Here's a 3-minute cartoon video on closing costs and how they work. When inquiring about home mortgages, be sure to ask your lender for a "Good Faith Estimate" which outlines your likely costs when buying a home - be it a condo, townhouse, or detached single family house. Drop me a line if you h
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11/13/2009
Hey buyers, do you qualify for down payment assistance? Real estate prices - and especially those in areas like Edmonds - are still pretty healthy. In fact, the average home price in Edmonds for 2009 so far is $389,500. The homebuyer downpayment assistance program is available to teachers, public
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11/12/2009
EDMONDS, WA -- Edmonds lost a city community leader in Councilmember Peggy Pritchard Olson today. Until as late as last week, she was still at her job at the City Council working on behalf of the people of Edmonds. A complete story of her passing was written up in the Seattle Times today. - C
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11/09/2009
If you're thinking about how best to time the market to get the best price on a home, here's a thought: DON'T. The overwhelming consensus is that our interest rates of 5% or so won't - and can't - last forever. They WILL go up. Once the economy rebounds and people starting getting their jobs back
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11/09/2009
This animated video can help you decide to buy vs. rent. It's a straightforward look at some of the pro's and con's of buying and selling. There are so many advantages - from tax deductions, to zero or reduced capital gains tax on certain profits of a future sale of your home, to simply having ow
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11/06/2009
EDMONDS, WA -- Seattle Times writer Lynn Thompson wrote a nice article on Edmonds, WA in the November 5, 2009 edition of the paper. It focuses mainly on how the town has evolved and yet kept true to its past, with the shops and stores that have clustered around the downtown area. It's worth the
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11/06/2009
On Wednesday, Nov 4, the U.S. voted 98-0 to pass the expanded Homebuyer Tax Credit and yesterday, the House voted 403-12 in favor of it as well. The extended and expanded bill now goes to President Obama for his signature. Among the bill's provisions, it will: extend the $8,000 first time homebu
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11/06/2009
New Page 1 The United States Senate has passed the home buyer tax credit extension (and expansion) 98-0 and has sent it to the House of Representatives where House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer has said it will likely get passed and sent to President Obama for signature. I thought this would be
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11/05/2009
EDMONDS, WA -- As I work with prospective buyers, one of the many questions that seems to come up consistently is about crime in particular neighborhoods. Every since the state of Washington required sex offenders to register, this issue has emerged as one of the more visible and often watched p
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11/05/2009
Here's an interesting website. If you've ever wanted a web-based view of where crimes happen and what type of crimes, this website might be for you. This can be a useful tool for buyers concerned about crime in a particular neighborhood since the map is zoomable. The caveat, of course, is that c
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11/05/2009
