Real Estate Field Notes

A Brand-Spanking New Home for Julie- is the process worth the prize?

Here is client, Julie, on the front porch of her new home in a great new subdivision in Tumwater. While she looks right at home, in reality she hasn't moved in yet when this photo was snapped.

We thought she would be cooking her Thanksgiving turkey in her new kitchen.  She currently doesn't cook much because she has lived in a small duplex that has a closet-sized kitchen area.  It just wasn't worth trying.  However, she will now have an open, airy kitchen with an island and plenty of space for those pots and pans, recipe books, dishes and more.

What has it taken to get her there?  First there were six years of saving up the money needed for a down payment.  In that time frame she secured a  new job with great prospects for the future.  She almost bought a house with me years ago, but decided to wait as the homes she could afford weren't what she wanted.  Good choice!

A few months back she gave me a call and we got her into the 1st Time Buyers  Class.  After getting her certificate from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission she was ready to buy.  She was pre-approved for the state bond loan.  Interest rates plus the $8000.00 tax rebate made the decision easier to make.

She new where she wanted to live: in a new home in Whitehawk subdivision in Tumwater.  She chose the plan: a three bedroom rambler on a very nice sized lot.  Julie picked out her colors, carpet,vinyl, light fixtures and spent some extra money on upgrades.  And then the wait began for building permits to be finalized etc.

One of the last steps in this patience-building time was the walk-through with the builder.  Rising Sun Homes has hired a wonderful gal, Shirley, to oversee construction and work with the homeowner to educate them on the home; the care, the cleaning, and the tricks to make it all easier plus worthwhile.  Together Shirley & Julie marked off any little item that needed touch-up before the move in date.

 
  Julie with Shirley in her new garage taking a look and getting  a lesson on the electrical panel.  We had already been on a thorough tour of the interior where she gave tips on window cleaning, floor maintenance, microwave tips etc.

 

 Shirley is reviewing the operation of the sprinkler system controls with Julie.  I have been on many walk-thous with builders' representatives before and never had such a thorough explanation of the home.  Shirley has been involved with every aspect of building and really believes in educating the homeowner.  She knows that at the end of the first year the builder will have fewer warranty issues to deal with if this part of the process is meticulously completed.

I was impressed!  Julie has moved in by now (or at least she has her things in the new house).  Her loan hasn't closed yet because of some unforseen loan snags, but the builder let her move in because her rent was up on her duplex.

They have been fabulous to work with and I applaud Rising Sun Homes LLC for their attention to detail and empathy for the 1st time buyers!

If you have patience and can see the "forest through the trees" so to speak, you might want to consider a new home.  But to qualify for the extended tax rebate, you had better get going quickly.  It is a somewhat complicated process and it does take time!

Thank you to Russell Harris, Shirley, Nona, Julie, John etc. 
  
 
   

The Case of the Hidden Sign + a Lonely Open House

Here I go again with another sad open house story.  Today was an awful day weather-wise.  The temperature has dropped to the forties, the wind was howling and it was raining on top of all that.  I went  to early service to give myself time to prepare for the open house and catch up on some other tasks at the office.  I drove quickly way out Cooper Point Rd to retrieve a lock box from a "short sale" house, Renee's listing.  The large classic style home didn't sell so it is being foreclosed on by the bank.  As part of that procedure, a locksmith shows up unannounced at the house and forcibly removes the door handle, takes off our lock-box and leaves it in the house.  I went to get it.

After that little task, I went to my cubicle and did some printing, took care of a Constant Contact newsletter upload, printed some flyers and blew up balloons for the open house.  Usually I don't do that on a rainy day, the balloons I mean.  That is because the wind and rain make the balloons fall down and not blow around like they are supposed to.

I did all that for the open house today.  I stopped at the main road going towards the house I was holding open.  I got out of the car in the rain and wind and put the sandwich board sign beside the road.  I also found my directional sign laying on the ground and put it back up.  The house was very quiet for three hours.  Not one guest came.  I thought it was because of the bad weather and maybe it was.  But when I left to pick up my signs someone in the neighborhood had hidden it under a nearby tree.  They also had taken down my directional sign along with a couple of other real estate signs and put them under a big tree.  Why?  The signs were not on their property and I was going to move it anyway.

