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  Select Month February 2009 January 2009 July 2008 May 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007

Recently someone posted a challenge to real estate experts on a community forum as to why a seemingly lovely home on the Sammamish Plateau has been on the market for reportedly over 300 days and how that relates to the overall state of the real estate market in our area. While I have not had an opportunity to tour this home yet, it does appear that it has been well maintained and has some nice features. The question specifically mentioned that the home has been on the market for around 300 days but my data indicates that it has only been listed in the MLS since September 4th (about 173 days). This is about two months longer than the King County average of 114 days. For all of King County the Average Days on Market has increased in January 2009 by 20 days over January of 2008.

So to answer the question – why is this home taking so long to sell?? #1 – Based on my research it hasn’t been on the market all that long compared to county averages. #2 - The biggest downfall that this home appears to have is that it is a split entry. In ten years of real estate I have found that most buyers tend to avoid a mid entry home if they can. There is nothing wrong with a mid-entry home but for aesthetic reasons, a majority of buyers tend to avoid them. A mid –entry home almost always sells for less per square foot than a rambler or traditionally two story or even a tri-level home.

All that being said - if someone is looking to make a purchase now, I would advise them to be educated about the process and assertive in what they ask for. If they are looking to purchase for the long term (5 plus years) I believe that they will likely be making a reasonable if not good investment provided that they stay within their means.

Inspiration!

That is what I am feeling today as I bear witness to the inauguration of OUR 44th President of the United States of America. What I am most impressed by is his call to action from ALL of us.

President Obama is not a messiah, nor do I believe that he is trying to be. No one can make massive changes alone. However, one person can start a movement of change. It takes just one light of a candle to light another and then another and before you know it, the darkness will be lifted. President Obama is just one candle. It is up to us to work together to heal our nation and choose to take and pass that light on to others. Regardless of your political allegiance, it is up to us [working together] to make this a better nation. So go forth and make a change and pass the light.

Great news!

The Washington Association of Realtors was successful in meeting with the Washington State Department of Revenue. The meeting was to encourage the DOR to reconsider its position on Real Estate Excise Tax on short sales. As promised I am keeping you posted on the outcome of that meeting.

The Washington Association of Realtors notified its members of the professional organization today, that their efforts were successful and that the DOR no longer is looking to collect Real Estate Excise Tax on the debt that is forgiven by a lender in a short sale.

This is great news for sellers who are already in a difficult situation.

I just read an interesting email from the Washington Association of Realtors, a professional organization of which I am a member. The update was sent out to inform Realtors, that the Washington State Department of Revenue has a very interesting take on excise tax.

For those of you who don’t know what excise tax is, it is the tax that a seller pays when selling real property in Washington. The amount paid is a percentage of the sales price; or so we thought. The Department of Revenue believes that in the case of a short sale, excise tax should also be paid on any debt that is forgiven.

The Washington Association of Realtors believes that this position is incorrect and is currently encouraging the Department of Revenue to reconsider its interpretation. The Department of Revenue has indicated that it will take this issue under advisement. Until then, be sure to speak with your tax advisor regarding any questions/concerns you have about this if you find that you are in a short sale situation.

I will keep you posted with further updates as they are communicated to the Realtor community.

Hi folks. Sorry to have been off the blogging radar screen since May - I have been busy helping clients buy and sell homes and haven’t had too much time to share my thoughts with you all. I just got an email from a colleague of mine, Mike Anda with Washington Financial Group,  letting everyone in our Issaquah Highlands Networkers group know that Port Blakely has announced Town & Country Markets Inc. will open a signature Central Market store at The High Streets. The store opening is scheduled for mid 2010.

Construction of the 50,000 square-foot store – almost as large as a football field – is set to begin in 2009. Central Market stores feature exceptional produce, organic foods, fresh seafood, natural meats and a delicious selection of gourmet foods and specialty items.

Town & Country Markets selected Issaquah Highlands for its fourth Central Market store because of Issaquah’s community spirit, exciting growth of the High Streets shopping center and excellent location for retail expansion. Central Markets are considered to be “destination” grocery stores with a broad scope of quality, selection and value. Central Market’s unique format, unsurpassed service and vast variety of the freshest and best food available makes food shopping an adventure in culinary discovery and delight. So it looks like we are finally getting our high end grocer after all. Yippee!!!

