The Renton Wa Realtor Blog !: June 2009

REALTOR Speak ~ What They Really Mean

Ok, "let's Play real estate, everybody likes to do that" 

So here is a crazy list from my nutty and usually very accurate friend Gary Woltal in Texas.    MLS descriptions (used to be newspaper descriptions, but no reads newspapers now),  enjoy.

Via Gary Woltal - REALTOR® Dallas Ft. Worth (Keller Williams Realty):

The description in the writeup and what they really mean---

* OLD WORLD CHARM - Has some woodwork, needs cleaning.

* CONTEMPORARY FEELING - Has no woodwork, needs cleaning.

* SECURITY SYSTEM - Neighbor has a dog.

* UPDATED KITCHEN - Sink no longer overflows.

* CONVENIENT - Located on freeway entrance ramp.

* MINT - Someone has spilled mouthwash on the carpet.

* NEUTRAL DECOR - No murals of nudes, or Elvis, but has brown walls.

* MOVE IN CONDITION - Front door missing.

* COZY - No room larger than 9 x 6.

* DELIGHTFUL RURAL LOCATION - In flight path of nuclear bomber base.

* EASILY MAINTAINED - Requires at least two gardeners and live-in maid.

* MUCH SOUGHT AFTER - It's been on the market at least twice before and still no one wants it.

* QUIET, SECLUDED SETTING - On site of a proposed fraternity complex.

* RARE OPPORTUNITY TO BUY - No one else wants it.

* WELL SITUATED - In full view of the neighbors.

* WITHIN EASY DISTANCE OF - Next door to a pub and opposite a sex shop.

2 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 22 2009 02:17AM

What Did the Neighbors House REALLY Sell For? Live and Current from the NWMLS.

What is Your Home Worth, What Did the Neighbors House REALLY sell for? Gary McNinch Team Market Snapshot Online and Current from the NWMLS

My home website is www.RentonHomeFinder.com

My twitter handle @RentonHomeFinde

My facebook page is Gary McNinch on Facebook

My Active Rain website is Gary McNinch Team on ActiveRain


Gary McNinch Team Realtor Renton WA Real Estate Keller Williams Realty Renton WA. Call us 206-696-2329, email Gary@GaryMcNinch.com tweet us, text us, or send us a snail mail. We like to hear from our many satisfied clients.


1 comment • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 21 2009 01:42AM

ActiveRain Reaches 150,000 Members

Congratulations ACTIVE RAIN REAL ESTATE NETWORK.   150,000 members sharing information for consumers on current real estate issues and looking toward the future of our business.  Thanks for what you all have done for my business. 

Via John Novak - Las Vegas and Henderson NV Real Estate (Keller Williams Realty The Marketplace):

On June 19, 2009 the ActiveRain Real Estate Network reached the 150,000 member mark. Congratulations to Jonathan Washburn, Bob Stewart, Matt Heaton, and the entire ActiveRain Team on this monumental accomplishment! Your vision, passion and dedication to building this extraordinary real estate community are unparalleled.

Founded in 2006, it was less than a year ago, on July 25, 2008 that ActiveRain passed 100,000 members. Since then, the network has rocketed to 150,000 in under 11 months, an annual growth rate of over 50% and an average of over 4,500 new members per month.

I'm sure the AR Team has several plans in the works to build on this momentum. It's going to be an exciting time as the network moves to 200,000 members and beyond. Congrats ActiveRain!


Find out more about the vision and growth of ActiveRain in these posts from The Official ActiveRain Blog:

ActiveRain Launches Real Estate Industry's First Social Networking Website

ActiveRain Real Estate Network is 1 month old

Ahhh, pretty charts - First 6 weeks of growth

Let's have a contest: Contest #1
Contest #1: And we have a winner

ActiveRain member 10K!!!

ActiveRain's Membership Surges to 35,000 in First Year

 

Real Estate Tomato Interviews ActiveRain CEO, Matt Heaton

ActiveRain week in review #1

Big traffic increases for ActiveRain and Localism

ActiveRain's Weltanschauung

Matt and Jon on Inman TV

ActiveRain Hosts the Carnival of Real Estate

ActiveRain Unveils the New Localism

0 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 21 2009 12:39AM

Market Update: Renton WA 98055... Single Family Dwellings

Downtown Renton real estate market statistics for sales.

