As the Greater Seattle and Eastside real estate market continues to improve, buyers of short sale listing are being confronted with a new problem, and for some it is sticker shock. As little as six months ago short sale buyers could be fairly confdent that the list price was what a lender would accept, and maybe even a little less. Things …
Senate Passes Mortgage Forgiveness Extension
One of the most important aspects of the Fiscal Cliff resolution is the extension of the “Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act”. What does it mean: if you short sale your property e.g., sell for $300,000 and your mortgage balance is $450,000, prior to the adoption of this act the IRS viewed that $150,000 difference as taxable income. The act (Sec 108) extends …
Ken Harney [“Nation’s Housing”] Article Bodes Well….For Sellers
Having followed Ken Harney’s writings for almost 15 years, I know that it is uncharacteristic of him to use GOLLY GEE headlines. So when he pulls out the stops and blares: “HOME EQUITY VALUES ROAR BACK” as the accompanying headline to his nationally syndicated housing column in the Saturday, January 6 Seattle Times, I think it best that homeowners, and buyers, sit up and …
Northwest Traditional Style Homes Will Outpace Market
For me, one of the most enjoyable aspects of selling residential real estate in the Northwest has always been the appealing architecture of our home grown traditional styling. The large-ish local builders have taken pains over the years to build homes that exuded classic styling without being absurdly ostentatious, and were a bit above “affordable”, at least in the late ’80’s …
Wing Nut Attorney Buries Gold Bar…….Because She Can
Local legal phenom, ambulance chaser and nut job Ann K. Block and her two cronies, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum have managed to take the tiny city of Gold Bar to its financial knees through rumor, inuendo, lawsuits, and most notably incessant records requests. Why? Apparently because the can. Wielding her blog http://goldbarreporter.com as the weapon of choice, Ann Block obsesses …
Over-The-Top Home Inspectors
If you’ve been a broker for 5 years or more you’ve probably come across the “OVER-THE-TOP” home inspector. Either your Buyer received a referral from someone around the water-cooler at work, or it is your listing that is being subjected to an unusual approach to home inspections. We understand that home inspectors look for competitive advantages to obtain more business the …
Solution To The Home Inspection Contingency And Inherent Problems aka “MLW”
Home inspections are the most crucial juncture of every residential property transaction. When a Seller and Buyer finalize negotiations on the terms of a purchase and sale agreement, everybody’s happy. As brokers, we explain to our clients that what they’ve accomplished is no more than “agree to try to agree”. The inspection contingency contained in virtually every transaction is where the …
A Little Help From Our Friends
In this current frenzied real estate market it is difficult for us to answer all the questions folks have in a comprehensive and informative manner. To help us out we’ve enlisted the services of David Knox, renowned real estate consultant, instructor and investor. You may view any of David’s 7 real estate videos on our website at your leisure. Enjoy! http://penguinhomes.com/Videos.html
Anonymous Complaints aka When Our Government Empowers Whiners
Depending on the business that you are in, at some point in your career you may hear from your employer, “we’ve had an anonymous complaint”. Chances are your employer heard from a State or County government agency, who in turn is “processing” an anonymous complaint. Let’s think about this for a moment. What comes to mind when you envision an …
THE MARKET HAS SHIFTED…
I will present graphical evidence in subsequent posts to support this audacious claim, but right now I am interested in a different aspect of this market shift: “mental shift”. I have run into several buyer/shoppers the past month who, for various reasons, have been unable to shift with the market. Here is a sampling of what I have heard: It’s just not …