The Egerer & Weidauer Team Blog

The Federal Reserve just threw a massive life-line to consumers today, with new programs aimed at making it easier for them to obtain loans for homes, cars and on credit cards.

Under the new mortgage program, the Fed will buy up to $100 billion of debt issued by government-sponsored mortgage enterprises Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Banks. It will also buy up to $500 billion of mortgage securities backed by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae.  Doing so should increase credit availability and lower fixed mortgage rates.

As a result of the Fed’s new programs, rates are have gone down to the mid to low 5% range. What are  we all waiting on?! My good friend and lender, Patrick Dunn, said that with these new programs in place, we could even reach all time low’s in addition to the best rates of this year.

 ”They are getting to the heart of the problem, it’s clean, it’s quick, it’s direct,” said Todd Abraham, co-head of government and mortgage bonds at Federated Investors in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “It’s a good way to bring down mortgage rates.” (http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4AO4QY20081125)

With this great news about mortgage rates going down, making it more affordable than ever before, what can I do to help you with your home buying or selling needs?

This morning I was doing my usual daily routine, which is; 1.)  research my market for any new properties, pendings, solds, etc.. and 2.) check up on the latest real estate news headlines from local papers and from real estate bloggers. Another local real estate agent, Ardell DellaLoggia,  put out an article highlighting one of the many short sale/ foreclosure scenarios facing some Americans these days.

Rewind to early 2006, Joe and his growing family felt ready to move forward in their lives and take the step  to buy their first home. He met with a local real estate agent and lender to discuss getting started. Joe’s family felt comfortable with the payments discussed with the realtor and lender but when faced with a multiple offer scenario, the agent suggested putting in an escalation clause to offer $1000 more than the highest offer. Their offer beat out the competition but now they faced a much higher loan amount and monthly payment. The lender suggested an interest-only loan that could be refinanced in 2 years. Joe agreed and worked through the first 2 years only to find out that the low rates and opportunity to refi  were not available to him because he doesn’t meet the requirements. As such, Joe got behind on his mortgage payments, began to  charge on credit cards to make it through the tough financial times, and started drinking 6 packs. Who do we blame for this mess?! (http://www.raincityguide.com/2008/10/11/joe-sixpack-and-the-subprime-crisis/)

I realize that this is not the only situation out there, and in fact, there were many consumers who are taking advantage of the system and are now benefiting from the sub-prime and foreclosure mess. The point I am trying to get across is that in this particular case, the lesson to be learned is to act your wage and be smart with your money.

I will rely on one of my heroes, Dave Ramsey, to educate and consult you in the area of personal finance. In one of his recent columns, Dave had a question about mortgage options available to a first-time buyer. Check out what he had to say;

Dear Dave,
My husband and I have been married for three months, and we’re debt free. Right now, we’re trying to save up a 20 percent down payment for a house. I work for a real estate company, and they’re really pushing us to take advantage of a first-time homebuyer deal. The program offers 100 percent financing, no money down and no PMI. They say it’s a great deal. What do you think?
-Stacy

Dear Stacy,
You guys are off to a great start! Don’t blow it now. Those people are wrong. I grew up in the real estate world, and this is a bad idea.

Slow down. It’s great that you guys are young and debt free, but you need to do things that are smart for YOU. And for you, smart includes a couple of things. First, make sure you have an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses in place. Then, keep saving up for a big down payment.

You know, when I hear the advice you were given, I just want to smack somebody. Haven’t the mortgage lenders learned ANYTHING from the last several months? Nothing down, interest-only and sub-prime loans are a big part of the reason for the financial debacle in this country. A house is not a blessing when you’re broke, and a bargain is only a bargain when you’re ready to buy!

