Who doesn't love a great Parade?   The Annual event Parade of America is being held today! Downtown Nampa Idaho on 12th Avenue South .   This annual event stretches back as far as I can remember... I remember participating in the Parade of America many times when I was growing up As a very young girl...maybe first or second grade I marched with my baton twirling group...and halfway through the parade I lost my shoe.   The older girl behind me marched with my shoe on the bottom of her baton.   LOL As I got older I helped make floats and rode on them for the Girl Scouts and for the Nampa First Christian Church youth group! Every year the parade is a huge attraction.... Candy is thrown out....and our Amalgamated Sugar Company handed out 5 lb bags of sugar a few years ago! Who is in the par... 05/21/2011

Roaring Springs Water Park located in Meridian Idaho is now open.... However today we had rain and snow and wind...and finally sunshiny skies!!! Maybe there is hope that summer will be here soon!   Right now it is only open on the weekend from 11 am to 7 pm... But watch out.....Starting May 28 the Water Park will be open 7 days a week from 11-7!!! Something new this year.... Saturday Family Slide Nights!!! Six Saturdays in July and August will feature extended hours from 7:30 - 10:30 pm for families to slide under the stars!!!  Along with the Family nights there will be entertainment on Saturdays this summer.    Activities including inflatables and a belly flop contest and a DJ...this special Saturday night will be $44 for a family of 4!  Season passes are still available at www.roaring... 05/16/2011

Reading Barbara Hensleys post this morning made me think of how easy it is to write up a real estate deal.....but getting it to close...that is where the finesse comes in! !! I have written up more deals this year and not nearly all of them have closed or will close....some are outbid from the get go.... Others just seem to "fish tail" along and do close but not without a lot of work on our parts as Realtors.   Many quirky things happen in these transactions these days....an appraisal to low....a last minute pest inspection (in our area I have only had 1 other transaction need a pest inspection in the past 17 years....it just isn't a problem) Some are loan related....we all know that financing a house is a lot more challenging these days...but it doesn't have to kill the deal if we are ... 05/15/2011

KW Boise was out in full force today from 10-6 at the Treasure Valley area Fred Meyers stores!   We collected items for the following Charities: Nampa Family Justice Center Hope House Idaho Food Bank Horizon Elementry Women's and Childrens Alliance Keller Williams Realty Boise agents passed out flyers to customers who were already shopping today... Customers brought back items from the list and we filled up grocery carts!!  When I left the Nampa Fred Meyers store we had gathered about 10 very full carts worth of stuff!! It felt good to be out in the Community giving of our time and helping out worthwhile charities!   This is our 3rd year of participating!     We also collected a couple of jars of cash and gift cards!!! Thanks everyone in Nampa Idaho for all of your support!   05/13/2011

Friday the 13th...... Scary isn't it?   Well for the agents in Nampa Idaho who work for Keller Williams It is a pretty exciting day!   We are celebrating RED Day! Renew, Energize and Donate! For the 3rd year in a row we are giving back to our community! Our KW Boise office decided to continue on with the project we started last year.... We will be hijacking the entrances to all the Treasure Valley's Fred Meyer stores! We will be passing out flyers to incoming customers asking them to purchase items to help out various charities in the Valley.    The Nampa team will be supporting the Nampa Family Justice Center!   We will be collecting toiletries and baby items that victims who visit the center need!   We have collected thousands of dollars of product in the 3 years we have participated ... 05/12/2011

The weather was perfect yesterday in NampaIdaho...70 degrees with a bit of a breeze....  I got my grubby clothes on and a big glass of ice water and headed out to take care of some badly needed weeding and dead heading of plants!   I had the kids next door playing or should I say as a serenade of music!   LOL    They played a bit of baseball and old fashiones hide and seek!    I  love kids laughter....and you sure learn a lot!  LOL My yard didn't get finished but I made a huge step in progress....and some decisions of some plants that just need to go...for my sanity and to simplify the yard work!   Yesterday was the first day off of Real Estate in quite a while....I am not complaining that I have been busy...but my yard sure was missing me!    I have tulips and jonquils and grape hyacin... 05/02/2011

Was just thinking about some recent closings I have had... We are in a market that ended 2010 with about 70% of the solds being distressed...meaning either a short sale or an REO.   This year I have been involved in 4 transactions already where the seller had equity in their home.   I don't know if last year total I had 4 sellers who had equity! I think this is a possible shift in the Nampa Idaho Market....now prices are still low...and pretty much most sellers don't haveequity in their homes these days.. However there are some sellers who are not in a distressed situation who want to sell their home for various reasons! Sellers are coming out of the wood work and that is a good thing!!!  It can be the right time to sell....will a seller gain as much equity as a few years ago?   Probabl... 04/30/2011

