Category Archives: General

Is Real Estate Investing for You?

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Thinking BigI’ve talked with many people recently that are interested in investing in real estate but not sure where to start. If that descrives you then I would recommend reading Gary Keller’s most recent book, Millionaire Real Estate Investor. In this book he gives you a step-by-step approach to becoming a real estate investor. It’s nice that his writing style is very conversational and easy to read without being condescending.

A previous book of his, Millionaire Real Estate Agent, illustrates how an agent can set themselves up to become extremely successful in life (as well as professionally!)

(Read the Amazon.com reviews on the above links and you’ll see that I’m not the only one who thinks they are worth reading!)

If you are a potential investor in Seattle-area real estate interested in reading either of these books, let me know, and I would happily pass along one of my copies to you!

gHomes Update

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Bus Tunnel StitchedI’ve been slowly making some updates to the gHomes site. Today’s improvement was to add a link from the Google minipages to more detailed information.

If you are new to my site, then definitely check out my alpha-version of gHomes … I hope you’ll find it is the best way to search for a new home in Seattle.

(Do you know where the photo from this post was taken? Here’s the satellite image…)

SOLD: 7007 34th Ave NW

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[photopress:25063873.jpg,thumb,alignright]This is a Spectacular Sunset Hill Tudor!

This enchanted wood frame Tudor sits on terrific lot owerlooking the Sound and wonderful views of the Olympic mountains. It includes secret gardens, lush landscaping and a glorious master suite with walk in closet, bath with skylight and a jet tub. The award winning kitchen design creates a wonderful atmostphere for gallery-style cooking.

The main floor features a formal entry, mahogany woodwork and doors, original full-tiled bath , a dining room, a family room with build in book cases and an entertainment center. Second floor features 2nd and 3rd full bath with larger than average guest bedroom and wonderful 3rd bedroom view suite. Lower level includes 4th bedroom , 3/4th bath, small kitchenette, hobby room, and a rec-room.

What more? There’s lots of storage, high efficiency gas furnace, a laundry room and access to the covered patio leads to gardens and Grotto. Homes like this in Sunset Hill do not come on the market very often!

Details

Address:
7007 34th Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107

Bedrooms: 4

Bathrooms:3.75

Square Feet (approx):3350

MLS #: 25063873

List Price: $ 995,000

Are you interested in learning more about this house? Contact Me!

Mortgage Matters

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peppersI’ve been really impressed with a daily column (blog?) by Holden Lewis put out by Bankrate that discusses issues related to mortgages.

I find the section he gives on the numbers to be particularly useful in putting a little perspective on how (and why) mortgage rates are changing.

If you in the market for a home loan (refinance? new home?), a few minutes reading his site could quickly bring you up to date on current market conditions.

The miracle mortgage? or not?

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Bison GrazingInterest-only mortgages are all the rage right now… Money magazine claims that as many as 70% of new home loans are interest only (in hot markets).
Here’s how money magazine descibed the workings of an interest-only loan:

What people commonly call an interest-only mortgage isn’t one particular type of loan. Rather, interest-only is an option that can be attached to any mortgage.

And in every case, after a certain time (usually five, seven or 10 years) the mortgage becomes fully amortizing, and you must pay both interest and principal. Because you’re repaying the principal in 20 or 25 years, not 30, those principal payments are higher than they would have been.

Other than that, the terms are as varied as those on any other mortgage — anything from a one-month adjustable rate to a 30-year fixed. IOs generally have a slightly higher rate (about a quarter of a percentage point) than the same loan without the interest-only feature (one reason lenders like them). But for most borrowers, that’s a small price to pay for the deep savings that interest-only payments represent.

Jack Guttentag (a professor at Wharton) had a much more skeptical (and I think more interesting) article on interest-only loans that dived a little deeper into the history of these types of loans. He describes how interest-only loans were all the rage in the 1920s…

However, the drop in real estate values during the Depression pushed a large proportion of interest-only loans into foreclosure. Lenders switched entirely to fully amortizing loans, and that has been the standard mortgage loan since.

Mr. Guttentag concludes that interest-only loans are “gimmickry, misdirection, and misperception” and that “if you don’t need an interest-only mortgage to qualify for the house you want to buy, it is not the best choice. ”

Of course, this is only one perspective on interest-only loans, but I find it highly interesting. If you are thinking of using an interest-only loan, I’d be interested to know why…

Norwegian Constitution Day

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[photopress:costumes_1.jpg,thumb,alignright]The Norwegian Constitution Day parade is going on tomorrow, May 17, in Ballard!

The official Syttende Mai site gives the meaning behind the day along with a list of events. For more info, check out the wikipedia entry.