I always recommend waiting at least a year after you’re married to buy a house. It takes that long to decide how close you want to live to your in-laws! Plus, you want to spend some time getting used to each other, and knowing each other even better, before making what will be your largest asset purchase.
- Dave (http://www.davesays.org/index.cfm?FuseAction=dspContent&intContentId=11279)

This mess could have been avoided if Joe and his family were given ALL the information about the financing and payments ahead of time. If they had the information prior to signing a legal contract, they never would have gotten into the situation in the first place (or so I’d hope!). The public trust, be it the agent or the lender, failed Joe by not giving him the payment amount prior to his getting involved with the offer in the first place. There are some agents out there who would recommend programs and/or suggest to make offers that just don’t make sense for you or your situation.  Doing so will give you a bad name as an agent- because if you are just out to get a closed deal, rather then to advise and consult with clients until they ARE able to buy, then you are doing a disservice to yourself and your client. Our job is to educate our clients and advise them about whether or not buying or selling makes sense for them. Let’s get back to that and give agents a good name again!

It is my belief, and the belief of the Egerer & Weidauer Team, that it is always better to be realistic about your housing and financial  situation or your great “American Dream” will quickly become a nightmare! You can trust our team to be straight forward with you and give you good information and most importantly ALL the information pertaining to your home sale.

206.661.7256             www.jeremyandnicolesellhomes.com             360.990.4083

You heard me- I have the complete guide of how to NOT sell your home. In this market it is especially important to heed these instructions or you may end up with a sold house, and who would want that?!

First things first, Overprice Your Home. I understand that you want to get your price and because of that, you  should price accordingly, even if the figure you came up with is nowhere near close to the actual market value of the property. Also, be sure to not budge on any offers that come in below asking price. You want to sell your house for X amount of dollars and you need to  strive  to get that, even if it means not selling it.

Second thing to remember; Don’t Make Any Improvements to Your Home. At all! Don’t think of doing any cosmetic or structural work on your home. If buyers want it- they’ll put an offer in. I understand that your house has a LOT of charm and it has so much more value then the buyers are seeing. If they can’t see it,  you don’t want them buying it anyways!

And finally, Hire an Incompetent Realtor. Or better yet, hire a discount agent. A realtor is a realtor is a realtor. Just pick any of them. They’re all the same anyways and will give you great service so it doesn’t matter who you hire.

Signed, a VERY mis-informed consumer

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Now, if you DO want to sell your home, give the Egerer & Weidauer Team a call. We  are team  that also works with  other real estate teams  to get homes sold, and get them sold with little to no hassle for you. We have the knowledge and skills to get your home sold and would love to be able to do that for you. Give us a call and we can discuss your situation and how we can best serve you!

206.661.7256         www.jeremyandnicolesellhomes.com         360.990.4083

Seattle’s own, Press Condominiums, are holding an auction to sell the remaining 18 units that are still unsold. Beverly Hills-based real estate auctioneers Kennedy Wilson, will be conducting the auction, held at the Grand Hyatt Seattle, 721 Pine St. on December 13th.

The starting bids for many of these units are nearly 50% less than what comparable listings are selling for. Minimum bids range from $185,000 for one-bedroom units and $255,000 for two-bedroom units. (http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/realestatenews/archives/154792.asp) For all the details on the minimum bids, the process by which to put in a bid, and the floor plans of the units available, check out the Press website at; http://www.presscondos.com/auction.html.

Capitol Hill offers a truly unique experience that is hard to replicate anywhere else in Seattle. The Press Condominiums is surrounded by many bars, restaurants, and shops that are sure to fill your hearts desire.

Yes.. I have another  article for you  about the Seattle real estate market. I can’t get enough of these. In the last few weeks there seems to be story after story about how Seattle is one of the top cities in the nation to rebound from these difficult financial and real estate times. Thank you, Michele, for the link!

According to SmartMoney Magazine, Seattle is holding strong through these tough economic times and is due for a nice rebound. Here in the Pacific Northwest we have some strong businesses, like Boeing, Amazon.com, and  Microsoft, that are doing well and in turn, has kept median sales prices from falling far.

 ”The national unemployment rate for October was slightly higher than Washington’s, at 6.5 percent. State officials said that indicates Washington’s economy is ‘in relatively better shape at the moment’.”   (http://www.kirotv.com/money/18007999/detail.html) The state gained about 800 jobs in October, and held steady year-over-year.

