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Jul
08
Posted by James Lupori
This coming weekend (July 12th & 13th) our neighborhood is having its 3rd Annual Bridlepath Garage Sale! Many households are participating offering toys, clothes, housewares, books, movies, furniture and much much more.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY FROM 9:00 - 4:00
Bridlepath is located at the intersection of 80th Avenue NE and NE 198th Street in Kenmore, WA. Here’s a map showing where we are:
By the way, Bridlepath is a great neighborhood. We are a community of almost 60 homes constructed by Harbour Homes starting in 2004. We have a very active home owner’s association and many engaged neighbors. We are conveniently located near shopping, restaurants and Bothell’s Country Village. Please come and visit us this weekend.
There are two homes currently for sale in the neighborhood:
19805 82nd Pl NE Kenmore, WA 98028 $469,950
19914 83rd Pl NE Kenmore, WA 98028 $485,000
So if you come over, love our neighborhood and would like to move in, please contact me at (206) 713-2102 or jlupori@comcast.net.
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Jul
07
Posted by James Lupori
Meet Mr. Freeze, the Financial Curmudgeon!
In a former life, I was Mr. Freeze. I’m not kidding. I was a licensed bill collector in 50 states and my pseudonym was Mr. Richard Freeze. I was in the Credit Industry for many years and I worked both sides of the business. I collected and I also educated the public on sane money management. Before Mr. Freeze went “underground” he also worked for Consumer Credit Counseling Service which was one of the best jobs ever. I became the Financial Curmudgeon because, for so many years, I observed how most Americans get themselves into financial trouble: simply put, they don’t know the meaning of the word “enough.” Yes, there are those circumstances that people can’t do anything about: job loss, sickness, divorce, etc.. But Mr. Freeze has always believed most people get into financial trouble because they have no self discipline, they want everything now, they believe someone or something is going to bail them out of their circumstances! Well my friends, the Financial Curmudgeon is here to tell you that times have gotten tougher and you’re going to have to change your behavior if you want to survive our current economic challenges. The Financial Curmudgeon believes in strong medicine, so he recommends every man woman and child read “Your Money or Your Life” by Vicki Robin and Joe Dominguez. In my opinion, it is the best book about personal money management today.
The Financial Curmudgeon will be back. I promise!
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Jul
06
Posted by James Lupori
There are a HUGE number of real estate websites on the Internet. Some of the more well-known are realtor.com and zillow.com. I thought you might appreciate perusing one of my favorite market overview sites: http://www.housingpredictor.com/. I like this site because it gives you a snapshots of all 50 states. It’s also one of the most unpretentious resourses available. I really enjoy thinking about different areas of the country because I’ve lived in various places in the west and I’ve travelled all over the country. The charts below are good examples of the information you can find on the site:
Believe it or not, I’ve visited 16 of these cities. I’m very familiar with SLC, Ogden and Provo UT as I lived in Utah for 15 years. I’m a University of Utah graduate. I’ve been to Amarillo, TX as I lived in Texas as a boy for five years.
OK, I’ve been through 15 of these states. Too bad about Reno. I was born there! The good news is that the Seattle area isn’t on the worst market list.
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Jul
05
Posted by James Lupori
If you’ve ever purchased a home, chances are you had the home examined by a professional home inspector. But, if you’ve sold a home (or are planning to do so) did you ever consider having your home pre-inspected prior to listing the property? This may not appear to be an issue. After all, isn’t it the buyer’s responsibility to do an inspection? The simple answer is yes, and if you’re working with an agent who doesn’t recommend you hire an inspector to check out the house, you may be working with the wrong agent. But you should know that there has always been a huge debate among real estate professionals regarding pre-inspections. Here’s how the pro and con arguments usually play out:
Pro pre-inspection: An inspection may reveal latent or hidden defects that can be resolved before selling the house. An inspection may confirm defects that the seller is already aware of such as a failing roof, aging furnace or problems in a crawl space. The seller can choose to repair or adjust the price of the home based on the inspection in order to head off work orders requested by the buyers. The seller can feel confident that they’ve “done the right thing” by disclosing what was found in the inspection.
Con pre-inspection: Many brokers (and legal experts) believe that once a seller chooses to sell his/her home, they should not go looking for problems BECAUSE IF THEY FIND PROBLEMS, THEN THEY MUST DISCLOSE THEM! Why open a can of worms by finding out something you truly don’t know about your house? Some agents believe that they represent the clients, not the house; therefore, what benefit is it to the seller to have a pre-inspection at all? Many brokers believe that (as mentioned above) it is entirely up to the buyer to have the home inspected. If the buyer’s inspector discovers issues, then it’s up to the buyer to negotiate a solution………….Hey, this is confusing!!!
In June of 2007 Ardell Dellaloggia, the principal writer for the informative and successful blog, Rain City Guide (www.raincityguide.com), wrote a post entitled: “Should a seller have their home pre-inspected?” There were quite a number of real estate agents and several inspectors who wrote in to express some fairly strong opinions about pre-inspections. Opinions were more on the side of not doing the pre-inspection mainly because agents fear that advising an inspection can trigger a huge number of liability and disclosure issues. One even indicated that sellers can often pay twice for a repair uncovered by the pre-inspection because the buyer comes up with other issues that cost the seller more money.
Here’s what I think:
1) During 2005-2007, when the market was clearly a sellers paradise, buyers were being muscled into doing their own pre-inspections before offers were even reviewed. Basically, when the market is hot, sellers have a take it or leave it attitude.
2) Now, things have clearly changed. With huge inventories, tougher lending practices and more patient buyers, the sellers find themselves in a difficult position. I know from my own transactions and those of my fellow listing agents, that the buyers are asking for more repairs, work orders and compensation for property defects.
3) Every property and situation requires careful consideration, but I believe sellers should have their homes pre-inspected. The seller needs to know this though: expect the buyers to do an inspection anyway. I believe the advantages outweigh the risk when the buyer’s inspector comes up with a report indicating that everything is “defective” or needs repair. The seller can then present an “expert’s opinion” as to the voracity of the buyer’s claims and a reasonable solution can be negotiated.
Finally, I used to do a large number of sales through 3rd party relocation companies. Whenever I listed a home for a seller moving out-of-state, it was common that the relocation company would have the home inspected (sometimes more than once) before going on the market. There were several instances when the buyers did, indeed, find problems with a home that the pre-inspections didn’t uncover. As I’ve mentioned before: no house is perfect, issues will arise and all parties in a real estate transaction should have a professional realtor help them through the process.
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Jul
03
Posted by James Lupori
Celebrate this 4th of July Season in Kenmore, Bothell and Woodinville. Just click on the poster above to see the events posters for the Kenmore Summer Concert Series and The Northshore Freedom Fest. Let’s home the thunderstorms and rain pass by today for all those barbeques and family get-togethers!
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Jul
02
Posted by James Lupori
Those of you who have been reading my blog know that I’m a Realtor with Keller Williams North Seattle. I’m also a partner in a real estate marketing company called the ROCS Alliance. We have been creating a comprehensive program that real estate agents, from any company can utilize. These include computer/IT solutions; premium marketing materials for their clients; and ultimately provide systems that help agents develop successful businesses no matter what challenges the marketplace throws our way. The very blog you’re reading is just one of the most important tools the ROCS Alliance offers. ROCS agents want to be positioned as wealth determiners for our clients and drive them to the resources that make them successful.
