Make a Good Life

 

Beginning Friday night and running through Saturday.....join Griffin School and Capital Playhouse in thier middle school production of Music Man!  I have tickets....seven left.  They are $5 from me now, or $7 at the door.  Support Griffin and your favorite Griffin students!

Let's get it started....

Talking to agents all weekend confirmed what we are feeling in my office....Optimism.  We are getting more calls, showing more homes, going on more listing appointments, and meeting more people at well-attended Open Houses.

Interest rates continue to support some increased activity.  Local and national news continues to darken the doorstep of real estate, but as usual, we find the reality to be lighter than the perception.

While we were (are?) hoping that Obama's entrance into office would spur some consumer confidence, it has instead sent big business to the pink slip drawer (Microsoft, Intel, etc.).  Were they waiting to see what would unfold in the first few days of a new administration?  Doubtful that a ship that size can turn that fast.....I am sure it was coming, but the timing was curious.  Have we seen any increased consumer confidence?  No....I don't think so.  But we have seen a lot of hope and an increase in "random acts of kindness" in the small local places of the everyday.

My morning radio station found people willing to donate winnings to a shelter for battered women.  People were smiling at each other on the street downtown.  Tips at restaurants were bigger, complaints smaller...even for a few days.  How can we keep the momentum?  How can we make it translate into positive change for our local economy, our national economy.

I am off on a tangent here.....but back to my real estate reality:  Things are picking up.  I am hopeful.  We have weeded out over 450 real estate agents in Thurston county this month with large association fees coming due in January.  At least three title companies have shut their doors, one major one.  Countless mortgage brokers and banks are shuttered in the aftermath of last year's debacle.  Let's see what the rest of us can pull off for this next history-making year.  Surely, we are due an upswing!

Want to look at this every night?

 

This is the sunset view from my new listing on 85th Avenue out Steamboat.  This is a great piece of waterfront property with western exposure on Totten Inlet.  And the price?  $599k  Yes...it needs some cosmetics inside....but it is sited on a .42 acre lot with 80 feet of bulkheaded medium bank with a nice gravel beach.  I really think this home is a deal.....And if you are looking for good quality waterfront, this may be it.  Call me to have a look, or visit me on Sunday at my Open House from 11am-2pm.  Click HERE to have a look at the rest of this house.  

The State wants its cut on short sales in excise tax.....

Is it really true that the Department of Revenue is charging real estate excise tax (REET) on the amount of "forgiven" or released debt in a short sale transaction in addition to the excise tax charged on the purchase price?

Short answer:  Yes.  Let's say you owe $500,000 on a mortgage loan, but because of the current market conditions, you can only sell that home for $400,000. (and you must sell).  You put it up for sale, get an offer at $400k, submit it to your bank and ask permission for it to be a "short sale" (asking the bank to accept as full payment, an amount that is less than what is owed on the note).  This process will take approximately three months, depending upon the lender.

OK....Typically you would be charged state excise tax on the recorded sales amount of $400k.  But the Dept. of Revenue does not like to see their revenue decline and they have the power to change that.  So....We (Realtors) are hopeful that this policy will change, as we as a group feel like this interpretation is against public policy and it has had an impact o short sales (which are already about the most cumbersome transactions I can imagine).

Stay tuned....

Excerpted partially from the Legal Hotline question/answer forum, and submitted by a Greene Realty Group agent

OPEN HOUSE Sunday 1:00-4:00

608 Madrona Beach Road on Mud Bay

This is really an interesting piece....700 total feet of waterfront (tidal) with two homes.  One home is dated but solid, the guest cottage is the cutest thing you have ever seen!  Stop by to visit me.  Price reduction of $45k today brings this down to $449k!

Click this link to (hopefully) take you to the listing:  Download MLS Northwest Reports (502)

On turning 40....

  This is how we all feel after our days away!  Doesn't Pam look happy?

I have spent the last week, from December 26th until just now, celebrating my 40th birthday.  I thought I would spend this day in the Sea of Cortez swimming with whale sharks, but incidents transpired (company, obligations to friends, finances and time) to preclude that trip.  What resulted was better by far!

I spent my actual birthday in Victoria, British Columbia with my family, my mom and Eddie.  What a neat place...very international, very clean, right on the water, walking distance to everything you could ever want.  Just don't try to bring pepper spray through customs at the dock............

Yesterday my dear friends kidnapped me and took me away to the coast of Washington to a spa get-a-way that was well-needed.  The spa was fabulous and I bravely endured hours of treatments before being plied with wine and food and gambling later in the night.

The most amazing and interesting bit to me is that I have a new appreciation for OUR coast in Washington.  It is truly spectacular, wild and moody and interesting.  My friends and I sat for four hours after lunch today in Pacific Beach just gazing out on the sunset and the incredible dark, sullen beach through the evergreens.  It is odd that more people don't live over there.....really a hidden treasure of our great state.

Thanks to my friends and family for making the big 4-0 less about age, and more about appreciating the incredible life I lead.....wonderous views, fabulous friends and family, health, prosperity in uncertain times, and, at least until the essential oils wear off.....peace.