The average homeowner is now older, and older owners face distinctive questions, like how long to hold onto their real estate! Some envision moving one day to a single-level home or apartment, a retirement community, or even assisted living. Many begin paring down belongings years in advance and making repairs that might help the house sell more easily. Others would prefer... Read More »
REAL ESTATE MARKET UPDATE Revised March 13, 2024 At the end of February there were 969 homes on the market in Pierce county representing a 1.6 month supply. There was a nearly equal number of pending sales. Both of those facts point to a seller’s market as we head into the 2024 season. Mortgage rates are stubbornly high... Read More »
Spring is nearly here… a time of rebirth… a time when Realtors remind you to set your clocks ahead and offer generic home maintenance tips beneath a cheery stock photo. Here’s something gleaned from a real life experience… It had been more than a decade since I last bought a lawn-mower. Times have changed! The store was stocked with electric... Read More »
Some Tacoma buyers recently found a house they loved and got it under contract subject to inspection. The inspector said it was a creampuff (a 100 year old creampuff) but he later emailed a list of scary-sounding findings in his report. The foundation showed signs of settling, the roof was nearing the end of its useful life, etc. There were... Read More »
ADUs On May 1 the City of Tacoma began allowing detached accessory dwelling units (ADUs) on residential properties. These are also known as in-law apartments and granny flats. The purpose is to address housing choice and affordability. Should you build one? The short answer is that it depends on your intended use. Portland Already Allows ADUs An agent friend in... Read More »
Online Home Valuations There is temptation to think the future has arrived; that we are in a new and glorious age where computers can think for us; a world in which an algorithm can pinpoint your one true soulmate out of a crowd of singles. But there is much computers simply cannot do, such as account for hyperbole and fabrication... Read More »
The Future has the Best Realtors Here’s Why The Days Of Pushy Real Estate Agents Are Numbered Stereotypical pushy real estate agents give the profession a bad name. Agents often get portrayed in fiction as slick, schlocky or manipulative. Buyers and sellers are leery about running into this type of character at open houses or when calling prospective agents... Read More »
Spying on Buyers We have occasionally plotted out offers with our buyers while still inside the home. Seated comfortably at the seller’s kitchen table, those conversations likely included sensitive information like how much our client was willing to pay. It was fine – the sellers were not listening. And speaking of sellers not listening, buyers sometimes critique a seller’s... Read More »
Why should you be negotiating toward win-win? I was recently quoted in an article on negotiating entitled Top 15 Real Estate Negotiation Strategies from the Pros. I enjoyed seeing the ideas from other contributors. For starters, I think it is important that the term “win-win” jumps out a lot from this set of ideas. Why is that a big deal?... Read More »
Show Me The Money! Cash offers… Some people just don’t understand what makes cash attractive to home sellers. Consider these stories. A man recently made a verbal cash offer on one of our Tacoma home listings. He didn’t merely want to close the sale with cash; this guy wanted to bring the seller a suitcase full of money in person... Read More »
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