The Normandy Park real estate market is following the regional trend where homes are listed one day and quite literally SOLD the next. Every May we begin to see an uptick in the number of houses coming on the market but with the large backlog of buyers we expect sale activity to remain strong all summer! Below are the latest stats for Normandy Park residential real estate. Reach out if you have questions!
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:
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.
Easements are defined as “a right of use over the property of another” and “a right to cross or otherwise use someone else’s land for a specified purpose”. Easements give their holder a non-possessory interest in another person’s land and they impact all types of real estate. Easements are used for many things including roads, utility and phone companies for the right to bury cables or access utility lines, or even entities such as transportation companies to access things like train lines if a property abuts it.
Easements can be found in the public records for your area and are part of the search the title company performs when determining the clear picture of a property during a real estate transaction. It is important to know what easements are included in a property you are thinking of buying because there are certain setbacks and restrictions that may come with an easement. For example, if you are thinking of buying a property with an easement through the middle of the backyard for the utility company to access utilities in your potential neighbor’s yard, there may be restrictions as to what you can build on the property. You may not be able to put in the swimming pool or shop you were dreaming of in this case.
Easements are even used for conservation preservation and historic preservation purposes.
Despite how common they are many people do not understand easements and the legal problems that can arise in their implementation. While an easement does give the easement holder access rights to access the land, it does not allow the easement holder to occupy the land or interfere with the property use (except as outlined). Easements are usually created by conveyance in a deed or another legal document like a will or contract and they stay with the property until legally removed or it expires. Simply selling a property does not nullify the easement.
Oftentimes the written document that created the easement is unclear or vague. For example, if an easement grants ingress and egress to another property (such as a driveway), but does not determine the width of the easement, that could be a challenge down the road if one of the neighbors wants to make the easement wider or narrower. If you are buying real estate I recommend having any terms such as these clarified during the title review period so there isn’t any confusion once you own the property. The easement intent may need to be clarified by a more in-depth title search or by a court if that information is not available. But remember that courts generally assume that the easement was created to last forever unless a specific timeline was indicated in the document. Therefore when buying a property it is important to make sure the language in the easement is clearly stated.
The term “home warranties” can refer to a number of different types of warranties. When buying or selling a home, different types of home warranties can provide benefits to buyers or sellers – and sometimes both. For sellers, a home warranty increases the perceived value of their home by providing an extra incentive. For buyers, a home warranty purchases a little extra peace of mind.
A home warranty is sometimes purchased independent of a real estate transaction by a homeowner simply wanting extra protection in the event of appliances breaking down or other issues that can come up in a home that are not protected under standard homeowners insurance.
However, sometimes home warranties are supplied by the real estate agent hired to sell the home protects the seller in the event an appliance breaks or other pre-existing, undetectable defects cause havoc during the listing.
In some cases, the eventual homebuyer may choose to extend this warranty once the property changes hands. Covered items vary widely on these types of warranties, so it’s a good idea to carefully review the warranty to be sure you’re receiving the coverage you need. In many cases, after-market warranties can be created from an “a la carte” menu, allowing you to select the coverage most important to you. Be clear on the exact resolution process when a problem arises with each covered item. For example, if the fridge breaks down, what is the process for getting it fixed?
Regardless of the type of warranty, there’s no doubt that they are an excellent tool to build trust and comfort between buyers and sellers.
For more of the nitty-gritty details on home warranties, give me a call at 206-484-2777 or send an email to karenwi@johnlscott.com. Let me show you how to use this strategy to your advantage.