Author Archives: Reba Haas

Estate Sales and things you need to know while selling or buying them…

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I’ve worked with many estate sales over the years and, like most real estate transactions, they have their own issues to be aware of – and there are many times very individual circumstances to navigate. Just a couple of months ago I helped a client buy their very first home in a north Seattle neighborhood and we dealt with a situation where an attorney had been given court approval to sell a property on behalf of a disabled adult child whose mother had passed away this year.

[photopress:john_doe.jpg,thumb,alignright] There are several ways in that a home may be sold after an owner dies.  Sometimes an executor of the estate is called out in the will and they may legally sell the home.  In this case the “seller

Mythbusters takes on water heaters as rockets….

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The other night I watched Mythbusters with my partner, Michael, a show which I have to admit I only see occasionally and only when he’s watching it. It’s okay, but I usually prefer reading. Anyhow, one of the myths that they were attempting to bust is the idea that a water heater can become like a rocket and shoot through a home’s roof when it has failed.

Ok, I’ve been an agent, and a homeowner, for many years and I am fully aware of this “truth” mostly from having spoken with many knowledgeable contractors and inspectors over the years – not to mention feedback from my dad who is an all around great fix-it guy.

Well, for anyone who has heard about this “myth” before but didn’t believe it… here is the clip from the Mythbusters folks. It’s quite eye-opening….

I wonder, if this happened to a homeowner and the insurance company determined it was the homeowner’s fault due to negligence because of lack of maintenance – does this mean they wouldn’t pay? I’m all about maintenance on a home’s water heater and replacing them BEFORE failure of any kind so I hope I never find out personally.

Taking on KING/KONG…

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Yesterday I was interviewed by a KING-5 reporter, Kim Holcomb, and which I had written about on my blog at this post.  I had jokingly referred to taking on King Kong but only because the news segment was shown on KING-5 and KONG-6 last night.

King Kong

The news story was about how the market here is changing just a bit to more of a stabilized market.  At the beginning of the report a seller talks about it being a “buyer’s market” but I wouldn’t necessarily agree with him completely.  We’ve still got room to move before that happens and if anything we’re more balanced than the past 5 years.  The segment did run on both KING and KONG stations and, from what my business partner tells me, it is one of the most viewed and forwarded links from the KING-5 website today.  Here is a link the actual news story about the Seattle real estate marketplace along with pieces of my interview.

It seems we’re (Team Reba) getting a lot of press lately.  I was interviewed in July for a story on blogging for the RE/MAX Times back in July (released in September) and just last week I was interviewed for a real estate investment magazine which will be printed in the November/December time frame.  Now, if I could just get the interviewers to pronounce my name correctly…. 🙂

How walkable is your neighborhood?

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In late August a press release was sent out by Mayor Nickels office regarding plans to increase sidewalk construction in areas of the city where there are none now.  Many buyers I talk to on a regular basis tell me they want to live in neighborhoods with safe streets where they can walk to and from shops or to be able to take their kids safely to local parks, etc.  I personally love having sidewalks in my neighborhood.  An online tool that can be used to determine if your area has good “walkability” is this site: http://www.walkscore.com/

A large portion of the northern section of Seattle is without sidewalks since they were developed prior to being within the city’s borders (most areas north of 85th St).  An article in the Seattle Times highlighted this area and others recently noting how expensive it is for cities to add sidewalks, but because city inhabitants have been vocal for it Mayor Nickels is going to give them what they want.  Or is he?

Here is a link to the city’s current plan to add sidewalks, most of which is supposed to be funded by new construction: http://www.seattle.gov/DPD/Planning/Sidewalks_Improvement_Initiative/Overview/

Now, let’s compare that to a notice I received from the Master Builder’s Association as shown below.  As I read it, the MBA doesn’t want to take on the responsibility for the costs of adding the sidewalks.  If they do, they will, of course, pass it on to the consumer (buyer of their developments) and as a result the cost of the sidewalk will go up multi-fold because there will be added costs from the builder on top of the original cost to install.  I don’t know if the city can get a “bargain” compared to the MBA developers or not but I would think that it would be inefficient for the city to try and manage all of the independent developments and the sidewalk needs of those as they happen ad hoc around the city.  Perhaps if the “fee in lieu” were to go directly into a pot that could be used for ad hoc installing of sidewalks I’d feel better about it, but I’d also be concerned about whether or not that would be managed well too.

