Category Archives: Home Buying

Buying a Condo in the Seattle Area: What to Look For

Buying a Condo in the Seattle Area: What to Look For

When you buy a condo in Seattle or the Eastside, there are certain condo building features you should always look for in order to make sure you’re investing in a healthy complex and a home that you’ll enjoy living in. Here are some of the most important things to look for when buying a Seattle… Continue Reading

Deciding Where to Buy a Home in the Seattle Area

Deciding Where to Buy a Home in the Seattle Area

When you buy a home in Seattle or an Eastside location such as Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue, or Woodinville, you can save yourself a lot of time and effort by investigating neighborhoods early on.  Look at things like commute times, proximity to amenities such as shopping or parks, and how “walkable” a location will be –… Continue Reading

Buying a Seattle Area Home: What to Look For (And to Avoid)

Buying a Seattle Area Home: What to Look For (And to Avoid)

When you buy a home in the Seattle area, the goal is to find a house or condo that you’ll love to live in, and that will also appeal to other buyers when it’s your turn to sell. Think “functionality and resale value.” Many of the home features that you like for yourself will also… Continue Reading

Tips on New Condo Buying in Seattle

If you’re shopping for new construction condominiums in Seattle in fall of 2009, here are a few things to keep in mind based on my recent experiences helping a condo buyer: Expect large price drops for new Seattle condos and structure the offer accordingly. You’re not guaranteed the result you want, but even with the general… Continue Reading

Recommended Resource: Hydrophysics Pipe Inspection for Sewer Scoping

Whenever you buy a home, even if it’s new construction, it’s a good idea to have the sewer line scoped.  That means hiring a sewer scoping contractor to check for damage by running a video camera down the line from the home to the street by means of a long steel cable. In the Seattle area this typically… Continue Reading

Meth Lab Homes Are a Growing Problem for Home Buyers

The New York Times ran an interesting article today about the growing problem of people unknowingly buying homes that were used as methamphetamine labs. The negative health effects are staggering – you don’t have to look around online much to read about kids repeatedly taken to hospitals with mysterious breathing problems, dead pets, and even… Continue Reading

U.S. Home Prices vs. Median Incomes – New York Times Interactive Graph

The New York Times published an interesting interactive graph a few days ago, showing home prices compared to median incomes in major U.S. cities since 1979. Moving your computer mouse over the lines (click on the image above to go the the live New York Times graphic) shows the information for each line as you pass over it. Where… Continue Reading

New Septic Inspection Guidelines in King County

King County just introduced new regulations requiring all sellers of properties with onsite sewage systems to have their on-site septic system inspected by a King County Licensed On-Site System Maintainer (OSM). The inspection must be completed and a copy of the report must be given to both the buyer and Public Health before the transfer… Continue Reading

Transactions are Taking Longer to Close

Appraisals that used to be ordered and completed within a week are taking two weeks or more these days, which means that a typical closing time is changing from 30 to more like 45 days. Just something for you buyers and sellers to keep in mind when planning ahead and deciding on contract terms.

July 2008 Seattle Area Housing Market Update

Here are some stats showing Seattle and Eastside real estate activity through July 2008.  The following graph shows the total days on market (CDOM) for houses and condos in King County, beginning in May 2007.  As you can see, average listing time before a sale has nearly doubled during that time. The triangles show that… Continue Reading

Seattle and Eastside Markets Still Seeing Multiple Offers

There’s no question that the Puget Sound housing market has slowed down since summer of 2007, but home buyers still need to be prepared for multiple offer situations – yes, even now! It all depends on the home and the price. While there’s far more inventory on the market than there has been in recent… Continue Reading