“Honestly, the near-term outlook is still grim, and nobody is forecasting a rapid nationwide rebound. But there are signs that the overbuilding and speculative pricing that inflated the bubble are working their way through the system. Nationally, the rate of decline in sales is slowing, and in some regions sales numbers have actually perked up. ‘The indicators are starting to look better,’ says Adam York, an economic analyst with Wachovia.” (http://www.smartmoney.com/personal-finance/real-estate/Now-for-the-Good-News-on-Home-Prices/)

The article went on to mention that the national sales figures that get so much attention and remain depressing are brought down by boom-and-bust markets like Las Vegas, Miami and Phoenix. “If hard-hit states like California, Arizona, Nevada and Florida are taken out of the statistical mix, the picture is much more promising.” But we all know that real estate is local, so let’s look at a Seattle neighborhood for insight:

WEST SEATTLE-

There were around 123 pending & sold listings in November of ’07 as compared to November of this year were we have only 54. The month is not over yet so that number will increase (hopefully) but the median home price of those homes has only dropped by $20,000. In other areas of the country, those prices have dropped by 100,000′s of thousands of dollars.

“Dave and Alison Keith recently sold their two-bedroom townhome in West Seattle for $289,000, up more than 25 percent from their purchase price four years ago. They plowed that windfall into a home in the same neighborhood with twice the living space and a fenced-in yard, for $429,000. ‘You’re always nervous, but I feel like things are holding up well here,’ Alison says.”

“As long as people like great views of water, mountains and city skylines, “those homes will always maintain their value,” says local broker Febe Cude.”

If you are interested in finding out more about your neighborhood or about the real estate process, the Egerer & Weidauer Team is happy to help. Give us a call or shoot us an email from our website.

206.661.7256         www.jeremyandnicolesellhomes.com         360.990.4083

Seattle REO properties are easy to find here – there are a lot of foreclosure and short sale properties all over Seattle and the Seattle suburbs. Recently, I’ve noticed that there are still some out of date websites actually charging you for information that you can get for free! All the information can be accessed through the multiple listing service. You won’t always be able to differentiate them as foreclosures because the MLS has no clear way of being able to search on this particular criteria at this time, but the Egerer & Weidauer Home Team keeps a regular list going and can cater it to whatever area or price range you are interested in. And, we won’t charge you for the information!!

Just last week I met with a client looking for some investment property. Because of the volatility of the stock market as of late, she wanted to  put some of her money into some property that she knows will profit over the long haul.  We looked to bank owned properties because of the significant price reductions you can score as a result of the sheer volume of REO properties the banks have as well as all of the rest of the inventory on the market.

“Foreclosures can be risky, but are worth the extra effort if you can find a good one with a lot of upward potential. They can be a potentially profitable way to get started in real estate investing or flipping if you go into it armed with good information.”   (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/195000/foreclosure_purchasing_can_be_profitable.html?page=4&cat=54)Interested  

THIS IS NOT A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME.

This book explains, in great detail, how to invest in real estate and gives  practical applications on how to:

FIND    (How to find  a deal)
ANALYZE    (How to understand the numbers)
BUY    (How to understand the purchase price)
FIX    (How to fix in a budget and on time)
SELL    (How to get it sold quickly to minimize the carrying cost)

Click on the book for more information about the philosophy and techniques that the Egerer & Weidauer Team use to help our buyers invest in real estate, the smart way!

Are you interested in foreclosures or short-sales? Email your request to nweidauer@kw.com. The E&W Home Team is available to talk to you about your home buying and investing needs!

206.661.7256         www.jeremyandnicolesellhomes.com         360.990.4083

As a real estate agent, I realize that you may not believe me when I say that, “now is a great time to buy,” but it truly is! You may not be hearing this from your local news station or paper but that’s because the media highlights and even exaggerates the fear causing negatives. It’s about time we learned most news programming and most printed news is just an extension of Hollywood style entertainment. Now they are embattled for their very existence because the web has already eaten massive numbers of subscribers and advertisers. They calculate, with good experience, if they sensationalize the reports you will be more likely to buy and subscribe. Mainstream media has become more like The Enquirer every year because they discovered you don’t have as much of an appetite for the truth as you do reading about and seeing photos of marrow sucking aliens who run the government.

