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.

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……

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.

As an associate member of RHA, I get a chance to meet a lot of really great local professionals. One of them is Chris Benis, a local attorney who I have much regard and respect for in the Seattle area.  He is teaching an upcoming class for RHA that anyone who is a landlord should consider attending to bone up on issues that could impact them down the road.  You never know when a difficult tenant situation could arise, and the best plan is to have tools and information on your side when it happens.  Info on the upcoming class is noted below.   If you are considering getting into the landlord arena, this and many other RHA classes are items you should check out!

News Blogs: Topic - Green Card Information Cigarette Sport Betting auto-moto Best Ringtones Rington Get ringtones online Fioricet online Ambien online Sportswear Chronometer Online notebook shop mp3 music for mobile Yachts FDA Approved Pharmacy Credit Dating Cases Adipex online Trousers Ornaments Blog Search the Web Underwear Pills, Compare pills, Reviews pills Bracelets Hydrocodone online Phentermine online Boats Free Ringtones Ear rings Suits Medicine news Xanax online Top auto-moto Cialis online Autos Intimate goods Sale Auto Replica Rolex Phentermine No Prescription Soma online Building materials Boots Mobiles �ables Cigarettes Cheap drugs online shop Cheap pharmacy shop Loan Online Cars Download Ringtones Tramadol online Ladies handbag Top casino Credits

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.

<!–[if !supportLists]–>·      
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!