Team Reba’s No Fluff level 1 home buying class in Seattle, January 21st 10am-12pm!

Posted on January 3, 2012 by Reba Haas

Cancelled due to weather….No Fluff Savvy Home Buying – Level I January 21st, 2012 01/21/2012

10:00 am – 12:00 pm RE/MAX Metro Realty office at 2312 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle WA 98102

RSVP to Classes@TeamReba.com by 01/19/2011

If you’ve been wondering what the state of the real estate market is like in Seattle and the general King/Snohomish/Pierce County area, now is your chance to get a No Fluff reality check. We’ll have Team Reba real estate brokers and a 30+ year veteran local mortgage lender (Eric Aasness of Wells Fargo) on hand to help you learn how to navigate today’s new realities of buying real estate.

On the agenda will be 3 major topics:

1) Credit repair processes, how credit is scored, what to look for in your credit report,

2) Lending products and options for buyers/refinances in today’s marketplace, including loans that allow for modifications to a property (FHA 203k loans) for those “less than perfect” purchases like cosmetic fixers, bank owned or short sales, and

3) An explanation of the real estate purchase process as well as an overview of today’s marketplace and the types of transactions most commonly seen. Including, short sales, bank owned and “traditional” real estate sales.

We hope you can join us and we look forward to seeing you there! If you can’t make it, or this class might be better suited for someone you know (friends, family, or colleagues), again, please feel free to forward the invite – all are welcome.

Coffee/Tea available onsite.

REMAX Office Address: 2312 Eastlake Ave E Seattle WA 98102

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No Fluff Savvy Home Buyer Seminar January 28, 2012 01/28/2012 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Posted on January 1, 2012 by Reba Haas

Please RSVP to Classes@TeamReba.com by 01/26/2011 with your name, phone number and email for confirmation.

If you’ve been wondering what the state of the real estate market is like in the Pierce and King County areas, now is your chance to get a No Fluff reality check. We’ll have Team Reba real estate brokers and a local mortgage lender (Jerry Rutherford of Legacy Group) on hand to help you learn how to navigate today’s new realities of buying real estate.

On the agenda will be 3 major topics:

1) Credit repair, how credit is scored, what to look for in your credit report,

3) A brief explanation of the real estate purchase process as well as an overview of today’s marketplace and the types of transactions most commonly seen. Including, short sales, bank owned and “traditional” real estate sales.

Coffee/Tea/Snacks available for purchase at Forza Coffee. Class is held in the conference room at the back of the shop.

Café Forza is located at 2209 N Pearl St, Tacoma 98407

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Team Reba Open houses for weekend of May 16th & 17th 2009

Posted on May 14, 2009 by Reba Haas

We’ve got open houses going on this weekend for the following listings:

Saturday, May 16th 1-4pm and Sunday, May 17th 1-4pm:

Price: $525,000
MLSID: 29065712
11714 NE 149th St
Kirkland, WA 98034

This fantastic Chancellor home located in High Woodlands 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. Then you’ll love even more the thoughtful built-ins that help maximize the space you get. Easy access to transit and commuting options make this a fantastic place to call home. Relax in the large back yard on the deck, or shoot some hoops and then ease your muscles in the hottub.

Take a Virtual Tour

This house is open 1-3pm on Sunday, May 17th in the Lakeridge neighborhood of Seattle:

Price: $425,000
MLSID: 29014980
10509 Rustic Rd S
Seattle, WA 98178

This 1950′s rambler with daylight basement has just completed a cosmetic update and is ready for a new owner. Wonderful privacy up on the ridge of Lakeridge Park overlooking trees to the west and partial views of Lake Washington to the east. New items include: countertops and flooring in kitchen along with all new appliances, carpet in Master bedroom, landscaped yard, new tile on carport deck, new interior lighting on main floor and more! Beautiful and open main floor layout.

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Open House going on right now on Queen Anne condo 4-630pm

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Reba Haas

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May 2009 real estate newsletter is ready for your reading pleasure!

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Reba Haas

Check out this link to view our online Real Estate Newsletter.

This Newsletter is full of interesting and useful information that I think you will enjoy whether you are a buyer, seller, homeowner, or renter.

This month’s issue includes topics such as:

“With Affordability Up, Home Buyers are Starting to Return”;
“Time To Move From Renting To Owning”;
“No Money To Buy a Home? Try These Savings Tips”;
“Why Is It So Difficult To Get A Home Loan?”;
“Smart Technology in The Intelligent Home”;

Plus a roundup of April real estate activity as well as much more advice and information.

