Category Archives: Real Estate

Preparing Your Home For Fall

Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, Real Estate, West Seattle

I cannot believe that fall is upon us! Although we have had a wonderful summer, it is time to begin planning for fall maintenance on your home. The changes in the seasons can be tough for home structures, so to prevent surprises when your home is at its most vulnerable, take a day before autumn takes hold and prepare your home for the months ahead.

Roof and siding

The baking heat of summer can cause materials on your roof and siding to shrink and expand, leaving gaps. Although the solution to remedy these gaps may vary depending on the type of materials your roof and siding consists of, take note of any gaps you see between joints (at seams, between siding and window/door openings, at transitions from wall to roof, etc) or between roofing materials (around skylights, between shingles or tiles, around flashing, etc). These may be easy fixes or it may be time to call in a professional. Keeping water and bugs out and keeping heat in is the name of the game!

Gutters

While you or your roofer are up on the roof, take the time to check your gutters both for debris (which needs to be cleaned out) and structural integrity. Gutters that are in disrepair may not be able to channel water away from your roof and house, so making sure these are in good working order is imperative.

Weather Stripping

Weather stripping around doors also should be looked at in the fall. This is an inexpensive do-it-yourself chore that most people can tackle. Again, you want to keep toasty air in and pests out, so making sure your stripping isn’t too old to be up to the task is a must.

Chimney

Before you begin any fires, have your chimney inspected. According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America, a clean chimney not only helps prevent chimney fires, it also allows flue gases and smoke to travel freely up and out of your home. Chimneys should be inspected annually and clean and repair what is necessary.

Service Furnace

As we are winding down from summer, it may be difficult to think of your actually needing to turn on the heater, but preventative maintenance now is a lot cheaper than an emergency call on a frigid Friday night.

Maintaining your home and preparing it for the fall and winter months not only makes sense from a comfort point of view, it also can save you money in terms of utility costs and can keep the value up when it is time to sell. Please give me a call, text, or email to learn more: 206-484-2777 or  karenwi@johnlscott.com.

Appraisals – A Critical Part of the Transaction

Real Estate,

When a buyer takes out a mortgage or when a homeowner refinances their home, the lending bank or entity conducts an appraisal to verify the market value of the home. This protects the bank’s interest in the home and helps verify the percentage of equity the buyer or homeowner has or will have in the property.

It is important to know that when a buyer and seller agree on a price for a home, the appraisal may not reflect that same price. Especially in areas where prices have appreciated rapidly, it may be difficult for the appraiser to find comparable properties that have changed hands in the last three months which can help guide pricing on the current property, hence a low appraisal price.

If the appraisal comes in low it can be challenged if comparable data indicates the agreed-upon price can be substantiated. If that doesn’t work,  the price will need to be renegotiated and if any of the down payment is diverted into making up the difference between appraisal price and final sales price, the monthly payment may change due to private mortgage insurance being due if the loan to value ratio exceeds 80%.

According to the National Association of REALTORS, in April of 2016, 12% of terminated sales failed due to appraisal issues which also led to delayed closings (28% of closings that were delayed were delayed due to appraisal problems). Rest assured I have tools for working with appraisals should the need arise. Please give me a call, text or email: (206) 484-2777 or karenwi@johnlscott.com.

Worried About Your House Not Selling?

Burien, Des Moines, Normandy Park, Real Estate,

If you are considering selling your home, you may be wondering how your home will really do in relation to the market. Although our market as a whole has been more favorable to sellers in the last few years, demand for an individual property will vary depending on supply of each particular type of home – price point, amenities, challenges, etc.

For example, if a home is in a higher price point, doesn’t have a garage, has a dated kitchen, is on a steep hill, is a far drive into town, etc., the listing may be affected by lesser demand because there may be fewer buyers who can buy that type of property. Everything about a property that causes the potential buyer pool to shrink must be taken into consideration when determining how to price and market a property. Likewise, homes that are expected to have large demand due to popular floorplans and updates have a wider buyer pool and should also be priced and marketed accordingly.

When you are ready to sell, I will review your home from top to bottom, looking for features that provide value for a potential homebuyer. A finished basement? That increases the value. Spare space in the garage? That will also increase the value.  

