Fremont Oktoberfest this weekend… September 22, 2005
Fremont gives us another wonderful opportunity to celebrate the autumn, hear live music, have a glass of good beer, make some crafts and much more at the Fremont Oktoberfest September 23-25th
Autumn gets ushered in with the Fremont Oktoberfest. Historically, in old Germany, the brewing season began with the fall harvest of barley and hops and any beer left at harvest time had to be consumed before the new beer arrived. September was designated as the time to drink-up all of last season’s beer. It officially became Oktoberfest in 1810, when Ludwig I, the Crown Prince of Bavaria declared a 16-day celebration in commemoration of his wedding.
Inbox: What’s the best neighborhood for same-sex couples with children? September 20, 2005
Continuing on the theme of opening up some of the questions I get via email to my readers, I’ve listed another question and my response below. I’m definitely interested in hearing from anyone in the community who feels they can add something to my response.
Question: My partner and I are thinking of moving to Seattle. We both have professional jobs and would like to be somewhere with good schools for our two children. What neighborhoods do you recommend for families where both parents are the same-sex?
Answer: I’m of the option that just about any neighborhood in Seattle would be very welcoming of you and your partner. I’m aware of only a few gay parents in my neighborhood, but I would not be surprised to learn that there were many more who just blend in with all the other families.
In terms of schools, I would recommend checking out the school guide that is put out by the Seattle Times. Seattle has some really great schools and some schools that probably won’t meet your expectations. While high test scores probably shouldn’t be the only way a school is judged, knowing this information can help weed out the schools that you would find unacceptable.
In addition to finding an appropriate school, a very relevant question is how much you are willing to spend on a house. A starter home in most neighborhoods in the City start at around 350k-400k. If this seems reasonable to you, then you should have no problem finding an appropriate home in a wonderful neighborhood.
Do you have a better answer for this question? Are there any neighborhoods that this family should definitely be considering? Are there some special resources that might make the transition easier for this family should they move to Seattle? Please share your knowledge in the comments section!
Inbox: Where to Live Within Biking Distance of UW?
I had someone email me the other day with an interesting question, and I thought I would share my response… and then see if anyone in the community could improve upon it.
Question: I’m moving to Seattle and interested in finding a neighborhood where I can bike to my work at the University of Washington (UW). Where should I be looking?
My Answer: There are a bunch of great places to live in North Seattle that are within biking distance to the UW. I would stay away from the south part of Seattle because there are not a lot of good north-south bike route through the downtown… (too many hills and not enough dedicated bike lanes).
Seeing as how I live in North Seattle and I bike a lot, I end up referencing the bike map put out by the City of Seattle quite often. Here is a direct link to the bike map of North Seattle (*.pdf), but note that this is a large file (1.5 MB). If you download the map, you’ll notice that the Burke-Gilman trail (a solid red line) goes through the UW campus. The Burke-Gilman is a wonderful commuting trail and has been recently expanded to the north-west all the way to the Golden Gardens Park. If you can find a place to live within a short ride to the Burke-Gilman, then you will have an easy ride to work!
By the way, if you follow this link, you can order a free hard-copy of the bike map: http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/transportation/bikemapform.htm
Do you have a better answer for this question? Are there any neighborhoods that are particularly attractive for bicyclists? Please share your knowledge in the comments section!
It’s getting more expensive to borrow money September 19, 2005
The federal reserve has been raising interest rates for more than a year and that means that it is getting more expensive for homeowners to raise money by borrowing against their equity. For example, the prime rate is now at 6.5%, while it was only at 4% at the beginning of 2004. However, with the substantial increase in the value of nearly all homes during the past few years, home owners are still finding it convenient to refinance their mortgages and withdraw cash.
The Seattle Times had an article today about how this “cash-out” refinancing will have the largest influence on first-time home buyers, who used home-equity lines for “piggyback loans”: “Unable to foot a 10 percent or 20 percent down payment, many bought homes with little or no money down by taking a first-lien mortgage and one or two home-equity lines, according to Mary Boudreau, owner of Penfield Financial, a Fairfield, Conn., mortgage broker.”
The Federal Reserve and Mortgage Rates September 14, 2005
Consumers are often misled when it comes to the subject of the Federal Reserve and how it affects mortgage interest rates. Often the media is the culprit causing the confusion. In the last few years, the Fed has taken action that caused mortgage interest rates to move in a direction other than what consumers expected, because the media provided weak reporting on the subject.
