Team Reba Real Estate

The RE/MAX Metro Realty office I hang my license with has a special program that we utilize for our clients and friends that helps us keep in touch and is a few steps above the recipe cards that other agents send out.  It’s called ‘From Your Friends’ and it is a great monthly program of discounts to local Puget Sound restaurants and activities.

Previous months have included the Seattle Children’s Theater, Seattle Thunderbirds Hockey, Purple Cafe’, and Duke’s Chowder House.  This month we get the lovely flavors of The Melting Pot.  I’m very excited about taking advantage of this coupon myself because I do enjoy the Melting Pot and we have a gift card for it right now too so we can stretch our dollars quite a ways by going a couple of times before the card expires.  We always get a few extra to hand out to new clients and/or for friends who want to go with friends or family to one of these restaurants or events.

All of our clients whether they are buyers or sellers (who stay local) are added to the program and with people watching their wallets more these days what with increased prices in gas and groceries, it’s a wonderful way to still have some fun while keeping an eye on the household budget. For those clients who have just moved to the area it is a great way to also be introduced monthly to some of the areas attractions, neighborhoods and local restaurant options.

If you’d like to be added to our list and are open to receiving our monthly email newsletter you can contact us with your details (name, address and email) and we’ll add you to our “friends list”.  It’s just another way we take good care of our friends here at Team Reba.

This is a composite account of many cases we have worked on over the years.  The names and events have been changed to avoid disclosing confidential client information.

Frank Sinatra says that love is wonderful the second time around, but the couples’ estate planning can be complicated.  Often, each person has an established career and/or significant assets.  While each of them may be ready for the emotional ties of marriage, the economic ties give some pause for thought.  The good thing is that people entering into second marriages often have “both feet on the ground” and are able to talk openly and objectively about how they want to manage their finances during their marriage, and the provisions they want to make for each other and their heirs at death.

Premarital agreements are common in remarriages – a couple can clarify what each has, how they want to handle living expenses, how they may acquire assets together, and what happens to each of their assets at death or divorce.  Frankly, whether a couple signs a premarital agreement or not, it is critically important for them to discuss the financial side of their marriage.  The community property laws can complicate things for remarriages.  Often it makes sense for couples to agree to keep not only their assets separate, but also their income.  For example, without a premarital agreement, a person’s salary is community property.  Thus, post-marriage employee benefits and contributions to retirement accounts and the growth of those contributions would be community property, while the account balance on the date of marriage plus growth would be separate.  This can create an accounting problem in the event of death or divorce.  Another problem is making sure the survivor of a married couple has sufficient assets to live comfortably, while also taking care of your children and grandchildren or other heirs.

When kids have to wait for their step-parent to die to get their inheritance, it can be awkward for the step-parent and the kids.  Our experience is less that the kids’ begrudge the step-parent the use of the assets, but rather they fear those assets will end up with the step-parent’s family.  Yet, often your spouse needs access to your assets to live comfortably, and this is when good planning can minimize suspicion and/or hard feelings between your spouse and your heirs.  An example of a bad plan would be for dad’s Will to give everything outright to step-mom, as dad’s children will have little assurance of receiving their inheritance and they may be tempted to challenge dad’s Will.  A better plan is to use a properly drafted trust for the step-parent administered by an independent trustee.  Such a trust can allay a lot of suspicion and fulfill the dual goals of providing for your spouse and your children.

These are many important issues to consider the second (or third . . ) time you fall, but consulting with competent counsel will help assure that you’ll be glad you met “the second time around.”

Because I write in several online forums I have to avoid duplicating the exact material from one blog to another.  For those of you that have been getting into the online forums of communication you recognize that search engine optimization only occurs when you have original content and if you cut and paste your posts from online forum to additional sites you’ll end up getting yourself blacklisted by the bots and spiders that troll the web.

So, to keep myself from getting my, what I like to think are useful articles, blacklisted, I’m putting a link to one that I just wrote for my “other site” where I write regularly - Rain City Guide.  In the post I list 9+ questions that consumers can use to help in interviewing a listing agent.  These questions are applicable for any real estate market no matter where you are so please feel free to use them in your own market outside of the Seattle and Washington State area!

Not everyone knows that I’m a big gardening fan but there are times when I’m walking around a client’s home that I can tell they’re surprised by the number of plants that I can identify by sight as we walk around and I’m giving them my staging advice for the exterior of their home.  Yes, staging includes that all important “curb appeal” which will often mean taking a hard look at the aesthetic of the exterior of a home and the surrounding gardens (or lack thereof).

