Backyard Cottage Design Challenge

Inspired by Seattle’s new backyard cottage ordinance, Method homes sponsored a design competition for backyard cottage designs that could be built as pre-fabs (to lower costs).

It drew a lot of entries from tiny to big, modern to craftsman, and all were pretty cool , take a look.

Now you can be just like the Kennedys and have your own family compound! Backyard cottages are fantastic solutions for extra living space or a studio, multigenerational housing for returning kids or parents. As years go by, you can even move the kids and their family into the main house, and you can stay in the smaller one out back. And they will have free babysitters!

or for rental income.

Cabins are selling in Washington

Three times in the last two years, I have received calls from clients who are wanting to buy a summer cabin or recreational land. Seems that prices for those have fallen too, and like everywhere else, some sellers are motivated. After showing a few, I realized that there are cabins all over the Puget Sound area.

I researched sales for the past year, and found that 124 cabins had sold in King, Island, Skagit, and San Juan counties only. They ranged from falling-down shacks to original cabins on Lake Washington waterfront property, from very nice traditional log cabins to modern pre-fab structures. Some were in the mountains, others on lakes or Puget Sound. Locations included rural areas, resort areas, and some were in small towns like Langley on Whidbey Island or Port Townsend.  The median sales price was $238,000.

Another option is to buy land  or a lot. There are now very nice prefab structures available that you can have put on your lot, for an almost-instant cabin.  I ran across Backyard Box in Seattle and IdeaBox from Portland in my research.

If you think a water or mountain getaway of your own at a great price may be just what you need, contact me. I enjoy working with rural properties as well as in-city. Tell me what or where you’re thinking of, and I can send you some listings.

Fantastic Mortgage Rates this Week!

I am getting inquiries about refinancing this week, with rates so low.

Here’s my advice on shopping for a mortgage:

1st, you want to be working with someone proven, that can get it done.
As you’ve probably heard, that can be tricky now days.
My two favorite brokers are
Mona Lisa Dickinson at Mortgage Advisory Group.  Her cell is 206-227-6662
Jon Wagher at Alpine Mortgage. His phone is 206-769-3738.

2nd, to compare, you want to know both what your interest rate and
payment will be, and what it will cost you in fees and closing costs.
It also helps if you know your credit score ahead of time as rates and
fees depend on that number. (You can try to get it free at
https://www.annualcreditreport.com. I have heard it works, but haven’t
used it myself)

3rd, Call all your prospects on the same day, so the rates are the
same. Know your mortgage balance, approx. value of your home, credit
score, and when you want to close. If they all have the same scenario,
you should be able to compare rates and fees.

Happy Shopping!

Greg

Downsizer’s Dream home in Desirable Snohomish, WA

Live near the historic town of Snohomish in this Downsizer’s Dream Rambler! First, it’s on a golf course! Second, it’s minutes away from town with the shopping that Snohomish is famous for. Third, its a freshly updated rambler with 2 master suites, vaulted ceilings, new windows, 3 car garage, even cat 5 wiring! All on a .44 ac lot for gardening bliss! It’s priced right at only $310,000. Buyer Representation available.

Click here for more info and photos View listings in Historic Snohomish, WA

Questions to ask a financial planner

I am noticing  more and more clients are wanting to work with financial planners to get the larger perspective on their financial condition and goals in light of our new economic conditions before they make any real estate decisions.  I think it is a great idea.

My wife and I have started working a couple of times with financial advisors, but found pretty quickly that they seemed to end up recommending vague insurance products as something we needed to have. When we researched the products, we found that they were mainly designed to provide good sales comissions, but not necessarily good results for the policy holders. Furthermore, the interest rates were pretty low, and the investments are not insured.

Another recommended a pile of  mutual funds that her company has. After she left, we compared all the fee-laden funds to simple index funds, and found that 8 of the 10 were outperformed by simple index funds! Now, with the recent Wall St fiascoes, we have been more reluctant to trust our savings to any financial firms at all!

So we have begun researching the idea of working with a fee-only financial planner. I would much rather pay a planner for their time and expertise and have them recommend products that are appropriate for me, not them. To select a planner, I would expect them to work like I do: ask a lot of questions, provide a lot of options,  stick with the process until we have a plan that makes sense, and provide monitoring along the way.

I came across this blog post that has questions to ask a financial planner, and found some of the questions pretty interesting.  Most of them relate to finding a planner who has similar values to mine, and one who practices what he or she preaches by doing personal investments in line with what they recommend for clients.

Does anyone else have any recommendations for planners, or how to find a good one?

China’s Real Estate Bubble

It is like deja-vu all over again! See this Yahoo article with accounts of buyers paying more and more, and maxing out their credit to buy as fast as they can before prices go out of reach. This is startling to read in light of what has happened here.  Unlike in the US, Chinese government has been raising interest rates, increasing bank deposit requirements, and increasing down payment requirements for investors to 40% in hopes of cooling things off.

200 W Highland Condos Auction Date Set

An auction date of August 6 has been set by Bank of America for 18 unsold luxury condos in the new  building on Queen Anne Hill across from Kerry Park at 200 W. Highland. Some very nice water view units are still available, and hopefully will be in the auction as well. 11 of the units  have previously been sold, but the developer Lorig of Seattle has been unable to sell the rest, according to Seattle Times article.

I have show in the building a few times and buyers have liked it. The units are all over 1500 sf, going up to 2800 sf.  Due to MLS restrictions, I can’t say any more in the blog, but can tell you more personally.

Many buyers assume that they cannot have their agents represent them in condo auctions, but this is not the truth. I have been to several, and they are a somewhat confusing but always exciting  and usually profitable way to buy! For more info, contact me or call 206-713-2921.

Sliding Walls and Sharp Design make this Super-Efficient Apartment.

Here’s a video of Gary Chang’s 330sf  ”Domestic Transformer”. This architect designed 24 combinations of luxury space in his unique Hong Kong apartment.

View video here

Live Large in this Wedgewood Home

Seattle Homes and Accessory MIL Apartments

Accessory units seem to be the theme of the week. I have buyers looking for them, looking at them, and figuring out how to create them. Also, more of my recent listings have had them.

As I show homes, more and more homes seem to have these extra separate living spaces.  Usually it is a finished basement that features a separate kitchen, bathroom, and entrance. Homes with basements seem to lend themselves very well to creating accessory units, although sometimes I see them as an addition onto a main level, or sometimes in a separate building in the lot, often a converted garage structure. (not all cities approve of converting garages to living space, check with your local building dept.)

Many of these units are built for extended family living, older parents come back home, or sometimes children, sometimes with families, moving back home. The separate living quarters allow extended families to live close, but keep some parts of their lives separate. For some people, when children grow up and move way, it is a way for the parents to remain in the home and resist the downsize move. Some rent to college students to keep youthful energy around the house.

Another reason so many have been built is to generate income in a house that is too big, or to pay a mortgage that has become otherwise unaffordable.  Later in life, having an extra unit in the house can allow homeowners to live independently for longer by utilizing the apartment for caregivers to live in.

Many apartments in homes are built illegally, in other words permits have not been taken out build them. I think its always a good idea to take out a permit to make sure the work is done safely and correctly, especially the electrical and plumbing.  As a Realtor,  I can say that homes with unpermitted work can be more difficult to resell at times. Most towns and cities allow accessory units either in or attached to an existing structure. Recently, the City of Seattle has been working on a project to allow more back yard accessory  units in the name of increasing density and affordability. Here is more info.

Here is a link to a nice USA TODAY Story on backyard cottages.

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