Buyers Archives - Teton Realty Blog

What is a Listing “Contingency”?

August 14, 2018 By Tayson Rockefeller Leave a Comment

Somewhat recently, the Teton MLS changed their display rules so that listings which are under contract (now labeled “Pending”, “Pending Contingent”, or “Pending Continue to Show”) still show up in consumer searches such as our websites and realtor.com. In years past, when an offer was accepted on a listing and the agent marked it as “pending” (meaning pending sale) in the local MLS, the listing was removed from advertising platforms so it was no longer visible to the public. Now that consumers are still able to see this information, I get all sorts of questions as to what the contingency is, or what it means. Most often, it is a potential buyer hoping that they can make an offer because there is a contingency and still have an opportunity to purchase the property. Unless there is a form of kick out clause, this usually is not the case. Further, most buyers depending on the language they are used to hearing and their local areas, believe that a contingency is something such as a buyer who must sell a home in another location before proceeding with the sale, but this usually isn’t the case.

Before going further, what is a contingency? Google’s definition is “a future event or circumstance that is possible but cannot be predicted with certainty.”

While I believe the above description is most accurate, I don’t believe it really fits with respect to the real estate definition of a contingency. Further, it is defined differently in different areas of the country, as mentioned above. Here in Teton Valley, it simply means any sort of event that must occur or must be satisfied by the buyer before the earnest money becomes non-refundable. For example, a buyer’s inspection is usually referred to as a contract contingency. Financing, a satisfactory appraisal – any number of things that must occur before the earnest money becomes non-refundable. Note that even if a contingency is not met, the buyer can still close a transaction if the buyer chooses to do so, effectively releasing the contingencies upon closing.

So, now that we have the local lingo down with respect to what a contingency is, it’s easier to remember not to get too excited about a listing because it is labeled as contingent. However, the way it is labeled can help indicate how solid the contract is. Currently, the Teton MLS has three forms of labeling a pending transaction. They are “Pending”, “Pending Contingent”, and “Pending Continue to Show”. In a perfect sense, simply stating “Pending” means there are no contingencies and it is very likely to close. “Pending Contingent” we covered above, and could simply mean the buyer has the right to do an inspection. “Pending Continue to Show”, on the other hand, might be something to ask your agent about. In order to label a listing as Pending Continue to Show, the buyer and seller are supposed to agree that the seller is authorized to do so. Also, there is usually a logical reason for displaying the listing like this, such as an unusual contingency like a buyer who much sell a property before closing on the subject property. In some cases these types of contracts are accompanied with a kick out clause in the event of seller receives a backup offer.

Now that you are armed with this new information, good luck on your search!

Teton County Zoning, what you need to know

August 1, 2018 By Tayson Rockefeller Leave a Comment

Oftentimes I receive questions from prospective buyers, (sometimes sellers) as to what they can do with their property, or perhaps how they can advertise their property. When it comes to the city municipalities, they have their own set of zoning regulations and Zoning Maps such as the cities of Driggs and Victor. Each Zone has its own set of code requirements, and you can navigate this information relatively easy on each city’s respective website. The cities, however, take up a very small portion of the usable land in Teton County. The vast majority of private land is in the county itself.

At first glance, the county has only a few zones when compared with Driggs or Victor. In a nutshell, these are agriculture, commercial, manufacturing, public lands and the city areas of impact. Of this acreage, only a very small amount of the county contains commercial or manufacturing zoning, the vast majority is agriculture, with 2.5 to 20 acre density requirements. As long as there isn’t anything abnormal going on, you can subdivide acreage through the formal subdivision process in these areas as long as the finished product meets the density requirement in that zone. Each parcel can then have a house and a guest house, as well as a well and septic system, assuming it meets Department of Health requirements. Each parcel can water up to 1/2 acre per Idaho’s water regulations.

Teton County Zoning Map

So, the question is, and the point of this article, can you do anything on your agricultural zoned property other than a single family residence with guest house (or of course agriculture)?

The answer is yes, as long as you conform to the land use requirements in the county. In a sense, the name of the zoning is a bit deceiving. It leads most to believe that only agriculture is allowed, and some even question the ability to have a home. Since we talked about that above, let’s talk about some of the other allowed, or allowable uses.

