Read More
Crabbing on the Puget Sound
Posted in Washington State Recreational Scenic Activities | Tagged puget sound, shellfishing | 2 Comments
Homebuyer Tax Credit Extension for Navy Families
As April 30, 2010 draws ever closer, many families across Snohomish County are scrambling to find a home, obtain mutual acceptance, and have the property record on or before June 30, 2010. This is not the case if you are in the Navy or another branch of the military.
Under the Worker, Home Ownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009, which was extended November 6, 2009, eligible Navy families can wait till April 30, 2011 to become under contract on a property. That is great news for Navy personnel who is serving outside the outside the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after Dec. 31, 2008, and ending before May 1, 2010.
Read More »
When Will the Real Estate Market Stabilize?
A friend of mine proposed a question to me about the real estate market: When will the real estate market turn around? Not satisfied with the short answer, in a few years, my friend asked for a little more detail.
Snohomish County, and the greater Seattle real estate market, has been one of the last metropolitan areas to feel the affects of the collapse. In very loose terms, the collapse started at the east coast and traveled west. While many market areas are showing signs of recovery, price stability and minor gains, Snohomish County is inundated with further pricing declines, short sales, and bank owned properties. Not a bad thing from a purchasing perspective but from the recovery standpoint it hampers the return to normal market.
Read More »
Poll: Has the Snohomish County Real Estate Market Hit Bottom?
In a poll released today by Fannie Mae, nearly 2/3 of Americans say right now is a good time to purchase a home and the bottom has arrived. With that said, Snohomish County is still experiencing high volumes of inventory and ever increasing amounts of short sales and bank owned properties.
Residential Market Snapshot for 4/6/2010
– 308 Active Bank Owned Properties on the Market
– 727 Active Short Sale Properties on the Market
– 4,318 Total Active Properties on the Market
– 25% of inventory is either Banked Owned or a Short Sale
This morning, I received the Snohomish County Notice of Trustee Sale report and 87 more properties are heading to auction on June 25, 2010 and will become available for sale sometime in July or August. Even though the national real estate market trend is showing stabilization and/or growth, the greater Snohomish County area has yet to feel any relief.
Read More »
Buying Bank Owned Properties and What You Should Know
Yesterday, I attended a bank owned workshop presented by a top REO agent from San Diego with some REO colleagues of mine. As a REALTOR® who represents buyers on bank owned properties there have been many times where I have been more than frustrated with the banks. This workshop help shed some light on the process for submitting purchase and sale agreements and what to expect through the process but I doubt it will elevate buyer frustrations.
Things to Know When Buying Bank Owned Homes
– Pre-Approval Process
– As-Is Clause
– Highest & Best Offer
– Communication & Response Times
Read More »
Snohomish County Mortgage Lending Report for February 2010
Since the last lender report in January 2009, the national lenders, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, have further increased their market share over local and less well recognized lenders. Wells Fargo and Bank of America issued 43% of all the loans in Snohomish County last month and with the next closest lender, JP Morgan Chase Bank, only issuing 6.7% of loans. A substantial divide but is it just because these companies are larger national brands or is there more to it?
Yes, I do believe brand recognition plays a vital big role in sales volume but another aspect is these two brands have a lot of toxic assets to liquidate. Originating loans and having a lot of properties to sell is directly related to an emerging real estate trend – in order to submit a purchase and sale agreement on one of their properties, a buyer must first be pre-approved by the bank holding the property. In all the bank owned purchases I’ve represented clients in, the buyer was required to provide an pre-approval letter from that bank 100% of the time – no doubt frustrating buyers. This leads me to believe that some buyers where and are willing to use these larger banks because buyers perceived it may make financing the property easier. I am not a fan of this emerging trend and fortunately buyers are not required to use that lender.
Read More »
Challenges When Purchasing Vacant and Raw Land
Recently, I have been more involved with people looking to purchase vacant land in Snohomish County for recreational uses or for a custom home.
As residents of Snohomish County know, the topography allows for a variety of different types of settings – river and lake front, mountain and territorial views, old growth forests and protected growth areas are just some attributes buyers are looking for. Each of these property types pose unique challenges.
Read More »
Name Washington’s New 64 Car Passenger Ferry
Many things can come from social networking and this gem comes from WSDOT’s Twitter status update. After reading the Tweet, my mind began to noodle over what would make a good name for Washington’s latest ferry. So far the brain hasn’t come up with anything worth mentioning and good thing the submission continues through April 30, 2010 to give us non creative minds a fair chance.
Factoid: “Of the 23 vessels currently operating in Puget Sound, 21 have names reflecting the state’s tribal heritage. The other two are named the Rhododendron and the Evergreen State”.
Read More »
Posted in Snohomish County News, Events and Activities | Tagged ferry system, wsdot | Leave a comment
Purchasing Short Sales & Bank Owned: Deals or Headaches?
Bank owned and short sales properties dominate the Snohomish County real estate market and it’s no surprise that many buyers are actively searching for these types of properties. But are these properties the bargain of the century or are they more trouble than they’re worth?
Being an active agent, I can contest to both scenarios being true. Great homes with no home inspection issues and excellent buys that require sweat equity. In 2009, one of my clients purchased a short sale and by doing so he received an excellent deal on a home in Mill Creek. This home is situated in a established neighborhood with few fixer uppers left – this home seemed to be the troubled home on the block. On the flip side, a few other 2009 clients purchased bank owned homes in Marysville that where just a few years old and required little to no work.
Read More »
Posted in Real Estate Home Buyer and Seller Tips | Tagged banked owned, short sales | Leave a comment
So much change in a short period of Time
A few month ago, Mickie and I joined Keller Williams Realty NWRE LLC in Marysville Washington. Joining the KW team brought many changes and consolidation to our way of conducting real estate. With that said, the change has been a real plus to both of us along with an improved level of service to our clients.. As much as I would love to share the business perspective, I am compelled to touch on a personal journey my real estate career has taken.
Joining in February, I thought business would be a strictly real estate agent role but to my surprise that too changed. At the end of May, I caught wind of the Market Center Administrator position opening up in the office. Stemming from a business background and holding a similar role with Barnett Associates Real Estate, LLC it was a good fit to apply. To my amazement I was awarded the position and by doing so manage all the internal office operations and the market center’s financial reporting process. Having such responsibility is an eye opening experience.
Read More »