Seattle Real Estate Blog by David Monroe

The Highlands - Quality Suburban Living In Snohomish, Washington

Just 10 minutes northeast of downtown Mill Creek is a master planned community called The Highlands, with nearly 400 homes spread throughout rolling hills--many with views of the North Cascades.  Seven community parks, a soccer field, and walking trails are scattered throughout The Highlands, creating an exceptional suburban living experience.

The Highlands went from concept to construction in 1998, with the final homes completed in 2001.  House sizes range from approximately 1,300 square feet to over 3,100 square feet, and most of the lots range from around 3,500 square feet to over 10,000 square feet.  Over the last year, selling prices for houses in The Highlands have ranged from the mid $200's to the upper $400's, although short sales in the neighborhood have been putting some slight downward pressure on prices.

A half mile south of The Highlands is Willis Tucker Park, an 84-acre park with an activity center, basketball court, baseball fields, amphitheater, 4.5 acre off-leash dog area, picnic shelters, playground, water park, and walking trails.  During the summer, local residents gather at the amphitheater on Thursday nights for a park-hosted movie night, and on sunny summer days, the water park is buzzing with activity as children experience the cooling effects of the Tricky Soaker, Silverflow Cannon, Aqua Dome, Water Jelly, Aqua Jumper, Power Spinner, Power Volcano, Water Domes, and Splash Palace.  If you have a dog, the off-leash dog park is a great place to exercise your dog, and there's even a separate "shy dog" area for dogs that are bit more timid.

A half mile from The Highlands is the newly renovated Mill Creek Family YMCA.  With over 39,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facility space and all new equipment, this YMCA branch is one of the nicest in the area.

The Highlands is also within a mile of the new Glacier Peak High School, Valley View Middle School, and Little Cedars Elementary School.


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Authored by David Monroe, Realtor and Pre-Foreclosure and Short Sale Specialist.
Considering a short sale?  Check out this Short Sale FAQ first.

Copyright (c) 2010 by David Monroe (Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West).

MonteVista Community in Snohomish, Washington

Exceptional Homes In Willow Creek - Snohomish, Washington

Living In The Silver Firs Community - Everett, Washington

Silver Firs is a well-planned housing community in South Everett, a few minutes east of Mill Creek.  It is made up of two large subdivisions referred to as Silver Firs 1 and Silver Firs Phase II.  Silver Firs 1 consists of 720 homes and 60 acres of common area including several green belts.  Some of the smaller divisions in Silver Firs 1 are commonly known as Glenview at Silver Firs, Highland Park at Silver Firs, and The Village at Silver Firs.

The newer Silver Firs Phase II neighborhood consists of 880 homes and 86 acres of common area including sport courts, tot lots, tennis court, and a youth soccer field.  Silver Firs Phase II includes several smaller communities, including Canterbury, Canterbury Heights, Hillcrest, Pembridge, Scarborough, Sherwood, The Cottages, Thornbury, and Vintage.

Most of the homes in the Silver Firs community are within a mile of Willis Tucker Park, an 84-acre park with an activity center, amphitheater, baseball fields, basketball court, 4.5 acre off-leash dog area, picnic shelters, playground, water park, and walking trails.  During the summer, the park hosts a movie night at the amphitheater each week.  On sunny summer days, the water park and the playground are bustling with children.  If you have a dog, the off-leash dog park is the best in the area.  There's even a "shy dog" area separated from the main dog park for dogs that are bit more timid.

Silver Firs is managed by two separate homeowner associations.  The older section, Silver Firs 1, is managed by Silver Firs 1 Home Owners Association and the newer section, Silver Firs Phase II, is managed by Silver Firs II Home Owners Association.  2010 annual homeowner dues are $122.57 for Silver Firs 1, and $303.00 for Silver Firs II.

Most of the smaller communities within Silver Firs border Puget Park Drive, while the Canterbury, Pembridge, and Hillcrest communities border 148th Street SE.


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Authored by David Monroe, Realtor and Pre-Foreclosure and Short Sale Specialist.
Considering a short sale?  Check out this Short Sale FAQ first.

Copyright (c) 2010 by David Monroe (Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West).

Silver Firs Townhomes - The Best Value In Everett, Washington

Would you think I'm crazy if I told you that you could find a 12-year old, 1700 square foot, 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath home for sale in a nice area for under $200,000?  Well, you can... And I'm not crazy.  Welcome to Silver Firs Townhomes.

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Authored by David Monroe, Realtor and Pre-Foreclosure and Short Sale Specialist.
Considering a short sale?  Check out this Short Sale FAQ first.

Copyright (c) 2010 by David Monroe (Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West).

