Gone Facebooking… Be back soon

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Dustin Luther

Earlier today, I launched the latest integration between Facebook and RCG… If you check out the right sidepanel, you’ll see that you can now become a fan of RCG directly from this site thanks a new tool released by Facebook called the Fan Box.

Since I launched the RCG fan page a few weeks ago, I’ve been experimenting will all kinds of content. Some RCG articles, some news articles, some community blog posts, some event related posts… and it’s been really interesting to see which ones resonate with people enough to get them to engage. Just some of the articles I’ve highlighted on our fan page include:

What I really like about the RCG FB Page is that it lets me publish quick links that I think will be interesting to the RCG community without the need to take up a post.

If you’re interested in taking part in this extension of RCG, all you need to do is “become a fan” using the box to the right!

And if you have a story you want to see us cover, I just created a page that will let you use a nifty Facebook Updater widget to share links and/or stories with us. This is definitely not the permanent solution, but as a test of the technology, it should do the trick!

Happy Facebooking!

[CC photo courtesy of Lopolis]

Tales From the Dark Side #1

Posted on July 9, 2009 by Ray Pepper

[Editor’s Note: As a long time member of the Rain City Guide community, Ray Pepper has offered to share stories with us about his on-the-ground experience working as a real estate broker with $500 Realty. We’re calling these “Tales from the Dark Side” and today, I’m please to hit publish on the first edition of this series. Please give a warm welcome to Ray Pepper as the latest contributor to Rain City Guide!]

In an attempt to educate the public and fellow agents of the NWMLS I offer an incident dated Sept 2008.

Client Sam and Tim have been Pre-Approved clients looking for a home in Des Moines with a current Buyers Agency agreement on file. They attend Open Houses and call me for showings every month or so. They have been educated on how to advise all fellow agents they are working with an Agent.

Sam found a home driving around and called me from her cell at the vacant residence. It was a Sunday at 4pm and I got the message about 8pm. The voice mail indicated she called the Agent on the sign, to inquire on the price, and as it turned out the agent lived across the street.

As the story unfolds the Agent spent 2.5 hours with our client talking about the home, the history of it, and the wonderful community she has lived in for decades.

I receive a phone call to write an offer on the property Sunday night. I asked my client how they got inside. She stated the listing agent let me in. I asked, ” Did you remind her you were working with an agent?” She said absolutely!

An offer was written around midnight and was promptly sent Monday morning.

The next phone call I received was one that has been repeated before but this time much harsher then I have ever heard. It reminded me of my old female Drill Sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood. ” Listen here Pepper!” “I’m a million dollar producer!” “I’ve seen the likes of you come and go!” “My time is very valuable!” “Don’t speak until I have finished what I’m saying!” “Your clients lied to me!” ” We have a wonderful community here and I don’t think dishonesty is a good fit for our community!” “I’m not here to do your work for you!”

I’m new here to RCG and I believe none of you know me personally. Those who do will attest that there is nobody more sincere, honest, and willing to take any and all slanderous language. I have listened to it for years at the Seattle/Tacoma Home Show and Puyallup Fair. I took it all in as usual. I attempt to never laugh but always educate based on the rules set forth by the NWMLS and the State.

I immediately contacted my clients and told them about the incident and how I had to remove myself from this transaction. My clients stated to me SHE is the liar and the agent “offered” to just walk across the street and show her listing to them. As it turns out while I was on the phone with my clients the listing agent called back for Round 2 of screaming and I continued to listen. I must confess that at times I find this very therapeutic and relaxing. I was threatened to be turned into the NWMLS, the State, and her Broker. I strongly encouraged her to do so.

We all know how this story ends. The Buyer wanted the home. The Seller wanted it sold. The buyers walked because they did not want to have this agent as their neighbor.

It is my opinion the only one who ever loses from this type of behavior is the one who will never know it happened. At last look the house still remains on the market today, this time with a new agent.

Our clients closed on their new home in April 2009.

[photo source: Sir Mervs]

Price per square foot revisited

Posted on July 6, 2009 by ARDELL

Are formal dining rooms becoming obsolete? Are huge master suites too “selfish” for today’s changing society? Is “keeping up with the Joneses” turning into “Cutting down with the Joneses”?

In a market projected to be flat at best for the foreseeable future, these questions are fast becoming very important for each home buyer to ask and answer, each in their own way.