I will also look for things that will shrink the buyer pool which will cause a home’s value to decrease. Deferred maintenance, older systems such as an older water heater or furnace, awkward floorplans, a lot of stairs, older roof or even a strange color palette may be more than some buyers want to deal with and therefore, the market price will need to reflect the lesser demand unless these are things that are going to be corrected before a home goes on the market.

It is also important to look at current buyer trends to determine features that might increase or decrease demand for the home. For example, large lawns are starting to go out of favor with certain buyers who want less maintenance and to reduce water consumption, but just a few years ago, they were all the rage. Demand for large home offices and big entertainment centers is also waning with our changes in technology. Have an updated master suite with a steam shower and updated shower heads or smart home technology? These are currently in high demand and the market price should reflect that positively.

Additionally, the new generation of homebuyers (Millennials) have different needs in their homes than previous generations so we can continue to see buyer demand shift in the coming years.

Want to know more about market demand for your particular type and style of home? Just give me a call at (206)484-2777 or send an email to karenwi@johnlscott.com.  I’ll show you how I determine the market value of your home based on supply and demand.

Preparing Your Home For Fall

Real Estate

The changes in the seasons can be tough for home structures, so to prevent surprises when your home is at its most vulnerable, take a day before autumn takes hold and prepare your home for the months ahead.

Roof and siding

The baking heat of summer can cause materials on your roof and siding to shrink and expand, leaving gaps. Keeping water and bugs out and keeping heat in is the name of the game!

Gutters

Take the time to check your gutters both for debris and structural integrity. Gutters that are in disrepair may not be able to channel water away from your roof and house.

Weather Stripping

Weather stripping around doors also should be looked at in the fall. This is an inexpensive do-it-yourself chore that most people can tackle.

Chimney

According to the Chimney Safety Institute of America, chimneys should be inspected annually and clean and repair what is necessary.

Service Furnace

Preventative maintenance now is a lot cheaper than an emergency call on a frigid Friday night.

Maintaining your home and preparing it for the fall and winter months not only makes sense from a comfort point of view, it also can save you money in terms of utility costs and can keep the value up when it is time to sell. Please give me a call, text, or email to learn more: 206-484-2777 or karenwi@johnlscott.com.

Moving Soon? Remember To…

Real Estate

In the hubbub of moving, it can be easy to forget to wrap up some loose ends. Here are some things to remember as you transition to your new home:

Utilities: Make sure you cancel service at the old home and activate it at your new home if applicable.

  • Electricity
  • Telephone
  • Water
  • Cable, satellite, internet provider
  • Gas
  • If propane, oil tanks, solar panels are leased, make sure ownership change has been properly documented.

Security

  • Don’t forget to change ownership of your security system and cancel your monitoring service
  • If your home has smart home technologies, if the HUB stays with the property, be sure to change ownership.

Professional Services: Change your address

  • Financial brokerage (s)
  • Accountant – find out from your accountant what forms you need from closing to keep on hand for taxes
  • Doctor
  • Dentist
  • Lawyer
  • Your employer
  • Vet
  • Pharmacy

Government: Change your address

  • IRS
  • Social Security
  • Post Office
  • Schools
  • State Licensing (driver’s license, vehicle registration, fish and game, etc)
  • Library
  • Veterans Administration
  • Voters Registration

Memberships: Change your address

  • Health and Fitness
  • Country Club
  • Professional associations and affiliations

Insurance Companies:

  • Accidental
  • Auto
  • Health
  • Home – verify it is not cancelled until the property has changed hands
  • Life
  • Renters – cancel if you are buying a home

Business Accounts:

  • Banks – get updated checks
  • Cellular Phones
  • Department Stores
  • Finance Companies
  • Credit Cards
  • Other charge accounts

Subscriptions:

  • Magazines
  • Newspapers
  • Netflix

Other – Make sure you cancel or transfer service

  • Housekeeper
  • Gardener
  • Pool Service
  • Exterminator

Of course, make sure you go through your keys – house keys, mailbox, storage sheds, etc, and provided these to the new homeowner (and make sure you get them from the homeowner selling you the home). Also get extra keys from friends and family who may have copies. Garage door and gate remotes should also get handed off to the next owner. Also remember to change your pet’s license and chip information and get a new id for their collars.

Make moving day less stressful by checking some of these off your list beforehand! Want to know more? Give me a call, text, or email: (206) 484-2777 or email karenwi@johnlscott.com.

