Seattle Real Estate Blog by David Monroe: November 2009

Home For Sale in Kirkland, Washington - Juanita Beach

**This home has been sold

9375 NE 120th Pl, Kirkland WA     MLS # 29120874  $369,500

For more information, contact me at 206-905-8590, or visit my website at www.sellnorthwesthomes.com.

(More photos below.)

Home for Sale in Kirkland, Washington - Juanita Beach - 4 Bedrooms, 2 Baths, 2,020 Square Feet

Beautifully remodeled home for sale near Juanita Beach. Many quality upgrades, including newly refinished hardwood floors, updated kitchen and bath, new trim and doors, new roof, new interior paint, and new light fixtures.  Three bedrooms and one full bath on the main level, one bedroom and one full bath in the fully finished basement.  The basement also has a second kitchen and can be used as MIL apartment if desired.  The long driveway is large enough to park several vehicles, and a quality-constructed detached storage shed offers additional storage space.

Located in Kirkland's Juanita Beach neighborhood just two blocks from Juanita Village, Juanita Beach Park and Lake Washington, this home for sale is in the perfect location for access to amenities while being tucked away at the end of a quiet dead-end street.

This home for sale has been meticulously maintained both inside and out.  You'll easily be able to see yourself lounging in the yard, enjoying a barbeque outside or a meal inside, or just relaxing in the living room.  The basement can be used as a rec room, home theater room, or an independent living space for a family member or tenant.  The basement isn't classified as a true mother-in-law apartment since there's only one electric, gas, and water meter for the house, but it does have it's own outside entry, kitchen, full bath, and bedroom, which is enough to make it usable as an independent living area if desired.

PROPERTY FEATURES:

Interior Features:  Fir/Softwood Floors, Carpet, Fireplace, Laundry Room, 2nd Kitchen, Security System
Heating:  Natural Gas
Exterior Finish:  Wood
Sewer/Water Systems:  Public
Roof:  Composition (new)
Lot Features:  Cul-de-sac, Dead End Street, Fenced Yard, Landscaped, Patio, Shed, Trees / Shrubs
Appliances:  Dishwasher, Oven Range, Stove, Washer, Dryer
Extra Features:  Cable Available, Public Transportation, Storage

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Additional information on this home for sale and its surroundings can be found at:  9375 NE 120th Pl.

This is NOT a short sale.

Did you find this property using a search engine or a link from another website?

If so, consider this:

• In addition to you, many other buyers are also seeing this property online.
• If you have a home to sell, I will use the same marketing strategies to give your home the best exposure to potential buyers, helping your home sell quickly at the highest possible price.

David Monroe
Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West
Website:  www.sellnorthwesthomes.com
Phone:  (206) 905-8590

Home For Sale in Snohomish, Washington - The Falls / Gold Creek

**This home is temporarily off the market**

14716 64th Ave SE, Snohomish, WA     MLS # 29113789  $394,500

For more information, contact me at 206-905-8590, or visit my website at www.sellnorthwesthomes.com.

(More photos below.)

Home for Sale in Snohomish, Washington - The Falls / Gold Creek - 4 Bedrooms, 3 Baths, 2,234 Square Feet

This tri-level home for sale in The Falls features beautiful landscaping including a custom built waterfall, built-in sprinkler system, fully fenced back yard with new fencing, updated kitchen with granite counter tops and a recessed granite composite sink, gas fireplace, office/bonus room/bedroom off of the family room on the lower level, 5-piece master bath, and a large 3-car garage with new epoxy flooring and a wider-than-usual third garage bay.

This home for sale is in a great location, walking distance to Willis Tucker Park and walking trails.  Willis Tucker Park features a playground, splash park, dog park, baseball fields, amphitheater, covered picnic area, and community center.

Just east of Mill Creek, many people are finding The Falls, Gold Creek, and Silver Firs neighborhoods as great areas to live in, feeling like they're outside the city but still close to amenities.  With mostly newer houses and well-planned communities, these neighborhoods offer a high quality living experience without the price tag that usually goes along with this quality of living.

