Financing an Investment Property May 12, 2008
Obtaining a mortgage for a non-owner occupied propery is much different than buying one you will reside in. For starters, qualifying is tougher and mortgage interest rates are higher as it’s a riskier transaction for the lender. Here are some quick tips to help get you started if you’re considering buying an investment property.
Plan on using [...]
From ‘A&E’s Flip This House’ to You! September 29, 2007
Have you been watching the current real estate market and wondering how to find the pot of gold in it? Fix and Flip guru Than Merrill from A&E’s Flip this House will show you how right here in Seattle on October 11. Than, like many other saavy investors, is building his business taking advantage of sellers in trouble. [...]
Don’t let your “gut check” go to waste… August 30, 2007
No, I’m not talking about a new abdominal workout but rather advocating that landlords be on top of things when choosing who to rent to. I bring up the topic to highlight that the majority of landlords don’t do this kind of research using instead a “gut check” to determine if someone is lease-worthy; [...]
Agent responsibilities and help for Limited English Proficiency clients… June 14, 2007
I’ve run into this before while running my daily business of real estate sales. A client comes to you and wants to buy a property, whether it is for investment or residential purposes. You learn during the process of interviewing each other that the client is from another country where English is not the major [...]
DRIP DRIP DRIP January 15, 2007
The snow is finally melting off the tree branches in my yard today. One foot of snow fell last Wednesday afternoon turning my normal 45 min commute to Issaquah into 4 hours. I’m really impressed with how well the agents are doing maneuver on these slick streets. I had a showing Friday night, Saturday and Sunday on one listing, [...]
Cocktail Party Primer October 13, 2006
I’d like to open this thread up to a conversation on the health of the Seattle market…
but there is a catch. I will not allow it to dissolve into a conversation about racism, liberals, RCG, or faith. If you’d like to have a reasonable intellectual conversation, you are more than welcome to participate. If [...]
The Wisdom of Crowds October 7, 2006
At a client conference in my last job, one of the keynote speakers was writer James Surowiecki, author of the book The Wisdom of Crowds. Pulling notes from his book, he made a compelling case that large groups of people are smarter than an elite few, no matter how brilliant; better at fostering innovation, [...]
Moving Forward… September 13, 2006
I’ve been a little busy lately, so I haven’t had a lot of time to give an update on some of my favorite conversations around the web… Nonetheless, I’m back for an abrivated version (i.e. only 9 articles instead of the usual 10)…
Beau turned me on to a great article by Jay regarding the 30-year [...]
Would you lie for God? August 29, 2006
Yesterday’s theme was PreFab, today I’m back to simply providing links to 10 interesting real estate conversations…
Prosper is an online marketplace for people to lend money to other people. Shaun has been playing with Prosper and has some interesting observations.
I don’t agree with Mark’s conclusions, but I think he makes an interesting case [...]
How much for the bathroom? August 25, 2006
Frances Flynn Thorsen is raising 100K with the Web Women Giving Circle for CARE — a humanitarian organization that works with women to fight global poverty.
There is no good follow up item because everything else is void of the meaning in comparison. I recommend (1) following the links in the first point, (2) donate some [...]
