Posts Tagged ‘seattle homes’

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: 5% [?]

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: 7% [?]

The Washington State Association of Realtors offers this great video for Seattle home buyers about interest rates and points and how they can effect your monthly payment.

Enjoy!

If you need help shopping for your Seattle home, give me a call.  I’d love to help.

Rob Graham, Home Buying Specialist

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 9% [?]

So I went off on a bit of a tirade yesterday with a home seller here is Seattle.  I won’t post her question because I will try to protect her anonymity.  The post was originally to Trulia and asked a question regarding cutting the agent out of a transaction. 

Every time I go off I like to share.  This is more for the amusement of my re brethren, but all are welcome to enjoy.  Thanks for being part of my therapy.

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All of us who have been in the business for more then a few weeks have been burned by tactics like this. As buyer’s agents we work hard for our clients sometimes for long periods of time. Since we don’t get paid unless a sale closes, we run the risk of a client changing their minds or using another agent at the last minute or cutting us out all together to negotiate a better deal with the seller.

I don’t know what you do for a living, but imagine being given a project by your boss. You work diligently on it for 6 months and then a month before its completion with most of the hard work already done, your boss simply decides to let you go and doesn’t compensate you for your work. If this kind of thing happened in any other industry, there would be successful lawsuits left and right, yet for buyer’s agents this kind of thing happens quite frequently.

You can imagine how angry you would be, and I imagine this agent would be just as angry.

You need to live with your conscience, but I would recommend having at least one agent involved in the transaction. A real estate transaction is a dicey proposition in the best of times. In the middle of a recession with the banks, appraisals, inspections, sewer scopes, title, escrow etc. issues to be dealt with, I think it would be crazy not to have both sides represented by agents.

We as agents get paid well (when clients deal with us ethically) to make sure that a transaction goes as smoothly as possible and protects you from future litigation. The courts are filled with cases of people who tried to save a few bucks and do the job themselves only to loose much more and regret not using an agent.

How much time do you spend researching and negotiating a new TV or a car. Yet to sell a house for several hundred thousand dollars, you are just going to wing it on your own?!

Unfortunately in many cases we as agents have done our job too well. Every homeowner thinks they can sell their own home and every buyer believes they can negotiate a better contract then an agent. I think that as the result of our own skill, we have given the illusion that our job is easy and straightforward. Nothing could be further from the truth. A good agent not only has a license, but years of experience. Each of us will tell you that no two transactions are the same and each brings more knowledge that we will use to make us better agents moving forward.

Trying to negotiate the sale of real estate on your own is stressful, frightening and in can be very very costly if not done correctly. Not to mention putting you at considerable risk for future litigation. With all do respect there is a reason why we get paid, and yes in many cases paid well, to do our jobs. We are worth it.

One last point. My sister bought and sold a house last year. She lives in NJ where I am not licensed and I could not represent her. My advice to her was to find the best agent she could, pay them a full commission and do exactly what they tell you to do. It is good advice I give to all my out of state friends and family. My sister is in a new home and her old home sold in a declining market in well under the average time. She is happy and my nieces are contently in their new school as I type. My brother-in-law is not so happy but that’s because he is a Redskins fan not because of the house. He actually loves the new house.

I wish you the best of luck. The old adage is true. You get what you pay for. If you choose to pay nothing. You get no security, protection, or assurance.

Good Luck

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Rob Graham

Accredited Buyers Representative

Windermere Real Estate

robgraham@windermere.com

206-321-6349

Popularity: 12% [?]

Here is a great video to explain the first time home buyer tax credit.

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Rob Graham, Home Buying Specialist

Windermere Real Estate

robgraham@windermere.com

206-321-6349

Popularity: 6% [?]