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Skinny Houses a Good Downsizing Solution
Downsizers have been discovering that Seattle’s skinny houses are perfect for simplifying their lifestyles. They are also finding them to be much more livable than townhouses. Here’s why: Skinny houses are generally 1200 to 1600 sf, which are smaller than detached houses, but larger than most townhouses. Most skinny houses in Seattle are 2 levels instead of 3, and have more area per floor.... [Read more]
SilverPlanet.com article on Senior Real Estate Specialists
SilverPlanet.com is a website with useful information on aging, housing, finance, health and lifestyles. I spent a few minutes looking at it and found many interesting articles. You can also take a look at their Facebook page. Here is an article introducing Senior Real Estate Specialists and how they do business differently than traditional Realtors. The most important distinction is that we look... [Read more]
Forest Villa Condominium in Shoreline WA
Forest Villa Condominium in Shoreline WA is a large community with a mix of flats and townhouses, conveniently located near shopping at Central Market, and close to Shoreline Community College and the Interurban Trail. Read More →
Seattle Public Schools Announce new Boundaries
Seattle Public Schools are returning to neighborhood school assignments. This vastly simplifies the process of planning a house search around a particular school. Here is a link to Seattle Public Schools student assignment boundary maps for elemenatry, middle, and high schools. Read More →
Boomers are buying homes to retire in
Most of the news we have seen is about how the echo-boomers are saving the housing market by buying their first home. Now we are seeing a trend of boomers buying their next home now, and taking advantage of lower prices, (especially in resort areas) and dirt-cheap interest rates. The strategies have changed, as the above article reports. In the anything-goes market of a few years ago, it was nothing... [Read more]
Forest Hills Condo Shoreline WA
Forest Hills is one of those well-maintained well-built 1970s condos that is still very attractive, especially at today’s lower prices! It has 100 one and two bedroom units in several buildings that wind down a slope. There are fantastic Cascade mountain, Lake Washington, and territorial views looking over the treetops of Lake Forest Park. Some units are townhouses, but most are flats. Many... [Read more]
Reverse Mortgage Rules Changed for the Better
With the difficult economic times, many more borrowers are taking advantage of Reverse Mortgages. With recent changes, reverse mortgages can now be used to buy a new house, not just to take equity out of an existing one. Also, the loan limit has temporarily been raised to $625,000 as part of the stimulus package. Here is an article that explains it. Washington Post Reverse Mortgages Come to the Rescue By... [Read more]
New Bridge Loan Available
With the market heating up again for those good properties that are priced right. If you want one of those, making an offer contingent on your present house selling probably won’t get you the house you want. The good news is that the bridge loan is back! If you have high equity in your present home, this new product cross-collateralizes both properties, or finances both of them in one loan. This... [Read more]
Staging, Inspection, and Pricing Essentail for Sellers
I just finished two days in the classroom for the Seller Representation Specialist course. It was a sobering review of current industry standards and new technology for getting houses sold in this market. It can be best summed up with the three P’s: Preparation, Presentation, and Pricing. Preparation In this market, buyers are taking two bites out of the apple: once when they negotiate the purchase... [Read more]
Downsize to Investment Property
Here’s one case where downsizing can mean buying a bigger property! As I mentioned in 10 Ways to Downsize, owning and living in a small investment property is a strategy for combining a smaller living space, and an investment that kicks off a good rate of return, plus annual depreciation to keep your accountant happy! It also involves a much more stable and tangible asset thats under your control,... [Read more]
Point Edwards
The last few days I have been working in Edmonds with some long-time clients. They are thinking that now may be the time to sell the big house and downsize. They will get less for their house than it was before, but they also realize there are some great deals on condos, and at great interest rates it makes sense to think about downsizing. Because they already live in Edmonds, moving downtown seems... [Read more]
Aging in Place
The idea of aging in place seems to be everywhere these days. We boomers like our trends, and aging is place is a popular one right now. Aging in place refers to staying in our homes as we age, instead of moving to a retirement home or complex, and later avoiding the assisted living and skilled nursing nightmares some of us have seen our parents go through. Partially due to the economic crisis which... [Read more]
Downtown Edmonds
Downtown Edmonds is one of those places that has attracted downsizers for years. Many only visit downtown Edmonds to use the ferry dock on their way to the Kitsap or Olympic Peninsulas. Those who stick around soon discover the waterfront with its marina, park and fine restaurants where you can enjoy a leisurely meal and soak in the view. The Edmonds Waterfront Festival and the Edmonds Arts Festival... [Read more]
Downtown Bellevue….The Vue
Classy Waterfront Living at a Bargain Price! Recently I previewed The Vue, a conversion condo in the Meydenbauer Bay are of Downtown Bellevue. I really don’t know what’s not to like about this project. It’s located ON the bay, with many units having unobstructed views, AND its a block away from the shops on Main Street, and a couple more blocks from the downtown park and Bellevue... [Read more]
Jackson Place Co-Housing Visit
Co-housing is both a way of living and a kind of housing. Co-housing is preferred by people who prefer to be part of a community with a high degree of interaction, interdependence, and cooperation. For many, their co-housing community is like an extended family. In cohousing, all members are expected to work together in managing the community and maintaining the common areas. Participation in community... [Read more]
