Seattle's Fremont Troll – Street Art

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[photopress:class.jpg,full,alignright]I like “The Fremont Troll” with people on it.  Gives you a better perspective of the size of the Artwork.  Grabbed this photo from my sister’s site.

This cool video of the Fremont Troll, gives you a pan of the area and better perspective with regard to where it sits in the Cityscape.

I was surprised to find that this Seattle Street Art piece was done in the early 90s.  Thought it was done in the 60s or 70s, because of the Volskwagon “Bug” that the troll is holding and the Peace Signs painted on it.

Seattle has tons of cool Street Art…Eastside has some as well.  I’ll have to ask Loretta what her whole “tour” of Seattle is.  I know my bedroom is on the tour LOL.  View from my bedroom, actually.  Have to get that upper deck expanded with a spiral up from the lower deck.  Until then…tour through me bedroom is on her list 🙂  Plus the students love to visit our music room with over 4,000 cds and talk with Kim about his 35 years in the music industry.  We are “on the tour”.  My sister’s a piece of work…runs in the family.

Beautifying those Seattle Retaining Walls

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Houses that sit up high from the Street are great!  Quieter.  Better territorial views.  But what about those ugly retaining walls?  Can’t say this was an original idea.  We saw about the same color across the street and decided to prime and paint it.  Came out pretty darned good.

The five gallon primer product sold over at Lowe’s is on sale for $14.00 down from $50.00!  Someone bought out the product, and will be changing the name.  So everything on the shelves is more than 75% off!  So go get at those retaining walls and Beautify Seattle!

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We used a deep mud green that blends with the dirt and plantings.  The house really stands out much better. One of those Green Lake Charmers coming soon for about $630,000.  Lots of Green Lake homes have these retaining walls.  It only took us about 2 1/2 hours to both paint and prime.  It took less than a gallon of paint, once it was primed and the primer was dry enough at one end by the time we finished, so we could get it all primed and painted in one day.

We had a beautiful, sunny, spring-like day in Seattle today.  But I hope it dried before the rains came or we will have beautified Seattle’s pavements :0

Jack this House!

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I was on my way back from taking care of the wall in my next post, and saw this house sitting up in the air.  Everyone was gawking!  It sure didn’t take long to “jack it up” like that.  I think they may have a view of Green Lake now.  Pretty cool.

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I took a photo of the company who jacked it up, in case anyone was interested in this type of service.

Housing sales fall in 40 states; but not in Northwest

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[photopress:sputtering_starts.gif,thumb,alignright]Interesting story of the differing views from US (not U.S.) and those outside of the Rain City. One of my development partners (Mike) is from Michigan and is one of those 40 states with falling sales (not to mention increasing unemployment).  As if the bubblers need any more endorsement to foster their cause the Seattle Times reported Housing sales fell in 40 states… but not the NW yesterday.  Before I read the story in the times Mike sent me the view from the vast majority of the country as seen on CNNMoney.com ‘Housing starts plunge‘.

The CNN reported that housing starts fall much more than forecast, to their lower level since ’97.  They go on to add what in turn I call the LARGE BUILDER EFFECT; permits also fall as single-family permits hit 6-year low.  The Large Builder Effect is a trend that occurs and will effect new housing starts about 12 months down the road when the permits are issued (permit times vary in each municipality).

So what does this mean?  The nation’s leading homebuilders have all reported declining sales and prices for new homes(hence the fall in permits).  Another partner of mine Snohomish County builder I know actually expressed the same views in November, but said since the first of the year his sales have bounced back to their expectations and he is continuing to submit for permits.

Do people behind the Rain City Curtin have their blinders on? Time will only tell, but if history is any guide (and I am NOT a historian) I would guess in time, with a smaller supply of products, demand will eventually grown so even though sales may be sluggish, over a 3 year window sales will continue to grow.

NOTE: I am leaving town after today, but I will do my best to reply to comments.

Triggering My Hot Spot

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I have blogged about this before…it is really one of my “hot spots”.   This morning, not only did I receive an email from this company (oh, I mean SPAM) stating that this is information that I requested, which I did not, it is about something I am absolutely against: selling consumer’s information when they’ve had a credit report pulled to become preapproved.    [photopress:trigger.jpg,full,centered]

If you go to their website, they state, “Receive a daily feed of consumers in your target market that just yesterday had their credit checked for a mortgage loan approval.That ’s right, these consumers have just had their credit checked within 24 hrs, specifically for a mortgage loan approval! Now you can provide them with a pre-approval in just a few days for unlimited growth potential.”