In the age of “me”, me being the parents vs. the children, the places where children “go” in their home got smaller and smaller. Families used to spend more time together in the “living” room until the children were banished to the “family room” and the living room became a “formal” living room that most no one ever used. People gathered in the kitchen with friends and family, until the “formal” dining room became a place and space ONLY used once in a while when “guests” came. As if the kitchen was OK for the kids, but the visitors were somehow more important, so much so that we paid big money for a special room just for “guests” vs the family on an everyday basis.

Beyond price per square foot, it is time for home buyers to determine price per square foot of WHAT? Forget about how it currently “works”. It’s time to change how it works.

First Floor = 1,630 sf of which only 534 square feet represent rooms the children enter on a regular basis. The rest is “formal” living room, “formal” dining room, “Dad’s” study, “grand” staircase and foyer. Even if you throw in the 1/2 bath, the space the children live in is smaller than the square footage of the attached 3 car garage at 660 sf.

When did the children become entitled to less space than the cars?

Second Floor = 1,260 sf of which each child’s bedroom is only 130 sf. If you have two children and throw in the bathroom they share at 5 x 8, that gives them 380 sf on the second floor. Let’s be generous and give them an open loft “bonus” room to do their homework in at 15 x 15 and you still have a full HALF of the second floor devoted to master suites and grand staircases.

2,890 sf of home plus 660 sf of garage = 3,550 sf of which only 1,165 sf is space the children enter on a regular basis. The “children’s” place is not even double the amount devoted to housing the cars. Given the “children’s” space includes the kitchen and the family room, that’s just sad.

Let’s put a price tag of $550,000 on this home = $154 per square foot including the garage. 1,165 sf times $154 = $180,500 of that $550,000 devoted to the “family” and places where the children go on a daily basis. That’s about $370,000 for formal areas, master bedrooms and baths, showy staircases and places to put the cars.

Do you really want to spend $380,000 for places your children don’t enjoy?

Put this house on a small lot, as a zero lot line home, and we have to ask ourselves: I know we’ve come a long way, we’re changing day to day. But tell me, where do the children play?

Notice of Trustee Sales v. Trustee Deeds

Posted on July 1, 2009 by Jillayne Schlicke

Each month, Alan from Seattle Bubble religiously posts the Notice of Trustee Sale (NTS) numbers for King County. I’m very appreciative of his work because it saves me time each month so thanks again, Alan. Cruising SB last night, I found Alan’s numbers alarming for June: 1615 NTS were filed. Here are more numbers from Alan:

King County Notice of Trustee Sales

6/2009 – 1615
6/2008 – 576
6/2007 – 304
6/2006 – 299

180% YOY (280% of last year)

The last few months:
6/2009 – 1615
5/2009 – 992
4/2009 – 938
3/2009: 1089
2/2009: 838
1/2009: 909
12/2008: 660
11/2008: 540
10/2008: 643
9/2008: 607
8/2008: 575
7/2008: 728

If we’re seeing 180% increase year over year with notice of trustee sale filings, then where are the REOs? Well as it turns out, if you compare the trustee deed filings for the same month, you’ll see that a low percentage of Notice of Trustee Sales actually go all the way through the auction process. Here’s comparison data courtesy of Jess and Julie Lyda, which gives us a visual comparing NTS v. Trustee Deeds, which means title changed hands from the owner in default to a new owner. That new owner could be the bank/lender or someone who was the high bidder at the trustee sale. Here’s a link to a larger image of the graph.

So what assumptions can we make given facts that we already know? We already know that banks and lenders are postponing the majority of trustee sales in King County. We don’t have any data as to how long postponements are lasting. If a homeowner is trying for a short sale or loan modification, we do know that the average wait time for banks to process these requests could easily be months based on nationwide reports from Realtors, home buyers and homeowners. We also know that there are many banks who have turned into zombies, waiting for their number to be called and the regulators to show up on a Friday afternoon. Postponing the losses from a foreclosure means the bankers can collect a paycheck for a few more months.

We also know that 50% of all loan modifications re-default by the 6 month mark. This pushes the foreclosure out longer and increases the overall losses to the bank/lender. Another assumption we can make comparing data from Alan and Julie is that hundreds of REOs will be coming back on the market each month, which will put further pressure on home values. Prime delinquencies are starting to surge and so are delinquencies in the upper home price ranges.