So, with all my work and trying so hard to make things right, the sign was gone and along with the guests.......maybe.  Either that or the guests stayed home by a cozy fire and were dry and happy.

So says I.

A Party with No Guests??

My open house today wasl just like having a party with no guests:  inviting people via the newspaper and with signs & balloons to come and see this vacant home and Not a Soul came by for 2 1/2 hours.  The house was so full of silence, it sliced through the air.  I was chilly because I sat on the stairs where I could see the door.  I don't like to be surprised by people coming in without my seeing them first (safety you know!)  And this home has no way to do that without going upstairs to the front bedroom or sitting on the stairway where there is a nice side window by the front porch. 

 

It wasn't such a bad day either.  It was gray, cloudy and it rained intermittently.  But the sun came out too.  No excuses folks.  This is a decent house in a great area with a large fenced backyard and nice sunny garden space.  So where were you?

It could be that Halloween festivities were to blame.  Parents and kids could have been gathering at the mall all decked out in scary garb getting free candy.  Well, I had free candy too.  And it was even Snickers which are always a favorite I think.  They weren't the big bar like we used to get as kids. Back in the "good old days" they didn't even make the junior bars.  We just had to gorge on the big ones and lots of them.  In those days we also got a carmel apple from one house and money from a doctor who lived up the street.  It was a fun time and I don't remember my parents escorting us either.  It was safe as can be in our "kid friendly" hill top neighborhood in the West Hills of Bend Or.  Yes, we always felt safe.  I guess my sister did get a bit beat up by a couple making out up at the water tower in the woods once.  But that was an odd occurrence.

Back to the open house.  I took my usual new magazines, but not enough this time.  I usually have way to much reading material between new magazines and books I check out at the library.  But today I was short and tomorrow I well may be also.  Yikes.... I will have to take my novel or some fabric to cut out, perhaps!

Stop on by when you see that open house sign.  There could be a lonely real estate agent who needs someone to visit with for a bit.  You might like each other, learn something, or just do a good deed for the day!

First Time Homebuyers FREE Education Class Coming Soon

Join Nona Woodard and I on Saturday, October 17th for another fast-paced WSHFC seminar that qualifies participants for some awesome home loans!  Certificates are received by all participants completing the 5 hour class!  For more info go to http://www.wshfc.org/buyers/Brochure.pdf

Registration:  8:45 a.m.

Starts:    9:00 a.m.

Ends:   2:00 p.m.

Bring a sack lunch and plan to have a good time while learning a ton about home ownership!

Call me at 360-402-4859 or Nona at 362-236-9970 to register for our Class.
Here they all are sitting around the table in our comfortable conference room at Greene Realty Group.  We have a great time learning all the WSHFC curriculum!
 

New Listing in Popular Olympia Neighborhood

Yes!  We love new listings.  Us real estate professionals that is.  And that is what I am: a real estate professional.  Not a real estate agent.  Maybe a real estate professional agent?  So much for semantics.  I really just want to sell the darn house for the lovely owner. That is my goal: list and sell with happy clients all around.  One leaving and one moving in with all in a great mood looking toward a better future because of this decision.

In this case, the decision was made because of health issues only.  The owner has lived in this house since 1974 and only is selling because the floor plan and the property itself won't work for her physical condition.  She has moved in with her daugther and I am working with her daughter to sell the family home of many years.

7937 Ellison Loop NW:  $264,950.00
 

You can see the many steps with the challenges they can be.  Stairs can also be a great opportunity for a daily work-out without leaving your home. 

Isn't this just so cozy?  You have a wood fireplace, lots of windows and it just makes you feel like sitting down and reading a book?

There is a great view of the sound from the garden window in the kitchen and from the deck out the sliding doors!

 

Kitchen is a handy galley style with newer appliances and laminate flooring.  Notice the great pantry to the left also. 

