Team Reba Real Estate

Ok, all I can say is… take a moment to read through the top of the sign on down.  It’s funny as heck as soon as you put the whole scene together but you surely don’t want your residential development to become famous just because of a really bad naming job.

Ok, I’ll admit that when I first learned about ActiveRain I had some healthy skepticism for it. With so many programs within the REALTOR(R) Association where a designation gave you access to a pool of agents nationally, or a broker affiliation might provide it, or some kind of combination thereof - I thought, “what does this site have to offer me?”  Or, as it used to be put when I was in corporate work - the WIIFM factor - “what’s in it for me?”

So, I finally decided after having a relatively bare agent profile on the site for several months to go ahead and start networking on it.  I’ll say right now that so far I am relatively pleased with the results.  It seems a lot of people do read the stuff that gets written on there and now I must say my competitive side of me is kicking in and I want to be number one in the Seattle spot.  I’m pretty sure if I converted my location to Renton (where my home office is) I’d be number one at this point based on the scoring system they use.

Anyhow, another *sort of* benefit is that a new business opportunity listing we’re co-brokering with another agent in our office (Robin Tomazic) got picked up by a local blogger for the area where it is located - Georgetown. You can see the blog post here.  Hey, buddy, thanks for helping us advertise!  We’d like to find a wonderful new owner for the restaurant and bar who will be as supportive of the community as you are.

Recently, I was able to confirm my belief in the notion of there being only 2 degrees of separation between any one of us and another person.  Even though the more commonly held viewpoint is that there are 6 degrees of separation, or in the case of a fun game, known to many, “six degrees of Kevin Bacon.”  I started my belief in 2 degrees after Michael and I first met 7 years ago shortly after which I held a party called the Mix & Match. The intent was to bring my friends together and some new people into our circle by asking each couple and single invited to bring a single person I personally didn’t know to the party.  What we found was that there were roughly 2 degrees of separation between a large number of people at the party once people started asking how they knew me or Michael.  Leap forward to this year and how I’m even more solidied in my view…

So, a client I’ve been working with for over a year by email comes into the USA for a monthlong trip.  The couple lives overseas in South Africa where the husband works for a government run organization.  He’ll be retiring in the next 1-3 years and, since they have family here, will be moving back to the Pacific NW to be close to their daughters who live up this way. 

Now, I’ll say, these folks were referred to me by an agent in Idaho so I really didn’t think much about who else they might know.  I did get them introduced to an agent in Vancouver and one in the Portland, OR area since these are some of the locales they are considering outside of the Greater Seattle area.

It turned out that with my client’s price point requirements we didn’t really find much for them in King County that was interesting, so we ventured down to Pierce County and focused on the City of Tacoma for the most part since it had commuter services to Seattle and a pretty decent housing stock that met our requirements list.  The house hunting crew consisted of me, the couple, and one of their daughters.  The first day we all went but on the 2nd day their local host offered to take the daughter mall shopping, something she (at 22 yrs old) was more interested in.

While out driving around on our 2nd day of home hunting I got a phone call from a friend and colleague of mine in escrow, Jamie Kondo (yes, one of our co-contributors to this blog).  I told her I couldn’t really talk and asked if I could call her back.  She asked, “are you with your out of town clients?”  Yes.  And she then said, “I think I just met their daughter.”

Huh?

It turns out that the host couple who my clients were staying with in Newcastle, WA are related to Jamie.  In fact, the lady she was telling me about, who brought my client’s daughter to where she was, is her aunt.  That’s 2 degrees of separation to me.  So, from Idaho, to South Africa, to Seattle/Newcastle to Pierce County (Jamie’s stomping grounds) and Oregon (where the daughter lives). 

Jamie and I have worked together on many real estate transactions over the 5+ years we’ve known each other (through 2008) so it’s pretty funny to have this connection work itself out with neither of us having generated it.

What really cracked me up was to hear my clients say that I’d just proven a point to their daughter.  They’d always stressed to their kids that you should always watch your actions in public because you just never know who knows who in the room and where information about any bad behavior might go.  A good lesson for agents too as bad service may travel farther and wider than you can imagine.

Kevin Bacon… I may just have you beat.

A local mortgage professional who we sometimes work with sent out a notice today.  See the comments below in Italics. 

Most of you are aware that Down Payment Assistance programs like Nehemiah, etc. are history effective October 1st. Lenders are requiring that loans using DPA’s fund by September 30th. Therefore, some lenders are requiring locking and submissions by August 15th and others by September 12th.  

If you have any clients that need this program, now is the time to do it. While there is a movement to get the programs reinstated, it’s anybody’s guess as to how that will turn out. Let me know if I can help you in any way. 

