Team Reba Real Estate

This fantastic Chancellor home has incredible space for the price. With 3220 sqft of space encompassing 5+ bedrooms, an office, bonus room, and extra finished room you’ll love it.  Thoughtful built-ins help maximize the space you get and keep clutter at bay. Easy access to transit and commuting options make this a fantastic place to call home. (Metro buses 236 to downtown Kirkland and 257 to downtown Seattle come by within a half block.) 

Relax in the large back yard on the deck, or shoot some hoops and then ease your muscles in the hottub. You can’t go wrong with this home!  To make it even more relaxing, there is a 1-year basic American Home Shield home warranty that is available to the buyer at closing to help cover the appliances and systems in the home.

A slideshow of all the photos is available here.  A total of 17 photos to be exact showing all the rooms of the house except for the garage interior and laundry room.  There is an eat-in kitchen with space for a couple of barstools and/or a kitchen table for more informal dining.

The home is located near Totem Lake, where Evergreen Hospital is growing by leaps and bounds and it is also near one of the first Trader Joe’s in Washington.  Lots of local amenities and there is a community pool you’ll have access to as well.  Better get busy before Labor Day weekend if you want to enjoy it this year!  Local park & ride nearby makes the possibilities of reducing your carbon footprint easier.  Easy access to Eastside companies and employment centers(Bothell, Bellevue, Redmond) such as Microsoft, Expedia, and Overlake Hospital.

We’ve even got a great offering from Eric Aasness (one of our co-contributors) that if you use his office for the financing portion, they’ll offer 1% of the loan amount toward your closing costs!  With 10% down, the loan amount will still be under the new, temporary increased level of conforming loan limits - which is $567,500.

Come swing by and take a look for yourself!

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.

Team Reba presents a new listing of a classic 1950’s style home in the Seward Park neighborhood of Seattle.  It’s modern neighbor was featured in this past week’s Pacific Northwest Magazine in the Seattle Times which was built on land formerly a part of this dwelling’s land parcel.

Our listing has many sought after, yet hard to find, features such as: Two (2) Master bedrooms, Universal Design features, 2 kitchens (actually what could be 2 full living quarters and was previously used in this fashion), expansive views of Lake Washington in a serene setting, large lot, and environmentally conscious features such as broad overhangs for passive cooling, ceramic tile roof, and large windows for wonderful natural lighting.  In addition to these features you’ll find numerous outdoor sitting areas, ample parking space besides a 2-car garage, and an elevator between the 2 floors.

See some of photos of this wonderful property below or check out all the photos at our slideshow:

Front of home with circular driveway which supplies excellent additional parking for guests. Here you can see the tile roof which is original to the structure.  Roof products of this kind typically require a substantial structure to support their weight - this is a very solid home!

This view from the northeast corner of the home shows the layout of the walk-out daylight basement - the slope of the site allows for a very open and bright lower living area along with providing fantastic views of Lake Washington and Seward Park from both levels of the home.  It also represents the true size of the home with its 4410 square feet of space.

Gleaming oak hardwoods flow throughout the main level spaces including the dining area, sunken living room, office, family room, kitchen, hall and the 3/4 bath. Deck and patio areas off each level allow for many entertaining opportunities.

Wood cabinetry, stainless appliances including double wall Viking ovens, 2 Miele dishwashers (for the serious entertainer) and tile countertop with a new cooktop in the main level kitchen. The large stainless refrigerator is just out of view to the left of the photo. Space is available for an eat-in kitchen and there are bountiful cabinets and pantry spaces. Note the glass case ahead for displaying favorite art pieces. Upper halogen lighting casts a beautiful glow on glass artworks.

The family room adjacent to the kitchen area enjoys the same magical views as the rest of the living areas and provides secondary access to the deck. This is also the area for entry to the 2-car garage. An alternate staircase passes between the garage and the lower level of the home to provide covered parking for each living space, if necessary.

To see the two master bedrooms, 2nd kitchen and other spaces of the home, please visit the slideshow which will have additional details about the house and its amenities.

Proudly offered at $1,410,000

Serious inquiries by pre-approved or qualified buyers only.  NWMLS# 28131238.

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.

No, it’s not as iconic as the song Georgia on my Mind made most famous (in my mind) by Ray Charles, but Wenatchee is now on my mind after being introduced to a great development opportunity by a fellow RE/MAX agent in this eastern WA city.  The land for sale is actually on the East Wenatchee side of the Columbia River but it is the twin city to Wenatchee.  While not as large, there are similarities to this area and Kansas City (KS/MO) where one area of a large metro area is more of the suburban bedroom community to the next door city.

Anyhow, an article written about me in the RE/MAX Times last year introduced me to this agent, Michael Miller, who is newly transplanted to the Wenatchee area.  He and his wife, Lynn, contacted us at Team Reba to see if perhaps we could help them with promoting this opportunity.  So, here I am doing just that.  It’s pretty exciting actually.  There are several ways you can imagine this land getting developed and all of them are going to be beneficial to that area of the state and the local community. If you’re in the market to develop a roughly 40 acre parcel with a mixture of retail/commercial/residential feel free to contact us and we’ll get you more details.  Be warned though - the parcel, if not subdivided into smaller parcels, has a $10Million price tag.

Some of the development opportunities include townhomes, residential, condos, retail space and more.  I’m personally hoping that a green development might come in and do a really cool urban planned development.  The zoning of the area has quite a list of permitted uses, so there are some very interesting opportunities.

You’ll be reading more about it here on this blog as we get more involved in helping co-list and market this opportunity.

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.”

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.

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!