This home for sale has been meticulously maintained both inside and out.  The moment you step onto this property, you'll see the pride of ownership that makes this house one of the nicest in The Falls neighborhood, for thousands of dollars less than a comparable house in Gold Creek.

PROPERTY FEATURES:

Interior Features:  Carpeted Floors, Fireplace, Hardwood Floors, Laundry Room, Skylights, Vaulted Ceiling
Heating:  Natural Gas
Exterior Finish:  Wood Products
Sewer/Water Systems:  Public
Roof:  Shakes / Wood Shingles
Lot Features:  Cul-de-sac, Fenced Yard, Landscaped, Patio, Shed, Trees / Shrubs
Appliances:  Dishwasher, Garbage Disposal, Microwave, Oven Range, Refrigerator, Stove, Washer/Dryer Hookup
Extra Features:  Cable Available, Public Transportation, Storage, Underground Sprinklers
Cooling:  Window / Wall Unit

Additional information on this property and its surroundings can be found at:  14716 64th Ave SE.

This is NOT a short sale.

Did you find this property using a search engine or a link from another website?

If so, consider this:

• In addition to you, many other buyers are also seeing this property online.
• If you have a home to sell, I will use the same marketing strategies to give your home the best exposure to potential buyers, helping your home sell quickly at the highest possible price.

David Monroe
Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West
Website:  www.sellnorthwesthomes.com
Phone:  (206) 905-8590

Stop Foreclosure in Seattle, Washington.  There are many real estate agents and investors offering to help stop foreclosure in Washington State.  Have you been approached by an investor claiming that they can help you stop foreclosure?

The general concept is that the investor will help you stop foreclosure by purchasing your house.  This usually involves you owing more than your house is worth, which is the situation I’ll be addressing here.  The investor will make an offer to purchase your house, then negotiate with your lender(s) to get them to approve a discounted payoff on your mortgage(s).  This is known as a “short sale”.  When the bank approves, you get to sell the house, get out from under the debt, stop foreclosure, and save your credit.  Sounds pretty simple, right?  Not necessarily.

First, I’ll clarify that investors are an important part of our real estate market.  I’m an investor myself, as well as a real estate agent.  Most investors I know are honest people trying to make a reasonable living.  However, it’s important to realize when an investor is your best option and when it is not.

When selling to an investor to stop foreclosure may be worth considering:

• The foreclosure auction is just around the corner:  If the foreclosure auction is less than two or three weeks away and you don’t already have a retail buyer in place, an investor may provide the best option (and possibly the only option) to stop foreclosure by getting the auction postponed while the bank evaluates their short sale offer. 
• Your house is a fixer:  If your house needs a significant amount of repairs, a retail buyer may not be able to secure conventional financing, and a cash buyer may be required.  Investors need to make a profit, and purchasing a fixer at a discount and fixing it up can be a good way for an experienced investor to make a profit.  When a house needs a lot of repairs, the bank will often times accept a larger discount in a short sale situation.

When selling to an investor to stop foreclosure may not be a good option:

• Your house is in good condition:  If your house is in reasonably good condition or only needs some minor cosmetic upgrades, the bank may not be able to justify accepting a large discount that an investor would typically require.  The bank will attempt to mitigate their losses, so they may feel that the house could be sold to a retail buyer, thus reducing their loss on the loan.
• You haven’t received a foreclosure notice or the foreclosure auction is more than 60 days away:  If there is enough time to find a retail buyer, the bank may not be willing to accept a heavily discounted offer from an investor.  The bank may believe that less of a discount would be required if the property is listed for sale and sold to a retail buyer.
• Your loan is an FHA or VA loan:  HUD is now using a minimum threshold net receipt to lender percentage of the market value as a basis for short sale approval on FHA and VA loans.  For example, they may accept a different minimum percentage of market value depending on whether your home has been listed for sale less than 30 days, 30-60 days, or over 60 days.  If the short sale proposal does not achieve the minimum threshold, it will not be approved.  If your home hasn’t not been listed for sale and an investor offers to purchase it, HUD may calculate the minimum amount that can be accepted based on a time-on-market of less than 30 days, causing the bank to require a higher net payoff.

