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.
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
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.
While sending out a note to a friend of mine, David LeClaire, a local sommelier who is now running SeattleUncorked wine club, I stumbled up a new restaurant find in the (Le) Renton area.
The new place is called Blossom Asian Bistro and, oddly enough, they were recommended on the Red House Beer and Wine website (this was the place I was recommending to David initially). Perhaps there is an ownership interest there? It doesn’t really say.
(update: it IS co-owned by some folks from Red House and the restaurant group involved)
One of the great things I found out on the Blossom website is that nothing on their menu is over $10. That’s pretty amazing if you ask me! Come on down to “Le Renton” and check out yet another lovely addition to our downtown restaurant community.
They even have a 4-6pm Happy Hour as well where all the food bites are under $4 and certain adult beverages range from $2-5. Sounds pretty “happy” to me…
OK, an update! We did make it down to Blossom recently and it was AWESOME!!!! Here’s a fun photo of some of “the goods”!!!!
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.
My partner and I were walking our 3 dogs this morning and came across this golden retriever who was wandering alone in our neighborhood. If you recognize her, or might know who her owner is, please contact me. We’d like to find her regular home and are keeping her with us till we do.
A happy ending to our little story. Sadie apparently resides in Renton, albeit a couple of miles from our abode. Somehow she safely journeyed a couple of miles through town where she ended up in our neighborhood. On Wednesday she was safely returned to her owners. 
The way we were able to find her owners is that a local vet did a check for a microchip (for free) on the dog and that’s how we learned where she came from originally. Those owners had given her away but had contact with the family that they’d given her to, so they helped track down the current owners. Had the past owner not had the dog microchipped Sadie wouldn’t be back with her family. If you own a pet it is a good thing to have it chipped for situations just like this one. It also reminded me that with our recent move to this new neighborhood, we need to update all of our pet’s chip information in case we run into our own wandering pup in the future.
Buyers/Sellers - consider having your pet(s) chipped and be sure to update the info when you move!
I recently lost out on a listing to another local agent, which is fine, and part of the nature of the business. There are a lot of agents out there and this gal knew the prospective client for 40 years while I had known them for 5 years.
What did kind of throw me off as the client told me about their decision was his interjection that the other agent claimed that her firm had the highest volume of business in the area and that was part of his decision making. I don’t know about other agents but I track pretty closely that kind of info because I’m highly competitive and I work for one of the largest real estate organizations in the world. In the King County area the RE/MAX offices that I’m affiliated with (Metro Realty and Eastside) are usually #1 or #2 for volume of listings sold so I was intrigued when he tried to make it sound like an undeniable truth that the Windermere folks were the biggest around these parts.
I’d love to see the data that she provided. The stuff I read comes from the NWMLS and is part of their reporting tools for brokers and isn’t manipulated by individual agencies.
As a consumer - how do you compare agencies and agents? I’d love to get your comments.
I’m personally very focused on what the track record of an individual agent is and not just their office. With today’s internet almost all agencies have the ability to leverage technology and some are better at it than others. RE/MAX has 50% mind share in the USA because of their brand awareness and advertising. They also are still one of the fastest growing agencies nationally and worldwide even though they’ve been around since the early 1970’s. Plus, our track record of sales is phenomenal.
The old days of each office having their own listings and keeping those within their ranks is mostly gone because the cooperative brokerage model has taken over and now all exclusive listings go into that bank of data and are available through data feed to all agency websites if the individual agency chooses to receive it. This prospective client told me he was impressed by a lot of things that, frankly, are old school and not true anymore. It doesn’t really matter if an office has 90 agents. How many of those are part time agents and don’t have a large pool of prospective buyers to help sell your home to? I work with a brokerage with 250+ agents but I also know that we have some of the highest volume sellers in the area working in our firm - hence why we are ranked #1 or #2 at any given time. I am happy to say that I am typically up in that high volume threshold but usually within the top 2-5%. I don’t claim to bring in $1M in revenues (yet) each year, but we do a mighty respectable bit of business.
Anyhow, my main question to all of you is the same as what I typed above… How do YOU compare agencies? What is important in your mind when hiring an agent?
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.
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