As the rest of the country flounders, Seattle is still at the top of the list of best places to live… and moving up:

http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2007/09/10/daily13.html

Seattle is the No. 3 city in the country where people want to live, according to a recent poll, moving up one notch from last year.

According to a new Harris Poll, New York City retained its No. 1 ranking and San Diego moved up from No. 4 last year to No. 2. Seattle overtook San Francisco, which fell to No. 4. Las Vegas retained its No. 5 ranking in the poll.

I tend to have similar conversations with buyers over and over. From, “do you have a mortgage agent?” to “how many bedrooms and bathrooms are you looking for?” the questions are always the same while the answers are totally unique. One buyer is looking for a condo while the next is looking for a barn. So here’s my best shot at introducing you, the buyer, to the buying process.

1. Talk to a mortgage agent and choose a good banker or broker. It can be your local banker, it can be a mortgage broker who shops many banks, but this person is really really really important. Make sure they know what they are doing and answer your questions thoroughly. This advice is true regardless of the market, and is even more important when the banking industry is riding a roller coaster.

2. Get pre-approved by the lender of your choice. Notice this is step two. Step one is choosing the right financing agent.

3. Put together your “list”. What are you looking for? How many baths, beds? Do you want an acre of land, or a condo in Belltown? Do you absolutely have to have a Victorian on Queen Anne or a 1950s Rambler in Lake Forrest Park? Only you know what is on this list. Your real estate agent is going to need to memorize it.

4. Choose a real estate agent. Meet a few agents. Shop around. But don’t play games with agents. Hire a buyer’s agent and make sure that agent knows that you are working exclusively with him or her. Interview a few, hire one. Most agents run around chasing listings, however, a great buyer’s agent will only work with you if the arrangement is clear. You won’t know it as their client, but a great buyer’s agent spends a lot of time sorting through “leads” or potential clients. As a potential client, you will likely be placed into one of two categories in a real estate agents mind: “buyer” or “looker”. If you are serious about buying real estate, a great buyer’s agent is essential. But most of the great agents out there have a lot of potential clients. If you want an agent to work hard for you, you will have to make it clear to the agent that you are working with them and only them. Some agents will ask you directly to sign buyer’s agency agreements, some will verbally make the arrangement clear. But any seasoned agent will be very upfront about the buyer’s agency arrangement. Make yourself a “buyer” in your agents eyes, and every agent I know will work tirelessly to find you the right home.

5. Once you find a house, be realistic. Low-ball offers on new listings are simply not going to be productive. Serious buyers educate themselves, know what they are looking for, and know what it should cost when they find it. A professional agent will steer you clear of overpriced properties. But otherwise, don’t expect to pay a whole lot less than the asking price. Not it a strong market.

Ok, that’s a good start. Once you have your list of haves and wants I’ll probably have another 5 tips posted on my blog.

Lots of clients run into the same problems over and over again with their real estate agents. As an experienced agent I have found clients tend to fall into similar categories. From the “overly anxious to buy client” who falls in love with one property without comparison shopping, to perennial shopper who every agent must confront once in a while during their career, my clients are best served when they are educated as to the best ways to interact with me, the real estate agent. So to that end I’ve searched the web for the the best advice I could find. Here’s a few good places to start reading about the client and agent relationship.

Here’s a good intro article

This is a lengthy but good list discussion

And here’s a podcast on the subject of working with Real Estat Agents

If you are relocating to Seattle, here’s a few tips:

1. The Stranger and http://seattleweekly.com/are the two weekly papers that offer a lot of information for the Pacific Northwest newbie. The Seattle Times and the Seattle PI also offer a lot of information about the northwest.

2. Networking sites are a great way to make friends in Seattle. Tribe.net, Facebook.com, MySpace.com, and for the more professional types LinkedIn.com is a good resource as well. But for an insiders tip, I’d highly recommend Biznik and Seattle’s Green Drinks events as a perfect place to start if you want to jump right in with both feet.

3. If you don’t know about Craigslist’s free online newspaper classifieds. Well now you do…

The Seattle Area is still seeing gains, job growth, and is generally seen as a good bet over the longterm in everything I’ve read lately. While the rest of the country’s real estate downturn makes headlines, the northwest remains a bright spot. From Ballard’s Condo boom, to areas as far away as Port Orchard or Lake Stevens, there’s lots of buyers and sellers in today’s market.