Also, many investors offering to help stop foreclosure are wholesalers.  They don’t actually purchase the property themselves.  They “flip” the contract to another investor for a fee (usually several thousand dollars).  This means that they need to negotiate a discounted payoff with your bank that’s low enough for them to make their profit as well as the investor they’re flipping the property to.  The success rate of short sales in this situation is fairly low, except when the house is in very bad condition.

If an investor claims to be a cash buyer, ask them for proof of funds.  If they’re negotiating a short sale on your home, they will typically need to provide proof of funds to the bank to get the short sale approved.  If they really are cash buyers, they shouldn’t have a problem providing proof that they can actually purchase your home.  If they don’t want to show you their bank account balance, sometimes seeing proof of other recent cash property purchases they’ve made can be sufficient.

While the information here may apply in most situations where an investor is offering to help stop foreclosure, it’s difficult to condense all possible scenarios into a single blog post and address every exception.  I encourage you to seek legal counsel from an attorney if you have any legal questions.  Also, I would be happy to share my experience if you contact me.

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Authored by David Monroe, Realtor and Pre-Foreclosure and Short Sale Specialist.
Access Seattle area short sale help and foreclosure resources including selling in foreclosure, and 8 Ways to Avoid or Stop Foreclosure.

Copyright (c) 2009 by David Monroe (Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West).

Do you qualify for a short sale? You may have determined that you wouldn’t be able to sell your house for a high enough price to pay off the existing mortgage(s), and you’re now considering a short sale. You may be in foreclosure or just one or two payments behind, or maybe you’re current on your mortgage but unable to continue making the payments. You know you will not be able to stay in the home and you need to get out from under the debt.

First, make sure you know all of your options for avoiding foreclosure. I recommend downloading the special report, 8 Ways to Avoid or Stop Foreclosure, if you haven’t reviewed all of your options.

Doing a short sale will take some work and cooperation on your part, even if you use a professional to assist you.  However, the benefits of a successful short sale compared to foreclosure are significant enough that it should be well worth the effort.

Here are some questions to ask yourself (and be honest):

1. Do you have a legitimate hardship that prevents you (or will soon prevent you) from being able to pay your mortgage? Valid hardships include out-of-area job relocation, job loss, pay cut or other income reduction, divorce, significant home repairs needed that you can’t afford, and sudden increase in monthly expenses. There are other acceptable hardships as well, but you will need to be able to demonstrate to the bank that you cannot afford the house.
2. Is your hardship short-term or long-term? If your hardship is short-term (maybe you lost your job, but you were able to regain similar employment a few months later), the bank may require that you attempt a loan modification or other workout plan first.
3. Can you produce two months of bank statements, two years of tax returns, two months of pay stubs, a personal financial statement (a list of what you own, what you owe, your income and expenses), and write a hardship letter when you put your house on the market? This could take a couple hours or more depending on how organized you are.
4. Are you willing to review and accept a reasonable offer on your property within 24-48 hours of receiving it?
5. If you’re still occupying the house, are you willing to allow the property to be shown at all reasonable times?
6. Are you willing to do some basic things to help your house sell, like clean the house, de-clutter, and clean up the yard? If a buyer expects a significant discount just because the house is a mess, the bank may think they can better mitigate their losses by foreclosing, cleaning up the property, and selling it at a higher price as a bank-owned property.
7. Have you filed bankruptcy? If so, you’ll need to ask your bankruptcy attorney if it would be helpful sell the house in a short sale.

If your hardship is caused by you moving out of the area, the bank usually will not consider it a hardship until after you have moved. If you’re being relocated in two months, the bank may not look at your situation as being a hardship now.

*******************************************
Authored by David Monroe, Realtor and Pre-Foreclosure and Short Sale Specialist.
Access Seattle area short sale help and foreclosure resources including selling in foreclosure, and 8 Ways to Avoid or Stop Foreclosure.

Copyright (c) 2009 by David Monroe (Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West).
Do You Qualify For A Short Sale?