At my last home, the one I just finished closing on the sale of last week, I had done extensive exterior work using a contractor to build a wrap around deck, patio, raised beds, etc.  Not only was this nice for my own personal use, but it was great in the eventual resale of the home because of all the extras that it provided.  In the bedding areas I put in mostly perennials but some of the spaces were also used for organic gardening for our own vegetable food supplies in the spring through fall.  Most of the plant choices were made to be low maintenance as well as drought-tolerant and we had rain barrels installed to catch water runoff from the deck for use in the garden to limit seasonal summer water use.  With food prices and gas prices being what they are today, it is nice to have an onsite garden which helps limit the number of trips to the store for fresh produce and keep our household expenses down.

To keep up on various gardening ideas I frequently read the NWLife section of the Seattle Times, specifically, the gardening section. In the July 2nd edition there was an article on the “native plant of the month” named Sisyrinchium, aka Blue-eyed grass.  I’m looking for ideas for my new home where we have an area that ends up with an occasional water run-off area caused by the topography of the lot and neighborhood.  My thoughts in attempting to limit actual run-off and to help in slowing down the water and helping it to percolate more slowly into the ground is to put in a mini-marsh like garden where water can collect and there will be plants that help the process and that can survive and thrive in that environment.

The blue-eyed grass seems to be one of many that can fit into my little scheme.  Granted, I realize I’m taking on a multi-year process of putting this in place and my first goal is to stake out the spot in our new lot that will become our new vegetable garden, but collecting ideas is part of the fun of gardening.

The best tidbit of info that I gleaned from this article though was the website put together by the Washington Native Plant Society where you can find more information on native plants, including the places where you can buy them.  Growing native plants is a smart move because you’ll have fewer high-maintenance plants to deal with because native plants typically have already figured out how to defend themselves against pests and they usually require less watering than more fussy plants that have been transplanted to our environment.

So, over this holiday weekend, if you’re out gardening - have fun, be safe and “go native!”

The PMI Group, Inc is all about considering risk when it comes to the housing market and mortgages.  Why?  Because The PMI Group, Inc. provides “private mortgage insurance” for lenders that is the fill-in for losses if a borrower defaults on a mortgage.  They care a lot about risk.  When I talk to clients about the lending process we cover the idea that banks are much like insurance companies - they care about mitigating risk.  So, if a borrower doesn’t have a strong down payment, like a 20% equity stake, then the lender is going to offset their risk by requiring mortgage insurance.

For a many years we saw very few loans with PMI attached because all manner of alternate loan programs and products were available.  But, no more!  Most of those programs have now disappeared because of last summer’s mortgage meltdown pushed to a higher frenzy level by the media.

The good news and silver lining of today’s post?  The PMI Group, Inc does regular forecasts of the areas they believe to be the lowest and highest risk within the nation.  Take a look at their 2008 summer forecast and you’ll see that the Seattle-Bellevue-Everett area is considered by them to be a low risk area for housing price devaluation.

I’ve been giving blood at Puget Sound Blood Center (PSBC) for about 15 years or so now.  While I will admit that I haven’t been giving as much as I used to (1x - 2x per year versus 6x) the change in frequency has mostly come from changes in my own personal circumstances of work location, being out of town more frequently, and general convenience factor.  Factors that I recently provided in the survey PSBC sent out to see how they could improve repeat giving of blood.

Having a strong local blood supply is important and many people do not realize that blood has a shelf life, like any other fresh supply product you can think of - such as fruits and vegetables.  So, to keep the supply full and to get as many types of blood possible the PSBC must constantly work to remind and urge the public to give. 

My own blood type is AB+, which is the 2nd most rare type of blood.  Although AB patients can also receive type O, it’s usually preferred that the same blood type be used for certain medical procedures.  I get contacted regularly via email with reminders to give.  I used to give at a location in Bellevue (on 112th) that was down the street from my old work office at Westmark Electronics.  Then, when I went into software sales and worked remotely from my employer, I went to a location on 105th in Seattle near Hwy 99.  Now that I live in Renton I haven’t found (ok, I need to look) what the closest location is to me.  I keep thinking I’ll look and see if the local hospital (Valley Medical) has a program since they are only about a mile from my house.

Given the blood transfusion my dad needed after my parent’s accident last year it’s been on my mind more than ever.  Give blood, and give often.  There will be many families that will be thankful for your gift of life.

A HUD home is a foreclosed property owned by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

In an Effort to reduce it’s inventory of homes, HUD is temporarily offering a $100 down payment to purchase a HUD home for owner-occupants using FHA financing!

Here is some information on the $100 down payment program for purchasing HUD homes:

• Sizable sales allowances that can be used to pay closing costs, make repairs, or pay down the mortgage amount
• Broker bonuses for real estate brokers that close owner-occupant sales
• As an added incentive, HUD can give borrowers up to $5,500 at closing for repairs to the property.

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Countrywide provides FHA financing for these sales, subject to the terms of the contract executed by HUD.

