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Liz Talley at Ballard Windermere

Tuesday, August 31, 2010
By David Losh

Some really great Real Estate agents kind of fly under the radar. Jim Pettigrew at RE Max is one who quietly does his work, but is one of the best resources you could ever have working for you. I’m making a distinction here because Jim did have bill boards of himself early on in his career.

Liz Talley did her job well, and built a reputation as a top Real Estate professional. Some how she skipped over the big arm motions many Real Estate sales people go through to get noticed. I’ll even say that since the 1980s some time, she has always been a top producer, a force to be envied in Real Estate circles.

Ballard, at that time, was an older population who lived in small houses kind of squished together. It was a heavily Scandinavian neighborhood. Fishing was a way of life until the 1960s. The point I’m making is that it was a hard neighborhood to tackle. Being a kid in the business didn’t help. What it took was being really, really good at finding property, knowing property, and being extremely honest.

Honesty is what sets Liz Talley apart from other Real Estate sales people. It’s a simple statement of fact that answering questions, and being knowledgeable alludes some people in the Real Estate business. When you ask Liz a question she gives you an honest answer, simple straight forward, just the facts. She stays focused on the facts, and presents in a coherent manner. It built trust in one of the most hard headed communities you could work.

Referral was how you met Liz, and at the time, not too many people could figure out the attraction. Like I said, it’s different than the standard sales pitch approach.  

More about Liz: http://www.liztalley.com/about.html

Wallingford!

Thursday, August 26, 2010
By David Losh

Seattle has exceptional neighborhoods with community retail. Wallingford is the top of the list for many Seattlites. It has views of down town with a grand sweeping south west exposure. It is close to Green Lake, another neighborhood with community retail, and is across the freeway from the University of Washington. Actually if you go up over the hill past Phinney Ridge, you get to Ballard. A little to the West is also Fremont.

What surprised me this week, in a walking tour of businesses, was a distinct mention of a lack of business. When I went back in the evening, on this summer day, there was a lot of foot traffic.

There is a new map of Wallingford that you can get at the shop Not a Number at 1905 North 45th, it’s quirky, more political, a little more grown up than Archy McPhees. Come to think of it Archy McPhees would be a great topic for another time.

One of the purposes of this blog is to point out places of interest, and Wallingford is one of those places where you can spend the day, an evening out, or use as a mall alternative. There are thirty places of business within a three block strip. I’m just going to mention one bar that is a place you have seen a million times, and probably never been in, which is Babalu’s. Wednesday is Salsa night, and if you want the experience of true Miami, this is the place. They have live music on the week ends, and it’s a bar’s bar. It’s right across the street from the newly remodeled QFC.

There is every kind of food, the movie theater, taverns, tea shops, coffee, and that travel book. It’s worth the trip, because it’s so central.

John L Scott, Cutting Edge, Again

Saturday, August 21, 2010
By David Losh

It’s hard to explain the Real Estate Industry to any one. I compared it to a circus a few weeks ago, in another blog. The world of Real Estate is a set of very small communities, spread out, around the world. There is fun, excitement, fear, and despair. It’s a high risk gamble that you need expert advice for. The problem is getting that advice, because there are so very few people who make it in the industry.

One of the most vocal people, who we call a booster, is Lennox Scott. Without Lennox, and his input, I don’t know where we would be. Lennox made the search for real time properties, online, a reality that is copied, yet never improved on.

When there was a down turn in the economy, while other Brokerages were putting on a brave face, John L Scott changed, quietly, with a “mobile” office, business model.

There was more to this article that I will wait for confirmation on. Fee structure is getting to be a hot item with Real Estate Brokerages.

You should have a Business Plan

Friday, August 20, 2010
By David Losh

The family home is your biggest asset. You should have a plan that includes a detailed budget for what you are going to do with the home. An investor would crunch numbers before buying a property and you should too.

There is no reason you can’t have a good property. It should be a consideration that you have good schools, enough space, and a good lot, but you also have to consider the cost of upkeep. I know that in the past ten years people stopped considering trading up, but that should be an option today with a few tips on how to do that. Number one is to buy what you can more than afford.

I’m getting to be a broken record about paying off a property, but it is the best way to build equity. Even if a property goes down in value, or price, you can more than make up for that by paying the property off. You save on the compounded interest payments by compressing the Note. Over on www.FixerFixer.com we talk about some home improvement projects, and also how to buy property as an Investment.

For here, our purpose would be to get you to be a ready, willing, and able buyer. You should know that Real Estate is the dirt, the lot, a property sits on, you should buy the best location you can afford, at that time. The structure should be sound with only what you, yourself, can afford to fix. Make big plans if you are capable, but remember that also takes money.

My next post will be about trading up, because most savvy home owners have done that. It’s a hassle, but it keeps the price for you affordable, while you build personal wealth.

Some Properties are Worth Owning

Tuesday, August 10, 2010
By David Losh

http://www.johnlscott.com/propertydetail.aspx?IS=1&ListingID=300652533

This is a link to an important property in Seattle. It is the furthest South West exposure property on Queen Anne Hill. There is an article here, on this blog, about the importance of light in Seattle. This estate has all of the light you could wish for.

It is also situated as an estate by the way it commands the street, and surrounding property. It’s a land mark of elegance, distinct in it’s lines, and interior features. From what people tell me it is a fairly easy project to return to it’s former grace. The exterior is preserved by what appears to be vinyl siding which can actually be an attribute.

You can see the portico still has it’s grandeur with an abbreviated driveway that could be finished to make the entrance much more appealing. The rooms are good sized, and there is an unfinished attic with some low ceilings that could be finished out or kept as a children’s play area.

It sounds like a lot of work, and at $1.5 million dollars it may be more than a young couple want to do. The fact is that it is a part of history. It’s a part of the history that is Seattle, and it is livable, as is, where is. It’s a property worth owning, and when you are done living in it, it’s worth passing on.

Changes in Finance

Saturday, August 7, 2010
By David Losh

The idea of this blog was to be a resource for buyers. This first week of August gave us a lot of information about the effect the tax credit had on the housing market. Many claim that the housing market has stabilized. That may be true, but the second half of that is how to finance your home purchase.

You may have noticed all the sold signs around your neighborhood, or other neighborhoods. Properties are selling while the financing is becoming harder to get. The problem is no one wants to be stuck with the loan. Loan Originators want loans that they can sell and the secondary market is a mess.

Fannie Mae was charged with buying loans, and FHA became a primary funding source. Two things happened recently that will change that. Number one is the claim Fannie Mae is broke. The second thing is that the Wall Street Reform Bill made derivatives a more open target. William Buffet is now in the news as taking losses on his derivative portfolio, by last report 40%.

In Real Estate bad news is good news, and good news is bad news. What this means, in my opinion, is that investor groups may take up mortgages as secured investments.

Banks now control a lot of housing inventory. By default, many mortgages are reverting back to banks. What this does is bring property pricing back in line with value. Banks can make profit in a lot of ways. Derivatives were an insurance against losses, well, we had some losses. The pool of funds seems to me to be inexhaustible. There are trillions of derivative dollars in the pool.

OK, longer story short, I still think in the next three months that the Real Estate market will settle in to be financed, be more affordable, and have a chance for some future appreciation of the right properties.

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