Maplewood Heights House on 1/2 Acre Lot

Maplewood Heights in Renton

Maplewood Heights is a neighborhood in northeast Renton with good schools, attractive amenities, and a good location.  The neighborhood is centered on Maplewood Park and the Maplewood Heights Elementary, which was recently named a “School of Distinction”.  The Renton School District generally has seen improvement in test scores in 2011.

Recreational opportunities abound nearby with the Cedar River bike trail, the Renton Community Center with its gym and outdoor water park, the Eastside’s only ice skating rink, and the public swimming pool open year round at Hazen High School.

The neighborhood has a choice of two routes for a commute to downtown Seattle (405/I-90 or 900/I-5), which makes it possible to avoid the worst traffic.  The community is service by King County Metro bus line 111.

SEARCH HOMES FOR SALE IN MAPLEWOOD HEIGHTS RENTON

Out and about in Seattle?  What has been billed as the “worst” storm in Seattle history (ask the kids and you may hear it’s the “best” storm) has ended up being a little less ferocious than at first thought.  The National Weather Service has revised its predictions and now we are told that we will have up to 6 inches by 2 p.m. today.  That is definitely enough for the schools to be closed for a second day.  We got the expected recorded call from Seattle Public Schools last night telling us there would be no school again today (Thursday the 19th).  Another day of snow fun at the park, apparently!  I wonder if my snow people will still be there from yesterday, at Whitman Middle School in Ballard.

Some of you will be wondering much more urgent things as you try to plan your route to work in the morning.  A new Seattle Department of Transportation website feature, live traffic video available for 24 camera placed strategically around the city, should be of some help.  SEATTLE TRAFFIC CAMERA WEBSITE.  Knowing about this, I will probably use it to predict how long it will take me to get to numerous places across town, whenever I need to be there (to show homes of course!), and certainly they ought to come in handy today as you go about your day.  The site says it’s a new experiment and they want feedback, and I would love to hear from you too on whether it is as useful as it looks to be.  By the way, if you’re in Bellevue, try this BELLEVUE TRAFFIC CAMERA WEBSITE.  And here is a group of local weather cameras located at different schools, SET FOR KIRKLAND.  If you go forward, the next one is at Shorecrest High School in Shoreline.   Lastly, I wanted to include the WSDOT list of webcams in different communities, which includes Issaquah, Lynnwood and Redmond as well as Seattle and Bellevue.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuing to be criticized by the public.  Having dealt with both recently, I’ve found these quasi-goverment entities are both heavily aggressive and not a friend of the consumer.  It is true, that you may get a good deal on some of these homes but the best thing to do is Buyer Beware.  These homes are sold under the “As-Is” umbrella but it is not always as it seems.  One of the homes I dealt with hid the fact that the furnace did not work and hadn’t worked since 2008.  Having talked to the contractor that winterized the home, this was a known fact.  Luckily,  knowing one of the only ways you can get out of one of their contracts, the buyer bailed.  Even weeks after, the listing does not show this defect in the property, even though they received a copy of the inspection company’s report.  This is a material defect in the property that is not being disclosed.

Backing up, how does this happen?  Well first of all, being a quasi-governmental entities, they are not be closely tracked by the government.  Go figure.  They are tasked with disposing of assets that are owned by themselves.  As part of that disposal, they want to get the most out of the homes as they can to save the government money.  Okay that sounds like a good idea.  And since it is taxpayer’s money that is being lost, they act as though they can do whatever they want to pass that loss on to other taxpayers.  Even if what they do flies in the face of most consumer protection acts.  After all who’s going to make them stop?  The government.  Sounds like a conflict of interest, doesn’t it.

The addendums that are being used, essentially tell you that whatever purchase and sale documents you have are nice but their addendum “shall control” over yours.  In other words, all of the consumer protections in your state’s documents don’t matter because their addendum rules.  Now, some will say okay you don’t have to sign the addendum but you will not get to purchase the house either.  It’s their way or the highway.  And even though state’s may require “As-Is” properties to be clearly designated as such, these homes rarely state that until you get their addendum.  To further bully their way through the process, one addendum gave us 48 hours to get it signed and returned the other gave us 24 hours or they will negotiate with another party.  They do state you have the right to have an attorney review the twenty plus page document but have you ever tried to get an attorney to review the documents, give their opinion of the documents and still have time within a 24-48 hour period to answer back?  Probably not going to happen.  Oh and the time does not stop for weekends to try that on with attorneys.

