Well, it turns out I don’t have to do this. I was surprised to come to Keller Williams Marysville office today and see my picture on the wall. I won the HUD Homes award for the months of October! In addition to the picture on the wall, there was also a more tangible award in the form of a gift card. (Which I passed on to my wife to make this a happy occasion to the entire family :)

When I thought about it, I realized that most of the homes I sold this year were HUD homes! HUD homes sort of unintentionally became my real estate niche. I was just looking for the best deals for my buyers, and many good deals in Marysville area turned out to be HUD listings. I also have a suspicion that not all agents know how to sell HUD homes, so that may be eliminating some competition. As a result, my buyers were able to get good deals!

The process of selling HUD homes is quite different from other sales and there are some challenges, such as working with BLB, AMS or GBS. However, after a few transactions I learned how I can facilitate this process. As a matter of fact, my last 2 HUD transactions were closed early. A few days before the contract expiration!

Yes, of course, I’m using this reward as a shameless plug. If you’re looking to buy a home in Marysville area, contact me, and we’ll talk about how I can best help you. You could get a great deal on your new home and I’ll increase my chances to eventually get another (completely legitimate) award!

HUD owned home in excellent condition! This home needs nothing, just you and your furniture. Come take at this practically brand new 2010 built Split in a great location at the end of Grove street. with easy access to town but located on a deadend street you will enjoy privacy and sanctuary with a private green belt in your backyard.

Rambler on Green Belt Lot! Spacious floor plan features beautiful bay window in living room, cozy warm gas fireplace in living room & a bright cheerful kitchen! Eating area w/patio access~perfect for summer barbecues! Enjoy vaulted ceilings, rounded corners & plush carpet! Master bedroom w/walk-in closet & private full bath! Mud/utility room off the large garage! Large yard is perfect for entertaining! Make your dream of owning your own home a reality!

MLS info:

Wonderful 2 story 4 bedroom home is located in Eldorado Hills with a large deck – fully fenced back yard. Maple Pergo floor & cabinets in the kitchen. Upper floor has 4 bedrooms including a 5 piece bath off the master bedroom. HUD property sold AS-IS without repairs or warranties.

Home buyers contact me via this website all the time. I regularly schedule appointments to show homes. Usually, we meet at the house that the buyer is interested in.

Occasionally it happens that the buyer gets lost and calls me for directions. What’s my first question? “Where are you at right now?”

When deciding on how much lower (if any) to offer on a bank-owned home that is listed for sale, the answer is similar.

“Where is the listing price at right now?”

It’s sort of natural to feel that you got a good deal if you got a certain percentage off of a listing price. Wrong! It’s not about the listing price but what similar homes sell for now!  It’s like comparing to how much your neighbor paid for a similar house.

You may negotiate a 10K off of a 200K house. But if similar homes homes recently sold for 180K, you didn’t get a 10K (5%) discount. You overpaid 10K (5.5%)!

I watch for new home listings on the MLS daily. As soon as a great deal appears on the market, I let my buyers know. Most good deals are bank-owned homes. That means that they are already priced better than what other similar home sell for.

If my buyers like the house and want to write an offer, it’s not uncommon that I recommend a full price offer or even more. Here are just two examples:

1. Over a month ago a bank-owned home in Lake Stevens was listed for 199K. The following day we offered 201K (We had been beaten before and the buyers liked the house). Guess what? We were beaten again. A month later I found out that this Lake Stevens house closed for 220K. And guess what? At 220K that was still a pretty good buy.
2. A HUD home in Marysville was listed for 164K. I called another buyer of mine. By the time we got to see the house later that day, there already were  six real estate agent’s cards on the counter. Immediately, we offered 165K. The offer was accepted. I guess, we beat others by acting quickly. Now, here’s the main point. When an appraiser came to value the property he appraised this Marysville house at 175K! Now, if you’ve been in the business of selling/buying homes for a while, you know that practically the appraiser’s main job is to make sure that the real value is not lower than the contract price. Appraisers know the contract price and in most cases arrive at the same number. This appraiser couldn’t find comparables (similar homes) that sold this low, so with all the adjustments he had to value the home 10K more than the contract price!

This doesn’t mean that all bank-owned homes are priced competitively. Some are overpriced. Some are in such poor condition that doesn’t justify the price. By all means, submit offers, negotiate! I’ve done that as well!

However, if you ask me, I’ll check the market value carefully. And I’ll take that smoking deal for the full listing price rather than that bragging point of negotiated 10K, if the home is still overpriced.

Photo Credit: Some rights reserved by silverfox09

So I thought, while at it, I could make at least some use of the time. (As if I need another excuse to sit by the computer :) ).

By the time you get to reading this, you’ve probably noticed. Yesterday, I installed this live chat option on this blog. This means that whenever I’m online, there’s going to be a chat box available in the bottom right corner. This will give you an opportunity to get in touch with me immediately, while continuing to search for houses.

