1805:  Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark discover Idaho at Lemhi Pass, and cross into northern Idaho over the Lolo Trail August 12. Lewis and Clark sail past Spalding October 8, meet with Nez Perce Indians at Weippe Prairie.  In 1806 Lewis and Clark spend more than six weeks with the Nez Perce Indians in the Kamiah area before returning eastward across the Lolo Trail

1863:   Idaho Territory organized, capital at Lewiston. President Lincoln signed the act establishing the territory on March 4. Soda Springs founded by Colonel Conner. Boise News of Idaho City issues first copy September 29. Mining begins in the Owyhees. Boise Barracks established at Moore Creek by Major P. Lugenbeel and the U.S. Cavalry. The townsite of Boise laid out by merchants under the lead of Cyrus Jacobs. First general election held October 31. First county established: Owyhee County, December 31.

1864: A resolution to make Boise the capital passes December 7. Public school system established for the territory. Julius Newburg Road completed in Elmore County September 7. Ben Holliday establishes first stagecoach line. The Idaho Statesman begins tri-weekly publication in Boise. Ada, Alturas, Boise, Idaho, Kootenai, Lah-Toh, Nez Perce, Oneida and Shoshone counties created.
1865 Boise becomes the capital of Idaho. J.M. Taylor and Robert Anderson erect bridge across Snake River near present day Idaho Falls. Boise-Rocky Bar stage begins operations, later extended to Silver City.

1890: Idaho population: 88,548. Idaho admitted to the Union as the 43rd state on July 3, signed into law by President Benjamin Harrison. Great Northern Railroad completed across the northern part of the state. Congress passes Federal Forest Reserve Act. First legislative and statewide elections held. First session of the Idaho Legislature meets.

1891: Great Seal of the State of Idaho, a design drawn by Miss Emma Edwards, with the Latin motto "Esto Perpetua" adopted. Idaho forest reserves created. Boise's electric street railway commences operation on August 22. College of Idaho opens in Caldwell October 9. Canyon and Alta counties created. President Benjamin Harrison plants Water Oak on capitol grounds.

Ada county was established December 22, 1864 with it's county seat in Boise.  Named for Ada Riggs, the daughter of H.C. Riggs, one of the founders of Boise.  Boise became the capital of Idaho in 1865.  1,060 square miles.

Canyon County

Established March 7, 1891 with its county seat at Caldwell. Current sources attribute the name to the canyon of the Boise River near Caldwell. However, both John Rees and Vardis Fisher believed it was named for the Snake River canyon which forms a natural boundary for the county. The Hudson's Bay Company established Fort Boise in 1834 near what is now Parma, but abandoned it in 1855. Immigrants traveled through Canyon County on the Oregon Trail.  Land Area: 603 square miles.

Payette County

Established February 28, 1917, with its county seat at Payette. Payette was originally settled as a railroad camp in the 1860s and called Boomerang for the log boom on the Payette River. The site, and the community which grew around it, was later named in honor of the area's first white settler, Francois Payette, a Canadian fur trapper and explorer with the North West Company who arrived in 1818.County Seat: PayetteLand Area: 403 square miles.

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How to Establish and Maintain Your Good Credit:

Recent technological advances have made these days the days of fast loan decisions. Hence, your credit history can impact the quick decisions made by loan officers or even affect the interest rate you can get on a loan or credit card. The initial deciding factor is usually your credit (FICO) score - the "number" produced by a mathematical scoring model from detailed information in a credit report compiled by one of the three independent national credit reporting companies - Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion.

Credit reports usually list your credit accounts and unpaid (outstanding) balances. This could be such information as how long your credit accounts have been open, the accumulated amount of unused credit you currently have, late payments, delinquencies, tax liens or bankruptcies. In addition, your reports can contain recent requests by lenders for copies of your report.

Your credit score, which can range from 300-850, predicts the risk to the loan officer that a borrower won't repay a debt in a timely fashion.  Although lenders set their own guidelines, a lender might consider a score between 700 and 800 as good and anything above 800 as excellent.

The time this information comes into play is when you approach a loan specialist to become pre-qualified for your home purchase, when house hunting. To prepare the best possible outcome in both being qualified and getting a favorable interest rate, you could follow these suggestions:

Pay the bills on time. - If there are some late payments in the past, catch up on any overdue ones and make sure you make all your payments on time.

Don't use all your available credit. - That can indicate that you're having trouble managing your finances.

Attempt to reduce credit card and installment loan balances. - Reducing balances is a good sign that you're able to manage credit responsibly.

Don't apply for multiple loans or credit cards in a short period of time. - That will lower the average age of your accounts and could look risky if you're a relatively new user of credit.

Never fret. Your real estate agent knows great loan specialists that are able help you obtain your loan for your new house!!

A quarterly survey in 2004 of the National Association of Realtors indicated the average home appreciation in the Boise, Idaho region is 18%, compared to the national average was 9.1% & a projected population growth in Boise of 12-14% while other reports indicate a 60% population growth.  Depends where you read!!

TIDBITS - July 2005                                                                back to the top of the page

Some pre-approval letters may meet with disapproval

A recent study by Campbell Communications of Washington found that nearly 40% of all buyer pre-approval letters issued by Internet-based lenders were not accurate, and likely to be a deal breaker. This is caused, in part, by the increase in no-doc loans, which income verification may not occur. Buyer?s blemished credit histories are also partially to blame. Sellers are being warned to beware.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/08/AR2005070800076.html

The ride of purchasing

Purchasing a home can be an "emotional rollercoaster" for first time buyers, according to a recent survey by RealEstate.com. As many as 29% of buyers felt "very anxious" during the time period between the purchase offer and closing, with almost as many describing "closing on the house" as the best part. And although 15% considered themselves to be broke after the purchase, 8% marked the occasion with a glass of celebratory champagn.

The nose knows (Sellers take note!)

Some buyers know the perfect house as soon as they see it . . . and others know as soon as they smell it. Odor (or lack thereof) plays a huge factor in the buying decision. A house with amazing curb appeal can linger on the market if homebuyers catch a whiff of the family pet, tobacco smoke, stale air, or dampness.

(Source for bits - www.realtor.org)     back to the top of the page

Foreclosures

FYI:  About 4% of the 40 million loans on one-to-four unit residential properties in this country were delinquent in the second quarter of 2005, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association National Delinquency Survey.  What happens going forward depends on the economy.  The prime driver for these scenarios is unemployment.

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