Just this morning I ran across a P-I article stating that, “Area faces bleak real estate forecast.” Upon reading, I found that their claim was just not true. According to the article itself, Leslie Williams, of Williams Marketing, presented results from a survey of people who are in the company’s database or who had responded to survey ads.

“Among these respondents, 25 percent said they planned to buy a home in the next one to two years, and 35 percent said they might buy.

In September, 54 percent said it was a good time to buy. Reached again last week, after the recent nationwide financial upheaval, more than half still thought it was a good time.”

Based on the results of the survey, nearly 60% of Seattle area residents are thinking about purchasing real estate within the next 2 years. I don’t know about you but that is GREAT news for our local economy, home sellers,  and Realtors alike. They  also reported  that the number of people who thought area prices would drop over the next 12 months rose from 41 percent in September to 59 percent last week. I’m okay with that news because that is helping the affordability for many would-be home owners in the area.

The moral of this story; be wary of the reports you hear on the news. Much of what you hear is sensationalized and doesn’t paint a very good picture of a situation, even if in reality things are just fine. This real estate market IS tough, but the Seattle area is not facing half of what other areas of the nation are. We are in a pretty good position right now; home prices are affordable and people are still buying real estate. Turn off your TV and give me a call!  

According to Forbes.com, Seattle landed the No. 1 spot on the list of real estate markets most likely to rebound.  Forbes  asked top realtors around the country for the  best cities in which to invest. What constitues  one of the best cities is one that  is considered a gateway to international investment, has vital downtowns where people can forgo cars, and don’t have a glut of condos or office space.

“Seattle is a diversified market, has a good base of business and is becoming a 24-hour city,” says Stephen Blank, senior resident fellow, finance, of the Urban Land Institute. “It’s going to be in a good position to come back.” (http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/29/foreclosure-recession-cities-forbeslife-cx_dp_1029realestate.html)

Although us Seattlites are suffering from the loss of Washington Mutual and the downsizing of Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft are still strong.

“Apartment vacancies are low and there aren’t too many new buildings going up, meaning the market won’t be oversupplied. The same is true in the retail space.”

The Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI) in Seattle has a new exhibit,  ”From the Home Front and the Front Lines”,  that started  last week  and runs through January 18, 2009.

Original materials such as correspondence, diaries, photos, maps, military papers and oral histories from WWI, WWII, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Persian Gulf War are on display and  made available by  the Library of Congress.

The exhibit  is here to honor and preserve the experiences of military personnel and those who supported them at home. The museum is offering free admission to veterans and active members of the Armed Forces on Veterans Day. Don’t miss this chance to take a look at the real experiences of our men and women in uniform.

Seattle’s Museum of History & Industry (MOHAI)
McCurdy Park
2700 24th Ave East
Seattle, WA 98112-2099
Voice: 206-324-1126

Whether you are looking to buy or trying to sell.. we all end up dealing with a rental situation. I remember my first place. It was a 450 square foot, Lake City area rental. It was very cozy to say the least

I have recently done some rental searches for some clients and found out some interesting information you might  find interesting.

There are some homes in the Shoreline area going for between just under $200,000 to $275,000. I did some math and calculated that with a modest down payment of 5%, the monthly mortgage payments wouldn’t be too much higher than the going rental rates. Right now, homes are going for near discount prices, and if you want to get in on all the opportunities, I’d say now is as good a time as any to look into it.

On the other hand, many Shoreline area home owners  are opting to lease their homes rather than sell at a reduced price, and renters now have a bigger variety of homes to choose from.

In the last 6 months, 23 homes have been listed in the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) and rented for an average of $1,605/month.

The lowest active rental price is $1,195 for a 2 bedroom,  1000 sq. ft. home, and the highest is $2,600 for a 5 bedroom home. Most of these properties offer 12 month lease term, but most property owners are willing to negotiate on terms.

The Egerer & Weidauer team can help would-be sellers look at alternatives to current market conditions.

206.661.7256         www.jeremyandnicolesellhomes.com         360.990.4083