The Federal Reserve affects short−term interest rate maturities, the Fed Funds rate, and the Overnight Lending rate. These factors have a direct impact on the Prime rate. If you took only this into consideration, you may mistakenly conclude that changes made by the Fed will cause a similar movement in mortgage interest rates. However, mortgage interest rates are dictated by the trading of mortgage−backed securities, which trade on a daily basis.
The real dynamic at the heart of interest rate movement is the relationship between stocks and bonds. Stocks and bonds compete for the same investment dollar on a daily basis. There is literally only so much money to be invested. When the Federal Reserve feels that interest rates need to be decreased in an effort to stimulate the economy, this reduction in rates can often cause a stock market rally. When the market becomes bullish, the money to invest in stocks comes from the selling of mortgage−backed securities. Unfortunately, selling mortgage−backed securities to fuel stock market rallies causes interest rates to go up, not down.
Historically, there have been many times when the Federal Reserve has increased interest rates. Stocks then sell off in fear that the increase will affect corporate profit margins, and the liquidated stock assets need a place to park until the next rally comes along. The safe haven is found in mortgage−backed securities which cause mortgage rates to drop. The daily ebb and flow of money is what matters most when it comes to the movement of mortgage interest rates. I make it a point to continuously monitor interest rates for my clients, and advise them of opportunities to manage their mortgage debt at a better rate. This is the foundation of my business model as a Trusted Advisor.
Home buying tips
When I begin with a new client, I often work out a “road map” so that we can clarify a list of priorities. Along those lines, it is often important to layout a time-frame. I’ve worked with buyers who want to move into a new home in weeks and buyers who are planning ahead for months… Being realistic about when you can move into a place helps insure that everyone’s expectations are met! Also, keep in mind that it may take 30-90 days (or more) to locate the right home, secure financing, and complete the home-buying process.
Are you interested in more information? I’ve put together a Home Buying Packet (*.pdf) that lists a bunch of good information about the home buying process with sections on:
- The Home-Buying Process
- Home Search Criteria
- Loan Application Checklist
- Making an Offer
- Contract Checklist
- Home Inspection
- Glossary of Real Estate Terms
- and many more!
In filling out the form in the Home Search Criteria section it is important to distinguish between the “Need to Have” features and “Nice to have” features. Be as specific as possible. For example, include architectural style, number of bedrooms and baths, location, lot size, and other special requirements and consider ranking your preferences.
The Seattle Times recently listed a few more things to consider in your search for a new home:
Neighborhood: Location, of course, is essential. For resale value, the worst house in the best neighborhood is far better than the best house in the worst neighborhood. Also, parents are willing to pay a steep premium — often including higher local taxes — for a house in a school system that has an excellent reputation and an outstanding record of college placement.
Style and landscape: Does the home appear to be a place you would like to return to after a long day at work? It should be a welcoming sight and a place to seek rejuvenation.
Floor plan: The layout of the home will affect the way people interact in it. For example, if you enjoy entertaining, an open plan or contemporary home may be best for you. If privacy is what you seek, a more traditional home design is probably what you want.
Appealing details: Custom-made items that will be left behind when the owners move make a home more valuable. For example, built-in window treatments or special appliances add great value. Also architectural elements such as handcrafted wood moldings, tall ceilings and large windows with breathtaking views are in high demand.
Basic improvements: An updated kitchen, extra bathroom or other basic improvements usually appeal to buyers. But not everyone wants to buy a home with extras that need costly upkeep, such as a pool or spa.
Other factors: A home in an economically growing area with new jobs is likely to increase in value — particularly if those jobs are in thriving industries such as health care and technology. A home in an economically depressed area tends to decrease in value — particularly if its jobs tend to be in declining lines of work such as manufacturing.
And, of course , if you have any questions or are looking for some help in the Seattle area, I would be happy to help!
Seattle’s hot summer… September 13, 2005
This proved to be another hot summer in Seattle as the median home price rose over 15 percent during the past year. However, the hottest local market was the Eastside where the median sale price rose over 23 percent.
On one side, I’ve talked with a few sellers who are hesitant to sell for the reason of not knowing what will they be able to afford after that sale. And on the other, I’ve noticed a large influx of people relocating to Seattle for technology-related jobs, but maybe I’m just more aware of this subset of people now that I’m running a blog.
Skyping for Real Estate
The New York Times reports that EBay bought Skype for $2.6 billion yesterday.
Are you familiar with Skype? It is a great service that I’ve been using extensively in the last few months to talk with people all over the world (and in particular my family in Russia!). The sound quality is at least as good as a land-line and definitely better than a cell phone!. And the best part is that it is free to talk to another Skype user! If you are interested in skyping me, just send me an email and I’ll happily pass along my Skype name!
