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Day 6 – 365 Things To Do In Bellingham, WA – Artwood Gallery

Artwood is a cooperative woodworking gallery that is in the heart the Bellingham’s Historic District of Fairhaven. There are 13 active members of the cooperative and over 70 other artists that show there work here, most of it is fine woodworking that are complemented by a variety of other media. You can find beautiful furniture, wooden instrument, toys and all sorts of useful and artistic pieces in the gallery.

Day 5 – 365 Things To Do In Bellingham, WA – Uisce Irish Pub

Today being St Patrick’s Day, we’re featuring Uisce’s Irish Pub (sorry but if your under age you’ll have to find something else to do today), the pub opened at noon today,  Dave, Molly and the crew will be celebrating St Paddy’s Day as well as the 4th Anniversary of the Pub here in Bellingham.

The place is a classic Irish pub, with a fire place, church pew benches, and a wide range of Irish and English beers on tap, as well as lots of whiskey. You can even try your hand at darts.

Today’s festivities will include live music from Giants’ Causeway, Finnegan’s Wake and Maggie’s Fury.

Buyers Embrace the Internet

Buyers are embracing the power of the Internet in their search for their next home, and consumers (buyers) are loving the freedom and the control they have with these incredible technology tools.  Somewhere between 85% and 90% of all home buyers in the U.S. are starting their search on the Internet.  This eXp Realty site is a response to what buyers and sellers have been wanting and demanding.  Buyers have wanted powerful ways to search the MLS in their area, to filter through the available homes with very specific parameters, and to do all this on a site that is easy to navigate, free to use, and doesn’t require an agent in the process.

But buyers also love the fact that they can jump up on the Internet and do instant research on an area, learning about the community, the recreation, the housing, the economy, and just about anything they want to know.  Buyers love the beautiful photographs available on the Internet, the videos, and the virtual tours.  Twenty years ago none of this was even imagined.  Ten years ago it didn’t exist.  It’s only in the last five years or so that these tools have become consumer friendly.

Now listings can get broader exposure to thousands of potential buyers faster than anyone ever thought possible only five to seven years ago when print newspapers were still the primary means of advertising homes for sale.  And buyers are experiencing a freedom they never had before.

Agents who are on the cutting edge of marketing, who are embracing technology and the Internet are able to offer their selling clients and their buying clients so much more than the traditional brick-and-mortar brokerage.  The vast majority of agents are still way behind the curve on this, but the amazing thing is that consumers are not.  People are using the Internet and embracing its power 24/7.  The extraordinary growth of Google, YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter, and the unfortunate decline of print newspapers presents the most blatant case of a paradigm shift I’ve seen in 30 years in the real estate business.

The real estate business is changing rapidly.  It’s a sea change of historic proportions, and we are in the midst of these changes right now.  As an agent I love what I can offer clients with these tools.  But the really exciting development here is that these tools and the Internet are consumer driven and consumer-centric.  Consumers are taking back control after years of big advertising firms deciding what products and services consumers will hear advertised.  Now consumers who have embraced the Internet decide what products and services they will seek out on the Internet.  And guess what?  For home buyers, the Internet has become the single most powerful tool in their arsenal.  Congratulations buyers!  And sellers can be thankful, because when a buyer finds their home for sale, the greatest challenge of marketing has been overcome.  Now it’s the job of a professional Realtor to close the transaction.

[Chuck practices in Sequim, Washington, one of the most popular retirement communities in the Great Pacific Northwest.  See Sequim Real Estate.]

Day 4 – 365 Things To Do In Bellingham, WA – Go for a Swim

Go for a swim at the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center .

Go inside for a swim at Bellingham’s public pool. There are is something here for everyone with four swimming pools, “which include a beach-entry instructional pool with a 135 foot water slide ending in it, a 25 yard, eight-lane lap pool, a dive tank with a one-meter springboard and a hydrotherapy pool for those 16 years of age and older. ”

The Arne Hanna Aquatic Center offers loads of programs, including lap swims, American Red Cross swim lessons and training courses. If you want to exercise in the water there are three different intensity levels of shallow water aerobics, deep water running, deep water aerobics.

They also offer water child care, kayaking and preschool, family and open swims.

You can check out there schedule here.

Day 3 – 365 Things To Do In Bellingham, WA – Go for a hike in the Chuckanut’s

The Chuckanut Mountains are small compared with the Cascades or Olympics, but they hold their own when it comes to beauty.

This mountain range was formed about 55 million years ago and fossil remains are still found in rock cuts along Chuckanut Drive. I saw one of a giant palm frond there myself many years ago.

