The Northwest received almost $330 million in Federal resources to revitalize our
communities, put people back to work and speed America back on the road to
recovery from what has come to be called “The Great Recession.”

In passing the Recovery Act, the Congress and the President specified a
wide range of activities to which state, county and city governments hard hit
by the downturn could apply Recovery Act funds – your tax dollars – from
meeting critical capital needs to expanding the supply of affordable housing,
from preventing homelessness to helping small businesses gain access to much
needed capital. Under the Act, those local governments were given full
authority to decide for themselves the specific what’s, where’s and how’s of
the projects that would best benefit their communities.

Here are some of the programs that will be funded
by the Federal money in the King County area:

• Promoting Energy Efficiency and Creating Green Jobs
• $40,250,758 to Washington State’s 29 housing authorities.
• $14,863,303 to 30 tribal organizations in Washington.
• Lead Hazard Reduction/Healthy Homes – $6,725,000 to to King County, City of Spokane
  and State of Washington.
• Supporting Shovel-Ready Projects and Assisted Housing Improvements
• Promoting Stable Communities and Helping Families Hardest Hit by the Economic Crisis
• Emergency Shelter Grant Program/Homelessness Prevention – $24,948, 653 to 10 grantees in Washington.

Recently, I was following another blog where a homebuyer was upset that they didn’t get the house they truly wanted because they were outbid.   The homebuyer opened by saying that they lost the house because they low-balled the seller upfront and the seller decided to accept another offer.  Consequently, they were not working with an agent and were receiving real estate advice from multiple sources. (more…)

Whether you’re a cat person, a dog person or something in between you may be impacted by the “pet restrictions” that are part of your next home purchase.  When pet policies are part of a home’s or condo’s rules they can affect both your personal uses and investment potential.

For instance, in the Seattle market, I heard an interesting statistic that more home owners have pets than children (more…)

Seattle City Council has just adopted an updated plan for row-homes, townhomes, and cottages.  The first decade of the millennium was full of new construction and a majority of designs in Seattle were the townhomes.   

I don’t want to give you the wrong idea; I do not have anything against (more…)

During this holiday season, it’s not just our waist lines that are experiencing growth. Washington is expected to receive another Congressional seat in the US House, all thanks to the population growth in Washington state.  More specifically, the boom in the Seattle area is on the rise. (more…)

It’s official: FHA was just given authority to change the amount charged to borrowers for both the Up Front and the Annual Mortgage Insurance premiums…and change them they did.

(more…)

Most of us still expect to see the hustle and bustle in the downtown areas like Seattle’s city center.  Likewise, the expectation of the quiet life would be found in the suburbs.  The future is here, and more than ever, you will find a little of everything in any given area. (more…)

When you are in the market to buy a condo there are some thing you need to know about Home Owners Associations (HOA).  The HOA is responsible for building amenities, maintenance and, in some cases, utilities.  As an owner, you may have some voting rights for the management of the budget, but the majority has the final say.  I like to make sure that my homebuyers review the building’s finances to know whether or not the HOA is financially strong or as useless as a Deutsche mark.   

(more…)

The homebuyer tax credit was a temporary measure to fix what seemed like a complete stall in the real estate market.  It helped; it boosted consumer confidence and homes began to sell again. 

Now, it’s gone.  Sayonara, tax credit!  However (more…)

When working with a homebuyer, I don’t start off by asking, “How much are you approved for buying?”  The better question is, “How much of a payment is comfortable for you?”  Typically, a homebuyer is pre-approved for an amount that is more than what they are willing to pay monthly.  (more…)