A client recently asked us if shopping for a foreclosure home was the way to go in the Eastside market. I knew I had read a good, definitive article this past Fall regarding this very issue. After some digging throught Seattle Times archives, I located this article on the subject, “Foreclosures: Tacoma Up, Seattle Down” from the Nov 11 edition …
Get It In Writing
It is unfortunate when verbal promises are broken, no matter what the subject. In real estate it is easy to make those words stick: write them into the transaction. In this Seattle Times article a buyer laments that what was promised verbally by both her own agent and a seller was not the case. It doesn’t matter what the issue is, …
Finally, Loan Officers to be Licensed
We have warned borrowers and clients for years that loan officers are unlicensed, and that it is very important to work with someone with very strong references. Ask a relative, a friend, a colleague, for the name of someone that they have had a positive loan experience with. Even then, ask the loan officer for additional personal references, and make …
Study Identifies Areas of Fastest Growth, Aging…..
The following is an article taken from REALTOR Magazine Online, November 30, 2006. If you are considering a transfer into, or out of, our area, this is an interesting synopsis of what to expect in various markets across the country. The most significant factors affecting housing during the coming years will be whether aging baby boomers decide to grow old …
How Much Is Too Much?
It doesn’t happen very often, but sometimes we observe someone paying too much for a property. How much is too much? Try $200,000 over what should be an $825,000 property. That’s right, we have silently observed a buyer paying $1,025,000 for a home close to our own which, even in the best of times, might have pushed $900,000. It is …
Bubble-Proof Seattle Among Top 5 by CNN.COM-Business 2.0
Local buyers and sellers alike should take note of this report from CNN: “5 Bubble-Proof Markets” Seattle is the newest to join this elite group. Part of the reason is the shortage of land, which won’t change soon, given yesterday’s defeat of Initiative 933.
Housing Bubble? Ken Harney Doesn’t Think So. Neither Do We.
For several weeks/months we have asserted that there is no housing price bubble. The media, in general, has inaccurately portrayed the slowing market as sign of a meltdown. Kenneth Harney, syndicated real estate columnist for The Seattle Times, is a lonely voice of reason in the media. He’s right on! His 10/15/06 article sets the record straight on all issues/concerns …
Rare Kudos to Elizabeth Rhodes-Seattle Times Home Forum Article 10/1/06
It is a rare occurrence, but this week we tip our respective hats to Elizabeth Rhodes for an excellent, insightful response response to a reader’s question regarding “suicide loans” and the impact they may have on the market. The reader, as many people have inquired of us, wonders if there will be a bounty of foreclosed properties properties to choose …
“How’s The Market?”
Nearly everywhere we turn, we are asked this question, “How’s the market?” Our answer: ” Locally, due to the strength of Boeing, Microsoft, Paccar, etc., the market is neutral i.e., the balance between sellers and buyers has become balanced to the extent that sellers are still getting good prices, and buyers are finding more properties from which to choose”. However, as the Forbes.com …
Appraisals In Slowing Market: Ken Harney, Seattle Times 9/15
There are a couple of nuggets to be gleaned from reading Ken Harney’s article about appraisals. (1) good appraisers work to get the right numbers by calling agents to find out if concessions were paid by the Seller and ; (2) insight into the list/re-list game played by some agents in a slowing market. Fortunately, the Northwest Multiple Listing Service …