Buying a Home

A client of ours was recently home shopping. One home that she liked was offering a free Home Warranty paid for by the listing agent. Our client’s comment was “If I offer on this home, I won’t need to pay for a home inspection.” Let’s take a look at how home warranties work, and what …  Read More 

In a very hot real estate market, competition and bidding wars are prevalent on most homes. That is what we are experiencing in Seattle at the moment. When a real estate market gets very hot, buyers will need to place offers without inspection contingencies to win. A seller will strongly prefer offers that are not …  Read More 

You are eyeing a home that you want to make an offer on, but you need a little more time. Maybe you want to see it once more, discuss it more with your spouse or get the opinions of friends and family before proceeding. If you ask your agent to be informed by the seller’s agent …  Read More 

Frustrated by the low inventory of homes for sale? Tired of getting outbid by other buyers? Should you just find some land and build your own home? For the vast majority of home buyers, this is not the solution. Building a home requires a lot of time If you haven’t built a home before, you …  Read More 

I’ve written recently about how difficult it can be to win a bidding war as a home buyer. I’ve also voiced strong support for using a local mortgage lender to help with the process. What many home buyers don’t realize is that picking the right mortgage lender can help you to win a heated bidding …  Read More 

The past couple years have meant lots of aggressive bidding wars for home buyers in Seattle. Bidding wars are nerve-racking, and it is easy to be disappointed or discouraged when you lose, particularly if the final price was the same or very similar to what you were willing to pay. Having watched hundreds of bidding wars …  Read More 

We’ve received thousands of inquiries from potential home buyers over the years. By far, one of the most common things we hear is “I want to get a great deal, so send me homes that are fill in the blank.” The “fill in the blank” part is stuff like under market value, foreclosures, short sales, …  Read More 

If your home was built prior to 1978, there is a chance that lead-based paint was used on the interior and exterior surfaces. You may have some questions about what this means – for instance “How do I know if my home contains lead-based paint? or “What do I do if my home does contain …  Read More 

This year has been a competitive one for many home buyers in Seattle. One out of five homes in Seattle and the Eastside has been bought with cash this year. Many buyers face competing bids and often folks will lose to the seemingly unbeatable “cash offer”, sometimes on multiple occasions. Losing multiple times to cash …  Read More 

When shopping for condominiums, you may come across some units that are a cooperative (co-op), not a condominium. Buying a co-op is quite different from buying a condo. Let’s take a look at some of the differences.  Read More 

If you are buying a condominium, chances are that you will receive a copy of the condo reserve study. (Most condos in the State of Washington are required to have one.) To someone who isn’t currently living in the building or familiar with the condo, such a report can be confusing. Let’s take a look …  Read More