Then let’s say everything is okay, the inspection periods are stated usually at ten days.  Not bad, but if the home is winterized, the time does not wait for them to have the home de-winterized.  On a Fannie Mae and another Freddie Mac home, the de-winterization process took five days to get done or half of the inspection period.  When asked about this, their representatives had to think about it and guess what, time was still running out during that process.  Abusive, who are you going to tell?  Another thing they crammed down on the buyers is you have to use their escrow company (they were told this after the addendum was signed) who, by the way, signs for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.  Do you think that is a conflict of interest?  Again, who are you going to tell.  You need to make sure your real estate professional is on top of the addendum or you may get sunk.

These are extremely adversarial processes and they don’t work on weekends or federal holidays and their timing does not stop during those days.  So Be Careful when dealing with them.  You may get a great deal on a house but feel like you’ve just been run over by a truck.

It occurs to me that there are some definite differences between the big box real estate companies that you always see in the media and the smaller firms that are in the market.  The big firms make you fit into their box and some make you qualify with them before they will even take you out to see houses.  Oh and you have to sign an agreement to only use them.  They are great in the neighborhoods that they operate in as they are promoted as “neighborhood experts” but what happens if you don’t exactly know where you want to live and want to see other areas.  Hmmm, could be a problem.  The other issue is just because your friend, relative, neighbor is an excellent realtor for the big box real estate company where you are, does that mean that the person on the other side of the country is equally as good.  There are no guarantees as to the competence of realtors in a big box real estate company.  So it is imperative that buyers get a hold of “Buyers Realtors” in the community that they are looking, to find someone that is willing to work for you before you move.

What are “Buyers Realtors”?  These are agents/brokers, states like to mix these terms so I’ll call them realtors, who work mainly with people looking to buy a home.  Most of the big box real estate buyers realtors are again neighborhood experts that know everything within their neighborhoods.  But, cross over into another neighborhood or city and most won’t know as much as someone that works in that area.  The smaller company buyers realtors will go wherever they need to and may not know as much minutia about an area but will know about or be able to direct you to the website that can give you the information.  Ever wonder about schools, gyms, parks, in different areas?  All of this information is available and a good buyers realtor will get it to you.  There have been an occasions when someone doesn’t know the different communities and aren’t really sure where to live but they work in downtown Seattle, for instance.  What happens then?  Think a neighbor expert will know where you want to live?  Well certainly…in their area.  What if it’s not convenient or you want to use mass transit and it is not where you want to be?

Here are some things that buyers should consider: First, who’s going to know more about a variety of areas in the general vicinity of where they work?; Secondly, how soon is the relocation planned for; Thirdly, who is able to give you insights into the different areas that you are interested in; and Finally, who wants to assist you.  Many of the websites out there are good for looking up properties and most will have a realtor attached to them, that will contact you.  Don’t be afraid of talking to someone about what you want.  It is one of the biggest purchases that you make in life so get someone that can help you find the home that you really want.  As I said earlier, find someone to work with before you move.  In this way, you will find out how much they know and what their ability is to look outside their office area.  Depending on the realtor, you may even be able to eliminate some areas without even being there yet with the information that you get from them.  If you like to get paper resources, some firms will send you “relocation packs”  which are filled with some information about the areas that you might want to consider.

Good hunting!

Please let me know if I can assist you.

2011 was actually a busy, brilliant year. I got a phone call recently telling me that in 2010 I was in the top 2% of realtors in King County according to the Multiple Listing Service. It made me think about what that might mean… business, lifestyle, how I’m working with my clients to achieve their goals.  And prompted this series of New Year’s resolutions which I hope to share with my clients, and all who are focusing on Seattle Area Real Estate for this year and the forseeable future.

I have a great team and am working with clients in all stages of the search.  In the beginning stages, some are just wondering if the time is right, then starting to ask in-depth questions on location qualities and statistics.  Others are at the point of having settled on which neighborhood offers the perfect fit for their family and lifestyle and starting to get an experiential sense of value, others are now searching high and low within their chosen parameters for the perfect home to satisfy both their family criteria and their dreams, and then comes the transition to the trials and tribulations of the escrow process and finally — at last — right in through the door of their home.  Last night I sat with a couple who had just closed on their dream home last Friday and helped them get their home warranty information in order, while our sons ran up and down the stairs in an exciting game of hide and seek.

