the other calving season and not be the only cow out there with an a small calf, an "out of season" calf that has to be dealt with. Since Tuesday was THE DAY.  Calves and cows both... 09/11/2008

If you are considering selling or buying real estate in Oklahoma, you may encounter the Oklahoma uniform Contract for Purchase of Real Estate published by the Oklahoma Real Estate Commission.  If you've missed the first two posts on this, you may want to read. First one - How do we go about placing a property "under contract" Second one - covering the first three paragraphs of the Oklahoma Uniform Contract Today we're going to look at paragraph 4 of that contract.  Paragraph 4 contains a list of equipment, if existing on the Property, unless otherwise excluded, shall remain with the Property at no additional cost to Buyer: Those things are: • Attic and ceiling fan(s)• Bathroom mirror(s)• Other mirrors, if attached• Central vacuum & attachments• Floor coverings, if attached• Key(s) to th... 06/15/2008

As a way of helping those that are relocating to our area, I have decided to introduce different professional and business people in our area that provide needed services. This blog is to introduce you to Bob Terry.  My husband and I got acquainted with Bob Terry when we opened a State Farm Health Saving Account.  Bob is the local agent for State Farm.  I didn't have a picture of Bob to use here, but you can visit his website here. For those of you that don't know this, State Farm has banking services.  In fact, I check with my local bank and several places, trying to find a local place to open the health savings account.  State Farm was the only place that I found that we could do that locally. As we visited with Bob and we asked him about other services that he can offer, we discovere... 06/06/2008

My office strives to get our listings "out there" where they can be viewed on the internet, as quickly after listing papers are signed, as possible. We recently listed a gorgeous 1700 sq ft home on 4 acres near Broken Bow, Oklahoma.  We immediately had a showing within 2 days and an offer within 4 days, followed by a sale contract in 7 days. Don't get me wrong, the owners of this home had done their job.  The home was clutter-free, very clean, very neat, and the furniture was appropriately arranged to show off the lovely details of the home in the pictures.   Everything was perfect. Not only that, but based upon what I've already told you, these clients were easy to work with - they and I were immediately on the same page - Get this home sold! They priced the home according to our cma a... 05/22/2008

If you are thinking of relocating to McCurtain County, the following information about our local hospital should be of interest to you.  We have an excellent medical facility in the McCurtain Memorial Hospital. McCurtain Memorial Hospital located at 1301 Lincoln Rd, Idabel, OK is a 114 bed facility.  The hospital was established in 1953.  McCurtain Memorial has plans to develop and grow into a regional referral center by 2013.  This would allow them to offer a broader range of services including more specialists' services.  At this time residents usually travel to Paris, Texas or Texarkana, Arkansas for specialists' services. Several medical related support groups meet in the private dining room at different times of the month including the Alzheimer and Austism Spectrum Disorders suppo... 02/24/2008

If you want to purchase land in Southeast Oklahoma, either Choctaw County or McCurtain County, the following steps will help you find what you want: 1.  Write the answers down to the following: 2.  The general locations in Southeast Oklahoma where you want to own land. 2.  What your intended use for the land is.  Are you just wanting to invest and hold it, are you looking for an area that has been selling well or one that has not, but might offer more land for your buck? Is it - recreational?  a home building site - either now or later? Will you want to run a business from that location? Do you need to be near medical facilities? Shopping? Restaurants?   What about utilities? Are public utilities a must or are you willing to drill a well and have a septic sytem put in? 3.  What is your ... 11/15/2007

Finney Addition is just south of S E Washington and West of highway 259 by-pass.  It's a great tree-lined neighborhood with houses built mostly in the 1980's.  There is a new housing addition going in immeditely to the west of the Finney Addition. Lot #10 in Block 10 of Finney Addition, Phase II is for sale for $6,500.  That price is a firm price.  It is a broker/owner property. The lot is on Leesa Drive, has concrete slab and storage building on it with a chain link fence around two sides and a fiberglass fence at the front. Pictures of the property will be posted soon.  Consider Finney Addtion in Idabel for your next home. You can reach me at 580-212-5946 or visit our website at http://integrity-realestate.net   08/23/2007

