I count myself spectacularly blessed to have a healthy happy family. Yes, we’ve experienced our share of anxieties … each time Children’s Hospital in Seattle was there for us. The doctors and nurses at Children’s are possibly the most dedicated medical staff to be found anywhere. Our needs were small compared to those of thousands of other families and their children. Yet we have always been treated with compassion, respect, and professionalism. The care of children just doesn’t get any better than at Children’s!

It is a great honor, therefore, to be affiliated with RE/MAX and its continuing support and contributions to the Children’s Miracle Network. A portion of the proceeds of every single transaction in my office goes directly to Children’s Miracle Network. That means every single home that we list for our Seller clients … and every single home purchase in which we assist our Buyer clients … contributes to this deserving cause.

Four years ago, the agents in my office determined that we could and should make a personal difference in the lives of the families of our extended community. With that goal in mind, the idea of an annual Little Miracles Auction arose. With the expert knowledge and guidance of our Broker and hours, days, and weeks of work by our Auction Committee, the Auction became a reality and has been a resounding success, directly benefiting the Pediatric Cancer Research Center at Children’s Hospital!

This year marks the Fourth Annual Little Miracles Auction, which will be held on April 30th at the Spirit of Washington Event Center in Renton. John Curley will return as auctioneer … and entertainment!

Now that the fourth auction is just around the corner, I want to personally issue an invitation to each of you to join us for this wonderful event! Click here to open an invitation. It really IS a lot of fun and benefits such a great cause — our children! You’ll have fun! I promise! Come’on join in!!

And, of course, at the heart of every auction are donations from friends, both personal and businesses. Your contribution will be greatly appreciated! Click here before April 7th to open a donation form.

SO much fun! At yesterday’s Ribbon Cutting event for Becky’s Glamour, my Ambassador duties for the Auburn Chamber of Commerce got caught up in looking at the sparkly, glitzy, diamondy clothing custom decorated by the staff at Becky’s Glamour!

Located inside the SuperMall of the Great Northwest, in Suite 1114 (near Old Navy), Rebecca “Becky” and Jenny and the rest of the helpful staff help design and add sparkly little decorations to virtually any clothing item — hats, jeans, t’shirts, belts. Whatever. How much fun is THAT?!!

Now, I know I’ve missed the names of everyone there, but next time you visit the Mall, be sure to pop in and say ‘Hi’ to Becky and crowd … and order a shirt or two. Now that I think on it, maybe it’d be fun to add some glitz to the ankle of my favorite boots. Wonder if they can do that …..

Oh yeah. That’s me — the little chubby gal — 5th face from the right. Along with other Ambassadors from the Chamber, Mayor Pete Lewis (in the tan coat cutting the ribbon), the staff of Becky’s Glamour, and representatives from the SuperMall.

Your Dedicated Realtor, Blogger, Seller, Buyer, and Short Sale agent working hard for Clients in the Auburn, Kent, Renton, Maple Valley, Federal Way, Covington, Puyallup, Sumner, Bonney Lake, Lake Tapps, and north/northeast Tacoma areas.

Matt Person of The Legacy Group in Puyallup stepped up this morning with a compelling reason for Buyers to get off the fence and submit any FHA applications before the end of March. Since the business of selling houses is dependent on the ability of our clients to obtain financing — whether a Buyer or a Seller — Matt’s information is helpful.

Thanks, Matt! This is useful and I can understand this one!

4 Reasons Why Those Who Wait to Buy a Home Will Pay Thousands More This Spring!

Waiting a few extra days or weeks to purchase a home this spring could cost buyers thousands of extra dollars as the office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) implements several changes for loans guaranteed by the Federal Housing Authority (FHA).

These FHA changes make it even more important to act now to save big.

Here are a four reasons why:

1.    Coming just weeks before the April 30 deadline for the Home Buyer Tax Credit and just days after the March 31 expiration of the Federal Reserve Board’s mortgage backed securities purchase program (which has kept home loan rates artificially low for over a year)

2.    On April 5th, the cost of required up-front mortgage insurance for loans guaranteed by the FHA will increase from 1.75% to 2.25%.

3.    For a borrower purchasing a $200,000 home with a $7,000 down payment, the up-front mortgage insurance will increase by $965. Up-front mortgage insurance is typically financed in the final loan amount so the impact to a monthly payment will be minimal but overall, the increase is still borne by the borrower both upfront and monthly.

4.    Later this spring, the amount of money that a seller can return to the buyer from their sale proceeds will be reduced from 6% to 3%. The reduction in these “seller concessions” can increase the amount of cash a buyer will be required to pay at closing by $6,000 for a home purchase of $200,000.