Via René Fabre Internet Marketing (Ticor Title Company):
 
Residential Transaction Study 6/3/2009
Project description: Renton 98055 SFD's (nonwaterfront)
 
monthly market Most recent transaction: 5/26/2009 Market (homes): 4140
month year sales mrkt% $/sqft avg price median
Jun 2009          
May 2009 7 0.2% $213 $354,026 $270,000
Apr 2009 12 0.3% $146 $271,767 $282,500
Mar 2009 11 0.3% $181 $364,223 $324,000
Feb 2009 7 0.2% $153 $299,811 $292,581
Jan 2009 5 0.1% $117 $288,326 $290,000

property characteristics

1 story 2444 w/ bsmt 1,452 platted 3,729
1.5 story 118 avg bsmt sqft 1,061 avg lot sqft1 12,345
2 story 1559 w/ garage 2,865 unplatted 411
3+ story 0 avg garage sqft 465 avg lot sqft2 65,149
avg % imprvd 60% avg year built 1977 avg bldg sqft 2,067
avg # beds 3 avg # baths 2    
  1avg lot sqft of all platted properties 2avg lot sqft of all unplatted properties
 
 
Ticor Title ITMr2 Although the information is deemed reliable and every effort has been taken to correct data imperfections, Ticor Title cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies. © 2004-2009 Ticor Title
0 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 20 2009 02:49PM

Market Update: Renton WA 98057... Single Family Dwellings

Homes sold and Renton housing market analysis in the newest zip code of 98057 Renton.

Via René Fabre Internet Marketing (Ticor Title Company):
 
Residential Transaction Study 6/3/2009
Project description: Renton 98057 SFD's (nonwaterfront)
 
monthly market Most recent transaction: 5/21/2009 Market (homes): 1650
month year sales mrkt% $/sqft avg price median
Jun 2009          
May 2009 8 0.5% $122 $269,258 $257,500
Apr 2009 4 0.2% $147 $425,517 $471,034
Mar 2009 2 0.1% $180 $276,500 $165,000
Feb 2009 3 0.2% $152 $493,354 $549,900
Jan 2009 3 0.2% $161 $346,917 $305,000

property characteristics

1 story 1009 w/ bsmt 1,018 platted 1,553
1.5 story 353 avg bsmt sqft 952 avg lot sqft1 7,788
2 story 277 w/ garage 398 unplatted 97
3+ story 1 avg garage sqft 460 avg lot sqft2 10,842
avg % imprvd 61% avg year built 1947 avg bldg sqft 1,994
avg # beds 3 avg # baths 2    
  1avg lot sqft of all platted properties 2avg lot sqft of all unplatted properties
 
 
Ticor Title ITMr2 Although the information is deemed reliable and every effort has been taken to correct data imperfections, Ticor Title cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies. © 2004-2009 Ticor Title
0 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 20 2009 02:48PM

Market Update: Renton WA 98058... Single Family Dwellings

Market update, homes sold in Fairwood area of Renton from Ticor Title in Renton.

Via René Fabre Internet Marketing (Ticor Title Company):
 
Residential Transaction Study 6/3/2009
Project description: Renton 98058 SFD's (nonwaterfront)
 
monthly market Most recent transaction: 5/26/2009 Market (homes):10983
month year sales mrkt% $/sqft avg price median
Jun 2009          
May 2009 26 0.2% $146 $353,245 $324,500
Apr 2009 20 0.2% $157 $351,160 $313,607
Mar 2009 21 0.2% $139 $280,911 $258,950
Feb 2009 15 0.1% $164 $382,017 $405,000
Jan 2009 9 0.1% $166 $339,756 $308,000

 

property characteristics

 

