Let me start this discussion with my personal story.  When I decided to leave my marriage after 20 years, I was starting over with very little money and average credit.  Buying a home on my own felt impossible but I knew if I was ever going to build any wealth to pass on to my children, I needed to put my head down and do what I needed to do no matter how hard it was.  Guys, I STRUGGLED, but I made it work!  I put in everything I had and (even some borrowed) to purchase my first home by myself in 2011.  Sure, the monthly payment felt a high for me, but determination and a few tweaks (including a lot less Starbucks for a while) and I was able to do it.  Fast forward 9 years and that same property is an investment property for me with a very positive cash flow each month.  It is POSSIBLE! You don’t need perfect credit with 20% down to make your dreams come true, you just don’t.

I’ve had some conversations with a couple of my preferred lenders and want to pass along their knowledge.  Aaron Hoy, one of my preferred lenders at Capstone Home Loans, shared with me “Most first-time home buyers think you need 20% down, yet several 0% and low-down options are available.”

• You may qualify for a low-down payment of 3% with Fannie Mae Home Ready or the Fannie Mae Home Possible. This is to help not only with lower down payment yet also helps to lower interest rates and PMI.
• Federal Housing Administration (FHA) only requires 3.5% down and typically will allow lower credit scores and slightly lower rates versus conventional.
• The Veteran Affairs (VA) loan allows current service members, veterans, and reservists to purchase a home with 0% down with no PMI and qualifies borrowers based on residual income versus debt-to-income ratios.
• United State Department of Agriculture (USDA) Allows for 0% down; there is a small monthly mortgage insurance requirement and an upfront fee of 1%, typically lower than FHA and sometimes conventional financing. This loan is intended for rural housing and has income limits.

Janelle Steinberg, another of my preferred lenders at American Pacific Mortgage (APM), answered the FAQ of how will my credit impact interest rates when I purchase, and should I be concerned if more than one lender pulls credit?  She advised:

• Credit scores impact what your final rate is. The higher the credit score, typically the lower the rate. If there are two buyers, we take the average score of both borrowers.
• We are required to pull credit for an official preapproval on all loans. There are two type of credit pulls- one is called a “soft credit pull” and one a “hard credit pull”. The soft pull will tell us a credit score from one credit bureau (there are 3 bureaus) which allows us to do general pricing on rates. A hard credit pull is “the real deal”. This means all three credit bureau’s information is provided to us and we can officially complete the pre-underwrite on the file.

Is it always easy? No.

Is it always possible? No.

Is it worth checking into and trying?  YES!  If I can answer any questions, just reach out. 😊

One of my favorite definitions of the word success is “when preparation meets opportunity”.  If you’re prepared and there’s no opportunity or worse yet, the opportunity arises and you’re not prepared, you risk finding any success at all.  As a real estate broker, I see this all the time!   Many people who weren’t “ready” to sell before the sudden shift last year, saw their homes sitting on the market unsold for months.  If they had to sell, they ended up doing so for a much lower price than they expected.

As I said in my last month’s blog, the pendulum is swinging back and things are picking up.  We now are seeing multiple offer situations, offer review dates are showing up in listings, and homes are pending in much shorter time than even a month ago.

How do you get prepared?  Here are a few things I recommend to be ready if you’re considering selling your home this spring/summer:

• Repairs and Maintenance. Fix any issues that could negatively impact the value of your home, such as leaky roofs, broken windows, or leaky faucets.  Have that furnace serviced (it’s less expensive in the summer too), clean the roof, etc.  When I tour homes with buyers these are things we look at.  Having a well-maintained home puts it to the top of the buyer’s lists.
• Minor Improvements.  I know you love your daughter’s pink room and your son’s dinosaur mural but the next owner of your home may not.  I personally believe a fresh coat of paint throughout the entire home in a very neutral color (aka some version of white) is the best thing you can do.  Updating fixtures, drawer pulls, etc, is also something simple people love.
• Curb Appeal.  Grab a bag of grass seed at Costco, pressure wash the driveway, maybe even plant a flower or two.  It’s difficult for a potential buyer to see past sloppy curb appeal.  They want to be proud of the home they buy and it’s important they like what they see when we drive up.
• Clean and declutter.  A clean, uncluttered house can make a big difference in how potential buyers perceive your home.  This also makes it look bigger and helps them envision their own things in it, which leads to them buying it.
• Hire a reputable real estate broker.   A skilled broker can help you market your home effectively, negotiate with buyers, and get the best possible price.  (I know someone 😊)

If you end up not selling your home, doing these things will improve your own enjoyment while you continue to live there.  However, if you do decide to sell, you have set yourself up for success!  Please reach out if you’d like suggestions on getting your home ready.