425 Benewah NAMPA, ID Short Sale In Nampa Idaho....Wonderful Price 3BR/1+1BA Single Family House $49,900 Year Built 1976 Sq Footage 1,248 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 1 full, 1 partial Floors Unspecified Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 10,018 sqft HOA/Maint $0 per month Property Features Central A/CCentral heatFireplaceLiving roomBreakfast nookDishwasherStove/OvenLaundry area - insideYard Other Special Features Extra Large BackyardNice Quiet Street Additional Photos Photo 1Photo 2Photo 3Photo 4Photo 5Photo 6 Contact Info Deborah Byron LefflerKeller Williams Realty Boise(208) 703-1433 For sale by agent/broker Equal Opportunity Housing 04/29/2011

Get your caffeine fix and celebrate Earth Day at the same time.  Starbucks is offering a free cuppa Joe or tea for all patrons who bring in their own travel mug, coffee or tea cup today, Friday, April 22, 2011.  If you don't have a travel mug, they are offering to sell you one of theirs at a 20% discount today only as well.  You can pick one up and then fill 'er up!  I'll be bringing mine in.  I'm just not sure if it's going to be coffee or black tea.  I just know that I'll need that caffeine fix for sure!  It's Friday.  Momma needs some caffeine!  Happy Earth Day everyone! Heather Chavez, Real Estate Virtual Assistant - Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn't Enough of You to Go Around! If you like this, take a gander at these: My Spring Garden Community Day in Nampa ID Boise'... 04/22/2011

I had a call on Wednesday from a nice lady who was really anxious to see one of my listings in Nampa, Idaho.  She explained that she had a multi-million dollar sum being deposited to her bank account any day now.  It sounded and felt wrong, but who am I to say based on a gut feel and a phone call. I went out today and showed my listing to her and they loved it.  As proof of funds she even showed me the email proving (to her) that it was legit. The sender's name has been alterred in case I am wrong, but it was something like "asdfasdfasdf@something.it"  The fact it came from a ".it" email does indicate it is coming from Italy instead of Nigeria or some of the places more associated with these scams. I tried to warn her that this looked just like hundreds of scams I have seen, but she ins... 04/15/2011

The Idaho Center (16200 N Idaho Center Blvd) is offering a free Community Day in Nampa, ID this Saturday, April 16, 2011 in Nampa, ID.  There will be pony rides, a climbing wall, face painting, farmer's market, classic car show and resource fair.  This community fair begins at 10am and is open to the public for free.  Bring the family and enjoy a fun day out at Community Day in Nampa.  It's sure to be fun! Heather Chavez, Real Estate Virtual Assistant - Second Self Virtual Assistance: When There Isn't Enough of You to Go Around! If you like this, take a gander at these: Boise's Own Roller Derby Mixing It Up in Martinsville Unfortunately Named Websites 2011 Boise Flower and Garden Show Sometimes Life Gets in the Way of Blogging How Social Media Affects Your Website Traffic Beware the Ide... 04/12/2011

Mark your calendars now.... April 12 7 pm Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge (entrance to visitor center is intersection of Roosevelt and Indiana in Nampa) The Deer Flat National Wild Life Refuge will present a Lecture entitled "The story of Rocks Through Time: Geologic Wonders of Idaho" Find out about current research, volcanic activity in Idaho as well as information on Idaho's past and present. This is sponsored byt Friends of Deer Flat Wildlife Refuge.  For More information call 467-9278 or www.fws.gov/deerflat 03/30/2011

If you are a curious about the attendance boundaries for a school in the Nampa Idaho School District, your search is about to get a lot easier! I used to have to pull up separate boundary maps for elementary schools, Junior High Schools and then the High School to determine which schools applied to a given house for Nampa Idaho Schools.  Or, I could have called  to ask the transportation department for school boundaries for Nampa. However, thanks to the Nampa School District website, you can now log on and just enter the address for the home in question and it will pull up a map showing you each of the three schools that might apply.  Here is a link for your convenience: http://www.nsd131.org/SAZ/?SD=Nampa Just plug in your address (or the address in question) in the upper right and it... 03/25/2011

425 Benewah NAMPA, ID Short Sale In Nampa Idaho....Wonderful Price 3BR/1+1BA Single Family House $54,900 Year Built 1976 Sq Footage 1,248 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 1 full, 1 partial Floors Unspecified Parking 2 Car garage Lot Size 10,018 sqft HOA/Maint $0 per month Property Features Central A/CCentral heatFireplaceLiving roomBreakfast nookDishwasherStove/OvenLaundry area - insideYard Other Special Features Extra Large BackyardNice Quiet Street Additional Photos Photo 1Photo 2Photo 3Photo 4Photo 5Photo 6 Contact Info Deborah Byron LefflerKeller Williams Realty Boise(208) 703-1433 For sale by agent/broker Equal Opportunity Housing 03/24/2011