1 story 6990 w/ bsmt 3,838 platted 10,047
1.5 story 386 avg bsmt sqft 1,061 avg lot sqft1 11,369
2 story 3585 w/ garage 8,047 unplatted 936
3+ story 2 avg garage sqft 456 avg lot sqft2 96,217
avg % imprvd 60% avg year built 1977 avg bldg sqft 2,147
avg # beds 3 avg # baths 2    
  1avg lot sqft of all platted properties 2avg lot sqft of all unplatted properties
 
 
Ticor Title ITMr2W Although the information is deemed reliable and every effort has been taken to correct data imperfections, Ticor Title cannot be held responsible for any inaccuracies. © 2004-2009 Ticor Title
0 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 20 2009 02:46PM

Market Update: Renton WA 98059... Single Family Dwellings

Market Update from my great Title and Escrow Company in Renton, Ticor.

Via René Fabre Internet Marketing (Ticor Title Company):
 
Residential Transaction Study 6/3/2009
Project description: Renton 98059 SFD's (nonwaterfront)
 
monthly market Most recent transaction: 5/26/2009 Market (homes): 8161
month year sales mrkt% $/sqft avg price *median
Jun 2009          
May 2009 11 0.1% $161 $393,445 $349,950
Apr 2009 28 0.3% $161 $396,614 $379,975
Mar 2009 27 0.3% $164 $389,360 $382,500
Feb 2009 25 0.3% $164 $398,583 $379,950
Jan 2009 10 0.1% $174 $417,866 $449,000

 

property characteristics

 

1 story 4449 w/ bsmt 2,057 platted 6,924
1.5 story 222 avg bsmt sqft 1,096 avg lot sqft1 14,590
2 story 3447 w/ garage 6,139 unplatted 1,237
3+ story 8 avg garage sqft 520 avg lot sqft2 77,086
avg % imprvd 62% avg year built 1981 avg bldg sqft 2,194
avg # beds 3 avg # baths 2    
  1avg lot sqft of all platted properties 2avg lot sqft of all unplatted properties
 
 
Ticor Title - IT Marketing - Renton WA 98057 Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
© 2004-2009 Ticor Title, Renton WA 98057
0 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 20 2009 02:45PM

Cash Gift for A Down Payment on Your New Renton Home, Here's the Rules.

The Rules Of Receiving A Cash Gift For A Downpayment On A Renton Home

Accepting gifts of cash for downpaymentsTighter mortgage guidelines since late-2008 are forcing home buyers to make bigger downpayments. Anecdotally, the change has led to a surge in buyers taking gifts of cash from family members. Especially First Time Home Buyers taking advantage of the $8,000 Tax Credit.

If you're among those accepting a cash gift from family, it's important to know that you can't just deposit the money in your bank account.

There is a proper way to accept a cash gift and it requires 3 distinct steps:

  1. Complete and sign an acceptable gift letter
  2. Document the gifter's withdrawal of funds with teller receipts
  3. Document the giftee's deposit of funds with teller receipts

See, mortgage lenders pay close attention to gifts-for-downpayments. For one, lenders have to make sure that downpayment cash is "clean" (i.e. not laundered). And, secondly, they want the gift to really be a gift and not a loan-in-disguise. Underwriters see this as a red flag, but once you have the proper paperwork in place the purchase of the home can proceed.

This is why lenders will often require that a signed, dated letter accompany the home loan application.

As an example:

I am the [relationship to recipient] of [name of recipient] and this letter serves as evidence that I am gifting [name of recipient] [amount of gift] to be used for the purchase of the home at [complete address of property].

This is a gift -- not a loan -- and there is no expectation of repayment.

Signed, [Signature of gifter]

To further appease lenders, gift recipients should make sure that gift funds are not commingled at the time of deposit. If the gift is for $12,000, for example, the bank's deposit slip should indicate that a $12,000 deposit was made -- nothing more, nothing less. Instead of trying to do this yourselves, call the Gary McNinch Team and we will get you directly in touch with a great lender that we trust Evergreen Home Loans. They have helped our clients with this process in the past.

Don't add a random $50 check to the deposit, in other words. If you have a separate deposit to make, make it as a subsequent transaction with its own receipt.

