Paul's Bellingham Blog

My thoughts on Bellingham, the Real Estate market, and more

The New Shortsale Option: HAFA

July 29th, 2010 Posted in Random, Real Estate
Jul, 29 2010
No Comments »

The expansion of the government’s Home Affordable program now includes a program that should help many sellers in distress and need to sell. If you’re behind in you’re mortgage payments, and/or owe more than you’re property is worth–the new HAFA program gives you an excellent alternative option to the typical shortsale process.

  

To qualify under Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA), you must meet the eligibility criteria for the Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP).

Typically on a shortsale, you have your home listed, and then once you get an offer, you start on a long process to negotiate with your lender. This process has many unknowns and usually is a process that takes 3-6 months.

With the HAFA program, you’re REALTOR can help you turn everything in to your lender before you list. Then the lender will agree to a list price before it goes on the market. You then have 120 days to get an offer on you’re home once you list. Then when you receive the offer, the lender will respond with in 10 days, and then it’s done and approved! In addition, there is the $3,000 in moving help that is available as well.
Why should I consider a HAFA short sale?

  • Help you avoid foreclosure
  • Allow you to be “fully released” from any further liability on your mortgage
  • Provide financial assistance of $3,000 to help with relocation expenses
  • Once you recieve an offer, much shorter waiting period to get response and approval from you’re lender
  • Easier to plan for move and find a buyer for your home (since the approval happens before you list)

How Do I Qualify?

The eligibility criteria is based on the terms set forth under the government initiative. If you do not meet the eligibility criteria under HAFA, you may still be able to work with your lender on a short sale. 

If you are in the Bellingham, Whatcom County, or North Skagit County area, and you are interested in discussing any of this, I can help you assess your situation to see if a shortsale or HAFA program is right for you. Whether this program is right for you or not, it is important to work with a REALTOR who understands the shortsale process and is knowledgeable about this new program. If you are in a different area, I can help you locate a specialist. Contact me here.

, ,
Read More

Trade-Off’s

June 22nd, 2010 Posted in Bellingham, Random, Real Estate
Jun, 22 2010
No Comments »

When working with buyers looking at homes or condos in Bellingham and Whatcom County, they have the luxury of incredibly low interest rates today, lower prices, and more selection.

What has happened  though, is buyers expectations have gone up at the same time.  Buyers want the $300,000 house for $275,000, or the house that was selling for $600,000 (last year) for $500,000. They want value, which makes sense, and that is what it’s all about!

But even when a buyer finds a good value, he/she still need to consider trade-offs. From the upper end to the lower end, it’s hard to get it ALL. Unless you pick a lot in your perfect location, and custom build it, buyers need to accept that there will be some trade-offs in your search, always.

The sooner the buyer separates needs from wants, the better experience they will have in there home search…And the better decision they will ultimately make.  When looking at homes, it can be very emotional, and so it is important to use rational to consider your priorities.

Example being many buyers prefer, new or newer construction. If you want a newer home, you may have to accept less square footage for your money, or a smaller yard, or moving into a development that is not totally established.

If you want a big yard, and more square footage, you may have to seriously consider how much work you are willing to put in. Many times I find solid homes that fit a buyers criteria perfectly, but they can’t get passed the cosmetics, if the finishes/colors are outdated. Many times this may be the perfect match with some updating and personal touches.  Also, deciding how important location is to you. Many buyers look at on-line classifieds and look at the houses first, and consider the location later. Often times a  better way to search is to use the map search feature, and draw out the areas you’d prefer to be in, and start your search that way.

So in summary, it is best to analyze what trade-offs your willing to accept when considering a move.

, , ,
Read More

Bellingham and Whatcom County foreclosure rate less than 1/3rd National Average

June 6th, 2010 Posted in Bellingham, Random, Real Estate
Jun, 06 2010
No Comments »

Whatcom County residents in some stage of foreclosure was 0.86% in April. That’s below Washington’s rate of 1.3%, and well below the U.S. rate of 3.2%. So Washington Real Estate, and Whatcom County specifically, is looking a lot more stable than the national average.

A main reason Bellingham amd Whatcom County homes have a much lower foreclosure rate, is because in our area, we did not have nearly as many fancy subprime loans that became really popular in states like Nevada and California. Also, values have not dropped as much as they have in many areas of the country… So many homeowners who have been unable to make there payments have been able to sell and still get out with a little bit of equity, or through a shortsale.