New Year’s Resolutions are just tools, but this one I believe is essential to a successful home search.  Get your team in order.  You and your family are definitely part of that and I have a great process I offer to clients that helps get not only couples but even their extended family on the same page.  Your agent needs to be able to think out of your head and communicate in ways that enlighten, inspire and inform.  We have a great process for learning more about what you want, need, hope for, and even secretly dream.  Lastly, the other professionals that can make or break the process, including your mortgage broker (what to look for?  We have a check list), your home inspector, moving company, and even cleaning and garden services in those essential days when time is short and tempers are getting there.  In my next blog I’ll address the nuts and bolts of the list of professionals every aspiring homeowner needs to forward their search and purchase.

Seattle or Vancouver?

A Tale of Two Cities: Seattle or Vancouver, BC?

The affordability of houses is trending sharply differently in the nearby markets of Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia.  Affordability is made up of three factors: the median home price of a city, median household income of the inhabitants, and the level of interest rates.  Interest rates at this time of writing are historically low in both cities.  Because house prices in Seattle are near flat or slightly rising, falling interest rates and job growth are causing affordability in Seattle to reach levels not seen since 2004, as documented by the SeattleBubble.com.

A very different scenario is taking place in Vancouver, where foreign buyers from mainland China, Taiwan, Korea, and elsewhere are snapping up houses and driving up prices.  Vancouver now ranks as the least affordable market in all of Canada.  These Asian buyers are searching for a better lifestyle: better schools, larger houses, more privacy, less polution, and a beautiful location.  Recent articles in the Seattle Times (“Vancouver attracting buyers from China“) and on CrossCut.com (“Vancouver’s real estate gold rush is totally out of control“) document the trend.

Seattle, I believe, will start to see a spillover effect from this real estate gold rush in Vancouver.  Seattle has similar attractive qualities to Vancouver with its proximity to mountains and waterways, good schools, and rich culture emanating from an ethnically diverse population.  I worked recently with a Chinese/Canadian buyer originally from Taiwan who decided that Vancouver had become far too expensive to buy back into.  He recognized prices in Seattle for high end waterfront properties as a bargain and preferred to buy at the bottom of a market cycle rather than the top.  He shared some property listings we visited together with some friends back in Hong Kong and they were astonished to see estate quality large houses on acreage selling for what they would pay for a condo back home.

See an example of what $2.5 million would buy in Seattle: Magnolia Puget Sound View Home with Beach.

Check out live listings of:

• King County Puget Sound Waterfront Homes
• Lake Washington and Sammamish Waterfront Homes
• King County Estate Homes on 3+ Acres

Low cost housing in Aberdeen

Aberdeen as a Retirement Community

A client from Southern California recently inquired about some houses in Aberdeen.  She was looking to retire somewhere in Washington state, but wasn’t too familiar with our retirement communities.  Sequim, Moses Lake, Bellingham, and Olympia are probably better known as retirement destinations for Seattle area residents.  Sequim and Moses Lake are thought of for the sunshine.  Sequim lies in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains, while Moses Lake lies over the Cascade Mountains in sunny Eastern Washington.  All of them feature a lower cost of living than residing close in to Seattle.

This inquiry got me thinking about the advantages of Aberdeen as a retirement destination:

• Low cost of living: housing, utilities, taxes, and most everything else.  Coincidentally, I have an investor/client at this time of writing with a remodeled house in Aberdeen up for sale: 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1,755 square feet for $139,000 or $84.90 per square foot.  I see a similar house for sale in North Seattle for $439,000 or $248.02/sf.
• There’s a big hospital up on the hill in sight of much of the town: Grays Harbor Community Hospital.
• There are some major retailers in Aberdeen: Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and a half dozen major grocery stores.  Anything else you can find in Olympia an hour away.
• For the grandkids: The YMCA in Hoquiam has the finest indoor waterpark in Washington state.
• It’s an area of tremendous natural beauty: the sandy ocean beaches, the volcanic reef and rocks at Point Grenville, the state’s tallest lighthouse at Westport, and the rain forests at Lake Quinault – all within a 30 minute drive of Aberdeen.