The Mayor’s Sidewalk Announcement

The long anticipated Sidewalks Initiative was announced today by Mayor Nickels and is available at: Sidewalk Press Release. 
Should the proposal pass, sidewalks, curb and gutter would be required for all new development in Urban Centers and Villages and along any arterial.  The threshold for the remaining portions of the city would be lowered to 3 units.  For more detail, goto:  Seattle Sidewalks.
The MBA is proposing a fee in lieu of program that would bank sidewalks and allow the city to contract with the lowest bidder to install all sidewalks—I assume the city gets a better deal than we can.  The goal is for members to avoid the long and expensive SDOT review. 

laughing through the pain

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I have heard many times the adage that many a comedian became a funny man or woman because of painful experiences. Well, it seems to continue to have a grain of truth after watching this video of Molly Shannon – funny woman from SNL. A contributor on my own blog had posted info on September as Life Insurance Awareness Month and he had the link to Molly’s piece as part of it. I had no idea that she had suffered such an awful experience as a child. As a professional that has always promoted overall financial planning savvy and long-term planning to clients over the years the reminder of life insurance is a good one. Just like you insure your home, its contents, and your car – you should insure yourself if you have dependents or to make sure your heirs aren’t left holding the financial bag for you after your demise, be it untimely one or after a long good life.

Recall notice on some GE Dishwashers

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If you’ve got a dishwasher manufactured by GE from Sept 1997 to Dec 2001 you may want to check out their website at www.geappliances.com/recall or call the recall hotline at 1-877-607-6395 (8am-8pm Mon-Sat Eastern Time) to see if yours is on the list of recalled products. Be sure to have your model and serial number with you when you call.

I got a notice the other day, and I’ve had a client receive one before too, asking me to check the model and serial number on my dishwasher to see if it might be one of those that has had problems.

“What is the problem they are concerned with

Going on in the neighborhood…

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The Ballard Jazz Festival is going on April 25th to April 28th.  Last year my partner, Michael, and I attended several of the venues and we had a great time. There are a lot of wonderful groups to listen to and it’s a fun way to check out several of the downtown Ballard nightspots. It’s also a great way to meet up with neighbors in the area and to support the area. Since this site is dedicated not only to lending and housing information but also information about the neighborhoods I thought that some of you might enjoy it.  I can’t make it since I’m back in Kansas but I hope that some of you will be able to take advantage of the entertainment.  I’ll be thinking about it while I am here and wishing I could join you.

Do YOU have a durable power of attorney?

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So, I haven’t been on RCG for a while because I am gone from Seattle to Wichita, KS where I and my siblings are on hospital watch. My parents were hit by a drunk driver on Monday night and so I caught a flight here immediately since both of them were in the hospital with injuries. My dad has a brain injury and has been unconscious for several days now. For anyone that is interested in reading my blogs about the experience feel free to do so at this link: http://blog.myspace.com/teamreba
When I’m working with clients there are always situations that come up where we have to deal with difficult circumstances. My partner, Michael, and I frequently ask our clients if they have a durable power of attorney. Typically we make it for a specific property based on the transaction and usually the title company has to approve the POA to insure the purchase. Sometimes the POA is put in place under in the context of just making sure we are able to get signatures if there is a spouse or partner that travels a lot or an out of country trip is planned that would make it difficult to get notices or addendums signed. I’ve used these when I have siblings in multiple states as well who are buying or selling property.

Thankfully my parents did put together POA’s about 4 years ago. My mother is a REALTOR(R) in Wichita and my dad works with her as a licensed agent. They also own several rental properties and they had just received mutual acceptance on an offer for one the day they got in the accident.  My mother is conscious, although on pain medication for her broken bones, and she is aware enough that she knows what is going on and can sign things for herself. However, while I am my dad’s medical POA one of my siblings is his financial POA.  I’ll likely have my sister sign for my dad just so there is no question about mental faculties with my mom when the additional paperwork for this transaction is turned in.

It’s been a relief for me (and I think my mom too) to be able to come in and help out with her business while she and dad are in the hospital. I can’t practice real estate agency in Kansas but I have contacted some other agents that know my mom (she’s been an agent 20 years) and they’ll help with any items that require licensing and I’ll be a knowledgeable “gopher”. This also relieves stress from my siblings who may not know what they should do for her contracts and listings. I hadn’t really considered I’d have to help out in this way, but I sure am glad that I can.  It helps to also give me something else to think about rather than my dad in ICU.

My comments to all that read RCG is that if you don’t have a durable power of attorney for your personal affairs you really should do it and the sooner the better. You never know when a truck will slam into you and render you unconscious and you’ll need help with your medical and personal affairs such as paying bills. We stress this kind of long term planning to pretty much all of our clients and we host a client event every year that covers things like this to prevent more cases like Terry Schiavo. I hope you’ll consider it and go do it soon yourself.