Not any drastic changes in the real estate market in southeast Oklahoma during the last year: Market Report for Southeast Oklahoma July 2007. Data came from the Oklahoma Associatio of Realtors.Data is for the Texoma Board of Realtors (Southeast Oklahoma): July 2007:Number of homes sold: 33Average price: $101,400   June 2007:Number of homes sold: 43Average price: $113,200   May 2007:Number of homes sold: 37Average price: $130,968   April 2007:Number of homes sold: 34Average price: $100930 December 2006Number of homes sold: 41Average price: $100,483 November 2006Number of homes sold: 31Average price: $106,512   October 2006Number of homes sold: 43Average price: $117,108 September 2006Number of homes sold: 35Average price: $97,503 August 2006Number of homes sold: 50Average price: $101,892 ... 08/18/2007

You're in Idabel, Ok and you're hungry??  Here are your choices in no particular order.  Idabel's not big enough to get lost in.  Just drive down S E Washington or one of the major highways like 70 or 259 and you'll find the restaurants. 1.  Papa Pablano's - Great authenic Mexican restaurant.  They actually have about 6 locations in Oklahoma and Arkansas.  Hiway 259 N  2.  Golden Dish Chinese Restaurant - quiet place to enjoy  good Chinese food.  Lincoln Rd  3.  China Buffet - another good Chinese Restaurant - S E Washington  4.  The Gemini - Open for breakfast and lunch in the Jumper Shopping Center  5.  Pizza Hut - Everyone knows how good Pizza Hut is.  6.  KFC  - Same Great quality everywhere.  7.  Rib Joint - Barbecue at it's best.  8.  Braums - Best Hamburgers.  9.  McDonald's - ta... 08/10/2007

Ok, home designers, builders, architects, whoever lays out a house, please - please keep in mind the shopping trips from the grocery store! I have toured the following homes this week that would present the following obstacles for the return from the grocery store: 1.  You drive into the garage, step up into the home, walk through a hallway, step down into a sunken room, step back up into the kitchen and finally set your groceries down. 2.  You drive up into a back covered patio, go through a sun-room, through a bedroom, into the kitchen to get rid of those bags. 3.  You have to park 75 feet from the house, no carport, no garage, maneuver the yard fence gate, through the yard, step up onto the porch, through the living room, into the kitchen to unload your arms. One home owner had purch... 07/14/2007

If you are moving to Idabel, Oklahoma or McCurtain County or neighboring counties such as Choctaw County and enjoy museums, you will want to visit The Red River Museum located at 812 East Lincoln Road, Idabel, Ok. (The by-pass around the south side of Idabel). Their phone number is 580-286-3616.  It's a wonderful place to visit and learn. From their website: The Museum's collections feature archaeological artifacts of the the Caddo and Choctaw, Precolumbian objects from Middle and South America, modern and contemporary native arts and crafts from throughout the Americas, and a cast skeleton of the dinosaur, Acrocanthosaurus atokensis, discovered nearby in McCurtain County. You can take a virtual tour of the museum on their website and view pictures of their different collections.  The ... 05/07/2007

The Idabel Public Library is located at 2 S E Ave D in Idabel.  It's phone numbers are 580-286-6406, and 580-286-1074.  The Idabel library is a branch of the Southeastern Public Library System of Oklahoma.  At the Idabel Public Library, you can check out books, of course, magazines, videos, or use the computers to access the internet.  There is an extensive children's book collection also. Idabel has planned a new library of 15,000 sq ft at an estimated cost of $3 million. The McCurtain County Genealogical Socoiety meets in the library where the department is housed.  There are other meeting rooms avaialble for use and the senior citizen's nutrition center is next door to the east with the Idabel junior high lying to the north. If you want information about anything, including informati... 05/05/2007