The Seattle Times describes the event as “One of the largest May 17 parades in the United States begins at 6 p.m. tomorrow at 24th Avenue Northwest and Northwest 62nd streets in downtown Ballard. It winds through the business district, ending at Ballard Avenue Northwest.”

The highlights from the list of events include:
Lunch
Eat excellent food and listen to important speakers.
Time:
12:00pm (Noon) to 2:00pm
Location:
Leif Erikson Hall, 2245 NW 57th Street

Parade
The parade starts at 6 p.m. near Adams School in Ballard, at the corner of NW 62nd and 24th Avenue NW. The route follows south to Market Street and eastward to Bergen Place, which is named after the Seattle Sister City of Bergen, Norway.
Time:
6:00pm to 8:00pm

Bergen Place
Entertainment featuring music and dance from Norway and other Nordic countries.
Time:
2:30pm to 5pm
Location:
Bergen Place is located at the intersection of Market St., Leary Avenue and 22nd Avenue.

Children’s Games
Children enjoy traditional games from Norway and the United States with awards going to all who participate. A surprise guest is usually on hand to delight one and all. The games are free and open to the public.
Time:
2:00pm to 4:30pm
Location:
At the Ballard Community Center, 6020 28th Avenue NW.

Dance to Pickled Herring Band
Dance the night away…
$10 at the door. Must be 21 years of age or older.
Time:
9:00pm to 12:00am
Location:
At Leif Erikson Hall, 2245 NW 57th, No host bar.

Hope to see you there!

Maddog on moving to seattle

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Coastal RainI just ran across this article from a Microsoft employee describing his reaction to his move to Seattle… The highlight for me was his description of Seattle rain:

Rain? Yes, but it fits, it’s nice. I think it’s kind of like the vegetable racks at the supermarket – every few minutes little jets turn on and spray everything to keep it moist.

(I also noticed that he is a huge fan of Richard Feynman, who just happened to write one of my all-time favorite books)

Older Homes Appreciating Faster

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Hurley and Patterson CousinsThe Seattle Times had an interesting article that describes how home values of older homes have increased at substantially faster rates than new homes:

New homes may have the latest of everything, but as an investment, a new house simply does not bring the returns that an older home does. Countywide over the past five years, new houses have posted 4.8 percent annual appreciation, while older homes saw about 7 percent. In the past year, new houses appreciated 7.5 percent compared with old houses’ 10.4 percent.

I don’t think many Seattle agents would find this information surprising as most homes as so many of the homes around here have increased in value substantially over the past few years. My experience has been that there is a large subset of home buyers that are looking for homes with character in established neighborhoods. In an area like Seattle with very few new homes being built each year, people are finding ways to fix up old homes in ways that make them shine beyond a typical “old” home.

Most importantly, assuming an old home is located in a nice neighborhood, it is relatively easy to add $100K to $200K through straightforward improvements (update kitchens, build out basements/attics, etc), whereas the opportunity to substantially increase the value of new homes is more limited.

This same report included data on the medium home values for Seattle/King County. If you drill down through their menus, you can find out how many homes were sold in your neighborhood, along with the percent that were new and median price.

Novel Billboard Ad? Is it Possible?

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Bikini AgentAs her husband, I’ve let Anna know that she is not to be influenced by this real estate agent! 🙂

Here’s the story:
The display of one Realtor’s assets draws attention in Belmont Shore.

And here’s the logic:

“It’s kind of flipped people out,” said Heath, who reported receiving almost as many calls from Realtors upset with the ad as those voicing support. “A couple of agents are having a fit about it, but that’s because they just didn’t think of it first.”

My opinion? Go Wendy!

The Boeing Boom

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sasha with eyeglassThe Seattle PI had an article today describing how things are definitely picking up at the local Boeing facilities around the Puget Sound. This paragraph sums it up pretty well:

The company plans to open a second production line in Renton that will push output there to a record 31 planes a month. It is also requiring some 777 workers in Everett to work overtime and will replace a key executive there amid a series of production problems before it boosts output of that twin-aisle jetliner as well.

None of this comes as a surprise to me as I’ve been noticing a substantial increase in people who looking to move to the area related to Boeing jobs. In addition, some of the housing message boards such as craigslist and trip advisor seem to have a lot more questions about good places to live for people whose jobs are relocating to Everett and/or relocating to Renton.

For home owners, any sustained expansion of jobs to the region is great news and I’m of the opinion that job growth plays a larger role in keeping home prices high than any change in interest rates! The success of the tech industry (Microsoft, Amazon, etc) in the area has done wonders for our home values and with the additional growth from Boeing, the future looks real good for Seattle-area home owners.