I hope you enjoy this monthly newsletter. If you have any comments, please e-mail them to me. Or, if you would like to see a certain topic covered in future months, let me know that too!

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Open House 12-2pm Sunday, 4/26, at Beach Drive listing

Posted on April 24, 2009 by Reba Haas

My clients have just dropped the price on this HUGE West Seattle house on Beach Drive to $699,950. This is a great price per square foot for this solidly built 1968 home. With some recent updates it is move-in ready and it is a perfect setting for enjoying summer in Seattle. Beach Drive is known for its gorgeous vistas to the west looking out over Puget Sound, the Olympic Mountains and the islands. Many people take advantage of bicycling wouth along the road toward Lincoln Park with its many recreational opportunities or heading north toward Alki Beach and its throngs of summer visitors and beach side dining.

Feel free to drop by on Sunday!

4878 Beach Dr SW Seattle 4878 Beach Dr main kitchen

4878 Beach Dr west facing living room

This large home also has the option of using a portion of the lower level (actually ground floor) as a separate living area or home office with kitchen. Some would call it a “mother-in-law” or MIL, another description preferred by the City of Seattle is ADU (accessory dwelling unit) or attached apartment. With 3660 sqft of finished space, there are many options for how to use the home. On the main level of the home there are 3 bedrooms including a master bedroom with its own private 3/4 bath. Another full bath is in the hall. Living room, dining room, eat-in kitchen with great room concept to family room all on this main level. The lower level has a large bonus room with a 3/4 bath. The portion that can be a separate apartment has an enormous bedroom area, full bath, kitchen and living room with its own wood burning fireplace. A total of 4 fireplaces are in this home, 3 inside and one built into the backyard chimney. See all the photos at this slide show link.

4878 Beach Dr lower level living room

4878 Beach Drive back deck

There is a front deck which faces west that follows the width of the house, a back yard deck and patio, and yard area for enjoying private time outdoors at home. Right on the busline and bike route, you can leave your car at home and make this your vacation spot in the city. Seller is willing to entertain some element of seller financing with a maximum 3 year balloon payment (aka payoff). Preference is cash out or conventional financing.

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HomeSavvi brings their Savvi Speed Dating event to Tacoma area!

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Reba Haas

A good friend of mine works at HomeSavvi, an online resource for home remodeling. I’ve been kept in the loop of their happenings since their start up days and one cool thing they’ve been doing in Seattle area is putting together meet ups between the public and the contractors and designers that are the resources on their site. They call this “speed dating” much like the version being used for men and women to meet. Well, now they’re bringing the Savvi Speed Dating event to the south end so that people in the Tacoma, Federal Way and other south end cities can benefit. Details are as follows:

May Savvi Speed Dating in Tacoma

Hosted by Couch’s Appliance South

Date: Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Time: 6:00 – 8:00 PM
Address: Couch’s Appliance South
5306 Pacific Highway E.
Fife, WA 98424

RSVP by Monday, May 11th to reserve your spot!

What it is:

At Savvi Speed Dating, you won’t find a new mate, but you will have an evening of fun, education, and an easy and efficient way of meeting some top home remodeling professionals – all while enjoying wine and snacks in a beautiful casual setting.

Spend an evening talking one-on-one with up to four remodeling professionals about YOUR specific remodeling needs. We know that cost effectiveness is on everyone’s minds these days. These professionals will point you in the right direction. So, bring your questions, photos and ideas – we’ll help you get started!

How do I participate?

After you register, answer five simple questions and HomeSavvi will match you up. From architects to landscapers, from solar installation to lighting designers, we’ll help you find what you are looking for. It’s only $15 per household to attend.

Don’t wait! Space is limited to the first 15 households who sign up!

As HomeSavvi likes to put it….

Homeowners + Remodeling Professionals = Perfect Match!

Savvi Speed Dating event by HomeSavvi

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RHA Event for Eastside coming fast! April 23rd (this Thursday) Sign up today!!!

Posted on April 21, 2009 by Reba Haas

Lots of our clients know what we’re associate members of the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound. One of the reasons we really like this outfit is that they cater to landlords with smaller investment portfolios than the big guys who own the massive apartment complexes or shopping centers. Their newsletters carry up to date information on changes that impact rental housing and they lobby on behalf of landlord’s rights and interests.

They’ve got an upcoming members event this Thursday so I’m going to post the info in complete detail as I received over my email today.