Both baths have been updated.  Upstairs there is ceramic tile floors, built ins, fresh paint and trim!

Home has circular drive for extra parking.  Trees can be trimmed up for more water view.

Ready to Sell at the "drop of the hat"!

It could happen to you or me.  A life change comes about in the blink of an eye.  You lose your job.  Your husband gets ill or passes away.  You are injured.  Your kids need you.  Whatever the reason; you may need to sell your home before you planned.

To avoid the panic an emergency situation can precipitate savvy homeowners should be prepared to sell at any time.  I don't mean totally ready to sell; I do mean that maintenance should not be deferred indefinitely.

To make your life easier:

• Paint a room a season
• Clean out the closets to minimize accumulation
• Caulk the bathroom(s)
• Caulk gaps in trim
• Keep trim looking good or add some new moldings
• Do a window survey looking for broken seals and replace as needed
• Update light fixtures
• Evaluate your homes energy loss
• Pump the septic if you have one every 3-4 years depending on use
• Spruce up the landscaping, prune the shrubbery and edge the yard
• Mend the fence

Or better yet, make a list or find one at www.realsimple.com and check off tasks as they are completed!  It makes you feel great and your home look even better!

Enjoy your home but be ready for the unexpected.  Need some help deciding what's most important to do first?  Give me a call; I can help.

To Roof or Not to Roof? that is the question

It was "have the roof cleaned" week-end at our house!  It was quite the project and probably took longer than first thought.  You might wonder why we didn't just hop up a ladder ourselves and give it a scrub.  Well, you haven't seen our roof if that is the case.  It is so darn steep, especially in the back.  We don't have rock climbing gear and our kids who do are far away in southern CA.

Expanse of roof on back of our home!

So we found a couple of guys who are into that kind of fun and here they came equipment at ready.  The bleach, the brushes, the power washer, the ropes and a brace that is permanently secured on our roof now.  The noise was deafening as they powered away spraying on the bleach to kill that nasty moss so happily living on top of us.  Did we put this off?  Yes, you could say we did.  It definitely a yearly chore to kill the nasty moss so you don't need the guys with the heavy equipment!  But they did a valiant job spending a lot of time on the back of the house.  They almost ran for the truck when they discovered a wasp nest in a roof vent.  Instead of fleeing, they kept spraying on the bleach.  Wasps aren't keen on bleach and rapidly dispersed or became deceased.  The workers saved that area for last to further discourage stings.

This is not the nest they encountered, but isn't this a bad one.  It is WAY up high on the end of the house.  Jay says it will be eliminated in the winter when they are dormant.  Yikes!

All was well on the back of the house.  But moving on to the front where the moss was sparse they ran into the trouble.  The roof had been damaged before they got there.  It appears that the original owners must have given in the dreaded heavy duty power wash and removed too many of the much needed roof granules.  Hence, the question: when do we need to replace the roof and do we need to replace the entire roof?  Can we just do the front of the house?  Can we just cover it with a colorful tarp?

Doesn't look so bad from this angle, but note the shadows by the dormer.  Those are really a bad sign they say.

Well, we won't be re-roofing this year, or hopefully not next year either.  We won't be putting on a blue tarp if the roof starts leaking either.  We do have a homeowners association after all and I am the president.  I could be impeached for such an infraction after all!

I have said all this to emphasize this:  Homeowners must pay attention to many places not easily accessed around their homes.  It becomes crucial when it is time to sell and it is so much easier to work on projects monthly, daily or yearly rather than do it all at once!

I know better and it is still hard getting it all accomplished.   One step at a time.  Talk to me if you have questions about what is most important in home maintenance.  E-mail me at shellyfield@greenerealty.com!

To Be or Not to Be a Real Estate Agent

I was at an open house on Sunday up the hill from here.  I have my neighbor's home listed and it was a beautiful afternoon to showcase their lovely home. 

We are in rural Tumwater-Olympia and our address is actually Tenino.  That surprises people, but it is true.  Tenino isn't the most popular place as it is small and people think not a lot goes on there.  It is a cute little berg though.

