Renters Have Much to Gain by Pursuing Home Ownership

Buying a home vs. renting is a big decision that takes careful consideration, as most mortgage consultants will agree. But the rewards of home ownership are great. For many years, purchasing real estate has been considered an extremely profitable investment. It is an achievement that offers a sense of pride, financial stability and potential tax advantages.

Yes, there are certain responsibilities associated with owning a home. Landlords will often argue the benefits of renting, and for obvious reason. If you are renting, you’re helping them make their mortgage payment.


The numbers are staggering if you look at it this way. If you are paying $1,000 per month for an apartment, and you know your rent will increase 5% every year, then over the next five years you will pay your landlord $66,309. If you are currently renting a house, you may be paying much more than that each month. Either way, you gain no equity by shelling out this monthly housing expense and you certainly won’t benefit when the property value goes up!

However, if you were to purchase your own home or condominium, you would be well on your way toward building equity within that same five-year period. By choosing a fixed-rate loan program, you can have the comfort of knowing that your monthly mortgage payment will never go up. In fact, you would have the option of refinancing to a lower interest rate at some point in the future should interest rates drop, and this would cause your monthly mortgage commitment to go down.

In addition to building equity, there are tax advantages that come into play with home ownership. Depending on your tax bracket, owning a home is often less expensive than renting after taxes. Interest payments on a mortgage below $1 million are tax-deductible, and your mortgage consultant should help you evaluate the tax advantages of various loan scenarios, and share this information with your tax consultant to glean feedback on your behalf.

To find the loan program that is right for you, your mortgage consultant will need to evaluate your monthly household income, current assets and savings, as well as any monthly obligations you may have for credit card payments, car payments, child support, etc. These prequalification factors, along with the report of your credit score, will determine how much house you can afford and what interest rate you will pay for financing. It is also important to let your mortgage consultant know what your future goals are, because this will help narrow down which loan option is the best fit for your long-term needs.

There are many different types of loan programs available, including “low

7 Reasons for Real Estate Agents to Blog

A recent conversation on Tribe got me thinking about my experiences with being a real estate blogger. Here are my seven reasons real estate agents should consider blogging:

  1. Fun. I really enjoy the many conversations that I’ve had with real estate professionals from all over the world that would never had taken place had I not started this blog!
  2. Expertise. By simply writing about real estate and your local community in a public forum (like this!) you become an expert. Anna gets emails and calls from people on a regular basis asking for her opinion on real estate issues. I’m a transportation engineer, but even my opinion on real estate issues holds some weight! For example, someone from my wife’s corporate office recently called to get advice on how to better use technology in real estate.
  3. Trust. A client recently told my wife that he completely trusted her advice because of the honesty in her writing! That’s darn near impossible to get with a regular website.
  4. Knowledge. I follow local news, national news, local blogs, real estate blogs, tech blogs, etc, because I feel a responsibility to my readers. Maybe you won’t feel that internal pressure, but it definitely drives me to ensure that I’m up-to-date on real estate news.
  5. Ranking. Because of all the unique content, we get hits on all kinds of unusual real estate searches. In addition, because we’ve gotten some links from some high-ranked websites (mostly other blogs), her site ranks really well when compared to most real estate sites. Additionally, on typical real estate searches like “Seattle real estate”, we’re ranked very high (#7 on Google) for such a new site and I know that we’re beating out sites that are spending $1000s a year on marketing their site.
  6. Cost. Compared to most marketing techniques that agents are using, blogging might as well be free. I pay $100 a year to host this site. That’s it! The cost of blogging is measured in time, not money!
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  8. Potential. Rain City Guide is not even 10 months old yet. Give us two or three years of blogging, and we’ll easily be the most popular real estate site in Seattle. Ideally, the site will continue to grow as the web technologies evolve and more perspectives are added. I’d love to do more podcasting and videoblogging. I’d love to have someone document the building or remodeling of their home. I’d love to have some more real estate agents blogging about their local areas (Seattle, Bellevue, Redmond, etc. neighborhoods). I’d love to have someone take on some more analytical issues (Tom?). There are so many interesting ways that Rain City Guide can evolve that I feel like we’re only touching the surface of it’s potential.

