The Inland Northwest is Popular Nationwide

See why so many people come to the Inland Northwest to live. http://www.lilaccityrealestate.com

clipped from www.nytimes.com A Home in Idaho Where Water Is the Premium clipped from www.nytimes.com clipped from www.nytimes.com clipped from www.nytimes.com “We wanted to be near water and an airport,” said Jim Bolton, a retired insurance executive from the Los Angeles area, summarizing the second-home search that eventually led him, his wife, Joan, and their blended family to Hayden Lake in Idaho. “Water, no resorts and an airport with direct flights to Los Angeles,” Mrs. Bolton seconded. Her husband now describes himself as “about 90 percent retired,” but 18 years ago, when they started looking, he was ultra-employed, as vice chairman of Bolton & Company in Pasadena, one of the country’s largest privately owned insurance agencies. Convenient flights would be important. They considered aqueous destinations like the Jackson Hole area of Wyoming and Whitefish, Mont. “Our decision really evolved over time,” Mrs. Bolton said. “We’d go to places that were too touristy, and then we’d visit gorgeous country where the river runs through it but there wouldn’t be a town for miles and miles.”

A Large Home Can Be An Unfulfilling Status Symbol

clipped from blogs.wsj.com Are McMansions Making Some Americans Unhappy? More Americans are eschewing the “bigger is better” rationale and are purchasing smaller homes, writes Scott Lindlaw for the Associated Press. according to the American Institute of Architects, the size of U.S. homes is leveling off. The average is expected to level off at 2,500 square feet, In the article, Mr. Lindlaw highlights one New Jersey couple who sold their 6,100-square-foot Victorian, which cost them $20,000 a year in property taxes and maintenance. They bought a home for half the size in Connecticut. The couple now has more time to share together because they spend less time working around the house, Mr. Lindlaw says. This got us thinking: Do bigger homes makes us less happy? In a column on happiness and income in Wednesday’s Journal, columnist Jonathan Clements noted, “Despite the sharp rise in our standard of living in recent decades, Americans today are little or no happier than earlier generations.”

I think a McMansion would be a cause of unhappiness if someone had to work too many hours to pay for and maintain it. Better a smaller home full of great relationships the extra time not working and maintaining the larger provides to nurture them.

See me to purchase a McMansion or a modest home at http://www.lilaccityrealestate.com

Green Building Is In

Search for "Green Homes" at http://www.lilaccityrealestate.com

clipped from www.spokesmanreview.com Here's the Dirt: Home fulfills 'triple-bottom line' The man who oversaw renovation of two downtown edifices with environmentally friendly features and an aim to build community is bringing those philosophies home. Sheehan sees the home as a model for sustainable building, including reusing materials and incorporating local goods. He boasts it is "probably as green or the greenest house in the state." Jim Sheehan visits the site of his new home in the Peaceful Valley area on the Spokane River just west of downtown Spokane. The home has many energy conservation features, such as solar panels on the roof and in-floor heating. The Spokesman-Review (Photos by CHRISTOPHER ANDERSON The Spokesman-Review )

Great Time for a New Mortgage

For those with good credit anyway.

clipped from www.spokesmanreview.com 30-year mortgage rates fall to five-month low Rates on 30-year mortgages dropped sharply this week, falling to the lowest level in five months, as the government's dramatic takeover of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac had the hoped-for impact of lowering mortgage rates. Freddie Mac reported that its nationwide survey found that 30-year, fixed-rate mortgages dipped to 5.93 percent this week, down from 6.35 percent last week. Rates on 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages, a popular choice for refinancing, fell to 5.54 percent, down from 5.90 percent last week.

Historic South Hill Homes Benefit Tour

Proceeds benefit Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens

clipped from www.spokesmanreview.com Tour benefits Heritage Gardens Mansions on South Hill will be opened to public on Saturday A volunteer group formed to support the Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens on Spokane's lower South Hill has organized a tour of four lavish mansions on Saturday from noon to 4 p.m. to benefit the gardens. The four mansions in the same neighborhood as the gardens were built for well-off residents – a U.S. senator, a physician, an attorney and a banker – during the first half of the 20th century. Proceeds will go to support the heritage gardens, which were restored over the past decade from the ruins of former estate gardens first planted in 1889. The heritage gardens in Pioneer Park at Seventh Avenue and Stevens Street were opened to the public a year ago. The Friends of the Moore-Turner Heritage Gardens are working on maintaining the site. Where: Homes at 503 W. Sumner Ave., 603 W. Sumner Ave., 726 W. Sumner Ave. and 708 W. Cliff Drive, Spokane Tickets: $15, available at the homes