  I read a very good article with the above title.  New investors in Income Property might be interested in reading the article.  I enjoyed it. Some quotes from the article:  "Three key words are necessary to increase the probabilities in your favor: (1) knowledge, (2) time, and (3) focus. Those real estate investors who don't have those three characteristics are discovering that not everyone makes money; you can lose money." "How do you know if the price is right? Because that's what the seller wants? Obviously not. Because the broker said so? Of course not. The price will be closer to being correct when you have (supported by outside expertise where necessary): Completed an intensive study of the area (macro and micro). Analyzed the income and expenses. Evaluated the physical structur... 05/03/2007

Oklahoma Ranks 47th in taxes in U.S. Based upon information contained on MSN Money Website: Property taxes: Where does your state rank? Oklahoma is an excellent state to relocate to if you are looking for a lower tax base. When relocating to an area, there are severl things to be considered.  One of those is the taxes you will be paying.  There are three areas of taxation that I get asked about frequently by those considering moving to Southeast Oklahoma.Property (Ad Valorem) TaxesIncome TaxesSales Taxes.   To calculate Ad valorem taxes: 1.  Market value which is often calculated as the sales price which is pulled from the filed deed via the documentary stamps.2.  Assessed value is then calculated at 11% of market value.3.  If you qualify for homestead exemption and have filed for it, s... 04/03/2007

  1 bedroom1 bathroom1000 sq ft with 320 sq ft sleeping porchOver 600 feet of shoreline. 5 1/2 acres on Little River, near the GoodWater community east of Idabel.  Paved road except for the last 1 1/2 miles. This property has beautiful giant oak and hickory trees, a floating boat dock, and an older cabin.  If you've ever wanted a river of your own, here's your chance.  Good accessibility, rural water district, electricity, telephone lines on property.                                                           Judi Barrett, Realtor Idabel, OK 74745iNTEGRITY REAL ESTATE 580-212-5946 03/29/2007

2 bedroom 2 bath with lots of built-ins and storage. 2 car carport, circle drive, covered front porch large trees.  Formal dining room, living room, foyer, large family room/den/gathering room.  Ceiling of lights in the kitchen. Large walk-in closet in master bed. PLUS 28 unit self storage, currently all rented out and bringing in approx $1000 (one thousand) per month. Home and mini storage business all on 2.3 acres in Idabel, Ok and all of this for sale for $120,000 When will you get a better opportunity to buy a home that should make it's own payment? Call Judi Barrett, broker at Integrity Real Estate Services in Idabel, Ok at 580-212-5946 03/19/2007

Property description has been removed due to property being removed.  Idabel Oklahoma and McCurtain County are great places to live.  Between all of the outdoor things to do, atvs, fishing, hunting, boating, skiing, golfing, horse back riding, canoeing...pretty much if you can do it outdoors and it doesn't require snow (we do not get much snow here), then this is the place to do it. Great schools, communities, and a wonderful place to live.  Idabel, Oklahoma in the extreme southeast corner of Oklahoma is it.  We are almost in Arkansas and almost in Texas, about 20 miles to either one.  Texarkana is the closest larger town being about 80 miles away. Come see Idabel for a visit and maybe you'll like it enough to stay. 03/19/2007

          This home is near shopping (grocery stores, medical supplies, clothing, beauty store, donut shop, etc) and near the Idabel Middle School.  Convenient to all services.         Located at 303 SE Adams, Idabel, Oklahoma, 74745. 3bed/2 bath, 1850 sq ft, $85,000Rock fireplace, galley kitchen, central h/a, near shopping, schools,  and library.Integrity Real Estate Services 03/11/2007

Events in Idabel: April 6 - Dogwood Days in Idabel - McCurtain County Fairgrounds July 4 - Fireworks Display - Warrior Stadium September 4 - McCurtain County Free Fair September 7 - County Rodeo September 8 - Bull riding October 27 - Fallfest December 8 - City of Lights Christmas Parade For information on events in Idabel, the best place to call is the Chamber of Commerce 580-286-3305 or check with the McCurtain Gazette 580-286-3321           03/07/2007