There is only one way to avoid being affected by all of these costly changes that lie ahead – submit all FHA mortgage applications by the last week of March.

I know Matt would be delighted to be of assistance to you in your home financing needs. And, it goes almost without saying (gotta say it though) … I’d also be delighted to be your advocate in your home purchase and/or sale. Or … if you just have a question, well, give me a call and we’ll figure it out!

I’ve been privileged to work with Doug Thomas of WIN Home Inspections for the last five or six years, I’d say. He’s truly a professional in his job. Doug knows what he’s doing, does it well, and establishes a trusted relationship with every one of the clients with whom he is working. I like to think we’ve also become friends.

I’ll miss Doug’s enthusiasm and willingness to ‘work me into his schedule” at a moment’s notice. I wish all the best to Doug and his family in their new neighborhood. … Think you’ll be willing to fly back at a moment’s notice when we need you here????

So … here’s a heads-up to all you Chandler, AZ agents: Call Doug Thomas and his son Tyler of when you need a professional to trust with your client inspections.

….

Now to find a replacement that’s as dedicated. Who’s your favorite inspector in the southeast King County area?

(and, of course, his picture’s already gone from the WINI.com site. Rats! I wanted to include it here.

Just four steps up and above the garage, is a huge 440 square foot bonus room, which could also be a very generous 4th bedroom with two deep walk-in closets. Don’t miss the pull-down attic stairs in the hallway leading to additional storage space! The home’s lower level is entirely comprised of an extra-deep double-door garage with openers, workbenches, shelves and storage.

Sliders just off the dining room lead to the fenced back yard, wonderful large deck with built-in benches, and patio. With minor repairs & new carpets, this home will be perfect for years of living. Offered as a short-sale property and priced to sell!

I was struck by her comment “Mom, you’re always out there taking care of other people’s houses. I can’t believe you do that. It seems like they should be doing this stuff themselves.” My response was “Welcome to Real Estate!”

Thinking back, my open-ended job description has changed significantly over the last two-three years. Is this a result of the “economy?” A result of my own changing standards and desire to be of help to folks? Or just laziness by allowing myself to get sucked-into agree to tasks that maybe could be delegated. Hmmmmmmm

Certainly my business profile has changed:

• Most of the homes I list and market are vacant. Used to be they were almost never empty!
• The majority of my listings are the result of financial distress on the part of their owners.
• The majority of the Buyers I assist have never owned a home before.
• Most of the Buyers are young, just starting out in their real estate ownership lives.
• A significant chunk of my business (almost 40%) comes from internet exposure.
• Nothing is fast — not the marketing time of a listing, nor the “finding a house and closing the sale” time with a Buyer.

So what does that mean to the actual “practice” of real estate?

Well, it means that my job description continues to evolve. Buyers don’t jump as fast at a great house — we have to see lots of houses. And then once a house is identified, an offer is accepted, inspections are negotiated and completed, the whole nightmare of completing all of the financing tasks comes into play. Let’s see, over the last half-dozen Buyer clients I’ve had to:

• Run to a Buyer relative’s home to pick up copies of bank statements and send them to the loan officer. Why me? Well, the Buyers got called away on a family emergency and somebody had to do this now!
• Go to the local IRS office to try to get copies of tax returns when an underwriter demanded real copies at the last minute.
• Attended a oh dear! super fun septic inspection in the pouring rain only to find out that the pump didn’t work.
• Negotiated payment for the septic repair over a period of a week and ran it around to all of the various parties because, gee, we were already a week past closing and the bank was threatening to pull our short sale approval.
• And on and on ……….

Sellers generally need help. They need hand-holding. Some of them are desperate. Most are anxious:

• I spent the better part of a day mucking out a garage and yard. Why? Well, it needed to be done and the Seller was totally unable.
• Met repair people at vacant listings!
• Helped move extra furniture out of the house and into storage because … well, I have a truck available and these two single gals had no idea what I meant when I said “pack!”
• Supervised the cleaning of gutters
• Picked up replacement locks and had them changed out.
• Bought food for an abandoned fish pond and cleaned it out.
• Above all, I’ve listened and listened and listened to their anxieties.

Now WHY should an agent bother with this? My response is always … because it has to be done. Somebody has to do this. To serve my clients well, the house needs to be sold/bought, they need help to be on their way to their next step in life, to be their ear, sometimes to encourage, sometimes to nag. To serve my clients, I am their trusted advisor, their “do-er,” the one to whom they look when there are snags along the way … and sometimes even after the transaction closes.