With what we know, home values will continue to feel pressure from many angles including higher inventory levels, continued tightening of underwriting guidelines, the lower prices of REO resales and short sales.

Why Home Inspection Negotiations Fail

Posted on June 29, 2009 by ARDELL

Properties “falling out of escrow” due to the home inspection negotiation failing, is on the rise. In many cases this is because the buyer is asking for something the seller can’t really say yes to, because what they are asking for just doesn’t make any sense. Consequently the answer often becomes no and the escrow “falls out”. See this example of a recent Extreme Home Inspection to see how difficult it is to say “no” when no is the most appropriate response for all parties, and still keep everything moving forward to a right conclusion.

A home inspection is not the same as the original contract negotiation. The original negotiation is more about price and terms than the house itself. Consequently both parties can decide what to do, and what to do next during the negotiation, in email or by fax. To successfully complete a home inspection negotiation, the negotiations need to start AT the property, and may take a few inspections by experts to complete the inspection negotiations properly.

The example in the link gives a better picture of why this is so, than I can describe here. But let’s look at the three main causes for inspection negotiations going sideways, and how the buyer is often moving in the wrong direction.

1) The new norm of not letting the seller’s agent be present at the inspection is not a good one. I agree that the seller should not be present, as the emotional level can get out of control and unmanageable. But the agent for the seller needs to take the ball and run with it once the buyer starts making a request. The BEST way for the agent for the seller to negotiate to a good conclusion is if they are AT the inspection and heard and saw what the inspector was talking about. Not permitting the agent for the seller to be present can lead to the seller fixing the wrong thing, or fixing it incorrectly. If the paper report were an adequate representation of all facts at hand, the buyer would not need to attend. We all know that is not the case, and to understand the inspection in its entirety, so as to negotiate the appropriate fix, requires that all relevant parties be present.

It is a great disservice to the transaction as a whole for buyers to insist that the agent for the seller not be present. Yes, I’ll agree that a lazy, crappy agent in the room doesn’t help anyone. But the right agent in the room can make everything work out even better than the buyer hoped for. The agent for the seller has the best chance of getting the seller to react appropriately to the “issue at hand”. Give that agent what they need to help you best. Let them be present during the inspection, in fact insist on it. The paper report does not replace being in the space with the inspector as he finds and discusses the issue at much greater length and detail then ends up in the written report.

If you have an agent who sits on the front step reading a book or doing “work they brought to do during the inspection”, and doesn’t stay “engaged in the process”, well…I think you know what I want to say there and can’t say out loud.

2) Successful negotiations require you to put yourself in the other side’s shoes. Often agents who have represented hundreds of buyers and sellers can do this better than any buyer or seller. When a buyer’s agent writes up an inspection response, they then have to read it back to themselves pretending they are the agent for the seller. How would the agent on the other side of the table take this request and run with it? Often the answer is, they can’t. The agent wrote what the buyer asked for, without analyzing whether or not the other side has enough information to respond well.

Example: “Fix everything.” Even if the seller says yes, there are some things you don’t want the seller to fix. Some things need a credit, some things need to be fixed, and most things need a whole lot more detail as to HOW to fix them than “fix everything on this list” explains. RARELY does ANYONE say yes to an unknown cost. Fix everything is just lazy. The buyer’s fix might cost $6,000. The seller’s fix might cost $300. The seller may be saying “yes” to $300 while the buyer is thinking they said yes to $6,000. Then you get to the end after closing and the fix is horribly inadequate. You must be VERY specific if you want a “fix”, and that fix has to have a “work order” attached. The work order dectates WHO will fix it and the cost of that fix, so the seller is saying yes to what the buyer really wants and needs.

3) The request has to make sense. When the inspector says (and they all do) I can’t tell what’s behind the wall, it is NOT usually appropriate for the buyer to ask for the wall to be opened. Sometimes yes (as in the linked example in the first paragraph) sometimes no.

Example: 200 amp panel is of the type that was recalled. The inspector says it needs a new panel (cost approx. $1,000). The inspector suggests the panel be moved from outside the house to inside the house (generally not an appropriate request – it’s like asking for the washer and dryer to be moved from the second floor to the first floor. A home inspection should not include a request to change the home from what it is, when that something is not “a defect” and is a suggestion vs. a needed repair.)

