There’s a lot of terms or “jargon” associated with buying and financing real estate. To those in the business or with lots of real estate experience, private mortgage insurance is a day to day term. But, to first time home buyers, it can be a head scratcher, so…in a nut shell, PMI is a fee … More Private Mortgage Insurance (or PMI)
One topic that comes up in both my daily job as a real estate broker and in my legislative role for the Citizen Potawatomi Nation is the HUD 184 Loan, also known the “Indian Home Loan”. I sometimes wonder if home buyers want to finance a home with this loan because it is cool and … More “Indian home loans” or 184 Hud programs
On the day we celebrate the life and accomplishments of Dr Martin Luther King Jr, I am thinking about Fair Housing as it relates to my practice of real estate services in Western Washington. I have been fortunate to say that I have not seen examples of racism or discrimination in my decade or so … More Fair Housing
Everyone remembers the old saying, “You only get one chance to make a first impression”. It goes without saying, but it can’t be stressed enough. Before selling: In my opinion, it is of paramount importance to do a detail cleaning and staging of the area OUTSIDE of the front door. As a buyers’ agent is … More Before listing your home for sale…
I’ve been asked to tell my clients FIVE things I am good at. Well, here it goes… One – I follow the Golden Rule of business – I treat my customers how I would like to be treated. I’ve got their back and try to keep as much money in their pocket if they are … More Five Things I am Good at…
Most buyers define the “fixer upper” as needing wall paint, flooring and possibly a bathroom or kitchen remodel. Unfortunately, that’s not really a fixer upper – that’s generally putting your mark on the house and making it comfortable for you. A real fixer upper is a home needing such things foundation work, electrical upgrades (possibly … More Buying a REAL fixer
Everyone is familiar with the old saying “A bird in the and is worth two in the bush”. To most modern people, this is saying is an odd anachronism about birds??? How does this pertain to real estate? Simply put, a straight -forward offer to buy or sell real estate is much more valuable than … More “Bird in the hand” philosophy
It’s simple: When you hire a Realtor (sign a listing agreement) and they are a member of the multiple listing service (MLS) they will be cooperating with other brokers and those folks will be showing your home as well as brokers in your agent’s home. Well, how does that work? When your agent is discussing … More Whose Been Showing My House?
Sellers often think their home is worth much more than the current market value. Those thoughts are sometimes based on what they feel they need to get out of the property or anecdotal evidence they see of what the neighbor’s house sold for. A good real estate broker uses a similar method for determining the … More Price is SOOOO important!
Most folks who are not in the real estate business who have bought or sold a home have had the experience of going to a title company and signing paperwork. The definition of the terms Title and Escrow may not have been clear as the transaction was going forward, but these are very important in … More What is the difference between Title and Escrow?
Olympia Real Estate Blog 