10 Questions To Ask A Home Inspector When Buying A Home In Issaquah, WA

10 Questions to Ask a Home Inspector

1. What are your qualifications? Are you a member of the American Society of Home Inspectors or National Associaton of Home Inspectors?

2. Do you have a current license? Inspectors are not required to be licensed in every state.

3. How many inspections of properties such as this do you do each year?

4. Do you have a list of past clients I can contact?

5. Do you carry professional errors and omission insurance? May I have a copy of the policy?

6. Do you provide any guarantees of your work?

7. What specifically will the inspection cover?

8. What type of report will I receive after the inspection?

9. How long will the inspection take and how long will it take to receive the report?

10. How much will the inspection cost?

Getting Your First Home Mortgage

Hello All,

For today's post, we'll be discussing the scary subject of getting your first home mortgage. This article is courtesy of Brian Rodgers, a Realtor in Hutchinson, KS. TK2 Associates recommends that you speak with our preferred lender, Angel Whitney (Leyde), of The Leyde Group www.leydegroup.com when you're thinking about getting pre-qualified for a new home mortgage.

Getting Your First Home Mortgage

By Brian Rodgers

Buying your first home can be both thrilling and scary and getting your first mortgage is usually part of the equation. Obtaining a mortgage can be confusing and stressful for many people, especially if this is a new experience. Without a doubt your home, even if it's a starter home, is and will be, one of the biggest investments of your life. With that in mind it is important to take the mortgage process slowly and not rush or skip important steps.

One of the very first steps necessary in the mortgage process is to decide if you want to go with a direct lender or a brokerage service. Dealing directly with lenders can, in most cases be a little bit cheaper because you don't have to pay a brokerage commission. However, a brokerage service can find lenders that are most suitable to the needs of the borrower and also take care of the many administrative tasks involved in the process. That is what you are paying them to do.

For first time homebuyers there are many programs that can assist including, but not limited to, FHA, VA and other specialized programs that vary based on where you live. Any quality mortgage company will be able to supply a listing of programs suitable to the lenders needs. In many cases these programs can be quite helpful in assisting in that first home purchase.

It is also important that you pre-qualify for a mortgage. That way you will know in advance how much home you can afford which in many cases will save you time, aggravation and in some instances embarrassment. You can go on the Internet and use any one of the free mortgage calculators available to help you figure out what your monthly payments might look like. Filling out that application and getting pre-approved is a must for any one seeking a mortgage.

You should also ask a lot of questions about anything that you may not fully understand. Find out the difference between a fixed and adjustable rate mortgage. You must also find out about any fees that may be charged to you. Some fees, quite frankly, can be avoided by the educated shopper so shop around. Buying a home is similar to buying anything else, only on a much larger scale. You always want to get the best deal possible and remember to never, ever sign anything that you don't fully understand.

A scary headline, but reality in the Seattle market is different

Hello All,

I just love these super-scary headlines that can make new homeowners quake in their boots, thinking they just lost equity in their homes. Click on the headline and read on to see the reality in the West, which is much different than most of the country.

While we're seeing more supply and longer on-market times, our market remains healthy for both buyers and sellers as we move a bit more towards equilibrium. Prices, however, continue to rise in the Seattle area, even as more homes become available.

Have you been "Zillowed" Lately?

For today's post, here is a great article from Realty Times on the dangers of using Zillow.com to determine a sales price for your home. Buyer's will use it - so we must be ready with accurate sales comparables to overcome the Zillow "zestimate".

Seller Gets "Zillowed" by Blanche Evans

A home seller tells Realty Times he is contemplating contacting an attorney over losing a sale he blames on Zillow's estimate of his home.

Dear Blanche:

I read your article about Zillow.com and would like see your advice on my situation. We started selling our house but potential buyers showed us a Zillow.com price estimation for our house and told us that our selling price was not realistic. As a result of this we had to take our house from the market.

The estimation by Zillow.com is $500,000.00 less than assessed value. Home facts are incorrect and estimated value is $600,000 lower than the value of the similar house next door built by the same builder a year earlier than ours.

Even Zillow's own data shows that comparable nearby houses were sold for $521.00 per sq. foot on average, when their estimation for our house is only $364.00 per sq. foot. I tried to contact Zillow.com, but their automatic response stated that they are not staffed to address individual issues.

They have enough staff to cause great damage, but not enough staff to fix it!
Grossly inaccurate and very damaging information from Zillow.com put our family in a very difficult financial position.

I am sure that there are other people in similar situation. I seek your advise on what can I do. --

Alex

Realty Times responds:

Congratulations, Alex, you've been zillowed! Zillowed is a playful term which means buyers can find out what your home is worth without talking to a professional Realtor or appraiser. To sellers, of course, being zillowed means you are likely getting screwed.

Sellers like you are being swept up in a maelstrom where you no longer have control over the marketing of your home to the public. Like the credit reporting bureaus can ruin your credit with inaccurate data, new companies posting public housing data have immunity from the responsibility of potentially harming individuals.