The inspector says “I see no problem besides the panel itself”, but as a CYA he adds, “I can’t trace the lines throughout the home as I can’t see behind walls”. Buyer asks the seller to replace the panel AND move it from outside to inside AND asks them to trace the lines throughout the home…no possible answer to all that besides “no”. The inspector can’t see through walls and neither can the seller or the seller’s electrician. You’re basically asking for someone to rip out every wall and see the wiring behind the wall and check it. Unless the inspector sees a problem in the wiring, and even when they do, there is a limit to what you can expect a seller to do. Handing them a to do with no work order…no cost…no detail as to what they are to do next, is begging for a no response.

RECAP:

1) Make sure both the agent for the buyer and the agent for the seller are in attendance and “engaged” during the inspection.

2) If there is a “potential” but unidentified problem as to specifics CALL FOR A 2ND INSPECTION of that item by a qualified specialist, before making a request.

3) Don’t simply ask for the biggest number you can get. Make sure your request matches the issue at hand.

Example: 35 year roof is 6 year’s old. Inspector sees 3 cracked shingles and flashing issues around the chimney. If you really want to buy the house, don’t ask for “a new roof”. Sure, getting ten grand is nice. But asking for a new roof when it doesn’t need a new roof will likely lead to the seller not trusting anything you want as “real”, and leads to the seller simply saying “NO!” and not wanting to negotiate any further and that equals #FAIL!

FHA Condo Approval Process – MAJOR Guideline Changes

Posted on June 27, 2009 by Jim Reppond

condo construction building There are major changes on the way for developers of condo projects and existing condo owners who want to get approved for FHA financing. These changes are set to take place October 1st, 2009. But the ramifications are going to start being felt right away. The details are outlined in the Mortgagee Letter 2009-19 that was issued on June 12th by HUD. In this latest Mortgagee Letter FHA is announcing dramatic changes to their Condo Approval Process and the ELIMINATION of the Spot Approval Process. While these changes reduce the documentation and requirements for Full Condo Approval, it will place a lot more work and responsibility on Lenders.

The Lender will have 2 options:

HUD Review and Approval Process (HRAP).
Direct Endorsement Lender Review and Approval Process (DELRAP), outlined in this Mortgagee Letter. This option is only available to lenders who have unconditional Direct Endorsement authority and staff with knowledge and expertise in reviewing and approving condominium projects.

The processing options stated above will be applicable to condominium developments that are:

Proposed/Under Construction;
Existing Construction; or
Conversions.

Certain types of projects will be ineligible. They are:

Condominium Hotel or “Condotels

Twice as many Open Houses!

Posted on June 26, 2009 by ARDELL

In case you didn’t know, this weekend [June 28, 2009] is WA Open House Weekend. Net result is if you are in the process of looking at houses to buy, or a seller looking to make comparisons with other homes on market, this Sunday you can double the effectiveness of your Sunday afternoon efforts.

According to my recent conversation on Twitter with @MattGoyer of Redfin, the number of Open Houses is about double the norm for Sunday, June 28th, 2009.

While Redfin site doesn’t have all the Open Houses due to the “block” put on the mls feature by some brokers, any agent can send you a link to hopefully more or even all, as long as the Open House data isn’t blocked agent to agent vs. broker to public sites, which they don’t seem to be. I will put a couple of those links into this post and can do more by request in the comments section. The links will only be good for 30 days, but for Open House purposes, that is more time than we need them to be accurate and working.

Some agents will decide on Sunday Morning (after reading this post) to participate in the event, so expect there to be at least 10% more Open Houses than are currently or eventually “visible”…possibly more.

I cordially invite you to visit me from noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, June 28th at 519 Federal Avene E (rear unit) in Capitol Hill. I am extending the hours by two additional hours to accommodate those who will be attending the Gay Pride events in Seattle on Sunday, and will stay past five if someone arrives shortly before 5. The sellers also reduced the price by 5% even though we have only been on market a short time, to celebrate the Open House Event.

~~Here’s the current link~~ for Open Houses around 519 Federal Ave. E. (area 390)directly from the MLS showing 74 Open Houses for Sunday at present.

My partner, Kim Harris, will be our at condo listing at Sundance – Klahanie in Issaquah on Sunday from 1-4 where the seller is offering to buy down the interest rate below 5% in honor of Open House Weekend. ~~Here’s a link~~ to the 26 open houses in Issaquah.