I had 3 couples come through the house soon after I arrived.  Two couples with children who really liked the house and property and a couple who are soon to be empty nesters.  The wife asked me about Jim Greene as she had known of him in their early days of home shopping.  In our conversation it became clear that she is interested in getting her real estate license.  I told her I would be happy to visit with her about what it takes and what it is like to be an "agent".  I had never considered the job a possiblity for myself until my husband encouraged me to study for the test and give the job a try!

I started my research by answering an ad in the newspaper for a company who was training new agents.  I went in for an interview with the trainer and I was encouraged because of my background in education to take the class in preparation for the licensing exam.  I bought my training CD from the nice lady and off I went to STUDY.  One Licensing School

Did I ever study!  My husband helped me with the math and slugged through class after class doing the practice tests again and again.  I passed the course, took the test and passed the test on the first try.  Then the real life experience and the real life job of being a real estate agent began.  And it is nothing like the test; the real job I mean.  The test is a means to  an end.  I was hired by the company that I interviewed with initially and got some of the best one on one training available I believe.  I had a person with me every step of the way as I learned how to write up a purchase & sale contract, hold an open house and finally list a house.  It was scary to say the least.  But I made it and I love it most days.

Being a real estate agent is crazy making as I wear so many hats.  I am a counselor, a listener, a person able to find resources for numerous things, I fill out legal contracts, I pay attention to details & dates, and I negotiate with other agents constantly to make transactions happen.  And through all of this I have developed "thick skin."  I have become involved in educating home buyers about what an agency relationship actually is because so many clients "jump ship" and do not value the time and effort and agent puts in to their search for a home.  Only one person gets paid for a buyer's home purchase.  I would like to think it is the person who did all the legwork finding the right home.  But many times it turns out to be a listing agent my client calls to see their listing without me.  That hurts, but you do learn to take it professionally.  It still hurts, but it hurts less as time goes by.

To be a real estate agent you need a certain skill set along with some financial support. 

A list of skills I feel are essential:

• Great communicator
• Great listener
• Great negotiator
• Detail oriented
• Patient
• Willing to learn new things
• Understands & uses technology
• Flexible with time
• Team player
• Doesn't burn bridges with clients or other agents
• Excellent with record keeping and follow through

Talk to another agent if you are thinking of getting into the business.  Do a "job shadow" with an agent and learn about the financial details of being a licensed agent. 

State of Washington Licensing Information

More Protection for Mortgage Borrowers

More protections for mortgage borrowers at closing time

By Kenneth R. Harney

Syndicated Columnist

WASHINGTON — If you're applying for a loan to purchase a primary or secondary home, or planning to refinance, you should be aware of a little-publicized set of federal consumer-protection rules that take effect July 30.

Among other key changes, the new Federal Reserve guidelines require lenders to provide you initial disclosures of your mortgage costs within three business days of your loan application. If you don't get them, you can pull the plug.

The rule also prohibits lenders from collecting any fees, except a reasonable charge for checking your credit, until you've been given the loan-cost disclosures.

This means no more out-of-pocket upfront application charges until you've received the truth-in-lending disclosures and an annual percentage rate (APR) calculation of those loan costs.

Since many mortgage brokers and lenders traditionally have collected fees covering appraisal, credit and various other charges at the time of application — sometimes amounting to hundreds of dollars — this will be a significant change in procedure for the lending industry.

The rule also prohibits quickie closings on loans by requiring a seven-day waiting period after applicants are handed their early disclosures or the disclosures are mailed. You'll now have up to a week to think about the transaction and decide whether it's right for you.

Final truth-in-lending disclosures are due three business days before closing.

Here's an even more sweeping change for applications on or after July 30: The new rules require lenders to deliver a copy of the real-estate appraisal to you three business days before the scheduled closing on the loan.

In the past, even though federal regulations guaranteed that consumers could request and obtain a copy of the appraisal, lenders and homebuyers frequently ignored that right.

