Make a Good Life

Upcoming listings.....

The season is upon us, opening our window of opportunity for sellers in Washington.  The sun is out and the weather is fine!

I have a new waterfront listing coming onto the market within the next two weeks on Stibgen Rd on the Steamobat Peninsula.  Offered below $600k, this home should be a screaming deal.  Over two acres and over 200 feet of western facing exposure on Gallagher Cove off Totten Inlet with sweeping lawn down to the water, this is a fabulous piece of property.  House is striking architecture that makes a statement from the water.  Master on main floor, two living areas, and Owners have installed granite and are ready to sell.....Photos soon.  Call me for a preview........

AND....

Coming up next week:  Timeless jewl-box perfection on Pearl Beach off Cooper Point.  Drop dead views of boat traffic in Budd Inlet, Mount Rainier and beyond.  This home is very special....designed by Bob Sulenes and built to withstand the tests of time.  Master on main level, views forever, quality throughout.  Finished with an Olympic length chlorine-free lap pool on the bottom level with views of the bay....We have not arrived at a price for this special piece, but if you are interested in a showing please contact me.

Latest Update on the $8000 tax credit being used as a down payment....

Hot off the presses just an hour ago....FHA has agreed to let buyers use their $8000. tax credit immediately toward CLOSING COSTS ONLY.  Wah...that is NOT what we wanted to hear.  So, Buyers under this program must still come up with 3.5% down-payment (part of which can be gifted by family or employer with documentation) and the tax credit CANNOT be used for the downpayment.

Closing costs on FHA loans are typically 3.5%, and the tax credit can be used there.  But, in today's market it is typical for an FHA Buyer to ask the Seller to pay closing costs.  In fact, if I am representing a Seller whose home will qualify for FHA lending, I am preparing them for the eventuality of receiving an FHA offer asking for closing costs.  So Buyers will not have to ask for help with closing costs from the Seller now with their fat $8000. credit available for this....perhaps they can negotiate on price with the Seller not having to contribute that money.

Again...not what we were hoping for in my industry, but understandable this way:  FHA wants buyers to have some vested interest in the home they are purchasing...some money they had to scrape together to afford the home.  HIstorically, the more money a person puts down on the purchase of a home, the lower the default rate.  Obviously FHA has been watching the news.......

Follow this link to read the article in the Seattle P.I. 

$82,000 PRICE REDUCTION!! Open House next Sunday!

481 Leeds Drive Shelton, WA

All of this for $589k?  This is a gorgeous property, and the Seller says it is time to sell.  Over 3.5 acres of prime real estate on Hammersly Inlet...absolutely WALK-OUT beach....really true waterfront.  I love the boat traffic on Hammersly, and there are even whales that venture in.  This home would be a fabulous vacation home, artist retreat, relief for the urban-weary.  Inside the over 5000. sq. ft is a great pool and spa room, a drive through RV garage (maybe a basketball court?  That would be fun!), two kitchens, HUGE great room, another living area, two bedrooms.  Views to die for....total peace and relaxation and renewal.

Click here to see this home

 

991 Leeds Drive Shelton, WA

Also available down the street is this 1.65 acre piece of waterfront vacant land.  With over 90 feet of sandy beach, build your dream home here, or invest now while the market is low.  Priced at $220,000, this piece just had a drastic $29,000 price reduction.  Click here to see this piece of land

Open House today.....New Waterfront Listing on Fishtrap Loop

Open Today from 12 until 3pm.....Please drop by to see this unique property.

http://www.greenerealty.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MLSNumber=29071388&PRM_MlsName=NorthWestMLS

New waterfront listing on Fishtrap Loop

Just listed yesterday, this is really special house and property.  3.7 acres of both meadow and deep woods, medium bank on Fishtrap in the Boston Harbor area.

Home is built with a concious and is styled like a spa get-a-way.  On demand hot water heaters, radiant floor heating under beautiful Italian tile flooring, all trim was milled on-site. Custom split bedroom floorplan, open living area, office, loft, bonus room.  Seperate rental unit is rented for $650 per month and could help offset a mortgage payment.

