First-time Homebuyer Class Schedule
December 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I conduct free monthly homebuyer education classes with Angela Cohen from Network Home Loans. These classes are sponsored by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission (WSHFC), and at the end of the class attendees receive a certificate which they can use to participate in WSHFC programs.
The Commission’s programs help first-time buyers (and individuals who have not owned a property for 3 years) with financing and down-payment assistance. Click on this link if you’d like to learn more about programs they offer: WSHFC Homebuyer Information .
We provide these classes because we believe it’s important for people to learn about the home buying/financing process, we think the WSHFC programs are a great resource for first-time buyers, and we enjoy working with people as they purchase their first homes. The classes are in a small-group format, to encourage discussion and Q&A. These are our classes for the first part of 2012:
January 8th in Lynnwood
January 22nd in Northgate
February 12th in Lynnwood
February 26th in Northgate
We will make our schedule for following months available after the first of the year.
All classes are held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. A light lunch is served.
Tacoma makes Top Ten list for new housing starts
December 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The rate of new housing starts is beginning to increase in selected markets in the U.S. Tacoma, our neighbor to the south, has made the Top Ten list for cities with the greatest increase in new housing starts. For the full article from Realtor.com, here’s the link: 10 Cities Where Home Construction is Taking Off
A second first-time buyer misconception
November 21, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Another first-time homebuyer misconception/confusion that came to light in Zillow’s recent survey was about the need to buy homeowner’s insurance. More than 1/3 (37%) of prospective home buyer respondents thought that it is optional to buy homeowner’s insurance.
If you’re getting a loan to purchase a home, your lender will require you to purchase homeowner’s insurance – this protects the lender…
in the event some kind of catastrophe strikes. For example, if your house was to catch fire, the insurance would pay to restore it to it’s former condition, and protect the mortgage amount you still owe your lender.If you somehow have enough cash to buy a home with no mortgage, it seems to me a homeowner would still want to carry insurance on the home, to protect themselves from the same kinds of risks.
The mortgage premium for the first year of ownership is collected and paid at closing, and your monthly mortgage payment includes 1/12th of your insurance premium for your second year of ownership. As long as you have a mortgage, your homeowner’s insurance premium will be part of your monthly payment. Let me know if you have any questions about this.
Donate to Northwest Harvest – It’s Easy!
November 18, 2011 By Leave a Comment
We all know this is an especially tough time of the year for many in our communities. Food banks are struggling to provide for an increasing amount of families who need some extra help making ends meet. There are more than 160,000 hungry households in Washington State.
You can help! This is how easy it is – CB Danforth is holding a food drive to collect donations for Northwest Harvest. The drive runs from Monday, November 21 – Tuesday, December 13th. We would love to collect as much food as possible to help these needy families and we are asking for your help.
This is the really easy part: I will come to you to pick up your donation!! Nice for me – I get to see your smiling face, and nice for Northwest Harvest. Or, if it’s easier for you, donations can be dropped off at my office between 9am-5pm Monday through Friday (2111 N. Northgate Way #101). Cash or checks made out to Northwest Harvest are also welcome.
What type of items can be donated you ask?
Shelf Stable Food Including:
Oatmeal
Whole Grain Pasta
Brown Rice
Tomato Products
Canned Veggies
Canned Fruit (especially with low sugar)
Canned Fish or Meat
Shelf-Stable Milk
Beef Stew, Chili and similar meals
Infant and Baby Foods:
Baby Formula
Canned Milk
Infant Cereal
Jars of Baby Food
Powdered or Canned Milk
Baby Diapers are also accepted
Seattle in Top 10 of Most Expensive College Towns
November 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Seattle is #8 on the list of the top 10 most expensive college towns, according to the just-released Coldwell Banker 2011 College Home Listing Report. The survey looks at homes with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, and the Seattle number is $570,535! Memphis, Tennessee tops the list of most affordable, with a mere $89,244 for a 3BR/2BA house. Check out this report to see where the town of your alma mater ranks on the list: CB finds value in college town living
New Pics of KHM project – the roof is on!
November 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
We were in West Seattle earlier this week and drove by the KHM construction project – this time we were at a distance and to the west, so were able to get some photos of the west-facing view of the house. Roof’s on and will keep the guys dry as they work through the winter months. Can’t wait to see how it will look in the spring!
First-time home-buyer questions/misconceptions
November 10, 2011 By Leave a Comment
First-time homebuyer topics:In a recent press release, Zillow announced the results of a recent (Sept 2011) survey they conducted with prospective home buyers. The results reveal some interesting misconceptions or points of confusion.
The first of these is that half of the prospective home buyers who were polled confuse appraisals and inspections. 56% said the purpose of an appraisal was to determine if the home is in good condition.
Until you’ve been through the process, it’s possible to confuse the two. The inspection is conducted by the buyer after mutual acceptance has been reached, and its’ purpose is to learn the condition of the home. Once the inspection contingency has been satisfied, the buyer’s lender will order an appraisal. The appraisal is conducted by a third-party entity, and its’ purpose is to confirm the value of the home and assure the lender that it’s a good investment of their loan funds.
We cover inspections, appraisals and a host of other topics in our First-Time Homebuyer Classes. The classes are free, and are sponsored by the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. Let me know if you’d like the schedule of our upcoming 2012 classes.
He’s technically telling the truth!
November 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This made me chuckle this morning – a funny illustration of why you really need to see a property “in person”!
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