Get ready -- it's only going to get worse before it gets better. Companies like ZipRealty are gleefully announcing that they will post reviews of your home for all to see. Great for buyers, bad for you. Pretty soon there will be no reason to list your home at all because sellers don't have any rights anymore. You might as well light a match to it when you're ready to move house.

Funny, companies like Experian, ZipRealty and Zillow just don't think about the people as individuals; they only want to empower the "other side," whatever that side is. Consequently, as you found, Zillow didn't bother including some sort of help for individuals who wish to contest their zestimates. Neither did Experian until it was forced to by the government.
So your only choice is to fight back.

Let's start with some little known facts. Realtors (agents who are members of the National Association of Realtors) list and sell homes within 99 percent accuracy, according to a recent report by the NAR. While that may seem a self-serving statistic, it's easy enough to check in your local MLS. Even if homes sell within 95 percent of listing price, that's still pretty good compared to Zillow's zestimates. Zillow.com admitted to BusinessWeek in February 2006 during its much-publicized launch that its "estimates are typically on target, falling within 10 percent of the actual home-sale prices 62 percent of the time."

I'm sorry, but a dismal accuracy rate like that should come with a stern warning: "Use of this zestimate in a real negotiation could prevent you from buying or selling the home you want."
You say that Zillow's own data shows that comparable nearby houses sold for much higher than your home -- is there any reason why you can't show that data to buyers? You could also point out to buyers that even Zillow calls its product a "zestimate," and that unless buyers have a bona fide appraisal performed with sensible comparables, they could be overpaying or underpaying for any home.

I assume that you have your home listed with a real estate agent. If not, you got what you paid for. You wanted to save money on the commission and you did -- by not selling your house.
If you do have an agent, she/he should have been smart enough to know what to do -- namely show the buyer the real and current comparables for your home. As your listing agent, she/he should not put a property on the market without being able to defend the price. She should have sat down at a computer with the buyer or the buyer's agent if the buyer were represented by an agent, and shown the disparity between the Zillow valuation and what the latest comparables suggest.

That said, I'll bet that the buyer wasn't represented by an agent, but was using Zillow valuations to negotiate his/her own deals. That's exactly what Zillow wanted, because the company's business plan is to wean buyers and sellers off of real estate agents and onto its site, where it sells advertising to desperate real estate agents. To do that, Zillow has to pound the table with its shoe that real estate commissions are too high and get consumers to trust in its valuations, which your buyer clearly did.

But guess what, folks? It's not working. Zillow is already changing horses in mid-stream. Its new business plan embraces real estate agents by providing zestimates for them to put on their websites. This is an idea founders might have gotten here on Realty Times when we announced a similar plan underway by Fidelity, which happens to have twice the raw data Zillow has. Zillow has already contracted with Prudential California Realty into putting zestimates on their agents' websites, so this trend isn't going away anytime soon.

It gets worse. The Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice aren't pro-seller either. If you want to market your home without these zestimates or "reviews" you're out of luck because sellers don't have rights anymore. Only fledgling business models have rights.
The DOJ is suing the National Association of Realtors for the trade organization's attempts to protect sellers wishes and their contracts with their listing brokers. NAR wants to allow brokers to restrict advertising on other members' websites where they see fit -- the DOJ/FTC call that restraint of trade, even if that's what the seller wants. So, by insisting that any member of the MLS should be able to put the seller's listing on their website, regardless of whether or not that's a good thing for the seller, it's a new ballgame. Homesellers don't have as many rights when it comes to privacy or marketing their homes anymore.

So, what can you do? You can contact an attorney, your local congressman, consumers' groups and anyone else you think might listen to see if anyone cares about homeowner/sellers' rights anymore and what can be done. The fight may start with you, but somebody has to stand up sometime.

Published: August 31, 2006

Housing Market News from the Northwest Multiple Listing Service

Wow, its been a long time since we've posted. Things have been a bit crazy in the last month. We took a vacation to Europe, bought a new home, sold our old one, moved and then I took off to Vegas with my Dad for my birthday. We're back at work now, though, all settled-in to the new home and back to our routine.

This article was published on October 6th by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (http://www.nwrealestate.com/nwrpub/) and speaks to the changing market we're beginning to see here in the Seattle area. The news is much better than what most of the country is experiencing, which is probably a relief to many home sellers. The news is also encouraging to home buyers, as well.

Have a read and let us know your thoughts and/or questions.

Thanks!
Tim & Keith

September Housing Activity in Western Washington Brings Few Surprises

KIRKLAND, Wash. ( Oct. 6, 2006) – September brought few surprises in housing activity for members of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service: inventory and prices are up, while pending sales dropped compared to the record-setting pace of 2005.

Prices area-wide for closed sales of single family homes and condominiums rose 9.4 percent compared to twelve months ago – the first single-digit increase in 24 months. Of the 17 counties covered in the NWMLS report, six of the areas (including King County) reported single-digit price increases. Nine counties still had double-digit gains.

For single family homes (excluding condominiums) that closed ruing September, the median sales price system-wide was $325,950, up 10.5 percent from a year ago. In King County, prices rose 11.5 percent, from $381,250 a year to $425,000 for September’s sales.

