Your Guide to the Seattle Real Estate Market
Earlier this morning, I came across a very interesting statement made by a BofA employee in a lawsuit against the bank regarding its “participation” in the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). A “declaration” is a statement made under penalty of perjury and is commonly used in litigation to give facts (typically from a witness) to [...]
This is not legal advice, and you should not rely upon it. For legal advice, consult an attorney, not a blog. [This post was updated 4/22. New paragraph below.] In today’s low-interest-rate, low-inventory, recovering-from-the-bubble housing market, there are more buyers than there are sellers. This leads to routine instances of multiple offers, where only one buyer [...]
Removing the Must Appraise Clause. BEFORE you as a buyer of a home agree to “remove the must appraise clause” you need to know that means more cash from you the buyer of an undetermined amount. You also need to know the Finance Contingency does not usually cover not having enough Cash to Close. Cash [...]
In a recent press release, HUD has announced several changes coming soon to FHA mortgages. FHA mortgages are popular with home buyers because they allow for lower down payments (currently as low as 3.5%) and FHA mortgages tend to be more flexible with credit scoring and debt-to-income ratios. Another reason why home buyers may lean [...]
Gone are the days when you can advertise “must see!” to sell your home, as if people have to come into your house as the first step in the home buying process. You can scream that from the roof top all you want, but unless you have a location that would cause anyone and everyone [...]
A huge congratulations to our very own Jillayne Schlicke on making this year’s list of the 100 Most influential Real Estate Leaders! Here’s how they describe her: Jillayne Schlicke is a researcher, writer and educator who advocates that real estate and mortgage industry professionals maintain a high level of training and ethical standards. As CEO [...]
The 2013 mortgage loan limits for the greater Seattle area are for the most part, the same as 2012. The following loan limits apply for homes located in King, Snohomish or Pierce Counties. Conforming: 1 Unit: $506,000 2 Unit: $647,750 3 Unit: $783,000 4 Unit: $973,100 FHA: 1 Unit: $567,500 2 Unit: $726,500 3 Unit: [...]
I’m writing this post because I am often asked how to get started teaching Realtor clock hour classes. There are a million ways to answer this question. Do you want to know what the state requirements are? I can easily point you in the direction of Washington State’s required forms but the form won’t tell you how [...]
There was so much fear mongering going on about “The Fiscal Cliff” it was starting to feel like being tied to a chair and being forced to watch The Shower Scene from Psycho. The stock market rallied up in response to it just being OVER WITH! But should we just be happy that it’s over [...]
I like this first picture of a TV placed in a main floor or lower level bedroom because honestly, here in Seattle, this is often the case. In fact this particular photo reminds me of the house I sold for Dustin Luther, the owner of Rain City Guide, a few years back. The light streaming [...]
Recent Comments