It's also worth noting that gifting funds between family members can create both legal and tax liabilities. If you're unsure about how donating or receiving a gift may impact you, call or email me directly. If I can't help you with your questions, I can refer you to Cheryl Clark, CPA. I ask Cheryl's advice quite often to help our clients. Gary McNinch Team Renton Wa Realtor with more great info to make sure you purchase exactly the Renton home that fits your needs.

2 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 20 2009 12:57PM

Trulia PRO Answer. Will He Call Me for Help to Buy a Maple Valley Home????

love this house

Trulia Question on a Property in Maple Valley from a buyer named Chris Home BuyerRenton, WA

i would love to know how much they bought this house for as i like the house and would seriously consider an offer at around 265k do you think this would be pushing my luck ?--This question is about this property: http://www.trulia.com/property/1079842663-23804-SE-281st-Ln-…

Highest Rated Gary McNinch Team’s answer

Gary McNinch Te... AgentRenton, WA

BEST ANSWER Hi Chris,

This home is in Glacier Valley development, across the street and one block from highly rated Glacier Park Elementary. Originally Bill Ruth owned this property and sold it to Capstone Homes who built these homes in 03,04,05.

The current owners purchased in November 05 for $299K and appear to have a first and second loan for $285K at the time of purchase. Probably put 5% or 15K down payment. Anyway, it is hard to tell because the square footage on the King County Tax records appears to be in error. I'm not sure exactly which model this home was, since there were quite a few floorplans.

These homes were great with high ceilings, lots of windows and bright, and location to the school and Elk Run Golf Course is great. These homes sold quickly in the hot market of 04 and 05. If the current owners paid off a normal amount in 4 years, they probably have about 25-35K equity. They were originally priced at 309K and did a 10K reduction after two weeks. At 8.2% cost of sale on current list price of $300K, they are just about even if they sell for full price. This is actually better than people who got loans up to 103% of value and now are way underwater on their value and are selling their distressed homes or short sale.

If you are interested in taking a look at this home and are a serious and qualified buyer call me and my buyers agent will help you out. The listing agent is a veteran too, so it should be fun, if you like it and we decide to make an offer. I think that $265K is too low, but in this market you never know, especially considering the amount of loss of value in Maple Valley market the past two years.

Let me know if our team can help, call, shoot me an email or text. Good luck, Gary

Gary McNinch Keller Williams SES Renton 206-696-2329 Trulia Pro gary@garymcninch.com Web Reference: http://www.RentonHomeFinder.com

So, the question is ??? Will he call me for help. Some buyers don't know that the sellers pay all the commission so our services for the buyer are paid by the SELLER.

7 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 19 2009 02:53AM

Real Estate Roller Coaster Ride.

Post entitled Real Estate Roller Coaster Ride from my friend Keller Williams realtor Terry Chenier from Abbotsford Frasier River Valley BC Canada.    He was right on the spot with my experience this last week. 

Buyers have been priced out of the market, but now are back.  However they are concerned.  Best advice I can give is buy a great home at a great price at a great interest rate and enjoy the home.  And as Terry points out there is always risk in every financial decision we make.

 

Via Terry Chenier (Keller Williams Valley Realty):

 Anybody else out there encountering

this problem with first time buyers?

I've run into 3 times last week!

 Buyers today are on a bit of a roller coaster ride!

First time buyers who were looking at buying a couple of years ago

     were staying away because housing was booming and affordability

          just wasn't there. Now, the boom has gone bust and suddenly,

                 housing is within reach. That, coupled with unprecedented

                          low mortgage rates has suddenly made owning a

                                 home easier. HOWEVER...

...With the economic down-turn,

potential buyers are wary.

On one hand,

the real estate industry is trying to lure buyers

with rates so low, that it's actually cheaper

to buy that it is to rent.

On the other side of the tug-of-war is job uncertainty.

At the end of the day,

it all boils down to the client's appetite for risk

when deciding to take the plunge.

0 comments • Gary McNinch Realtor Renton WA Real Estate • June 07 2009 07:12PM