It’s not cute; in fact it can be down right ugly. But it is nothing to be embarrassed about. Critters in our crawls spaces are a very common problem. In fact my two most recent transactions turned up rodent infestations in the crawl spaces and attics.

So what do you do about this?

Whether you are a buyer or a seller don’t panic. It is actually an easy fix, but it can be pricey, so shop around. The best vendor out there that I have found is Clean Crawls. They do excellent work and are competitively priced - and YOU don’t have to get dirty! I don’t know about you - but I sure don’t like to be face to face with a rat.

If you are thinking of selling your home, it is not a bad idea to have a preliminary home inspection done prior to going on the market. Doing this allows you to address issues before they have a chance to turn a deal upside down.

If you are a buyer and this issues comes up - again don’t panic. Just have your agent get some quotes from reputable vendors so you know just how much of a problem you are dealing with. From there you can go into your inspection negotiation and home ownership with your eyes open.

Little critters can be cute, but for me and my clients, I much rather see them in a cage than scampering around my house.

There is so much hype about what is going on in our marketplace today. Is it up, is it down? Well so far this year with my clients I have experienced a balanced market with give and take on both sides. That being said, it baffles me that a seller in this market would not respond to an initial offer or that an agent would recommend to their seller to not counter an initial offer.

An offer is like a conversation. If a seller doesn’t respond to an offer, the conversation ends. In today’s market a seller should be prepared for an offer to come in under asking price. What they should not do is be insulted by an offer that is less than asking – no matter how much less it may be. It is better to counter a less than full price offer than to let it go unanswered. By responding it at least gives the buyer a chance to adjust their thinking and provides an opportunity for a transaction to come together and in this market that is an important opportunity to create. So far this year I have had multiple situations where the initial offer was low, but ultimately ended up at a fair price. This has been the case for both my buyers and my sellers. So for all you sellers out there (and buyers too), embrace the counter offer and keep the conversation going.

Imagine this scenario…

Saturday afternoon, you are out house shopping for a home and your agent shows you homes that have a current status of “Active”. This is common occurrence and a great place to start…BUT…

THIS IS NOT THE WHOLE PICTURE.

There is a whole other classification of homes that could be waiting for you. These homes are under the status of “Contingent”.

Contingent? What does that mean?

A home (subject property) that is listed as Contingent has generated an offer that the buyer and seller have agreed to. One of those terms is that the buyer has a property that must sell before the buyer can proceed with the transaction of purchasing the subject property.

When a property is Contingent, the door is open for another buyer to make an offer. The seller is allowed to accept another offer so long as it is in “backup” position. “Backup” position means that the second buyer has a brief, typically 1 to 5 days, waiting period before they can proceed with the purchase of the subject property under their purchase and sale contract terms. The waiting period is the time period that the first buyer has to waive or satisfy their home sale contingency. If they are unable or unwilling to do so, then their purchase and sale agreement is terminated, their earnest money returned to them (in most cases) and they no longer have any obligation to the seller, and vice versa. The seller is then free to move forward with buyer #2 [in backup position].

Now for my shameless plug…

Unfortunately, a lot of buyers’ agents don’t include Contingent homes in their clients’ property searches. I currently have two listings across the street from each other:

9025 NE 176th Street, Bothell, WA 98011 and 9036 NE 176th Street, Bothell, WA 98011

Both are beautiful 3 bedroom plus den homes. Both have family rooms with gas fireplaces. Upstairs there is a spacious master suite w/5 piece bath and walk in closet in both as well as a laundry room that is conveniently located upstairs. These wonderful properties have 2 car garages that have ample storage and are complete w/ AC for Seattle summers. Both generated offers in less than two weeks time. One of them is Contingent and one of them is Active – STI.