Gold Creek - Quality Homes Near Mill Creek - Snohomish, Washington

Just a few minutes east of Mill Creek is a neighborhood called Gold Creek, where pride of ownership is probably an understatement.  Manicured yards, well-kept houses, and friendly neighbors all contribute to Gold Creek's upscale character.  Gold Creek provides a nice suburban environment that's still close to amenities.  This well-planned community offers a high quality living experience and home prices to fit a large range of budgets, with selling prices ranging from the mid $300's to the high $500's.

Throughout Gold Creek you'll find wide roads, sidewalks, walking trails, parks with baseball fields, basketball courts and tennis courts, and landscaped common areas.  Gold Creek is made up of two sectors:  The "older" sector on the west side with 453 homes built in the early 90's, and the "newer" sector on the east side with 247 homes built in the late 90's through the early 2000's.  The lots are fairly large, averaging around 10,000 square feet.  Several acres of the Gold Creek neighborhood are set aside as native growth and wildlife protected areas and 50-foot wide green belt buffer areas. 

Bordering part of Gold Creek on the north is Willis Tucker Park, an 84-acre park with an activity center, amphitheater, baseball fields, basketball court, 4.5 acre off-leash dog area, picnic shelters, playground, water park, and walking trails.  During the summer, the park hosts a movie night at the amphitheater each week.  On sunny summer days, the water park and the playground are bustling with children.  If you have a dog, the off-leash dog park is the best in the area.  There's even a "shy dog" area separated from the main dog park for dogs that are bit more timid.

Approximately a mile away is the newly renovated Mill Creek Family YMCA.  With over 39,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facility space and all new equipment, this YMCA branch is one of the nicest in the area.

Gold Creek is managed by two separate homeowner associations.  The older west sector is managed by Gold Creek Homeowner's Association and the newer east sector is managed by Sector 2A at Snohomish Cascade Association.  Gold Creek is bordered by The Falls, Silver Firs, and Willis Tucker Park on the north, Silver Firs on the west, multi-acre lots separated by a vegetation buffer on the south, and multi-acre lots of City Farms and Alderwood Water District property on the east.

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Authored by David Monroe, Realtor and Pre-Foreclosure and Short Sale Specialist.
Considering a short sale?  Check out this Short Sale FAQ first.

Copyright (c) 2010 by David Monroe (Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West).

Living in The Falls at Snohomish Cascade - Snohomish, Washington

Just a couple miles east of Mill Creek, many people are discovering The Falls at Snohomish Cascade--A neighborhood with that outside-the-city feel, yet still close to amenities.  This well-planned community offers a high quality living experience without the price tag that usually goes along with this quality of living.

The Falls has the feel of an upscale neighborhood without the upscale price.  Wide roads, sidewalks, walking trails, parks, and landscaped common areas are all features of The Falls.  Most of the homes in The Falls were built between 1990 and 1993, and most of the homeowners have kept their homes well maintained.  The lots are fairly large, averaging around 10,000 square feet.

Within walking distance from The Falls is Willis Tucker Park, an 84-acre park with an activity center, amphitheater, baseball fields, basketball court, 4.5 acre off-leash dog area, picnic shelters, playground, water park, and walking trails.  During the summer, the park hosts a movie night at the amphitheater each week.  On sunny summer days, you'll find the water park and the playground buzzing with children.  If you have a dog, the off-leash dog park is the best in the area.  There's even a "shy dog" area separated from the main dog park for dogs that are bit more timid.

Less than a mile away is the newly renovated Mill Creek Family YMCA.  With over 39,000 square feet of state-of-the-art facility space and all new equipment, this YMCA branch is one of the nicest in the area.

The Falls is represented by the Snohomish Cascade Homeowners Association.  Annual homeowner dues are fairly reasonable at $325 per year.  The Falls neighborhood is bordered by Cathcart Way on the north, Glen View/Silver Firs on the west, Puget Park Drive and Gold Creek on the south, and Willis Tucker Park and The Highlands on the east.

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Authored by David Monroe, Realtor and Pre-Foreclosure and Short Sale Specialist.
Considering a short sale?  Check out this Short Sale FAQ first.

Copyright (c) 2010 by David Monroe (Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West).

I’ve received many calls from prospective buyers interested in my short sale listings asking if the listing price has been approved by the bank.  On a short sale, the seller owes more than their house is worth, so the seller’s lender(s) must approve the sale price and accept a discounted loan payoff in order for the house to be sold.  However, is it not common in these situations for banks to pre-approve a listing price for a house.

Because there are so many short sales on the market, buyers are searching for short sale information on the Internet and finding a wealth of information and advice on how to handle short sale situations.  I did some searching myself, and while there was some good information available, I found a lot of incorrect or incomplete information. 