“Good morning,
I just wanted to remind you of a fantastic opportunity coming up on Thursday, April 23rd. The Rental Housing Association is having a membership meeting at Contract Furnishings Mart Redmond location (14920A NE 95th St, Redmond, WA 98052). The topic is “How Your Rentals Can Thrive in a Bad Economy” and we have an all-star line-up of panelists.
The cost is $30, which does include beer, wine and soda as well as a STEAK dinner! Steve Frasier, owner of CFM is quite the chef. You won’t want to miss out!

Here is the schedule for the evening:

6-6:30—Check-in, Networking, Drinks
6:30-7:00—DINNER
7-8:30—Program of panelists

Program:
• Utility Submetering and lowering your utility costs: Jeff Lowry
• Insulation and cheap ways to lower your utility costs: Kathy Abrams
• Rent to Own Lease Options: Sonya Wind
• Resident Retention and Appreciation: Tina Gordon
• Budget and Expense Reporting: Dawn Jones

You must RSVP by Wednesday, April 22nd at 12:00 pm.
Make sure to bring your questions, as there will be time for Q&A.

We hope to see you there. Please let me know if you have any questions! You may sign up online at www.rha-ps.com, with me over the phone or respond to this email.
Thank you!

Sincerely,

Holly Clausen
Director of Events and Education
Direct (206) 905-0605 Fax (206) 286-9461
hclausen@rha-ps.com

Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound
529 Warren Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
Office (206) 283-0816 Toll Free (800) 335-2990
www.rha-ps.com“

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Team Reba REO Squad coming to local neighborhoods soon

Posted on April 18, 2009 by Reba Haas

A new relationship we’ve built with a lender will have Team Reba hosting open houses for REO sales. These are bank owned homes, meaning that a foreclosure has been completed and the bank is selling the “real estate owned” asset on their balance sheet.

We’ll be posting our open houses here and on Twitter for anyone who would like to come see us and the properties. Currently targeted neighbhorhoods are Kirkland’s Bridle Trails, Bothell, Greenlake, South Seattle/Rainier Beach, and West Seattle.

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JUMBO loans seem to be splitting lenders focus in 2009 market

Posted on April 13, 2009 by Reba Haas

For the last half of 2007 and all of 2008 the hardest to sell market in the Puget Sound area was homes that were in the roughly $650,000 to $1.5M range. Why? Because most of those properties required JUMBO loans for the buyers to secure the purchase and this was the first and hardest hit segment of the credit market for residential sales. Most of these loans were held in portfolio programs at banks because they weren’t easily bundled into the other securitized packages that were being sold on to Wall Street because of their perceived higher level of risk because of the dollar sizes involved.

For those uninitiated to the world of JUMBO loans these are the ones that are just above the conforming limit, which has been at $417,000. There is a temporary bump up in higher priced areas (of which the Seattle/Bellevue area qualifies) to $567.5k and $506k but those still have a slightly higher rate associated of around a half point (.5%) above the rates available at $417k.

What’s interesting right now is that there is a mixed bag of news regarding JUMBO loans and their availability. One report shows a lender that specialized in these type loans filing Chapter 11 and getting out of the market. But another report says that some of the bigger players have decided it’s an underserved market and they’ll be moving back into that realm. Two of the lenders looking to provide JUMBO loans are Bank of America and ING.

I’m hoping that if these bigger players do get into that lending niche it will help open up some of the buyer activity for homes in that price range in our area. We’ve got a client or two that could use it right now and we’d like to see that part of our market get moving in a positive direction again. Cities like Bellevue, Newcastle, Medina, Mercer Island, Redmond, and Woodinville as well as higher priced areas of Seattle could really benefit.

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Team Reba Real Estate

Seattle real estate and related wealth management topics

Category Archives: Washington

Team Reba’s No Fluff level 1 home buying class in Seattle, January 21st 10am-12pm!

No Fluff Savvy Home Buyer Seminar January 28, 2012 01/28/2012 10:00 am – 12:00 pm

Team Reba Open houses for weekend of May 16th & 17th 2009

Open House going on right now on Queen Anne condo 4-630pm

Open House 12-2pm Sunday, 4/26, at Beach Drive listing

HomeSavvi brings their Savvi Speed Dating event to Tacoma area!

RHA Event for Eastside coming fast! April 23rd (this Thursday) Sign up today!!!

Team Reba REO Squad coming to local neighborhoods soon

JUMBO loans seem to be splitting lenders focus in 2009 market