“Let's just say that the reports of the looming real estate crash have been greatly exaggerated,” commented NWMLS director Mike Larson, the broker at Harold A. Allen Company Realtors® in Tacoma. “We all knew that the almost ridiculous growth we've experienced couldn't be sustained and that the market would eventually soften a bit,” he said, noting, “The well-priced homes are still moving and the overpriced homes are not.”
Not unexpectedly, inventory grew last month, with every county reporting a buildup of active listings.

Brokers added 12,656 new listings to inventory during September, nearly matching the year-ago volume when they reported 12,929 new listings. Last month’s additions included 10,697 single family homes and 1,959 condominiums to boost the total inventory to 34,443 listings. That’s up more than 41 percent from the selection of a year ago.

The growing inventory is giving buyers a “much better chance to selectively and judiciously make buying decisions without the frenzied attitude of the last four years,” according to Dick Beeson, broker/owner of Windermere Real Estate/Commencement Associates in Tacoma. But there’s a flip side for sellers, said Beeson, who is also member of the NWMLS board of directors. “Sellers are getting frustrated by longer marketing times with some now offering more buyer incentives than they would have previously offered,” he noted.

"The Puget Sound region is now in the midst of a transitional market in which we're seeing far more equilibrium between buyers and sellers than we did earlier in the year,” said NWMLS director Joe Spencer, president of John L. Scott Real Estate
Pending sales fell about 18.5 percent from a year ago, with every county reporting fewer transactions. NWMLS members notched 8,160 pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed) during September, which compares to a year-ago total of 10,014 pending sales. Through nine months this year, pending sales are down 8.6 percent from the same period a year ago.

Beeson believes the drop in pending sales is due in part to indecision by buyers and reluctance by sellers to adjust prices to reflect reduced demand. “Buyers are more patient now than they have been previously,” he remarked.

To get top dollar in a slowing market, sellers not only have to price their home appropriately, they must also “take care of all the little chores” of getting their home ready to showcase,” emphasized Realtor Terry Miller, an associate broker at Coldwell Banker Bain in Seattle. She cited the example of a newly listed home in Richmond Beach with an asking price of $650,000 that drew a full-price offer within five days.

Miller said the owners even went beyond her recommendations for preparing the home to sell by arranging a pre-inspection and replacing the roof, knowing it was nearing the end of its life cycle. Those steps definitely gave them an edge in getting the quick, full-price sale, Miller believes.

NWMLS director Mike Skahen also stressed the importance of realistic pricing. “Buyers are more selective and pricing is very important,” he remarked. Skahen, the broker/owner of Lake & Company Real Estate, Inc. in Seattle, said he and his sales associates are seeing “more normal activity” for new listings in recent weeks, along with a “very noticeable increase” in buyer activity. A dip in interest rates and temperatures may account for some of that increase, he suggested.

“We continue to have very strong demand for homes in close-in neighborhoods with good street appeal and charm,” Skahen commented. A good example, he said, is a 2-bedroom, 1.5-bath Phinney Ridge home built in 1914 that he described as being in average condition and in a nice setting. Although listed at $499,000 it drew 11 offers, eventually selling for around $600,000. “Demand for these types of homes is as intense as ever,” he reported.
Elsewhere, there are signs of moderating demand, reflecting more supply and possibly the start of a seasonal cool down.

Pierce County has nearly five months of inventory compared to just over three months for King and Snohomish counties, Larson noted. (Nationally, it’s averaging more than seven months.) “What's interesting,” he remarked, “is that despite that higher supply, values in Pierce County still increased almost 13 percent compared to last year -- more than both King and Snohomish counties.”

Larson acknowledged being “a bit concerned” about Pierce County's condo market, “particularly downtown, where they seem to be going up everywhere.” With more than four months of supply (about twice that in King and Snohomish counties), he wonders if demand exists to sustain all those units, particularly considering “many of the unbuilt units aren't even part of the data yet.”

“Agents realize they must do a better job of convincing sellers, and themselves, of the realities of the marketplace,” Beeson stated, adding, “Things have changed, and it's now edging toward a buyer's market. Sellers can't remain frozen in time, place or price when it comes to selling their homes.”

Beeson believes the market will self correct during the coming months. “Sellers who don't have a serious motivation to sell will tire of the longer marketing times and will probably withdraw from the market, thus reducing inventory,” he commented. He expects prices will continue to increase “but more slowly” and, if interest rates remain low, next year will see a “harmonizing of supply and demand.”

One caveat Beeson cited, is if population continues to increase. “This could cause demand to remain above supply, especially if land use issues in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties are not resolved and development is brought to a halt,” he remarked.

The president of John L. Scott Real Estate remains confident. “While the market has slowed down somewhat, we're not experiencing the same dramatic effects of other areas like California and the Northeast,” said Joe Spencer. “Because the media have focused so much on those areas, many local buyers/sellers are in a holding pattern, waiting to see what the Puget Sound market will bear in the coming months. We're somewhat protected in the Pacific Northwest because the key economic indicators are in alignment to support and sustain a healthy housing market" he added.