Here’s another article on the Western Washington, and the Pacific Northwest regional real estate market.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070817/BUSINESS/208170316/-1/Home

Sleepy towns like Salem, Ore.; Wenatchee, Wash.; and Provo-Orem, Utah, may lack glamour, but they are among the few places in the country where housing prices are growing at double-digit rates, according to a recent federal study.

Experts say population growth and job growth are one reason. Local factors – like proximity to ski slopes, mountain bike trails or nearby cities – are also helping some Western markets escape one of the nation’s worst housing downturns in years. And most of these small to mid-size cities weren’t a part of the original housing boom and speculation that followed, so many of them are still playing catch-up.

While most of the country is seeing downward pressure on real estate, the Northwest is still moving up in prices. The local radio station KPLU has a good show in MP3 format up explaining the situation:

http://publicbroadcasting.net/kplu/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1123640§ionID=1

The northwest is a bright spot in an otherwise faltering national housing market. When stocks took a dive last week, many analysts blamed it on mortgage woes and dramatically falling home prices around the country.
Yet housing prices in the greater Seattle area continue to rise.
As KPLU business and labor reporter Bellamy Pailthorp explains, the northwest economy is often out of synch with national trends.

So to the many buyers looking to jump into a buyers’ market, don’t expect to low-ball Seattle area homeowners, unless they are asking way too much for their homes. The reality is different here in the Northwest. That’s not to say that it’s not easier to buy a home in the area than it was last year, it is. But it’s still not easy.

Well, I bought a duplex in Bremerton. And with a little cosmetic work, I’ve managed to get one unit rented, and am now fixing up the second unit upstairs.

Lots of people talk about investing in Real Estate. But most never follow the dream. I’m always telling my friends how I pay less then they do in rent to own my own properties around the greater Seattle area. Yet most of them never get the picture. Home ownership is about building wealth. It’s not complicated, and as long as you do your homework, or hire a great agent, you can do just fine buying real estate.

Most people either figure they’ll get rich quick by flipping houses, quick fixes are rarely a good way to get rich though. My recommendation. Buy, fix-up, rent. Then use your equity to buy more rentals. Eventually you might find that the slow and steady method I’m describing will build you the wealth you desire, without all the stress and potential for loss of the “no money down” get rich quick schemes.

Being a landlord is not for everyone though. But if you have some drywall skills, and know a good plumber and electrician, real property is probably a better bet than Corporate Retirement Accounts.

I tend to learn the most as a real estate agent, when I become my own client. Which I did recently, by purchasing a duplex in Bremerton.

Will you know it when you see it?

Ok, so here’s a few things that I have observed over the years, they are both tried and true “rules of thumb” as well as my own words of wisdom.

1. Don’t fall in love with any one property.

Real Estate deals are all around. If you do your research, and find an undervalued or nicely priced property, it’s not the only deal around. If one house, condo, or other property gets away from you, go find another. Falling in love with a property usually leads to emotional decision making, emotional decision making is never a recommended strategy for striking a good deal on a purchase.

2. Don’t expect to buy your “dream home” as your “first home”.

The average person sells their first house in 5-7 years. Buy low sell high should be your motto, not “let’s go find our dream house”. As a first time buyer you probably will not be able to afford anything close to your dream house… especially around Seattle. Figure out your “must-have” features, figure out your price range, and then shop like crazy for the best deal. But the “best deal” is very unlikely to be your dream house.

3. Start interviewing professionals now who may help you later during or after your purchase.

Home Inspectors, Mortgage and Loan Officers, Architects, Real Estate Agents, there are literally dozens of people involved in most home purchases, a good relationship with this people is essential to making the purchase run smooth.

4. Location, Location, Location

What just went up in price might not be the next market that will pop. Location is not just about where you want to be, it’s also about where the market is going to go next. There’s not much to say other than to think long and hard about where you want to be, and where the market is going. No one can say for sure, but a good educated guess is better than shooting in the dark. I personally favor Everett for rentals and investment properties, because the rents are strong, the prices are lower than seattle, and the outlook for appreciated is good. And that’s just one example.

5. Condos, the good and the bad.

Condos can make huge gains in Seattle, and have outpaced on occasion stick built homes. However, the downside is the possibility of special assessments. Don’t know what a special assessment is? It’s the condo’s way of charging you to replace things like the siding or the roof. I’ve seen tragic problems with condos. But I’ve also seen people make 100k in a year in appreciation. Homework, homework, homework.

Summation:

So, I’ll keep updating this as possible. The fact is that many of my clients need the same advice time and time again… so I hope it helps strangers and friends alike in buying and selling property.