See more about this home, as well as photos at:  http://www.greenerealty.com/property/property.asp?PRM_MLSNumber=29071388&PRM_MlsName=NorthWestMLS

And, as always, call for details or for a showing.

2912 Fishtrap Loop Olympia, WA  98506

Looking for a good investment?

I am often asked by clients and friends about investing in property.  Some are looking for rental homes, some for re-models, some for vacant land.   I have liked The Reserve at Cooper Point from its inception.  Largely it has been too expensive for many clients.  Now, there is an opportunity to purchase lots there for what I believe are good prices.  Hang on to one for seven to ten years, then sell it or build on it (there are some rules about size, style, etc to be aware of...ask me.   From an investment standpoint, this is interesting to me:  There are big price reductions in the works in The Reserve on the lots.    Most lots are coming down to $175k, except lot 23 which will be $154k.  On Lot 20 (one of my favorites) the owner says to bring him any offer.   Also, Banner Bank is offering 100% financing on these lots with a fixed rate of 4.75 amortized over 20 years, due in five.  This would potentially give you time to sell another property with some market recovery in a year or two (hopefully) while making small payments on the lot.   IF you use Banner Bank, they will also offer 30 year fixed 4.75% rate on a construction loan, with 10% down.  THAT is a good deal.....Talking to other clients it sounds like the rates for new construction money are over 6%.....if you can get it.   Call or email me if you are interested in hearing more!

Update on the X47-Love it!

 

I obsessed about the German X47 planner (www.x47.com) for months and tried in vain to find something stateside that would satisfy me.  After getting help from local business owner Mathias Eichler (Einmaleins at http://olyblog.net/blog/einmaleins for the blog) I actually bought this system back in November.  Because the ordering part of the site is in German, Mathias (native of Germany) helped me order it online.  It came after the New Year and I got to work on it right away.  I have to say....worth the money.  I need to drop it by to Mathias to have a look at....Germans engineering at its best....I love the Germans!  It is perfect is most every way...only fault I can find is that the months only show up at the corner of each page as a number.  I have to sort this out by counting when I am making plans in the future, but this is likely my problem for never memorizing it.  Sad.

This is an investment piece, and the largest expense is associated with the leather cover.  You have zillions of choices about this, which I basically had limited understanding of, with my German skills.  I am thrilled with the cover I chose....love the inserts except for the grid pattern one.  I now can keep my journal, my planner, notes, projects, address book and business cards all in one nice binder.  JUST what I wanted and nothing else would do.  If they ever go out of business........I will be one unhappy gal.

Update again on the $8000 tax credit...Hope for down-payment assistance

This just in today:

On Tuesday, The Department of Housing and Urban Development's Federal Housing Administration said it will allow first-time homebuyers to use the federal tax credit of up to $8,000 for a downpayment at closing.  FHA will allow approved lenders and nonprofits, and state and local government agencies to issue short-term bridge loans buyers can use for down payments.  Buyers would repay the loans after getting their tax refunds.  This could be good news for first time home buyers, which are slated to account for 53% of home purchases in 2009 - but unfortunately, there isn't much we can do until the details of the program are fully released, and in turn accepted by lenders.

My estimation is that it will be another 30-60 days before this becomes a reality to us all out on the streets.

 

Stay tuned!!!!

 

Information courtesy of Susan Boyajian of Wells Fargo.

 

The most recent update before this one about the tax credit being used for down-payment assistance in the State of Washington is HERE

Tax credit update for Washington

The provision giving Washington residents the ability to use their $8000. tax credit in advance (HB 1216) as down-payment assistance was NOT included in the Capital Budget.  This is really disappointing....because the ability to use this credit in advance would have been a great stimulus to homebuyers.

The tax credit is, of course, still available.  For more information on the logistics of actually using this incentive, please see my previous posts, or visit

http://www.warealtor.org/images/tax-credit-details.pdf

which is the Washington Realtors site. The .pdf article gives a brief history of the credit and the current usages.  Any questions?  Email me...............