, , ,
Read More

Interesting Facts about First Time Home Buyers

April 6th, 2010 Posted in Random, Real Estate
Apr, 06 2010
No Comments »

According to the National Association of Realtors, 49% of first time home buyers are married couples. 25% are comprised of single females and just 12% are single males. That is impressive that single females are entering into homeownership at twice the rate as the males, and I have to say that I have noticed the same trend in my local Real Estate market in Bellingham, WA.

Also, more than half -53%- are between the ages of 24 and 34, and 12% are younger than 24.
First time home buyers are also becoming more diverse. 22% are of a minority group, compared to just 13% of repeat buyers.

, , ,
Read More

Shipping Container Home?

February 3rd, 2010 Posted in Bellingham, Random, Real Estate
Feb, 03 2010
1 Comment »

Have you ever thought about living in a container? Shipping Containers

Yes, I’m talking about LIVING in a shipping container! I just read about a company called 3twenty Solutions, that is working on making this a reality.  It looks to be the latest niche market in Green Building solutions.

I have a friend in Bellingham who works for a storage company, and she had mentioned to me previously that many large portable storage manufactures are on to the same concept. Many portable storage containers have plumbing, heating, windows, and have been customized for recreational and full-time living. Now I just read about a company called 3Twenty Solution, are onto something much more ambitious, using strictlyrecycled shipping containers to start construction.  

Below, you can see a before and after..

Before ContainerFinished Container

Their award-winning business concept of recycling and renovating shipping containers for constructing office space, sleeping quarters, and housing units has been taking heed from a number of industries and property seekers, especially on the east coast. In New Jersey, a new office building is being constructed from shipping containers right now.

Currently, their is more than 700,000 of these idle containers in the U.S.  This is a great way to recycle these existing structures, which are built from solid steel, and use them to create just about any type of space. The best part is the  containers are all built with the same dimensions. Making it easy to design and create functional spaces. No need for custom measuring and designing.

It will be interesting to see if this concept makes it’s way into Bellingham or Whatcom County construction. I’d love to see it :-)  

Until then, you can search for Bellingham homes for sale at my website, www.PaulBalzotti.com.

, , ,
Read More

Motivated and Hungry Realtors

January 27th, 2010 Posted in Random, Real Estate
Jan, 27 2010
No Comments »

I am listening to a motivational CD set right now, recorded from a 3 day Real Estate conference with top agents telling their “secrets to success”. One of the speakers talks about how one of the best reasons you want to stay consistent in your sales and income, is it allows you to provide better service and more honest advice to your clients. He said the reason for this, is that when you have money in the bank, you can give them the best and most un-bias advice. When your “hungry”, he says, it’s simply human nature to be somewhat bias and possibly pushy in your handling and advice with your prospects and clients. As an example (using his theory), if someone is considering renting, or selling their home, the hungry agent would be much more likely to insist that it is an excellent idea to sell, and not rent, when in fact, the best thing for that client may be to advice renting at that time.

I had a hard time with this when I first heard it. It made sense, but it also rang loudly in my head as a misnomer, and just way too overly simplistic of an assumption to make about Realtors. Am I really going to start giving people bad advice (on the biggest decision of their life) because I haven’t had a closing in a month? For me, and I think most Realtors who are experienced professionals, you would just never operate that way.

A good Realtor is really not a salesman, or atleast  should not consider him or herself one. You want to be considered a trusted advisor and consultant, who always (even if the person is not buying or selling right now), gives thoughtful and honest advice regarding Real Estate. Most good Realtors realize that focusing on the quickest way to make a commission, is the surest way to have a short career in Real Estate.  The way to stay productive is to always be serving everyone with your very best input and energy, “hungry” or not. That is how you build a business with  repeat and referrals

 So when this Real Estate “Expert” spoke about this, to me it felt degrading in many ways, and I think it spoke to the type of agents who create a bad  reputation for the industry. It’s just a different paradigm. When good agent’s are “hungry” for a sale, they don’t change their advice to clients, they just get focused on how to be more productive. They do more lead generating activities, and perhaps focus extra attention on their best priced listings that are priced-to-sell, or start working even harder to find the needle-in-the-haystack home for one of their pickier buyers.  

If an agent is productive right now, it does matter. But only because it shows they know how to be productive in their business in this current Real Estate market. Also, this gives them better knowledge of the current inventory and the current market trends.

So bottom line is, if I am looking for a Realtor to refer to my Grandcr0075ldmother in Utah (as an example), I would not be concerned with how many deals they’ve done in the last 2 months. If the agent is capable of being pushy in anyway to my Grandma, hungry or not, I did a terrible job picking a Realtor.

, , ,
Read More
Older Entries