Many websites advised buyers to ask the listing agent if the list price had been approved by the bank.  However, buyers aren’t necessarily getting the whole story.

Here are some situations that may lead a listing agent to claim that the bank has approved the listing price, along with some things to consider:

1. The seller’s loan is an FHA loan, and HUD has sent the seller a letter stating the minimum net payoff proceeds that they would accept.  This can be fairly reliable as long as all of the conditions set by HUD are satisfied.  In this situation, you also need to know the following:
   
   
   1. When is the deadline for obtaining a signed Purchase and Sale contract from a buyer?  The HUD pre-approval is only valid for a specific period of time, usually around 90 days.
      
      
   2. What is the appraised value of the property?  The pre-approved price set by HUD is based on a percentage of the appraised value, usually 88%.  Since this is the net amount after all selling expenses (including commissions and closing costs), that translates to a purchase price of approximately 97% of appraised value.  However, HUD will often times accept less than the pre-approved amount depending on how long the property has been on the market—A buyer’s agent that specializes in short sales will know when you can make a lower offer that will net HUD less than their pre-approved amount and still have it approved by HUD.   If your agent doesn’t know this, you could be paying more than you should for the house.
      
      
   3. How long has the property been on the market?  This relates to Point (b) above—HUD may accept a lower payoff than their pre-approved amount depending on how long the property has been on the market.
      
      
2. The bank has verbally approved a listing price or has verbally disclosed the minimum payoff that they’ll accept.  This is possible, but rare.  Banks want the property sold at the highest price possible and don’t want to leave money on the table.  If they approve a listing price of $300,000 and the property could have been sold for $320,000, then they haven’t done their job of mitigating the loss.  Most banks prefer to receive an offer, then determine if the price offered is acceptable.  Also, if the price approval was not in writing, there’s no guarantee that they’ll follow through with their verbal commitment (banks are notorious for “forgetting” verbal commitments that they’ve made).
   
   
3. The bank has given written approval of the listing price.  As in Point #2, banks rarely approve a price prior to procuring a bona-fide buyer for the property.  If the listing agent claims to have written approval of the listing price, ask them to send a copy to you in writing.  If they say they can’t because it contains confidential information, ask them to black out the confidential information with a marker and send a copy to you (make sure they don’t black out the borrower’s name or property address).  If the letter states an approved price, make sure it also states the net payoff proceeds that the bank will accept.  The bank is less concerned about the sale price—They’re concerned about the amount of money they’ll end up with after the deal is done.  You’ll want to avoid potential situations where the bank approved a listing price but comes back in the eleventh hour and says something like, “That price was based on 4% in real estate commissions, not 6%,” or “That price didn’t account for prorated real estate taxes, homeowner association dues, etc.”
   
   
4. A previous buyer’s short sale offer was approved by the bank, but the buyer backed out or could not complete the transaction.  This situation would seem like a slam-dunk since the bank had already approved another buyer’s offer.  But beware—Just because the bank approved another buyer’s offer at the same price doesn’t guarantee that they’ll approve your offer.  The previous buyer may have had different financial qualifications and the terms of the previous offer may have been different than the terms that you’ll offer.  Maybe the previous offer didn’t include an inspection contingency, and that made it desirable to the bank.  Also, short sale approvals are usually good for up to 30 days, or sometimes 45 days.  If the bank finds out that a different buyer was substituted, they could reject the short sale.
   
   I had a recent transaction where we had a short sale approval (approved specifically for the original buyer), we sent in a new offer to the bank for approval at the same price, and the bank changed their mind and decided they wanted a higher price.  We had to fight with the bank for the next month to get them to come back down to the original price that they approved the first time around.
   
   My point here is that just because the bank approved an offer from another buyer doesn’t necessarily mean that you can just substitute a new buyer and expect the deal to go through.  The only way to assure that the bank will go through with the deal after the approved buyer backed out is to submit the new offer and get a new approval.  Depending on the bank, this could take anywhere from several days to several weeks.
   
   If you find yourself in this situation, ask the listing agent to send you a copy of the short sale approval letter.  Make note of the deadline.  Many banks will issue an updated approval letter for the new buyer but won’t change the date that the approval expires (the deadline for closing).

Keep in mind that I’m not saying that you should completely discount any claim that the price of a property has been approved by the bank.  Just make sure you know the facts behind the claim, so you’ll be able to set the proper expectations.

Most banks won’t start short sale negotiations or discuss any price they’ll be willing to accept until an offer is received from a buyer, although there are exceptions.  As time goes by, we’ll probably see more banks opening up to the idea of pre-approving prices for short sales to speed up the process.


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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) 2010 by David Monroe (Home4Investment Team at Keller Williams Seattle Metro West).