Jerry Rutherford 

Professional Mortgage, Inc.
22659 Pacific Hwy So Suite 101
Des Moines, WA 98198
Phone: (206) 870-5050 Cell: (206) 356-1711
Toll Free: 1-800 764-5626
Email: jrutherford@pmiloans.com
www.pmiloans.com
WA Lic. # 510-LO-35158

I’d been receiving some other industry requests asking for feedback to be sent to legislative members who were responsible for voting.  It seems that even with support from the NAR and mortgage professionals who see the daily need for programs like Nehemiah, the folks in government decided to act rashly anyway.  I guess it’s typical politics as usual because government frequently seem like a massive pendulum going to extremes and only after protracted battles and lawsuits will it go to the center and make sense.

A new pamphlet has been started for licensees within WA State to receive semi-annual updates of legislation affecting our industry.  I’m a fan of it so far and the very first story on the front page of the pamphlet tells us about the new licensing law for RCW18.85 coming into effect on July 1, 2010.

Not only will there be higher initial education standards for new agents, but there will be other fun updates to the requirements such as fingerprinting and background checks with WSP and FBI.  This is not new for other states such as Kansas (where my mom, Myrna Haas, does business) as they’ve implemented this kind of procedure as well.  And, I for one, am happy to see it happen.  Hopefully we’ll be able to better monitor the quality of those getting into the industry and hold higher standards overall.

Want another reason for those kinds of background checks to be done?  One of the noted disciplinary actions in the document revealed that an agent had a level II sex offender background and he’d failed to register and provide that information to the department. There are others who may have convictions in drugs, theft, larceny or fraud that the public might want to have screened out from the business as well.

Oh, and one other thing.  The titles of agents will change too.  People who are currently labeled Sales Associates, Real Estate Agents, or some similar name will become “brokers”.  And those folks that had broker licenses before will become “managing brokers”.  Happy licensing……

So, the other day I’m posting yet another of our client listings to Zillow when I get an email telling me that I have become a Zillow All-Star.  I think to myself, “what the heck is that?”  So, in looking it up I find out that, according the notice posted on their site:

It’s kind of funny, really.  When Zillow first came onto the scene a lot of agents saw them as a horrible new type of competition.  We’ve never felt that way although we did make sure to try and understand what the online service was, and wasn’t, so that we could help educate our clients and the public on this new tool.  Being that the firm is locally based, I’d like to see them do well because it helps bring jobs to our local economy and I think the services they offer are valid.  There’s nothing wrong with wanting to get a bit of an idea of what your home value might be without having to get an agent involved, or to hire an appraiser.  If it’s just curiosity you’re dealing with and not a sale or a refinance, then checking this site out is not a bad thing.  It also helps people understand where their neighborhood values may be going too.

We’ve even gone so far as to include it in our marketing of properties when we have listings.  One of the tools I like on the site is the “claim my home” because we can do that and update the information on the site if there have been changes to a house. Frequently the info that Zillow is working from is incorrect or out of date - so this is a way to make the data that is publicly available match what we’ll have in our listing packages. It’s a good tool overall since we know a large number of people look here to compare Zestimates(R) with listing prices.

What is a Zestimate(R)?  Again, from the site:

“ Zestimate

A Zestimate home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value. It is not an appraisal. Use it as a starting point to determine a home’s value.
Learn more

The Value Range is the high and low estimated market value for which Zillow values a home. The more information, the smaller the range, and the more accurate the Zestimate. See data coverage and accuracy table “

For people who are relocating to a new area, Zillow helps an out-of-town buyer understand neighborhood price points and values with this information available once they go home after a whirlwind trip into a new town to look for a home.

Anyhow, I guess it feels good to be an “All-Star!”

To get all the details you need with regard to septic systems and what’s necessary for you to do when selling your home, go to this handy website set up by King County and their Wastewater Management and Public Health Services Dept.  There is also a section that will provide details on how to use and care for a septic system as well. 

As a seller, you have responsibilities and paperwork that is required.  As a buyer, you should be prepared to look for these details during your inspection process.

Agents should be familiar with this process as well, and if you (Mr. or Ms. Agent) aren’t, then you should do a little reading too. 

Most septic (aka onsite sewage) systems are found in outlying areas of Puget Sound or in County controlled areas.  If you aren’t in King County then you should check with your local county government website or contact the local county office for the info you need for your area.