The County’s existing land use regulations are split into three categories. They are:

Permitted by Right
Permitted with Conditions
Permitted with Conditional Use

In a nutshell, if you are trying to do something that is permitted by right, you don’t have to ask in most cases. If it is permitted with conditions, obviously you need to make sure that the conditions are met, and the same rules apply. If it is permitted with a conditional-use permit, there are special requirements that vary based on the nature of whatever it is you are trying to do. Some interesting ones; a home daycare is permitted for up to 6 children, and 7 to 10 children is permitted with conditions. An aviation field is permitted in agricultural zones with a conditional-use permit. A church, or place of worship can be permitted with a conditional-use permit. The list goes on.

Many sectors of retail, manufacturing, and even some residential types are still limited to commercially zoned areas such as convenience stores, bakeries, bars, beauty shops, golf courses, grocery stores, hotels, restaurants – you get the idea. In a way this makes sense, and most of these services would make more sense located within city limits anyway.

You can find the County’s land use Matrix table beginning on page 29 of title 8 of the Teton Valley code, zoning regulations. That link is below.

Teton Valley Code (see Chapter 8)

With so much available land, why can’t I find what I am looking for?

July 17, 2018 By Tayson Rockefeller Leave a Comment

It is true that at any given moment in the Teton Valley Idaho Market, there are between 4-600 available building sites for sale. Time and again, I converse with someone about oversupply of land. This can be true, but it is really a statement about one sector of the real estate land market in Teton Valley – that is of course subdivision lots. Even those, however, have their own sectors that have very limited supply. How can this be, you ask? Let’s run through some of the popular categories or subcategories of land that people frequently look for, that isn’t necessarily in high supply:

No CCRs: This is the most common and obvious area of lack of supply. I received a fair share of monthly inquiries from someone looking to build something that doesn’t conform to subdivision requirements. Tiny houses, yurts, places for an RV, the list goes on. With respect to what is available, in a way, it’s an unintentional bait-and-switch. Many people are drawn to the area because of affordable land prices. They see building sites starting at very reasonable prices, but don’t yet understand what they can or cannot do with those building sites. When they discover that they must build a 2500 square foot home on that building site, they begin to explore options that better suit their needs, oftentimes something without subdivision restrictions, and they aren’t alone. Sometime just after the turn of the century, Teton Valley recognized that if they did not create some sort of requirement to properly subdivide larger pieces of land, they are going to end up with unorganized blocks of land in farm fields without any infrastructure or control for chaos and madness. Therefore, they enacted new requirements for proper subdivision of land, and authorized what is referred to locally as a one-time-only land split. Basically, each larger tract, usually more than 20 acres, can be split one time. Otherwise, the proper subdivision process must be followed. While this process does require that each subdivision shall install road and infrastructure, it does not require strict CCRs. However, since the bulk of the development in Teton Valley occurred between 2003 and 2008, these subdivisions followed trends at the time which included home sizes between 1600 and 2500 square feet, or larger. The inventory of un-restricted land today is either a product of land splits prior to this County enactment, or the remaining one-time-only divisions that have not yet been performed. Also, old downtown building sites within the city limits of Driggs, Victor, or even Tetonia also house a number of these lots, but the inventory reduces as time goes on. Because of the relatively high demand, and the low supply, these types of building sites are amongst the most expensive in Teton Valley, a contrast between very affordable subdivided parcels.

Trees: Because we live in a wide-open, flat, valley floor that has been converted over many decades to mostly agriculture land, areas with trees are generally limited to creeks, streams, and the surrounding foothills of Teton Valley.

Surrounding Foothills: This is an easy one, there’s only a narrow strip of land between the valley floor and the National Forest, what I refer to as the “foothills”. While lots can be affordable as you reach the North End of Teton Valley, the Southern end is quite different. At any given time, there aren’t more than a handful of accessible, desirable listings in the surrounding foothills.