In fact, many consumers had no knowledge of this right because no one in the home-purchase, financing or settlement process told them about it.

Now, the timing of the loan closing itself — the financial ballgame for loan officers, real-estate agents, title and escrow officials — will depend upon your receipt of the appraisal in advance. The exception will be that the three-day rule can be waived if you don't think receiving the appraisal is necessary.

Another significant change: If the APR on the early truth-in-lending disclosure increases by more than one-eighth of a percentage point (0.125), the lender will now be required to "redisclose" — provide you a corrected version and allow you an additional seven business days to consider the transaction before settlement.

What might cause the APR to increase after the initial, early disclosure? Lots of things: Say you left your initial rate on the loan to float with the market, but rates increase. You'll need to get an amended truth-in-lending disclosure.

Or say the lender got inaccurate estimates of costs from third-party participants in the transaction, such as the settlement or escrow company. Or say that unexpected, 11th-hour junk fees materialize.

All these events — frequent sources of consumer complaints — could force the lender to redisclose loan costs and set back timing for the settlement.

What are some of the likely repercussions of the Fed's new mandates? First, the traditional approach of aiming in advance for a date-certain settlement target for home-loan transactions almost certainly will be affected.

Actual closing dates will be more closely tied to lenders' and settlement agents' accurate estimates and their ability to deliver disclosures and appraisals by the required dates.

For example, if appraisers are backlogged and can't produce valuation reports quickly enough, settlements will have to be postponed.

Second, the purposes of the rules are to afford consumers better access to, and more time to consider, key elements of what are major financial transactions.

There might be fewer instances of last-minute closing-date surprises on fees, where buyers are slammed with hundreds of dollars of charges they'd never expected. But nobody can say that for sure.

Finally, the rules may well trigger new waves of litigation if lenders and their business partners are not scrupulous in their compliance. There is an active and aggressive segment of the legal profession that specializes in going after banks and mortgage companies for truth-in-lending violations.

Don't be surprised if you hear of lawsuits seeking cancellation of mortgage deals because timing deadlines were not met, appraisals not received.

As David Berenbaum, executive vice president of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, put it in an e-mail comment: "Consumer advocates will closely monitor" compliance with the new Fed regulations, and the lending industry can expect "civil litigation against bad actors."

Kenneth R. Harney: kenharney@earthlink.net

Copyright © 2009 The Seattle Times Company

How does YOUR Garden Grow?

Our garden is growing and it is a joy to watch and a pleasure to eat!  One of my favorite parts of the day is walking down to our large compound, open the gate and start picking. Fresh vegetables and fruit are the reward for all our hard work.  We bought our home five years ago with this garden in mind.  It continues to evolve and this year our neighbors have joined to make it more of a community garden.  They have a rototiller that made the work so much faster as we add beds and get rid of all the pesky weeds and rocks.

Yes, it is ZUCCHINI and I haven't yet started leaving it on my neighbor's doorstep.  But they should be happy if I did because it is darn good.  I picked three smaller size zucchini last night and had to come up with a dinner around it.  I did a google search for some ingredients and actually had some.

And here is the  Pasta Ala Shelly Zucchini.  It features some chicken tenders, penne, zucchini sauteed with onions & lots of garlic and  sprinkling of herbs from the garden: parsley, chives, basil

On top I added some shredded cheese with salt and pepper.  At first my husband thought it was bland. But it was far from bland.  I forgot to mention the anaheim chili and a few hot pepper flakes I put in.  I loved it.  Had it for lunch today and it is fresh and filling.

Here is a sampling of lettuce just picked from our wonderful garden.  I snuck in some peppers, too!  The flavor of just picked lettuce is intense.  So yummy!

Let's not forget my absolute favorite:  the berries.  Here you see raspberries (two varieties) some blueberries that are just starting to ripen and josta berries.  Josta berries are like a small tart grape.  Good for you just like all the others.  I love my berry mix on my cereal every morning.  Makes me smile :-)

Next I will be sharing our tomatoes with you Virtually, of course!