Posts Tagged ‘seattle real estate’

Popularity: 5% [?]

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: 3% [?]

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: 4% [?]

I received an e-mail from a reader wondering which complexes area approved for FHA home loans.  I thought I would spend some time posting each neighborhood by zip code starting with 98112.  Here are all the condo complexes approved for FHA loans in 98122.  Keep in mind that until October 15th you can still get a spot approval for non FHA approved complexes.

1905 42nd Ave. E Condos

1915 42nd Ave. E Condos

East Madison Condos

E Thomas Street Condos

East View Condos

Madison Lofts

Madison Parkview Condos

North Park Condos

Park Grandview Condos

Pendleton Miller Condos

Plum Court Condos

If you want me to check into other zip codes just drop me a line.

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Rob Graham, Buying Specialist

Windermere Real Estate

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

Popularity: 11% [?]

The picture below was generated using data from the North West Multiple Listing Service.  It shows the dramatic change in the Seattle Housing Market over the past few months.

The green areas represent buyers markets, yellow are balanced markets, and red are seller’s markets.  This information is only for single family homes.  Ignore the downtown corridor where there are almost no single family homes, but the remainder of the map paints a dramatic picture. 

Just three months ago we were looking at a strong buyer’s market in almost all areas.  Now, nearly all of western King county is showing up as a balanced market where buyer’s no longer hold a strong advantage. 

I can tell you from experience that buyers are still very nervous and trying to get the best possible deal.  Some are loosing out on great homes because they are getting too greedy.  The map explains why.  It is no longer the case that a buyer can walk into a negotiation and ask for the moon.  Much of the lower priced inventory has been absorbed and continues to be absorbed.  Sellers are becoming more rigid on price and buyers are having to jump a little higher to get what they want. 

All this is typical for this time of year and I don’t want to oversell the point.  We are still in a difficult economy as yesterday’s jobs numbers showed, but the idea that buyer’s are squarely in the drivers seat no longer seems to be the case. 

As an aside, I can tell you that I am currently involved in two negotiations for homes on behalf of buyer’s of mine and both have multiple offers on the home. 

Seems to me that much of the bottom feeding has already taken place and now the good homes are getting a lot of attention, while those with flaws are getting ignored. 

Stay tuned as we watch what happens in late summer and early fall.

Give me a call if you would like me to find your perfect home for you.

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Rob Graham, Accredited Buyers Representative

Windermere Real Estate

Seattle, WA

206-321-6349

robgraham@windermere.com

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