Picture this, Mr. and Mrs. Homebuyer meet with a Loan Originator and sign many documents for the preapproval process including disclosure forms that their private information will not be sold. Within hours, they begin to receive relentless phone calls and post cards from other lenders.   It’s too bad the credit bureaus are not a party to this agreement and that it is legal for the bureaus to re-sale credit scores, addresses, phone numbers, debts, etc.

I’ll go eat a box of Valentine’s candies and go chill out in a corner somewhere.

 

 

another day of staging…

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Today was a busy day and another one that required a bit of handholding and education. We have been working with a client for several months now as they prepare a home for sale. The house has been a rental for several years and when I saw it in early December it was in not so great condition from a cosmetic standpoint. The former tenants had ruined the carpets in a scant 2 years of renting and there was plenty of cosmetic damage on things such as walls and doors where the teenaged daughters had vented their sibling rivalry.

You wouldn’t believe that this is the same house now.

I failed to take the photos I planned on today but I’ll post some of the “before” and “during” shots here and then I’ll follow those up later this week once we have the professional photographer’s work done. If anyone looks at this post, I’d really appreciate some feedback on whether you think me and the client did a good job. I’ve been offering a higher level of service to listing clients where we provide a lot of things such as professional cleanings, window washing (in & out), yard service, pro photos, and staging. I think it makes a big difference and I’d like to get your opinion too of whether going through this much work is worth it from the consumer’s point of view.

So, here are the beginning photos… stay tuned at the end of the week for the final shots…

front of the home – it needed some pruning, edging and trimming as well as a fresh layout of beauty bark.

Back yard photo – note the shrubs that have grown up high and are making the house look smaller than it is. The house needs plants that are more in keeping with the size and dimension of the home.

The kitchen and its cultured marble counter tops and older wall oven and gas stove top. Most people likely wouldn’t even notice but the stove top is too big for the space. Note how it goes past the fan above and is underneath the cabinet to the left. This is a fire hazard and was fixed when the house was updated for sale.

The living room carpet detail is hard to see here but let’s just say that it wasn’t the cleanest carpet I’ve ever seen. Lots of spots and stains. Underneath are what turned out to be really great oak floors as you can see a portion of them at the left corner of this photo. The floors were refinished prior to going on market this week. They look great and run throughout the length of the home in all bedrooms, hall, dining area and living room.

This is the 3rd bedroom just to give you an idea of how the room looked before since it is the smallest of the 3 regular bedrooms (not including the office that would likely qualify as a bedroom and has been used as such). We had the seller take out his home made bookcase, remove the dirty carpet, old trim and we had new doors installed.

Where's the line between "agent" and "lawyer"?

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As with any blog post, this does not constitute legal advice. If you have a specific question, consult a specific attorney. 

Recents posts (first by Russ, then by Reba) have examined the role to be played in real estate transactions by agents and lawyers.  No doubt, everyone has a strong opinion based on their own personal experiences.  But what’s the law on the issue?

We all know that the seminal case on the issue is Cultum v. Heritage House Realtors, 103 Wn.2d 623 (1985). In that case, the buyer told the agent that she wanted to be able to inspect the home and rescind the contract based on her subjective interpretation of that inspection. Acting on this request, the agent used a form “drafted by an attorney” to include in the contract a very simple inspection contingency: “This offer is contingent on a satisfactory Structural Inspection, to be completed by 8/20/80.” The agent used the “single standard form” provided by the broker. The buyer performed a whole house inspection and was not satisfied with the results. The seller, however, refused to return the earnest money because the report did not objectively indicate any structural defficiencies.

The trial court found that the agent, in drafting the contingency, engaged in the practice of law.  The Supreme Court agreed, as the agent clearly created a document that affected the legal rights and obligations of the buyer. However, the Court decided that, in the interests of an efficient real estate market, an agent should be allowed to engage in the limited practice of law.  Thus, the Court concluded (using “agent” in place of “broker/salesperson”:

“[An agent] is permitted to complete simple printed standardized real estate forms, which forms must be approved by a lawyer, it being understood that these forms shall not be used for other than simple real estate transactions which arise in the usual course of the [agent’s] business and that such forms will be used only in connection with real estate transactions actually handled by such [agent] as [an agent] and then without charge for the simple service of completing the form.” 

However, “if [the agent] believes there may be complicated legal issues involved, he or she should persuade the parties to seek legal advice.” Moreover, “when completing form earnest money agreements, [the agent] must comply with the standard of care of a practicing attorney.” 103 Wn.d20 at 630-31.