The real estate market was relatively quiet in the latter part of 2022.  Fewer listings, fewer buyers, lower inventory, longer days on market, etc.  That’s about to change……Here are a few things were seeing in the market today

Buyers

Buyers are getting back in the game!  In early 2022, a combination of rising interest rates, global financial insecurity and plain old house buying exhaustion caused a very sudden drop in buyer activity.  True, buyers still don’t like that interest rates are a big higher, but they’ve already dealt with that reality and no big changes have happened recently.  Housing is a necessity and buyers are ready to move.

Sellers

Sellers are getting back in the game! So many sellers listed their homes in the last year with unreasonable expectations.  They watched the 2021 feeding frenzy and decided to sell for that big payoff.  Well, that was about the time the buyers said no thanks and got very picky.  Many of those houses sat and eventually went off market.  Sellers have adjusted their expectations and realized that it’s taking a little longer, but houses are still selling for a high value. We’re seeing an uptick in listings; real listings, people who actually want to sell their homes.

Statistics

Real estate market statistics are measured year over year.  When everything was so inflated in 2021 and dropped suddenly in 2022, mainstream media began reporting huge plummets.   These reports (which are at a national level by the way and may not even be true of your specific market) drove consumer behavior and caused many to freeze in uncertainty.  It’s almost been a year and those initial low numbers are what we will now compare against.  As a result, second quarter reports will show an increase in sales and activity which makes people on the sidelines suddenly feel a bit more secure, unfreezing them.

The bear is coming out of her sleep for sure.  We are seeing increased quality listings, open house attendance is up, and even multiple offer situations are coming back into play.  Have you noticed offer review dates again?  Have you notice for sale signs in your neighborhoods?  Yep!  The media only reports big picture numbers, I’d love to provide you the numbers for your neighborhood and home specifically.  Or, let go house hunting together, just reach out! 😊

2022 was a year of big changes for me.  I decided early in the year that my real estate career was providing me joy, fulfillment and opportunity that my “day job” was not. I decided to resign from corporate America after almost 20 years of working in healthcare administration.  SCARY!  I had been selling real estate part time since 2019 and this move put me in self employment status as a Real Estate Broker full time.

This year has been fun, exciting, exhausting, uncomfortable, encouraging, stretching, and so many more feelings that I hadn’t felt in many years of doing the same job, and I’m here to say, I’m so thankful.

I’m thankful for the learning, as the market constantly changes and with each new transaction, I learn more.  I’m thankful for the relationships, as I’ve reconnected with several people from my past who I enjoy so much.  I’m thankful for the flexibility, as I’ve been able to spend time volunteering with organizations I believe in (Habitat for Humanity and Clothes for Kids).  I’m thankful for the struggle, as I’ve learned to depend on myself and really learn who I am.  I’ve realized that to have failure and success at anything means you’re doing something and living a vibrant life, and that is just plain exciting.

One of the things I’ve enjoyed the most this year, is connection. I realized that just living in a little bubble is nowhere near the life as connecting with people in person.  I don’t only want to connect with clients, I want to connect with old co-workers, friends, sports moms, etc.   I love hearing about your lives and getting updated on the people I’ve come across in all my years.  I also love meeting new people, something I didn’t used to value in my busy world.  People are the best part of this new path I’ve chosen for sure, and seeing them in their new homes, is the cherry on top for me.

THANK YOU! To every single one of my clients, friends, and family members for your support and trust in me, I don’t take any of it for granted.  Whether you have a house to buy or sell or not, I’d love to connect for coffee, dinner, a walk, you name it.  Just reach out, let’s get together.

Yes, interest rates are 7.5%.  Yes, they were 2.5% eight months ago.  You know what else was happening eight months ago?  Houses were going for hundreds of thousands of dollars higher than they were worth.  Buyers were having to waive inspections and hope the house they bought wasn’t going to cost them significantly more than they already paid.  Buyers were also getting their hopes up only to learn their life savings wasn’t enough to purchase anything that would fit their families’ needs.  But because the interest rates were so low, no one seemed to care.  Now that interest rates are higher (and might I add, they’re very average over the history of interest rates), people are scared to waste their money.  WRONG….