If you like to see houses, this is a good weekend to see more than usual in one trip!

Live Video Streams on RCG? With Facebook Chat?

Posted on June 26, 2009 by Dustin Luther

I’ve been told my interest in using Facebook for marketing is a bit unhealthy, but I’ve been having so much fun, and this week I pushed the limits in some ways that I thought I’d share in the hope we could spark some interesting conversations…

First off, I’ve been really fortunate to work with the team behind a really interesting movie called The Stoning of Soraya M. that’s being released in selected theaters today (and Seattle on July 17th). It’s a controversial movie based on the true story of a woman who was stoned to death in the Iran after being accused of ~~adultly~~ adultery by her husband. To help with outreach for the movie, I built (with some ridiculously well-timed help from Loren Nason of the Future of Real Estate Technology) a Facebook app that let me combine both a live video stream with a streaming facebook chat-style app. The result was an interview with the director where we took questions from the Facebook community. You can see a recording of the video on the Spinnio app page where we hosted the conversation.

However, before I was ready to go live with the app for the movie, I decided to use the Spinnio app to record a weekly radio show that I run with Rob Hahn called the RE:RnD (Real Estate Radio with Rob and Dustin)… Normally, Rob and I record our radio show form opposite sides of the country, but this week, we were both in Orange County for REBCOC. We took advantage of some of the great real estate people in attendance to interview:

You can watch the video here:

But wait, there’s more!!!

I happen to think the technology of streaming video with Facebook Chat is simply too interesting to resist… so I created a page on RCG that combines the live stream from the Seattle Channel with a chat box that lets you comment on the video with anyone else on RCG watching the video. While I doubt this page will get the critical mass to be extremely interesting, hopefully you can see how cool it could be and just where the Facebook chat/status update technology is heading.

Also, I’m somewhat hesitant to throw a generic chat on RCG in a prominent place, but what do you think?

FB.init(“639647c0b027e22dfc546244ab17a875”, “files/xd_receiver.htm”);

(By the way, this works! Feel free to try it out, although be prepared that each comment leaves a “status” update on your profile.)

I’ve never liked the idea of adding a message board because I simply don’t have the time to moderate it, but I have a feeling that this would be pretty self-moderating considering it’s tied to people’s Facebook account… But what do you think? Should I create a place on RCG where you can leave comments and engage in conversations that aren’t tied to any blog post?

Will the New National Loan Originator Exam be Too Easy?

Posted on June 24, 2009 by Jillayne Schlicke

I just took a look at the sample questions provided by the National Mortgage Licensing System for the new national loan originator exam and I must say these are so easy why even bother with a test? Let’s take a look:

If an applicant works 40 hours every week and is paid $13.52 per hour, what is the applicant’s
monthly income?
(A) $2,163.20
(B) $2,343.47
(C) $2,379.52
(D) $2,487.68

The requirement for private mortgage insurance is generally discounted when the loan-to-value ratio falls below:
(A) 20%
(B) 50%
(C) 80%
(D) 90%

Which of the following documents itemizes all settlement costs including lender charges?
(A) Agreement of sale
(B) HUD-1 form
(C) Form 1003
(D) Forbearance agreement

A discount point is BEST described as a charge the borrower pays to:
(A) a lender to decrease the interest rate on the mortgage loan
(B) a mortgage broker at the time of application to obtain a favorable rate
(C) the seller as part of the closing costs of a loan
(D) a lender to ensure against foreclosure

Which of the following methods of disclosure does NOT meet the requirements of the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA)?
(A) E-mail
(B) Mailed letter
(C) Telephone
(D) Faxed letter

What does a loan originator use to determine the estimated value of a property based on an analytical comparison of similar property sales?
(A) An appraisal
(B) A market survey
(C) An area survey
(D) A cost-benefit analysis

But perhaps I’m being to harsh. We have a vast number of unlicensed loan originators who are working for companies licensed under the Consumer Loan Act. We call these folks “consumer loan lenders,” or “non-depository lenders.” Rhonda Porter sometimes refers to these folks as “correspondent lenders.” They differ from a mortgage broker because by definition, a lender is an entity that has the ability to make the loan (fund the loan) and a broker is a middleman who does not make or fund loans, but FINDS the lender for a fee. Mortgage broker LOs are licensed in WA State but consumer loan company LOs are not. Yet.