It all comes down to service. Real Estate is a service business.

Welcome to Real Estate!

Just so you know … Days on Market is the number of days the property was Active; i.e., available for sale and not under any sort of a purchase contract. Sometimes, especially where short sales are involved, a property may go in and out of Active status, however once a contract is fully signed by both the Buyer and the Seller, the property is “Pending” and the time during which the bank considers the sale does not affect the Days on Market.

Obviously the bulk of closed sales was for single family homes. So who sold these houses and why?

41% of the closed sales were from Short Sales and Bank-Owned homes. The good news: Almost 60% of closed residential sales were from private sellers!! YES, you CAN sell your house!

Information for these charts and graphs was manually compiled (by me) from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service and is for properties with Auburn addresses. Data for your individual neighborhood will be different and you’ll want to know exactly what’s going on around your own home when you consider selling.

Please remember that I specialize in Houses & Condos, buyers and sellers, and especially short sales! Interviewing for a progressive, knowledgeable, tenacious agent to buy or sell? Don’t hesitate to give me a call.

Loan Modifications are one avenue that troubled homeowners can take when income levels drop or expenses skyrocket due to unexpected bills such as medical costs. There are a number of different combinations and types of loan modifications available, although I understand that very few loan modifications have actually been successful.

I try to keep an eye out for success stories and, indeed, I know of ONE family that was successful in their quest for lower monthly payments due to a layoff. It took months, lots of frustration, but ultimately they were able to drop their interest rate from the upper “sixes” to about 3%. I’ve talked with a number of potential clients … and now clients … also about their pursuit of loan modifications so that they were able to remain in their homes. These folks just weren’t able to push a loan mod through and finally gave up and listed their homes for sale. A couple actually decided to let the house go back to the bank through foreclosure.

So sad.

RIS reports that homeowners that ARE successful in negotiating a loan modification through private lenders are now finding credit score reductions up to 100 points! That’s certainly causes a significant impact on the homeowner’s ability to obtain future credit at a reasonable rate. Just imagine having a credit score of 750, successfully negotiating a loan modification on your home loan so that you can stay in your house … then finding yourself in a position where you must purchase a new car. Under the scenario RIS reports, your credit score could now be 650 — a real hinderence in obtaining a car loan with a reasonable interest rate!

According to the RIS report, the federal loan modification programs, Making Home Affordable and Home Affordable Modification Program, do not reduce credit scores as the transaction is reported to the credit agencies as a “loan modified under a federal plan” as of Nov. 1. However, if you modify your home loan through a private bank or other lender, your credit score could be impacted significantly.

Click Here to read the entire article … then pay attention: Watch Your Credit Score if You Do a Loan Modification!

Repeat or Move-Up Home Buyer — Get Paid $6,500 to Buy a Home!!

• Buyers must have owned and lived in their previous home for five consecutive years out of the last eight years and purchase a replacement primary home.
• The tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the home’s purchase price up to a maximum of $6,500.  Applies to homes priced at $800,000 or less.
• The tax credit is available for homes purchased after November 6, 2009 and on or before April 30, 2010.  In cases where a binding sales contract is signed by April 30, 2010, the home purchase qualifies for the tax credit provided the sale is completed (closed) by June 30, 2010.
• Single taxpayers with incomes up to $125,000 and married couples with incomes up to $225,000 qualify for the full tax credit.

1. You are buying a home today that doesn’t have inflated equity
2. You don’t have to sell your current home to qualify for the Tax Credit (although you would need to qualify for both house payments, if applicable)
3. You have sellers willing to pay your closing costs and possibly buy-down already great interest rates
4. You are in the first true “Buyers” Market in nearly 8 years and have the largest selection of homes in 15 years
5. The current downturn in house pricing as well as low interest rates could allow you to buy homes in neighborhoods that were out of reach two years ago

Thanks to Michelle Coolidge of Cobalt Mortgage for this information!

Neat & Stylish Curb Appeal!

Super Stylish & Sophisticated 2 story on a corner cul-de-sac lot on Auburn’s East Hill. Soaring 2-story entry with tile floors opens to formal areas with amazing architectural details such as round corner columns, arches, & coffered ceiling in dining room

Spacious Family room with gas fireplace & newer carpet is just off open Kitchen & Nook area.

Fully fenced rear yard with Trellis deck, built-in benches & dining table-great outdoor entertaining spot! Add Hardi-Plank siding, Western Sunset views…this is truly a GREAT house!

Courtesy of Colleen Fischesser, RE/MAX Select R.E.