Waren Buffett

"Buffett conceded in his letter released Saturday that he was dead wrong to predict the housing market would recover by now. He said Monday that he believes conditions will improve this year."
-Heraldtribune published Feb 28th, 2012

"Confidence among U.S. consumers soared in February to its highest level since February 2011. The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index jumped from 61.5 in January (revised slightly upwards from 61.1) to 70.8 in February. Economists polled in a Bloomberg News survey had anticipated an increase to 63.0. "
-Yahoo Finances published Feb 28th, 2012

In my office at Windermere, we had the best month in terms of sale pending in February in four years. We don't have enough inventory to sell. Interest rate is still historically low. Houses are more affordable than ever. Rent is going up. Time to buy. What would you say?

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Posted in: Real Estate

Bipartisan bill might boost the US real estate market

My client in Korea told me about a news he read from Korean media that might boost American real estate market. Of course I was intrigued so I googled to see what it is about and found LA Times article:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-visas-home-buyers-20111021,0,6715779.story

"Two U.S. senators have introduced a bill that would allow foreigners who spend at least $500,000 on residential property to obtain visas allowing them to live in the United States."

" The legislation would create a new homeowner visa that would be renewable every three years, but the proposal would not put them on a path to citizenship. To be eligible, a person would have to buy a primary residence of at least $250,000 and spend a total of $500,000 on residential real estate. The other properties could be rented. "

"The program would come with several restrictions.
The purchase would have to be in cash, with no mortgage or home equity loan allowed. And the property would have to be bought for more than its most recent appraised value, Schumer said.
The buyer would have to live in the home for at least 180 days each year, which would require paying U.S. income taxes on any foreign earnings. Buyers would no longer be eligible for the temporary visa if the property were sold.
The buyer would be able to bring a spouse and minor children to live in the U.S. but would need to apply for a work visa to hold a job. Neither the buyer nor dependents would be eligible to receive Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security benefits."

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Posted in: Real Estate

My first log cabin listing

A good friend of mine is selling a house. I had a previlege of staging their home for professional photoshoot yesterday.  I wanted the house to look the best so I volunteered to do the staging last minute. I can't help it sometimes. It was kind of impromptu so it wasn't really well thought out or anything but still, the difference is so ovbious. It is a log cabin and I wanted it to exude the charm and warmth of everything this house has to offer. My favorite part of this house is radiant heat everywhere and the wok room. I usually like open floor plan but having a separate place for high temperature cooking is divine. Gotta love that. It is a private heaven situated in 21 acre lot!

Photographer, Lyle from Jansma did a great job capturing all of the nice features.
Seller did a great job declutterring everything. If you can not afford staging or professional photography when you sell a house, one thing you must do is decluttering and cleaning.

This house will go on the market tomorrow! I'm so excited.

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Do you need to sell your home and buy your dream home on the beach or simply downsizing? Please give me a call at 360-296-3431. I'd love to help.

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Posted in: Real Estate

Bellingham Bank owned property

I'd like to talk about Bellingham bank owned property today.

Bank owned property is also called Real estate owned, REO, or foreclosure and  it is a kind of property owned by a lender usually a bank, Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae after foreclosure process.

People have the perception that bellingham bank owned properties are always a good deal. It often times is true but not always, so make sure to have a real estate professionals run comps as usual. One thing that is different about purchasing a bank owned property though is that bank doesn't have emotions about the property and they can let go of it more easily at a lower price but it needs to make sense in numbers following their rules. One rule seems to be that bank would not negotiating much right after they reduce the price. I had a client made an offer on a condo for $93,000 cash one day after bank lowered the price to $99,000. Bank rejected it then lowered the price to $89,000 just a couple of weeks later.

Another rule is to sell it 'AS-IS' and it sounds scarier than it is. What it means is that bank doesn't want to do any repairs on the house. Often times going through foreclosure means 'distressed' property and Bank never lived in the property and in fact they might be thousands miles away from the property. That's why more than ever you need a qualified inspector who can throughly find all the defects of the house. Make sure to write the contract with inspection contingency to give you an exit without sacrificing your earnest money if you don't like what you find through inspection. Since bank doesn't often negotiate the price you need to take it into account when you make an offer too.

In a multiple offer situation, bank likes to ask all the offerers to submit their 'highest and best' offer rather than countering one by one. They might prefer cash offer even if it is a lower offer. How to make your offer more attractive to the bank is for another post.

In Bellingham, we don't have as many bank owned properties as other part of the country but there are some deals to have for sure. But make sure you do your due diligence and hire a real estate agent you can trust.

Please contact me if you'd like a list of Bellingham Bank owned properties.

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Posted in: Real Estate

Going to BC Real Estate Convention tomorrow

I'm going to BC Real Estate Convention tomorrow. I heard my company, Windermere is the only US Real Estate firm to have a booth there. Whatcom county's natural beauty and its closeness to Canada fits perfectly for canadian's vacation home. It has been helping holding up our property value immensely.

I can't wait to advertise my listings and to network with British Columbia Realtors, developers, Chinese and Koreans seeking investment immigration (EB-5) opportunities, or anyone who's interested in US real estates. I heard median price in Vancouver went over 1 million dollars last year. I'm sure our price here will impress them. Here is my flyer for the event. Wish me luck!

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Posted in: Real Estate

Silver Beach water front home that I loved

Do you remember this house in Silver Beach that I fell in love with that I blogged about here? I wished my client bought it so I could visit the house once in a while. However, he was not ready and that's why I was able to blog about it.

My heart skipped a beat when I saw that the house was sold. I joked that I should make friends with the new owner and I met the new owners last week! I swear I wasn't stalking. It just happened. Thankfully, I really liked them and here is a chance to visit the house again :)

I'm really enjoying my business as I have so much more opportunities to meet and connect with people in this wonderful community.

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Posted in: Real Estate

Real Estate 2010 Market Review

This report shows how strongly Whatcom County Residential real estate market held its value in 2010.

Days on the market has increased slightly compared to 2009 but the average price went up! Check it out.

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Posted in: Real Estate

Silver Beach water front home

I showed this home to a client last Friday and I am in love with the house.

It's got 86' of water frontage. Almost every single room has a nice water view. My favorite, though, is this bathroom.

The only slight problem for me is its price tag of $1,395,000 (Worth it for some buyers, but I don't qualify).

So I settled for this piece of water front property in Winthrop. Only $21 per night.

I found a great contractor and workers free of charge to build a home.

I'm happy with what I've got for now :)

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Posted in: Real Estate