River or Creek Frontage: Nothing creates a romantic atmosphere and a desirable place to live like being on one of Teton Valley’s Creeks, or the Holy Grail, the Teton River. Supply is obviously limited to the banks of one of these creeks flowing from the canyons of the surrounding foothills of the Big Hole or Teton mountain range, but it is almost impossible to locate available land along the banks of the Teton River. The Teton River is formed by a culmination of creeks and springs on the South end of the Teton Valley and gradually becomes a river about 6 miles South of Driggs. It gains creeks and momentum along the way, ultimately exiting Teton Valley at the North end of the valley below River Rim Ranch, becoming class 5 white-water rapids before flowing into the Snake River. Much of this land is protected in conservation, and the few available parcels that remain are held tightly and traded infrequently.

As I mentioned at the beginning of this writing, even subdivided lots can have their own specific sectors or Categories in the marketplace that naturally limit availability. I would consider one such category to be Teton “View Corridor” building sites East of Highway 33, and between the 2.5 Mile and 6 Mile mark North of Driggs that creates the full, Four Peak Teton view. As you begin to narrow these lots down into areas where view corridor seekers prefer, the inventory reduces to only a handful available building sites depending on the price range.

I believe land today, and likely in the future, will be a viable investment for these reasons. The prices are low because of the perceived supply, therefore the value, in my opinion, is high. There are only very short periods of time which I believe land sells at unsustainable price points, 2007 and 2008 was an example of this. These land bubbles are typically very short, and do not happen frequently. In addition, holding costs for land are usually very affordable with relatively low property taxes and homeowners dues in most of developments. For these reasons, land is becoming one of my preferred recommendations for affordable long-term investments in Teton Valley.

Cold Roofs, Explained

June 19, 2018 By Tayson Rockefeller Leave a Comment

Due to popular demand, I’m going be writing more and more articles referencing some sort of construction and my experience with it in the real estate industry. Because of this, I’m going to have a new category and page where you can find all of these construction specific articles on my website tetonrealtyblog.com – “Know Your Home”.

Recently, a past client of mine who purchased a beautiful piece of land in Snow Crest Ranch wanted to sit down with me to get my opinion on construction methods. I assumed this would be for resale value or potential rental income with respect to a layout and design, but we talked more and more about construction methods and my personal opinions there. One of the topics was cold roofs, and their importance in Teton Valley. To be clear, not all contractors, people, or Realtors believe cold roofs are a good solution, so take my advice with a grain of salt, and make sure to consult with your architect and/or contractor.

First, what is a cold roof? A cold roof is basically a roof in which the insulation is above the ceiling of the home, but there is an air space between the insulation and the roof itself which is not conditioned or heated space. In most cases, this space is also ventilated to allow airflow between the insulation and the roof.

The primary purpose of a cold roof, particularly in our climate, is to prevent ice dams. Because most of the heat inside your home rises and “stacks” along the highest points of the ceilings, much of that heat and the moisture in the air along with that heat finds its way through the roof and into the attic space. Most people don’t realize that even latex paint is not a vapor barrier, it will allow moisture and heat to convect through the drywall and the insulation. If this heat doesn’t have a way to escape before it gets to the bottom of the roof opposite the snow sitting on that roof, it will eventually melt the snow. As the snow melts, that water turns to ice which creates ice dams, those gigantic icicles hanging from your roof eaves. Once this begins to happen, ice can freeze up and under flashing, and creep into areas it’s not supposed to be, often causing leaks on the inside of your home. There are other benefits to a cold roof, such as ventilation. As I had mentioned above, often times that warm air carries some of the moisture inside the home along with it. These ventilated spaces between the insulation and the roof allow this humid air to dissipate.

Depending on the style of construction, cold roofs are easier to achieve with some types of roof systems than others. For example, if you are planning on flat ceilings with vaulted ridgelines, you’ve got plenty of space for an unconditioned attic, adding vents in the soffits and along the ridge is an easy task. However, you might be building a shed style roof or perhaps your ceilings are vaulted inside to match the roof lines. In these cases, it can be difficult to achieve the required R-value if you reduce the thickness of the insulation to allow space for ventilation. One consideration here would be to use closed cell spray foam which has a higher R-value per inch. If you do this, make sure you work closely with your contractor and insulator to make sure that the foam is thick enough and the proper vapor barriers are in place as not to cause condensation problems.

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