Consumer loan company LOs can start to take their new national exam beginning July 31, 2009. Their real deadline is July 1, 2010 so it looks like I need to block off May and June 2010 for exam prep classes next year as predict the majority will put it off until the last possible days.

Anyone who has been originating for any length of time need not be afraid if the test questions are going to be this easy. Once the test launches I will go take it and let you know.

Perhaps for folks who are brand new to mortgage lending, these test questions might seem a little more challenging. That is the whole purpose of national testing and licensing: To create a minimum barrier to entry. The regulators at the federal level have put a lot of time and care into the education portion of the new law. Let’s hope that their chosen test vendor, Pearson Vue (who absorbed Promissor) doesn’t use the same old tired bank of test questions that’s been around for a decade.

Update: Prometric is also a test vendor for the new NMLS exam. Here’s a link to their website.

New Condo Buyers Seeking Out of the Contract: “Whiners” or Respectable Citizens?

Posted on June 22, 2009 by Craig Blackmon

There’s been some “buzz” lately about buyers of new construction condos who purchased pre-construction now wanting out of the deal with a return of their earnest money. Motivations vary: they are no longer able to get financing (“WHAT? I need a down PAYMENT!? Since when??”); their life situations have changed (baby + one bedroom condo = problem); or they simply don’t want to be under water the moment they close (those 2007 prices are not so attractive now…). Regardless of the motivation, though, the developer’s response is almost always the same: “Go pound sand. The earnest money is mine.”

Luckily for buyers, there are various federal and state laws designed to protect consumers that may give the buyer a right of rescission (and thus the right to a full return of the earnest money). For example, several decades ago the federal government enacted the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (known to its afficionados as “ILSA”), 15 USC 1701 et seq. specifically to protect buyers of new construction. Generally speaking (its a complex statute), a developer must register the project with the Dept of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and provide buyers with a comprehensive set of disclosures. However, the developer is exempt from the registration and disclosure requirements if it contractually obligate itself to complete the building within two years.

For reasons unknown, many of the new condo developments in the area decided to structure the purchase and sale agreements to fall within this “two year” exemption. Unfortunately for the developers, it is more difficult than first appears, and most of the contracts at issue at least arguably fail to qualify for the exemption. Thus, the buyers of those condos arguably have the right, under ILSA, to rescind the contract and receive a full return of their earnest money. (My partner Marc Holmes and I recently prevailed in an action against WA Square on this basis, so in at least one case its no longer “arguable” — the developer failed to comply with the statute and the buyer had a right of rescission.)

All of this raises an interesting question: Is it unethical for a new construction buyer to seek a legal basis for getting out of the contract with a full return of the earnest money? Our very own Ardell has argued that, if a buyer simply changes her mind about the purchase, the buyer should lose her earnest money. Other people have voiced a similar opinion. Is that right? Is it morally wrong for a buyer to seek a return of the earnest money? Does the buyer’s motivation in seeking to get out of the contract even matter?

I think the answer to that question can be determined by flipping it around. New condo developers are large entities typically owned by sophisticated multi-millionaires. What if one of those multi-millionairre owners signed a contract that required her to perform her contractual obligations two years later, and when the date for performance arrived she stood to lose substantial money if she performed? What if the owner just changed her mind for some other reason? In either case, I think its safe to say that the owner would not perform her obligations. Rather, she would hire a lawyer to identify each and every possible basis for avoiding her contractual obligations. The lawyer would then approach the other party to the contract and see if the parties could reach a compromise. Rich people got rich for a reason: they don’t intentionally make a bad business decision, and when faced with a situation that will cause them to lose money, they hire an attorney to negotiate their way out of it. They use the law in every way possible way to protect and advance their interests.

Which is, of course, the purpose of the law. It only works when it is applied to a particular situation. ILSA was designed to protect consumers. Developers should comply with this law. If they don’t, the law gives consumers the right to avoid their contractual obligations. There is nothing immoral or unethical in using the law to protect and advance your interests. It’s what is expected of every citizen, and its certainly what is done by every citizen who can afford legal counsel. If you’ve decided to not buy that condo –for whatever reason — then you should determine whether the law is on your side. It’s what every person should do — and what wealthy people do all the time.

Rain City Guide

Your Guide to the Seattle Real Estate Market

Category Archives: Seattle Real Estate