When I look into my crystal ball to see the future of real estate blogging, I see one or two real estate blogs in each major city that have really captured the local market by having a group of prolific real estate professionals (agents, brokers, lawyers, etc) writing about local issues. I see people turning to these blogs to get unique and personal perspectives on issues like moving, building, buying and listing. I don’t think you’ll be surprised to hear that that is where I plan on taking Rain City Guide!

Meet a Realtor Who Doesn't Sell Houses…

The NY Times ran an article a few weeks ago on how hard it is for new real estate agents to break into the market (I’d like to the article but it is now behind a password-protected wall, so instead I’ll just link to the Property Grunt’s excellent summary and analysis). This article got me thinking of a way that I could still be very useful to my clients without actually buying or selling any homes.

What’s that? A Realtor who doesn’t buy or sell any homes?

For the next six-months or so, I really won’t be in a position where I can dedicate a significant amount of time to helping clients. (higher priorities! ) But what I would really enjoy doing over the next few months is staying connected to the business by helping buyers and sellers find appropriate agents.

Say that again?

Mariel Kicking a Soccer BallIn my office alone, there are almost 100 real estate agents who would love to have your business (assuming you’re buying or selling a home) and while I don’t know all of these agents, I do know the successful ones . What I would like to do is use my inside knowledge of successful Seattle agents to connect individuals with the right agents.

For example:

  • Are you looking for a condo in Downtown? I know an agent who specializes there!
  • Are you looking to buy land in Woodinville? I know a different agent who specializes there!
  • How about a modern-style home in Seattle? I know a different agent who specializes in modern homes.

Regardless if you’re trying to sell a home, condo, boathouse, townhome, etc., I’ve come into contact with a highly successful agent who specializes in that field. Talk with me, and I’ll connect you with the right person.

Why would I do this?

It is really a win-win-win situation. You get the best representation possible, a successful real estate agent gets one more client, and I can continue to help people in a small but important way. (I’ll also get a small referral fee from the agent…)

By the way, my recommendations are not limited to just people moving to Seattle. I know a few listings agents who go out of their way to please, so if you are currently a Seattle-area homeowner looking to list your house, talk with me before you list. I’m confident that no matter how good your realtor is, I can get you a better one!

What's in a Name?

[photopress:thor.jpg,thumb,alignright] I like to think that Rain City Guide is constantly growing and evolving… Along those lines, Anna has been doing some growing (and evolving?) of her own lately. (She’s going to kill me for saying that!)

For those that don’t already know, Anna is expecting to have our second child in a little over a month.

So, let’s get down to business… What should we name the child?

Some ground rules:

  1. Boy or Girl: We don’t know if it is a boy or girl, so you’ve got twice as many names to suggest…
  2. Bilingual: Like her big sister, this child will grow up to be fluent in two languages (it is a must since one set of grandparents speak only Russian and the other only speaks English!). While I encourage you to suggest all types of names, if the Russians can’t pronounce it, I’m pretty sure that it won’t end up flying with Anna
  3. Outrageous: I love unusual names. Anna hates them. While I might be able to sneak past a name like Thor or Tyr, you can be pretty sure that we wont’ be naming our child after a major corporation.

Beyond that, I just look forward to reading your suggestions!

iGenHome…

iGenHomeAn article from the Silicon Beat says that iGenHome is attempting to add a strong technology backend to the standard real estate agency. I’d imagine that just about anyone reading this blog knows that the real estate industry is set for some major technological changes in the near future and that I enjoy watching where the different players take it. I’ll be following this site and maybe have a full review in the near future… (Thanks Venture Blog for point out this article!)

It may sound too techy, but the first thing I look for in a new tech site is their support of RSS. (Scobleizer would understand!) So, I was disappointed to see no obvious RSS feeds available on their site. Even if you don’t know what they are, I’m of the opinion that you will be using them in the near future!