Here is why you should buy a home now:

• Prices are significantly lower than the frenzied market we saw earlier this year. Surprisingly, monthly payments come out right about the same when you raise the interest rates and lower the purchase price.
• There are tons of programs right now to bring down interest rates, and a good agent is aware of those and can even negotiate with the sellers to fund some of those costs for you.
• The market is leaning towards buyers more than in recent months. I have two pending transactions for buyers in November.  One, we negotiated $10,000 lower than asking and did an inspection.  The other, we negotiated almost $20,000 in seller paid closing costs when the seller had just reduced their price $100,000 two days before!

As we all know, interest rates don’t stay high or low forever.  If you find the perfect home now, you always have the chance to refinance when interest rates are lower.  You have the opportunity now to really choose the home that’s best for you.

Call me, let’s find your deal!

Did I Miss My Chance to Sell My Home and Make Money?  

Short answer? No! Sure, the local real estate market is moody, but surprisingly, there is still a housing shortage.  In Snohomish County, if no new listings came to market, every house currently listed would sell in less than a month meaning, we’d literally run out of inventory.

In a culture focused on instant gratification, it is easy to take a quick look at home prices and think, “We should sell!” because you want in on the action.  However, many of us have grown a somewhat skewed perception of the home selling process in general and how to determine when the best time to sell really is.

Here are some things to consider:

• What is your why? Does it make sense for you to sell now?  Maybe you found a new home you love that fits your changing needs, you have a new job that is too far to commute, you want to move into that award winning school district, etc. The list goes on.
• Everything is relative. If you sell for a little less now, chances are you’re also going to buy for a little less. If you had sold when home prices were at their peak, you would have also likely had to buy your new home at a peak price.
• Is your home ready? If your home was not in a ready to sell state when prices were at an all-time, unsustainable high, then the answer is no.  You did not miss out.  The best time to sell is when your home is ready to be listed!

Rising interest rates continue to impact buyers.  The current rates are forcing buyers to take their time to make sure they are spending their money on exactly what they want. Yet simultaneously, inventory is still moving.  The current average days on market in Snohomish County is 14 days. Free enterprise is a beautiful thing, it’s a pendulum that’s always swinging and we’re swinging toward a more reasonable, balanced market right now.

Consider your overall profit from the day you purchased your home; I’m guessing it’s an impressive gain. Since we can’t go back in time, I suggest we look forward and focus on what is currently happening.  If you’re ready to sell your home, now is still a great time to do it.  If you want to know what your home is currently worth, I am just a call away!

In the months of July and August, the Seattle area real estate market has seen a near screeching halt in buyer activity.  Buyers are tired of the extremely competitive market they’ve been fighting during the pandemic, interest rates have risen, and everyone wants to be out in the sunshine that finally decided to show up in the PNW.   The market is very unpredictable, no wonder you’re confused.  Even trained realtors who are living and breathing the market every day are unsure of what will happen with each listing.  But it’s not all bad….

If the pandemic taught me anything, it’s that I should continue to live MY life even if that looks a little different than I expected.  I encourage you to do the same.  Here are a few ideas to help settle your nerves and push away all the home buying opinions to consider what is best for YOU!

• Inflation over time is going to happen. Purchasing a home now is a hedge against that. Rents will continue to go up, locking into a mortgage will keep your payment the same.
• Even if home appreciation slows down, homes always appreciate over time. Real estate has historically been the most stable investment you can make, and it still holds true.
• Interest rates really aren’t that high. Yep, I said it, never have we seen interest rates as low as we did through the pandemic, but now were just getting back to normal. Ask your parents or grandparents and you’ll hear they purchased homes at 10-15% interest, and those homes are probably paid off now.

We are in a home buying sweet spot right now.  Less buyers to compete against means you might not have to waive all your contingencies (inspections, etc.) and can purchase the same home for less today than even a few months ago.  (this, my friends, makes up for the interest rate increase by the way) It won’t stay that way for long, the pendulum is always swinging.

Purchasing my townhouse when I was fresh out of divorce, changed my financial future.  Was it scary, heck yeah, but now that same townhouse (with a $1300/month mortgage, imagine that) is an investment property for me and earning me income every month!  If you have any questions about what you may qualify for, or the market in a specific neighborhood you’re interested in, or simply how the whole thing even works, just reach out.