I thought it should be cool! Live chat with a real estate agent! Real estate agent? Cool? Neah, I guess “useful” or “convenient” would be the right words here.

On the other thought, it may be a bit spooky. Here you are in your PJs browsing houses at 1am, and then, “Dong! Hi, this is me, your realtor, how may I help you!”

Just keep in mind, I am still not able to see you. Just thought, I’d mention… And definitely, I’m open to any feedback on this.

I guess I’ll wrap this up with “Thanks for stopping by. How may I help you?”

I said “again” because Mukilteo ranked #10 two years ago. Now, it’s #9 on the 2011 list. That’s some consistency, I must say! Why would Mukilteo be a great city to live in?

Here are some of the reasons the Money Magazine provides why Mukilteo was chosen as one of the best places to live:

• Low ratio of bank-owned homes
• Local employers hiring again (such as Boeing)
• Good schools
• Great location on Puget Sound
• City attractions (New community center, Lighthouse Park renovation)

If you’re looking to buy in on of the Top 10 cities in the US, go ahead and check our Mukilteo Real Estate page.

Photo Credit:	Some rights reserved by HeyRocker

People are excited to move into a new house, aren’t they?

Yes, they are but there may be some challenges as well. How about buyer’s remorse right around the closing time? How about all those overwhelming details after you move? News schools, grocery stores, neighbors… The list goes on.

Just recently I stumbled upon an interesting resource offering help to move on after moving in. Just moved is a website run by Susan Miller. She’s also the author of the book After the Boxes are Unpacked and is offering suggestions from Christian prospective geared mainly toward stay-at-home women. Check it out.

Susan recently appeared on Focus on the Family and shared some insights on how to move on after moving in.

Are you still interested in pre-foreclosure listings? Here’s another example. One of my buyers sent me this Arlington WA pre-foreclosure listing she found on Zillow:

Granted, unlike the pre-foreclosures on Trulia, this one doesn’t show a misleading listing price. However, look at the Zestimate! Isn’t that a hint on the market value of this pre-foreclosure? 283K for a 3,989 square foot home? Even for Arlington, WA that’s a very good deal!

If you didn’t read that post about RealtyTrac listings on Trulia, go ahead and do it as I don’t want to repeat the same rant.

Let me just tell you that I searched the MLS for a home with the bits of data I was able to pick up from this Zillow listing: city (Arlington, WA), street name (176th) year built (2007), square footage (3989). And here you go!

It’s a short sale currently listed for… 429K!

Real Estate Buyers are Looking for Deals:

Are you looking for great real estate deals? I know you do.  My Homes Under 100K page on this blog gets tons of traffic.

So, I thought I would create a list of 10 cheapest homes for sale in Everett, WA.

Disclaimer:

To avoid possible confusions, here are a few  things to keep in mind:

• The list includes the most current homes listed for sale. It’s updated daily from the NWMLS. The homes are sorted starting with the lowest price listed.
• The list is supposed to exclude manufactured homes (Only single family homes with Everett, WA address are marked to be included). However, the data is pulled directly from the MLS, so if an agent puts a home in the wrong category on the MLS,  it’ll be miscategorized here.
• Many low priced homes are in poor condition (that’s why they are cheap, right). Be aware that you may or may not be able to obtain a loan to buy one of those.

Enjoy.

List of 10 Most Affordable (Cheapest) Homes in Everett, WA:

Showing properties 1 - 10 of 391. See more city of Everett real estate.
(all data current as of 2/4/2012)

1. $56,478 : 2121 Harrison Ave, Everett
   
   1 bed, 1 full bath

   Home size: 710 sq ft

   Lot size: 5,662 sq ft
   
2. $58,000 : 4116 34th Ave NE, Everett
   
   3 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 1,290 sq ft
   
3. $60,000 : 1701 rainier Ave, Everett
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 805 sq ft

   Lot size: 3,920 sq ft
   
4. $68,500 : 1024, E Marine View Dr, Everett
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 645 sq ft

   Lot size: 6,534 sq ft
   
5. $72,000 : 2525 Cleveland Ave, Everett
   
   2 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 892 sq ft

   Lot size: 3,049 sq ft
   
6. $73,000 : 2011 Oakes Ave, Everett
   
   3 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 1,168 sq ft

   Lot size: 4,356 sq ft
   
7. $74,900 : 8307 5th Ave W, Everett
   
   3 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 1,056 sq ft

   Lot size: 10,454 sq ft
   
8. $77,000 : 115 124th, Unit J-7, Everett
   
   3 beds, 1 full, 1 part baths

   Home size: 930 sq ft
   
9. $78,999 : 2104 McDougall Ave, Everett
   
   3 beds, 1 full bath

   Home size: 1,200 sq ft

   Lot size: 4,356 sq ft
   
10. $79,900 : 2319 Columbia Ave, Everett
    
    3 beds, 1 full bath

    Home size: 920 sq ft

    Lot size: 7,841 sq ft
    

Listing information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Read full disclaimer.