Power of Attorney – Which Type Do I Need?

Real Estate,

Three Most Common Types of Power of Attorney

  1. Special Power of Attorney For A Sale:  This is used for the sale of a specific piece of property.  It must include the legal description of that property, have all signatures notarized and be recorded.  This type of Power of Attorney typically has a six month expiration date.
  2. Special Power of Attorney for a Purchase: This is used for the purchase of a specific piece of property. With lender approval, it can also be used to financially encumber the property with a security instrument. It must include the legal description of that property, have all signatures notarized and be recorded. It is only valid for that particular designated property and cannot be used to sign a purchase and sale for a different property. This type of Power of Attorney typically has a six month expiration date.
  3. General Durable Power of Attorney:  This is typically a more broad-based document created by an individual giving power of attorney to a representative for a broad array of activities (medical, financial, etc.).  It needs to specifically include the right to convey (sell) or purchase property in order to be valid for title insurance purposes. A General Durable Power of Attorney needs to be recorded.

Creating a Power of Attorney:

Documents can be prepared by an attorney or by using approved generic forms. Below is a link to the Washington State Bar Association website, which contains recordable documents.

http://www.wsba.org/Licensing-and-Lawyer-Conduct/Limited-Licenses/Limited-Practice-Officers/LPO-Forms

 

Appraisals – A Critical Part of the Transaction

Real Estate, , , , ,

When a buyer takes out a mortgage, or when a homeowner refinances their home, the lending bank or entity will conduct an appraisal to verify the market value of the home. This protects the bank’s interest in the home and helps verify the percentage of equity the buyer or homeowner has or will have in the property.

It is important to know that when a buyer and seller agree on a price for a home, the appraisal may not reflect that same price. Especially in areas where prices have appreciated rapidly, it may be difficult for the appraiser to find comparable properties that have changed hands in the last three months which can help guide pricing on the current property. For example, say there were two comparable properties that sold four and six months ago in the area and in the last year, sale prices have gone up 15%. That means those two comparable properties may have sold for 5%-7.5% less than the property that is being appraised and the appraisal could be lower than the buyer and seller expect.

This is especially problematic in a transaction for two reasons:

  1. The appraisal represents the maximum the lender will lend on the property. So if an appraisal comes in at $300,000, the buyer and seller have already agreed on a price of $340,000, and the buyer is taking out a loan with 10% down, obviously the math no longer works. Depending on the agreement between the lender and the buyer, the lender may not be willing to loan more than 90% which would mean the agreed-upon price would need to be lowered or the buyer may need to put more money down.
  2. In the event the buyer is putting 20% down to avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI) (typically required when buyers or homeowners have less than 20% equity in the property) and the appraisal comes in low, then there is the potential problem of the buyer no longer having that 20% because some of the reserves may be used to make up the difference in the appraisal as in the following example:
  • Agreed upon-price: $350,000
  • Buyer is putting 20% down: $70,000
  • Appraisal: $300,000
  • Buyers and sellers renegotiate on price: $325,000
  • Seller comes down by $25,000, buyer uses $25,000 of their $70,000 to make up the difference leaving them with $45,000 down payment which is only 15% of the loan, thus causing PMI to be assessed each month.

The bank may determine that the buyers have too many other monthly expenses to afford the PMI and denies the loan.

According to the National Association of REALTORS, in April of 2016, 12% of terminated sales failed due to appraisal issues which also led to delayed closings (28% of closings that were delayed were delayed due to appraisal problems). This is good information for you to know if you are a buyer or a seller, but rest assured I have tools for working with appraisals should the need arise. Please give me a call, text or email: 206-484-2777 or karenwi@johnlscott.com.

Puget Sound Real Estate In the News

Real Estate, , , , ,

Here’s the latest on our Sizzling Hot Real Estate Market

Washington home prices rose 10.6% in April compared to a year ago. It was the biggest jump of any state in the nation for the third month in a row. Home prices in Washington are growing at a rate nearly double the national average. -CoreLogic

Buyers are paying a premium to live in neighborhoods near a Light Rail transit hub according to Seattle Based Real Estate Company, Estately. We’ll vote on Sound Transit’s Light Rail Expansion in November.

Rock Star Steve Miller has just listed his home in the San Juans for $16.8 million. Yep – it comes with a recording studio!

Call me if I can help with your Real Estate needs!

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