Eastside Deal of the Week

Each week I’m picking out the Deal of the Week out of my Eastside Value Buyer’s List.  I’m looking for a house that is already discounted to fair market value at the list price and is in good repair.  I visit the house, take 60+ photos, and record a video of my impressions.  Read on about my property analysis and bidding strategy:

Eastside Deal of the Week

Eastside Deal of the Week

Zillow reported that homes in Portland’s Hillside neighborhood were more frequently searched than homes in any other U.S. neighborhood tracked by Zillow during that month. Zillow has created a database of thousands of neighborhood boundaries for the largest U.S. cities.

Seattle area’s Laurelhurst, and Montlake were the two most sought after areas in the hottest neighborhoods in Seattle real estate.               

It’s well and good to learn from a lecture. But rarely is a lecture life-changing.

Washington is called the evergreen state. We love our trees, the great outdoors and our planet. We are a hardy people. And we have two universities (colleges) that are in the top 10 for sustainable practices and learning.

The University of Washington is ranked number 1 in the country. Every building completed since 2006 has earned LEED Gold. All appliances bought are Energy Star rated. And the hydro-powered campus runs 3 farms, an extensive recycling program, and the conservation-research hotbed Pack Forest. The university is located on a fresh water lake in Seattle that had problems with algae bloom from residential sewage run-off.  The city of Seattle, like many cities with overburdened treatment centers, encouraged the University to reduce water use on campus. As an incentive, the city offered a rebate of $120 per water fixture that the university replace with new water saving equipment. So they retrofitted their plumbing to save water, conserve energy and be “green.”

Forty percent of UW’s food budget is spent on local items, according to the green report card. They use mostly cage free eggs and natural milk. The school composts their food waste, which keeps it out of the landfills. The Bothell campus uses goats to control weeds on their grounds.

All campus community members participating in the U-PASS program receive unlimited public transit passes and discounts on carpool permits and the car-sharing program. Student government runs a nonprofit bike repair shop, and 88 percent of students and 62 percent of employees commute via environmentally preferable means.

The Evergreen State College is ranked number 9 nationally. This non-traditional college breaks the mold in so many ways. Our middle son attended this college to obtain his Bachelor of Science degree and he received graduate level education with exceptional professors.

The Evergreen State College, in Olympia, Washington, aims to reach carbon neutrality by 2020. Though it’s campus is currently one-third coal powered, students pay a self-imposed fee of $1 each academic quarter to buy renewable energy credits to offset the college’s electricity consumption.

Evergreen’s Organic Farm is located on a 5 acre section of campus. The plot includes the farmhouse, Demeter’s Gardens, Community Gardens, the Biodiesel facility, the compost facility, the workroom, tool shed, greenhouses and the 38,000 square foot production area of the Organic Farm.  The Organic Farm crew works all year round to plan, plant, maintain and harvest the various crops grown.  The Compost Facility is used to turn farm waste into compost for fertilizing the production area of the farm.  During the growing season the Organic Farm’s produce is sold at the Organic Farm Stand on Red Square at Evergreen, at The Organic Farm during business hours and through our Community Supported Agriculture Program.  Excess produce and plant starts are donated to the Thurston County Food Bank.

The school has an extensive composting project as well as a comprehensive recycling program.

According to The Evergreen State Paper Policy, it  is committed to using environmentally benign products and technologies whenever possible.

Ride Share and alternative forms of transportation are part of Evergreen’s sustainability. Student fees pay for and allow all students at Evergreen to ride the bus in and around Olympia and Thurston County an unlimited number of times each quarter by showing their student ID. By registering in a database of Evergreen commuters, the ride share program allows students, faculty and staff to match their schedules with people who live close by and facilitates contact to set up new carpools.

Ban the Bottle is a campus-wide initiative to raise awareness in The Evergreen State College community about the negative impacts of plastic bottles on social, environmental and economical health as well as alternative, safer options for drinking water. The long-term goal of this initiative is to discontinue the purchase of plastic bottled water on campus and provide re-useable water canteens and to install bottle fill stations across campus.  Evergreen has switched all of their disposable ware to compostable products. They have also eliminated trays, saving countless gallons of water. The school supports local farmers and producers, using organic whenever possible.

Students can opt to live in the sustainability house,  made up of a community of students committed to a living an environmentally conscious, socially just, and sustainable lifestyle. Residents of the Sustainability House complete 5 hours of sustainability-related service each month to the campus and house community.

The lessons students learn from these sustainable practices will be carried throughout their lives and potentially impact the world.

Seattle Area Real Estate