So when does the agent cross the line and engage in the unauthorized practice of law?  Before rereading the case in response to the above posts, I thought that a Form 34 was a standing invitation for an agent to cross the line. However, that very probably is not correct. After all, the agent in Cultum wrote a simple contingency, and that fell within the Court’s rule allowing agents to practice law to a limited extent.  (The agent was ultimately liable for the buyer’s loss because the contingency was poorly written, but that’s another topic).

The answer, as suggested by the posts and the comments, turns on the complexity of the clause being inserted into the Form 34. If it’s a “complicated legal issue,” it’s not appropriate for an agent.  Seller wants to take chandelier?  Probably OK. Contract is contingent on events not directly within the control of the parties? Probably not OK. Unfortunately, there’s no bright line rule to be applied in every situation.

In light of that rule, should agents be trained in how to insert contractual language in a Form 34?  After reading Cultum, I think so. They have the legal authority to do so and almost certainly will if necessary to meet the needs of the client. If they can and will do so, then they should have appropriate training so that they can do so competently.

And a final note: should an agent review a non-client’s PSA? Well, the agent does so at his or her own risk, as that review clearly falls outside of the rule set by Cultum.  The review almost certainly constitutes the unauthorized practice of law.

 

There's No Love for the Subprime Borrower

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It’s all over the news, we’re hearing about major subprime lenders having to restate their losses and every day, lenders are coming into my office to inform us of changes to their guidelines.   This is all good, right?    It will be tougher to provide loans for home buyers who maybe should be spending more time to learn about budgeting and using their credit cards.    What about the people who are all ready in these programs?

First, allow me to explain the basic dynamics of these loans.  Many of these mortgages are zero down, 80/20s (80% of the loan to value for the first mortgage/20% of the value for the second mortgage).   The first mortgage is typically offers a fixed rate for 2-3 years with a prepayment penalty (the standard is six months interest) that matches the fixed rate period.   In addition, the mortgages may be interest only or amortized at 30, 40 or 50 years.    The rates on these mortgages are completely dependent on credit score. 

When I meet with Mr. and Mrs. Subprime, I advise them of their options of buying now using this type of subprime mortgage or that they can work on their credit, job history, etc. and buy later with a better mortgage program.   Because there are no guarantee of what rates will be (or maybe because they know there’s not guaranteed they’ll clean up their act) and because they want to buy a house now, they often opt for the subprime mortgage.   Once this happens, I heavily stress (or Jillayne would say, I lecture 🙂 —which I’m sure I do) to Mr. and Mrs. Subprime that they have 2-3 years to change their spending habits because once their fixed period rate is over, their mortgage is going to adjust and do so big time.    I let them know that I want them to be in the best position for a refinance into permanent financing (or to have a better mortgage should they decide to sell the home assuming they have any equity) and that the subprime mortgage they are using to obtain their home is temporary financing.  

Many of my clients in these mortgages have done very well and I’m proud of them.   They have taken the responsibility of owning a home and having a mortgage to heart.  I’m able to restructure the original mortgage and improve their situation greatly.   The concern is for Mr. and Mrs. Subprime who just didn’t get the hang of it.   They continued to charge up their credit cards, they bought or leased a new car to go in their new driveway and maybe a new TV, too.   They’ve been sliding ever since the holidays and are now having a tough time paying their mortgages on time.   Maybe they just have one mortgage late.   Their credit is rough at best.   Their fixed period (and prepayment penalty) is over and now they really need to refinance fast because their mortgage has adjusted for the first time—their rate is now 2% higher.  Their situation has gone from bad to worse.    With all the tightening in the subprime market, even if their credit scores and scenarios are the same as when they bought, there may not be a program for them to refinance out of now.   They will be forced to sell (hopefully they have enough equity to pay commissions and other closing costs) or to somehow manage to choke down their increased payments.

I guess this post is a plea of sorts.  If you currently have a subprime loan (especially the type I described) please contact your Mortgage Planner to have your credit reviewed to make sure you’re on the right track to be able to refinance (or have a better loan for when you sell) when the time is due.   Do not assume there will be a program for you if you have not made significant changes to your spending and use of credit cards.   If you’re a real estate agent or loan originator, check in on your subprime clients to let them know of the changes in the industry…see if they need guidance to stay or get on track so they don’t wind up stuck with a higher mortgage payment, being forced to sell or foreclosure.