My younger Brother Greg has turned 42....whenever mysister or I ask if he feels old his response is the same.....(he is the one to the far right) "I will never feel as old as you and Janne do!!!"    LOL  he is probably right actually!   Greg decided to celebrate his birthday a bit early with a party at their house for the family on Friday night...technical difficulties prevent me from posting picturesof the party!    What a fun time we had teasing and celebrating Greg!    Greg put a monkey wrench in our plans for a birthday present.     Last year he had bid on some pretty cool pictures at an auction for the Family Justice Center.   The pictures are of some banners the City of Nampa has through the downtown area.    I asked the City Planner, Cliff Long, how we could get copies....he said... 03/21/2011

Karcher Mall The oldest enclosed mall in the Treasure Valley has recently announced some really interesting upcoming events!   Mark your calendars now for the following.....   March 24-27, 2011 Team Mazda Car Show....   March 25th, 2011 Red Cross Blood Drive   April 15th-17th, 2011 Arts and Crafts Show (they are looking for vendors...call 208 467-7580   All kinds of fun events are planned..don 't Miss out!      03/18/2011

Things to Do In and Around Nampa Idaho....Health Fest March 19, 2011   Don't Miss Out....it is time for the Nampa 2001 Health Fest March 19, 2011 10 am - 4 pm Nampa Civic Center Nampa Idaho   It is a great time to explore all sorts of booths!! According the advertising of this event there will be all sorts of FREE health screenings: Just a few are Vision, Hearing, Osteoporosis, Bone Density, Scoliosis, Body Fat...and much more!     Entertainment will be provided by Mayor Tom Dale's band Center Stage,   Watch Zumba demonstrations, and classes on Kettle Ball, Parenting, Family Story Time , Healthy Cooking Tips....   And More FREE items to be given away....cheese, milk, stickers, color crayons, bookmarks   And you can join in on the contest for Hula Hoop and Jumping Rope!!!     Who would w... 03/16/2011

608 Slate Creek NAMPA, ID Absolutely Gorgeous Short Sale Filled with Upgrades Galore...in Nampa Idaho! 4BR/2BA Single Family House $160,000 Year Built 2007 Sq Footage 2,353 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 2 Parking 3 Car garage Lot Size 10,454 sqft HOA/Maint $34 per month DescriptionAbsolutely gorgeous home in Creekside Subdivision. 4 bedroom and 2 bath home with every upgrade imaginable. Beautiful rock fireplace, double oven stove unit, corner pantry with a bake center Soaker Jacuzzi Tub in Master Suite Large Walk in Closets North Facing Back covered Patio Adjacent to creek with plenty of birdwatching available Property Features Central A/CCentral heatFireplaceHigh/Vaulted ceilingWalk-in closetHardwood floorTile floorLiving roomBonus/Rec roomDining roomBreakfast nookDish... 03/13/2011

18458 11th Avenue North NAMPA, ID Beautiful Country Setting ....Remodeled Farm House 4BR/2BA Single Family House $139,900 Year Built 1940 Sq Footage 2,003 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 2 Parking None Lot Size 1.2 acres HOA/Maint $0 per month DescriptionBeautiful remodeled farm house on 1.2 acres with no CCR'S. Newer carpet in living areas. Plenty of storage in every nook and cranny. Large deck in back and beautiful views. Farmland on 3 sides of home. Extra large garden, storage shed and even a green house. Get away from town in this home. Property Features Central A/CCentral heatFamily roomLiving roomBreakfast nookStove/OvenLaundry area - insideBalcony, Deck, or PatioYard Additional Photos Front of HomeKitchenEating Area and Family RmStorageView in Back of PropertyGreen... 03/13/2011

One of the benefits of the growth we have experienced in Nampa Idaho is the now diverse nature of eating places! It used to be we had mostly chain restaurants and fast food as our dining choices.... Now we will soon have another choice:  Simply Sushi will be opening on March 15th, 2011 It is located at 1224 1st Street South!   What a perfect location....Nampa residents can go to the new Nampa Farmers Market about a block away, then have lunch afterwards at Simply Sushi.    Owners are Tracy and Cliff Volpi. According to the article in the Idaho Press Tribune the couple will create a green atmosphere with reusable chopsticks...and they hope to incorporate as much locally grown produce as they can....goodthing Nampa Farmers Market is close!   Sushi in Nampa is something new....most residen... 03/13/2011