 Here is a link to search current HUD homes for sale in the area.  There are not too many HUD properties in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties yet… but that could change: 

http://www.hud.gov/homes/index.cfm
As with any government program, there is a bit of red tape and a few hurdles to jump over.  For more information, give me a call. 

 Happy Hunting!

Up until the last 6 months, I was the Block Watch captain for my little neighborhood in Phinney Ridge.  One of the benefits of being in contact with so many neighbors was the involvement in the annual Seattle Night Out which usually happens in early August - for 2008 it’s on Tuesday, August 5th. 

Most neighbors thought the party was just a big block party and didn’t always realize that it’s tied into a crime prevention.  I got my usual email providing me the link to register our block.  For neighbors that want to throw their block party they must register their street with the city so they know who is going to be blocking off their roadway.  One of the fun things that also happens at these events, at least in some neighborhoods, is that the local fire department and police department employees will get out to meet the folks that they help protect.  It’s pretty cool.

If you want to invite your neighbors you can use this invitiation that the city has prepared.  It’s a great way to get to know the people in your neighborhood, which helps to make a safer environment for everyone because when you know people it’s hard to turn your back when you see something bad happening to them. Given the sad things we read in the paper or see on the news on a daily basis, it’s always nice when there is an event that can help create a positive effect for the beautiful place where we live, work and play.

A loan officer I know at HomeStreet Bank recently sent out a message regarding an FHA loan program that is for WA residents who may have children going to school at one of the universities/colleges in our state.  I’ll paste in below the parameters he provided that are required to meet to qualify.

I’m not sure if this is a program that is available outside of WA State so if you’re reading this blog from another area of the country you’ll want to check with your local lending resources.

Parents can help their children enrolled in college to buy a home with an

FHA 3 % down loan.    Here are the details:

1.  The child must be enrolled in college, and use the property as his/her residence.

2.  The property must be within a reasonable distance to the college.

3.  The child does not need to have income or a credit score.

4.  The parent(s) must qualify for the payment, plus their own debts, and go on title.

5.  It doesn’t have to be a condo; single family houses are eligible too.

6.  The new FHA loan limit of $567,500 applies!

My guess is that since it is an FHA loan that it can be available through a number of lenders, so you’ll want to ask your contact if they have access to this loan.  I haven’t checked to see how competitive the rates are to other programs, but with only a 3% downpayment opportunity - and most lenders are requiring more down payment right now - it’s a way for many people to still buy in some of our higher priced markets without having to break the bank for a down payment and college costs at the same time.

Since the parent and child are on the title together you should check into any estate and financial planning issues that this may bring up.

This is a composite account of many cases we have worked on over the years.  The names and events have been changed to avoid disclosing confidential client information.

The out of state vacation home can be a wonderful family retreat – generating years of happy memories for your family.  Dennis and Margaret adore their waterfront home on Maui and own it in both their names.  Sam and Betty love the desert and own a home in Tucson through their limited liability company (LLC).  Robert and Alice are looking to buy a vacation home in British Columbia - close to Robert’s family.

However, things that can be so wonderful during life can cause some real headaches at death, unless you plan ahead.  When Dennis or Margaret dies, it will be necessary to open a probate in Hawaii to transfer title to the survivor of them and if the survivor does not take corrective action, another probate in Hawaii will be needed at his or her death.  A Probate in Hawaii often costs eight to ten times more than one in Washington.  Those extra fees can be avoided by transferring title to a revocable trust.

Sam and Betty’s interests in their LLC will not be subject to Arizona probate, but may be subject to the Washington estate tax.  Depending on the value of their estate, their heirs may unnecessarily pay state estate tax on the property.  At present, Arizona does not have an estate tax so if Sam and Betty transferred title from their LLC to a revocable trust, they would still avoid the Arizona probate system and would also avoid the Washington state estate tax.

Robert and Alice need to be cautious of the Canadian tax system.  Canada does not have an estate tax, but its income tax applies to many transfers that are tax-free in the U.S.  For example, transfers at death are subject to income tax in Canada.  Moreover, the Canadian real estate excise tax applies to a transfer by gift, which is not the case in Washington.  A combination of a Canadian revocable trust and a Washington LLC will allow Robert and Alice to avoid the Canadian probate and income tax systems at their deaths.

Consult with your attorney before buying real estate outside of Washington – do not tarnish years of happy memories for your family by failing to plan properly for your vacation property.

We believe estate planning is about people; let us know if we can be
of service to you or those you care about.

For assistance, questions, comments or to be added to our mailing list, please contact Timothy C. Burkart, Garvey Schubert Barer, 1191 2nd Avenue, Suite 1800, Seattle, WA 98101-2939, tburkart@gsblaw.com, (206) 816-1467