Here’s one example of how RSS feeds could be useful… I’ve begun presenting the “Latest Seattle Listings” here on my sidebar (if you’re reading this via a reader software, come check it out on the site!). This is just a little test of some RSS feed technology that I’ve been working on with Robbie Paplin of Caffeinated Software. We’ve got some other things up our sleeves that I find real interesting and I look forward to presenting more in the near future! By the way, is there a feed of Seattle home-data that you’d be interested in subscribing to? Let me know and I can probably make it happen for you!

The Long Winter

I just started reading the 5th book in the Little House on the Prairie series (to my daughter!) and appropriately enough, it is called The Long Winter. Interestingly, it begins in the fall with Pa speculating that it is going to be a long winter because the Geese are flying fast and furious to the south (and least faster and more furious than usual).

Playing in SnowOn a related note, all signs are pointing to a long winter here in Seattle. From my office in Downtown, I could see the snow come down pretty furiously this past week, although there wasn’t much sticking in Seattle (yet!) until you got into the hills. And there is speculation that the real estate market is in for a long winter, but considering the usual slowdown in this time of year, we won’t really know the extent of the slowdown (if there is one) until Spring.

All of this makes me think that we’re going to need a lot of good blog reading to get us through this winter… So I decided to start with Chris Parillo’s list of Seattle real estate blogs and update it with some of the new sites that have been added since July.

My idea is to create a comprehensive list of Seattle blogs that cover real estate issues. I’m vigilant about following real estate news and websites here in Seattle and I’d be surprised if there was a real estate blog that has slipped passed me. However, that is definitely possible, but begs an obvious question. If you’re running a Seattle real estate blog that I don’t know about, why are you keeping such a low profile?

But before I give the list of active blogs, I first wanted to note that I was completely disappointed to hear that Tom had stopped posting on Seattle Property News. I thought he had one of the best real estate blogs around and he definitely encouraged me to take on some more analytical topics…

Without further ado, here are the Seattle sites that are actively covering real estate issues:

And here are the blogs I know of that are covering real estate related issues…

If you know of another site that should be included in this list, let us know by leaving a comment!

Reading Seattle

Flying Santa CoverThe Restless Reader’s recent post on Seattle’s literary scene gives just one great reason for living in Seattle. I was fascinated (but not too surprised) to learn that 80% of Seattlites have a library card. (It was also fun to read that Seattle was rated the country’s most literate city.)

What’s my favorite bookstore in Seattle?

I’m partial to Ballard’s Secret Garden Bookshop. It’s definitely not the city’s largest book store, but it is a wonderful place to find a meaningful gift for kids. Just tonight, we stopped by this bookshop and had a wonderful conversation with Joe and Paula McHugh about their newest Children’s book called The Flying Santa. It seems that there is always something wonderful going on at the Secret Garden…

I guarantee you’re going to get this mortgage, I think.

Why does the mortgage business seem so insane and unreliable? Well, there are a couple of reasons. One reason is there are a tremendous number of loan officers who came into the business during the boom of 2001 and have not had enough experience. A loan officer’s job is to make your loan work. When they look at a loan application, they examine all possible reasons that could be a problem. These are things like properties under construction, borrowers who are out of work, too much debt, not enough income, complex income situations, low credit scores, title problems, and much more. Loan officers with lots of experience have seen so many different situations with such complex problems, they know how to evaluate a new loan and spot potential problems. The next hurdle is with the underwriters. These folks work for the lenders and they review all of the information sent to them from the loan officer. They have guidelines and matrices which tell them what’s acceptable and what’s not. Underwriters will ask, or “condition

Apply to refinance online and get 50 calls a day for months

I called a prospect whose name I purchased from a lead vendor. This is something we do regularly in the mortgage business. Rather than word of mouth, mailing, cold-calling, or some other marketing means, we can purchase the names, phone numbers, and other relevant information from a lead vendor. These leads come in various qualities and prices. You can get thousands of random names and phone numbers for pennies apiece or you can get interested, very specific parameter, live transfer calls directly to your phone for $150 or more each. Of course, there are leads for everywhere in between as well.

One of the most difficult factors in buying leads is the “exclusive