This is a coverage that has become near and dear to my heart as I am now a newly minted condo owner (Thank you Rebecca Haas and Eric Aasness).  As an insurance agent I have always been amazed at how people would take all of this time, money and effort to buy the condo of their dreams and expect someone else to protect (i.e. the Master Policy) it.  Let’s face it, the Master Policy’s the last thing you’d want to read.  It’s boring and full of insurance misto-babel.  Some master policies cover more than others but in a nut shell it is designed to protect the building and common areas and its purpose is to make sure the structure and common areas can and will be rebuilt in the event of a loss. 

There is no coverage for your personal property such as your clothes, flat screen TV or the new sofa you just purchased.  So everything from the walls in are your responsibility.  Items like fixtures, cabinets or appliances maybe covered by the master policy but often are not especially if you’ve remodeled your place in any way. 

This is where I, your friendly insurance agent, enter the picture and ask you if you feel safe knowing your neighbor has a candle fetish and another can’t even boil water to make tea.  I believe condo insurance should be thought of the same as  home insurance.  All too often it has been looked at like renters insurance and considered optional and it also doesn’t help that it is not a required condition for closing your loan.  Thankfully, the new construction condo I just purchased DID require proof of individual unit coverage prior to closing any sales.

To get an idea of what condo coverage costs I always recommend you start where you have your auto insurance coverage.  Most companies give a discount for having more than one policy with the same company.  I also think this might be the right time to review all of your insurance coverage and make sure you are maximizing discounts and coverage. 

Thanks for listening to your favorite online and blogging insurance agent.  Feel free to call or email me with any questions about this or any other type of coverage.  I wanted to share some of my thoughts about condo coverage in the hope that it might help all of us condo owners out here.  Take care and be well.     

So, recently I have had a client interested in a house that has a major problem with an attached garage and den - added after the original house was built. The problem with the garage and den is that it is impacted by a steep slope that has eroded part of the foundation beneath it and it is slowly beginning to slide down the hill.  A geotech engineer’s report is included with the seller’s disclosure statement that spells out all the problems with this site and gives the engineer’s recommendations which include removing this portion of the structure completely.

Now, let’s take a look at what is the most likely scenario for a buyer wanting to purchase this house and the financing they might need to procure - if they don’t have all cash to buy it.  My personal opinion is that since the garage and den are recommended for demolition and either rebuilding or just plain extinction that it is encumbent on the new borrower to give all this detail to a lender.  Chances are, in today’s more risk averse lending climate, the building would qualify only for a construction or a rehab loan (perhaps the FHA 203(k) program) with the lender being given a detailed list of the problems and the plans for reconstruction - typically a timeline for completion is necessary for these and are limited to 6 months to 1 year.

My interested buyers currently have only looked at conventional loan packages so I directed them to inquire from their lender about these other options.  I also emailed the listing agent to ask him if he had a lender that was aware of the problems and if they perhaps had a loan package that might suffice for purchase of the property. 

Here is his reply with details of individuals/firms redacted:

Greetings,

I spoke with my lender, XXXXXX, at XXXXXX XXXXXXXX  and she talked with

her underwriter who told her that as long as the appraiser didn’t mention

it, the lender would not be concerned about it.

We should have the cities approval on the new permit for the garage in the

next week or so if your clients are interested in building the new garage.

My clients have lived with it as it is since 1994 with no problems.

Let me know your thoughts.

This same agent told me that his clients had never lived in the property and that it had been a rental the entire time they owned it.  So, yeah, I’ll bet they never had any problems with it.

Now, let’s take a look at the language that just came out from the NWMLS regarding the new law enacted in June 2008.

“Under some circumstances, omitting information about the property may be considered mortgage fraud. House Bill 2770, which became effective June 12, 2008, makes mortgage fraud a class B felony, punishable by confinement not to exceed ten years, or by a fine in an amount not to exceed $20,000, or by both confinement and a fine. Mortgage fraud has always been illegal, but the new law makes it clear that Washington lawmakers are increasing their efforts to punish those who perpetuate fraud.

What is considered mortgage fraud under House Bill 2770?

Section 9 of House Bill 2770 states that it is unlawful for any person, in connection with obtaining a residential mortgage loan to directly or indirectly: (1) defraud or materially mislead any lender or borrower; (2) knowingly make any misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission during the mortgage lending process knowing that it may be relied upon by a mortgage lender or borrower; or (3) use or facilitate the use of any misstatement, misrepresentation, or omission during the mortgage lending process with the intent that it be relied upon by a mortgage lender or borrower.

Section 10 of House Bill 2770 provides that any person who knowingly violates section 9 or who knowingly aids and abets in the violation of section 9 is guilty of a class B felony. ”

I don’t know about you - but I think that this might qualify if everyone just hopes that the appraiser misses the problem.  Anyone else got a comment on what they think of the situation?  I’ve told my clients to run, not walk, away from this one.