Seattle Home Buying Guide

I had an interesting exchange with a buyer who asked how having student loans will effect his ability to qualify for a home loan.  I thought others of you might also benefit from the info, so here was my advice to him:

Having student loans alone does not preclude you from qualifying for a loan.  The problem as you have already figured out is the monthly payment.  How much the bank will allow you to pay monthly for a loan is reduced effectively by how much you are paying into your loans. Your best bet is to talk to a bank and find out the real story for sure. 

Just as an aside, did you see that Obama has hopes of signing into law that student loans will be forgiven in ten years if you are in public service and in 20 years if not?  Just something to think about for the long term.
Overall it sounds to me like have a great income.  You may want to consider renting for a year or two and paying off as much of the loans as you can.  It improves your credit and will allow you to pay less per month. 

When I graduated school I had the same situation.  Here is what I did.  I paid the minimum on the loans and then when I had saved up enough to pay off one of the loans (usually the smallest) I did so.   Then it lowered my monthly.  If you can just do this a few times your monthly starts to drop and gives you more money to save toward the next loan.  In a year or two the monthly goes down, you get a raise or two and viola, now you qualify for a bigger home. 
Just a thought. 

Best of luck,
Rob

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www.robgrahamrealestate.com

The best real estate search feature on the web!

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Here is a great video explaining the expansion and extension of the current first time home buyer tax credit.

Give me a call if you need help!

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Rob Graham, Accredited Buyers Representative

Windermere Real Estate

robgrahamrealestate.com

206-321-6349

Popularity: 4% [?]

Recently a buyer posted a question on Trulia asking if a specific neighborhood was a good place for kids.  There are strict rules about what Realtors can say and not say about neighborhoods.  Saying something negative about a specific neighborhood can be viewed as “steering” .  (Illegally guiding of clients away from a specific neighborhood) We can however point you in the direction of resources where you can determine for yourself what neighborhoods fit best for you.  Here are the sites I suggested to her:

Seattle Public Schools Boundary Maps:
http://www.seattleschools.org/area/m_schools/index.dxml

Keep in mind that a district has the right to move boundary lines as they see fit.  Just because an area feed into a specific school today, doesn’t mean that it will when your 1 year old is old enough to attend.

Walk Score:
http://www.walkscore.com/

Great web site for checking out a neighborhood.  Enter any address and a Google Map will populate with amenities in the area surrounding that address.

Seattle Crime Stats:
http://web1.seattle.gov/mnm/default.aspx?tabId=3

Don’t get freaked out.  All neighborhoods have crime. 

Zip Skinny:
http://zipskinny.com/

Put in a specific zip code and this site will provide you will all kinds of demographic information for that area.

Great Schools:
http://www.greatschools.org/

Find ratings and comparisons for specific schools.

Office of the Superintendant of Public Instruction:
http://reportcard.ospi.k12.wa.us/summary.aspx?year=2008-09

Great site for comparing districts or schools.  All kinds of information including test scores for individual schools.

Give me a call if you need help.

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Rob Graham, You Seattle Home Buying Expert

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 4% [?]

Ok, so we all agree that the end is in sight if not passed.  The economic climate is improving and home prices are bouncing around the bottom.  Winter is traditionally a great time to buy a home in Seattle with less competition and generally lower activity.

 Right now is a unique opportunity for some, but not for all. 

So who should be buying a home right now?

Here is the unique situation we are currently in:

• Homes overall in Seattle have come down 22% since the highs of 2007
• Interest rates while not at their lowest are still WELL below there 20 year average and near record lows
• First time home buyers as well as Repeat buyers who have owned for more then 5 years are in line for an unprecedented tax credit of $8,000 and $6,500 respectively.

So who should be buying in this environment and who shouldn’t?

As a general rule, anyone upgrading is in great shape. 

If you are currently renting or are in a smaller home and plan on buying something

more expensive, now is the time to pounce!

Why?  If you are a first time home owner you are not likely to see a better scenario.  If you are upgrading, you will see less profit from your current home. but the discount you are getting on the larger home, more then offsets the loss you will take on your current home.  This is even further exaggerated when you consider the tax credit and low interest rates.

If however you are downsizing or considering a move to a smaller home, now may be the worst time to make a jump.  If you can avoid it consider staying put or renting out your current home to avoid taking a loss until prices rebound.  Be advised however that if you are expecting a quick jump similar to what we have seen in the stock market, you will be disappointed.  Home prices should not get back to their 2007 prices for years to come. 

Plan accordingly, good luck, and give me a call if you need anything.  Happy New Year!

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Rob Graham, Windermere Real Estate

Your Home Buying Expert

206-0321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 5% [?]

As a real estate agent you may find it hard to believe that we are unable to give you advice as to neighborhoods to avoid due to crime or for any reason at all.

The practice of steering clients away from a neighborhood is known as red-lining and it’s illegal. 

But nearly all of our clients want to live in a “nice” “safe” neighborhood.

What we can do is point you in the direction for doing your own research.  Here for example is a great web site for looking at recent crimes in an area.

http://spotcrime.com/wa/seattle

Its a great web site.  Very functional and pretty intuitive to use.  Don’t let the descriptions of the crimes scare you.  There are crimes in every neighborhood in the city.  That is just the nature of living in a city.  Nice to know what’s going on however.

Let me know your thoughts.

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Rob Graham, Accredited Buyers Agent

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 22% [?]