One of the ways that I think Skype could be useful would be in connecting me to people thinking of moving to Seattle. If you are interested in learning more about Seattle real estate, then definitely consider connecting with me via Skype!
I know I’m not the only one thinking of using Skype for business purposes. According to NY Times their revenue is expected to grow from an estimate of $60M this year to about $ 200M in 2006. E-Bay sees this communication technology making on-line trading easier “particularly with transactions involving real estate, big-ticket purchases and services that require detailed conversations.”
“I’m a big believer in focusing brands and businesses that are in very large markets,” Ms. Whitman said by phone from London. EBay is “absolutely not” interested in developing a portal, she said. “You can be sure we’re going to focus on e-commerce.”
In addition to the basic service, about two million Skype customers have signed up for a pay service that allows them to use their computers to make calls to regular phone numbers as well as receive calls from landlines and cell phones. To complete these calls, Skype pays phone companies small per-minute fees.
They also give an interesting statistics as that only 13 percent of Skype’s users are in North America; nearly half are in Europe and another quarter are in Asia.
Some industry specialists said eBay’s purchase of Skype was a sign that voice calls would increasingly become one of many services that Internet companies would provide, rather than a stand-alone business.
“This turns the entire telecom industry picture on its head, and demonstrates that voice, presence, text messaging and other I.P.-based applications will be essential for the company of the future,” said Jeff Pulver, the chairman of pulvermedia, which promotes Internet-based phone services.
Katrina Donations Drop-off in Ballard… September 12, 2005
Diane and Stephen of the Sip and Ship store/cafe in Ballard are organizing a donation drive for Katrina Victims and have offered to ship all appropriate donated items for free through the end of September.
What constitutes an appropriate item was not immediately appearent to me, so I emailed them to find out. Here is the response directly from the source:
We are looking for toiletries, diapers/wipes, baby formula, bottles, baby cereal/food, flashlights, batteries, and first aid kits.
Thank you for your support.
Kind regards,
Diana
Thank you Diana and Stephen for making it particularily easy for people to donate items.
If you don’t have any of these items, you can always donate money directly to the Red Cross.
Minorities paying more for loans in Seattle?
The Seattle Times analyzed loan applications for single-family, owner-occupied homes in 2004 from 25 of the nation’s largest lenders and concluded that minorities are paying more for loans in Seattle. The numbers show that black people in Seattle are more than four times likely to carry a high-rate mortgage than white people (13.2% vs 3.1%). However, the data also shows that black people in the rest of the country are even worse off as they are more than twice as likely to carry a high-rate mortgage than in Seattle (26.6% vs. 13.2%).
Also interesting is that the rates are not due to income differences as “low-income whites are far less likely than high-income blacks to wind up with high-interest mortgages (3.9 percent vs. 11.3 percent).” In looking for answers to why, the times speculates that differences “may be due to a variety of factors, ranging from the financial savvy of loan customers with differing backgrounds, to which lenders operate in which parts of town.”
I’m pretty sure that everyone reading this blog is aware that it is illegal for lenders to discriminate based on race and/or to discriminate against a neighborhood known as “redlining”. And I’m positive that all lenders are aware that this is illegal, so it makes me think that the difference must have something to do with the financial savvy of the loan customers.
What is the solution to this problem? It seems like educating the consumers of high-rate loans. Along those lines, here are some helpful links and organizations that I’m aware of:
- Fair Loans, Fair Housing (*.pdf) by the City of Seattle that provides some advice on avoiding predatory loans.
- Community Home Ownership Center (CHOC) (206-587-5641) CHOC provides seminars for first-time home buyers with links to statewide seminars, and also provides training for real estate agents.
- El Centro de la Raza (206-329-7960) El Centro provides home buyer education classes in English and Spanish.
- HomeSight (206-723-4355) HomeSight provides purchase assistance and other financial and educational information to home buyers (in Seattle, South King County and Snohomish County).
- International District Housing Alliance (206-623-0122) Provides home buyer education and housing counseling in Vietnamese, Cambodian, Tagalog and several Chinese dialects including Cantonese, Mandarin and Taiwanese.
- Urban League of Metropolitan Seattle (206-461-3792) Provides one-on-one counseling and monthly home buyers seminars.
If anyone is aware of any other local programs, I’d definitely be interested in hearing about them. In particular, I’d be interested in hearing about mortgage brokers that are working to educate minorities.
Thanks to Todd at Lendorama for highlighting the Seattle Times article.
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