Contingent homes are a great opportunity for a buyer because you are going to generally be in a situation where you can have honest negotiation going on. Buyers don’t have to worry about another buyer coming in and beating them to the deal because there are generally very few buyers looking at homes that are Contingent. Sellers don’t need to feel pressured by time or lack of offers because they already have a buyer in contract with an offer that is acceptable to them. Basically a lot of stress is removed when trying to come to a mutually acceptable backup offer.

So why do I mention this? Well for one, I want to get my client’s property sold. I do that by continuing to aggressively market the home. But knowing that a lot of agents don’t show their buyer’s Contingent homes, I wanted to reach out directly to the consumer. It is important that you know that Contingent homes ARE STILL AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO CONSIDER. I want to put this information out there both as a PSA to the buyers looking for homes and to the agents that don’t include Contingent homes in their property search as well.

That being said, make sure you ask your agent to include Contingent homes in their search parameters. In the meantime, if you or someone you know is shopping for a beautiful house in Bothell that has features such as granite countertops, GE Profile Stainless Steel appliances, surround sound, an extra long driveway for guest parking and a professionally landscaped spacious and private backyard in addition to all the features mentioned above, have them contact me at 206-686-1661.

Alice, a reader from Florida, recently asked a question about how income is calculated for this low income housing in Issaquah.

I would like to move to Issaquah to be close to my daughter and her family. Can you please tell me how the income is calculated for this low income housing? My main income is from Social Security, have some other income and once my home sells here in Florida will have some cash.

Any help you can give me with this matter will be much appreciated.

For all interested in knowing what HUD uses to base income off of you can refer to the official document titled "TITLE 24–HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, PART 5_GENERAL HUD PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS; WAIVERS" or 24CFR5.609 for short. Or you can just read the summary below.

To answer your question Alice, HUD uses all amounts and sources of income, INCLUDING SOCIAL SECURITY PAYMENTS, whether they be monetary or goods and services. There are however a few, okay quite a few, exceptions which I have listed at the bottom of this post. So yes, your Social Security income and your "other income" (assuming it does not come from one of the exceptions below, would count against you.

To determine what housing you qualify for, you would need to add up all your income, count the number of members of your household and then refer to the chart below.

For example, if your household income totaled $50,000 and you had 4 persons in your household, you would qualify for a affordable home at the 80% of median income or greater level. That would basically allow you to purchase, or rent any affordable housing units in the Issaquah Highlands.

I have helped several clients find and purchase affordable homes and most recently am in the process of helping one purchase in the Issaquah Highlands. If you would like any help with finding and purchasing affordable housing, or would just like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email.

These exceptions are subject to change but currently include the following sources:

• Amounts paid by a State agency to a family with a member who has a developmental disability and is living at home to offset the cost of services and equipment needed to keep the developmentally disabled  family member at home.
• The value of food stamps provided to an eligible household under the Food Stamp Act of 1977.
• Incremental earnings and benefits from participation in qualifying state and local employment training programs.
• The amount by which the family’s welfare benefits were reduced, if the family was not an assisted resident at the time of sanction.
• Non-recurrent, short-term benefits that: * Are designed to deal with a specific crisis situation or episode of need
  • Are not intended to meet recurrent or ongoing needs; and
  • Will not extend beyond four months.
• Work subsidies (i.e., payments to employers or third parties to help cover the costs of employee wages, benefits, supervision, and training).
• Supportive services such as child care and transportation provided to families who are employed.
• Refundable earned income tax credits.
• Individual Development Accounts.
• Services such as counseling, case management, peer support, child care information and referral, transitional services, job retention, job advancement, and other employment-related services that do not provide basic income support.
• Transportation benefits provided under a Job Access or Reverse Commute project, pursuant to section 404(k) of the Social Security Act, to an individual who is not otherwise receiving assistance.
• Lump-sum benefits payable as a death benefit.
• Deferred periodic amounts from SSI benefits that the family member received in a lump sum amount or in prospective monthly amounts.
• Amounts received by a person with a disability that are disregarded for a limited time for purposes of SSI eligibility and benefits because they are set aside for use under a Plan to Attain Self-Sufficiency (PASS).
• Deferred periodic amounts from Social Security benefits that the family member received in a lump sum amount or in prospective monthly amounts.
• Child care arranged or provided under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 1990.
• Amounts received by the family that are specifically for, or in reimbursement of, the cost of medical expenses for any family member.
• Payments received under the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
• Income derived from certain submarginal land of the United States that is held in trust for certain Indian tribes.
• Income derived from the disposition of funds of the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians.
• The first $2,000 of per capita shares from judgement funds awarded by Indian Claims Commission or the Court of Claims or from funds held in trust for an Indian Tribe by the Secretary of Interior.
• Payments received under the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act of 1980.
• Payments received by the Indian Claims Commission to the Confederate Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation or the Apache Tribe of the Mescalero Reservation.
• The first $2,000 of income received by individual Indians derived from interests or trust or restricted land.
• Payments received for the care of foster children or foster adults (usually persons with disabilities, unrelated to the tenant family, who are unable to live alone).
• Lump-sum additions to family assets, such as inheritances, insurance payments (including payments under health and accident insurance and worker’s compensation), capital gains and settlement for personal or property losses.
• Full amount of student financial assistance paid directly to the student or to the educational institution.
• Temporary, nonrecurring or sporadic income (including gifts).
• Reparation payments paid by a foreign government pursuant to claims filed under the laws of that government by persons who were persecuted during the Nazi era.
• Adoption assistance payments in excess of $480 per adopted child.
• Refunds or rebates under state or local law for property taxes paid on dwelling unit. 
• Amounts specifically excluded by any other Federal statute from consideration as income for purposes of determining eligibility or benefits under a category of assistance programs that includes assistance under any program to which the exclusions set forth in 24 CFR 5.609(c) apply.
• Payments or allowances under DHHS’ low-income home energy assistance program (LIHEAP).
• Federal scholarships funded under Title IV of The Higher Education Act of 1965, including awards under the Federal work study program or under the Bureau of Indian Affairs student assistance program.
• Payments received from programs funded under Title V of the Older Americans Act of 1965.
• Payments received on or after January 1, 1989 from the Agent Orange Settlement Fund or any fund established pursuant to the settlement in the Agent Orange product liability litigation.
• Earned Income Tax Credit refund tax payments.
• Any allowance paid under provisions of 38 U.S.C. 1805 to a child suffering from spina bidifa who is a child of a Vietnam Veteran.
• Any amount of crime victim compensation that the applicant (under the Victims Crime Act) receives through crime victim assistance (or payment or reimbursement of the cost of such assistance) as determined under the Victims Crime Act because of the commission of a crime against the applicant.

For more information you can visit the King County Housing and Community Development Program website.

World Pies is here and off to a great, and tasty I might add, start. My husband and I were one of the lucky few that were able to get a sneak peak at the delicious food World Pies is serving up. This week they have been having a "Soft Open" by inviting friends and family in to test out the menu as well as work on the restaurant’s operations. I thought the evening was lovely. While you could tell that people were still getting the hang of a new restaurant, I couldn’t find any flaws in the service. Our server was a bit on the shy side, but she was knowledgeable, attentive, accurate and made sure that all here tables were well taken care of.

What I really loved about the evening though was in addition to the food which was great, was that without even trying to plan it, we ran into six of our friends.  To me one of the whole points of a neighborhood restaurant is be able to do exactly that. The atmosphere was nice and relaxing and after a busy day - it was really nice to sit down to a nice meal and an impromptu gathering with friends. 

Their menu is pretty solid with a nice selection of pizzas and salads. I had a wonderful pizza that had all sorts of delicious meats and cheeses. My husband had one that had some amazing pesto sauce and we both really enjoyed the flat bread and hummus. All at our table agreed - the crust is perfect! Apparently it is reminiscent of New Haven style pizza, which I must admit, I have never had the pleasure of trying, but I draw upon visions of "Mystic Pizza" for a point of reference. The Caesar salad tasted great; not overly dressed and not too fishy. The wine was nice although I would like to see them expand their selection by a few.

All in all - it was a wonderful ending to a busy day and I look forward to going back once they officially open.

Thank you World Pies and Welcome!

UPDATE - Here is the phone number for ordering takeout: 425-392-6099

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