vashonagent

Statistics that say housing prices have continued to rise modestly or have fallen only slightly are deceiving, say some real estate analysts, because the stats don�t reflect houses that sit on the market for months because their owners refuse lowball offers.
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Mortgage rates fell again last week and applications rose, according to the weekly Mortgage Bankers Association survey for the week ending Dec. 1.
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Everyone...
Please go to http://www.helpsavecraig.com and read about this remarkable young man with an amazing will to live.

If you can donate, great, but if you cannot, please at least help us get the word out about this man so that someone who can donate will.

Every Penny Counts!

I keep hearing people saying that it's a "buyers market" so they shouldn't sell their homes, and realistically, this is not true.

When you think about the real estate market in PURE NUMBERS, think about this.
You can wait to sell your house until it is a "sellers market"...that's fine. But what do you do once it sells? Remember, it is no longer a buyers market....the house prices have risen to the point that you felt comfortable selling your home...what now? Everyone else knows that the market has risen, and so have the prices on THEIR houses that they are trying to sell.

Say that you own a home. We will price that home at 450,000 in a buyers market, and 700,000 in a sellers market. Pretty big difference, huh? The house is in a nice location...but you want to move, for whatever reason. Say that you want a bigger house, in a nicer location. Now price that out. You find the house you love....in a buyers market, it might cost you 700,000 and in a sellers market, 1,000,000.



So...we will say that when you sell your house for 450,000, you walk away with 450,000 just to make it simple.

So you sell the house at 450,000 and you buy the house in the nicer area for 700,000. You end up owing 250,000.

Say that you wait until the market is in the favor of the seller...you sell your house for 700,000 and buy the same house in the nicer area for 1,000,000.

You now owe 300,000 for selling the SAME house and buying the SAME nicer house.

Do the math!


Kind of on the same subject, I went to a brokers open yesterday for a house in Tacoma.....Beeeaaaauuutttiiifffuulll house. Everything that you could ever want in a house, and more. Simply amazing.
It is listed at 695,000.
This is a 4432 square foot house on 4 levels (technically 3 with a basement) It is listed on the Historical Registry. The listing remarks are "Come and witness the re-birth of this amazing North end Historic 4-Square Craftsman! This home boast an enormous new kitchen w/ slab marble counters, cherry wood cabinets, viking applncs & heated concrete floors! There is an outdoor kitchen, w/ a built in gas grill and granite counters all nestled underneath a lodge inspired gazebo. Huge concrete patio and rear gated entrance. Original Millwrk, light fxtrs and flrs. New windows and Int/ext paint. An amazing Sound system through out the house!" and I think that says it all.
Again. It is listed at 695,000.

I mention this twice because in a sellers market....this house would be vastly more expensive AND, the agent owns it. She too is trading up.
So think about it. AGENTS are selling their homes IN A BUYERS MARKET. Maybe they know something that the general public doesn't realize *grin*

Link to the listing

Guidance on nontraditional mortgages issued last week by federal banking regulators will help ensure that lenders inform consumers about the risks related to nontraditional financing options, including interest-only and option-payment adjustable rate mortgages, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®. read more...

Taken from the blog of Alex Garcia


More and more apartments are getting converted to Condos. That leaves alot of people with out any options for rentals. If your worried about the lack of afforadable housing and rentals then make your self heard:

Forum and discussion on the loss of affordable housing in Seattle: Wed., Sept. 13, 5 to 7 p.m. in the Bertha Knight Landes Room at City Hall (600 4th Ave., between James and Cherry).

Come join in or listen to a discussion on these issues. Guests include John Fox of the Seattle Displacement Coalition, Sharon Lee of the Low Income Housing Institute, Yolanda Sinde of the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, and Nicole Macri of the Seattle King County Coalition for the Homeless.

Jeez.
I cannot even believe the *amount* of snarky comments posted in response to my telling people (who ask about it EVERY FREAKING DAY) about the rentals listed on the MLS.

"why don't you just post them all here rather than asking people to email you individually?"

Now I ask you...what the hell kind of question is that?

If everyone was looking for exactly the same thing, in exactly the same area for exactly the same price, I would get it, but..... there are over 300 listings in King County alone. *boggle* Not that thats a *lot* but to post them all individually on a livejournal?!? You've got to be shitting me.

But I digress.
HERE is a link to all of the listings that are a) in King County, and b) under $2000 a month.

*sigh* Its not even as if there is any actual money to be made from helping people get into rentals. Most agents don't even to bother posting rentals on the MLS. It's just that...well...lets see here.....considering that someone in at least one of the communities I am in asks about rentals at least once a day, and I have access to a (very partial) listing of rentals....I would feel like an ASSHOLE if I didn't fork it over. Duh.

Jerkoffs.

Right now there are 366 rental properties listed on the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NwMLS) in King County
32 of them are under 1000.00 a month.
If you are interested in finding out more about these rental properties, send me email at vashonagent@gmail.com

A lot of people are under the false impression that buying or selling real estate is easy. But, I'd like to assure you that there is much more involved in real estate transactions than most people ever realize. If you want to lose when playing the game of real estate, just trying playing alone. However, if you want to be a winner, then seek out the professional services of a qualified and reputable local Realtor.

As a seller, did you know that according to surveys conducted by the National Association of Realtors, most For Sale by Owners net LESS money from the sell of their home than they would have netted if they had listed with a Realtor. Why take on all the work and responsiblity of selling your own home if you are going to walk away from the closing table with LESS money! As a buyer, the services of a Realtor are absolutely free for you to use. Why represent yourself in the largest single investment you will make in your lifetime when you can have professional representation for FREE!

A good Realtor will help you see that selling homes is not all about money. While some individuals may perceive this as a greed driven business, there are many, many Realtors who choose this career in order to help people achieve their dreams. A successful closing is not necessarily the one that closes with the biggest paycheck. For me, it is the closing that results in happy clients, no matter what price range they may be in. ... (more)

DISCLAIMER: I did not write this article. It was written by an associate of mine.

Read this article about the rental market in Seattle!

Maybe it's time to buy a house!