You can access a series of trails from the North Chuckanut Mountain trailhead, just south of Bellingham on Chuckanut Dr. You can get to lakes, view spots of the Bay and San Juan Islands, or enjoy the solitude of the forest.

Day 2 – 365 Things To Do In Bellingham, WA – Boulevard Park

Boulevard Park is truly one of Bellingham’s gems. Our waterfront playground! On a beautiful day like the one I took this video, it is a great place to go for a walk, ride a bike, throw a Frisbee, read a book, have a picnic or anything else you like to do in a park.

If your interested in the history of the park you can read about it in “Boulevard Park, and Taylor Avenue Dock on the Old Bellingham Waterfront.” by local historian, author, artist, and civil activist Brian Griffin.

Day 1 – 365 Things To Do In Bellingham, WA – St Patrick’s Day Parade

Welcome to 365 Things to do in Bellingham Washington.

I’ll be introducing you to the parks, trails, events, restaurants and beauty of Bellingham and  the surrounding area in this new series. If you have any suggestions let me know.

Day 1 – Bellingham’s 1st Annual St Patrick’s Day Parade is Saturday starting at Noon. The parade is to honor Bellingham’s brave and hard-working Law Enforcement and Fire Departments. Our Mayor Dan Pike will be the Grand Marshall. Performances will include: The Snohomish County Firefighters Pipes and Drums with traditional bagpipe music, The Boundary Bay Regulars kazoo band will perform whatever kazoo bands perform, and Bellingham’s own folk icon Robert Blake. There’ll be green- and human-powered floats and high-stepping Irish dancers parading through downtown Bellingham

The theme is Green. The parade is encouraging creative use of alternative sources of energ, Decorate float’s with reclaimed, recycled, reusable materials, making a leprechaun costumes with green gear from Bellingham’s many thrift stores, biking to the parade or biking in the parade!

The parade starts near Bellingham High School in the parking lot of Cool Beans Espresso at the corner of Cornwall Ave. and Ohio street, then South on Cornwall Ave., turning left at Chestnut St., and right on Railroad Ave. It will march past Depot Market Square and turn right at E. Maple St., ending at the parking lot at the Northeast corner of E. Maple and Cornwall Ave. The festivities will continue at Boundary Bay Brewery with live music throughout the afternoon and evening. There are even plans to open Boundary’s popular outdoor seating area and courtyard, weather permitting.

Come on down and Enjoy the parade.

Image courtesy of flickr.com by cygnus921

Solid Puget Neighborhood Home with Bay & City Views

2 Bedroom, 1.5 Bath, 966 Sq Ft, .26 Acres $225,000

Address: 1246 St Paul Street, Bellingham, WA 98229

MLS #: 35835

1246 St Paul St.

This solid 1954 home is located in the desirable Puget neighborhood. It has views of Bellingham Bay, the city, and the Canadian Rockies. The home has beautiful mature landscaping with a fully fenced backyard and a variety of well established trees & flowering shrubs. The basement could easily include a third bedroom or an office/rec room/family room/apartment. It has air conditioning and an on demand hot water system. This home is located near schools, parks & shopping. There is a versatile outbuilding in the backyard that sits at the back of the property, it  could be wonderful art studio or workshop.

Fun Facts About Short Sales

5 Things You Should Know About Short Sales

It can be awfully tempting to get excited about “amazing,” “smokin” or “crazy” deals. There are certainly enough people out there blabbering on and on about them, especially in the real estate world. In particular, the hype surrounding short-sales and foreclosed, bank-owned homes has reached a fever pitch over the past 18 months. It seems almost impossible these days to walk 10 feet or listen to the radio (for those of you who still do that) for 10 minutes without seeing or hearing somebody expounding on the fabulous virtues of investing in “troubled assets”.

What is a Short Sale?

A short sale is, essentially, an agreement between a bank and a troubled homeowner to sell their home for less than the amount of the loan, in lieu of a foreclosure. This is becoming more common as market prices are falling below the current mortgages held by these struggling owners. The bank, rather than dealing with the expense and hassle of actually throwing somebody out on the street, decides to be “nice” and let them off the hook for a reduced amount, assuming a buyer can be found who is willing to pay a price deemed acceptable by the bank. Hypothetically, this is a good deal for all parties:

• The Seller can get out from under the financial burden of a sinking ship and, hopefully, begin the road to economic recovery. The credit stain of a short-sale is far less severe than that of a foreclosure. I’ve heard of people qualifying for new home loans in as little as two years after a short sale, rather than the 7-10 years following a foreclosure.
• The Buyer can get themselves a new home with a discount of anywhere from 10%-50% off of what the Seller originally paid.
• The Bank can dispense with a troubled asset and put some much needed capital back into its coffers.

All of this can and does happen, though it is not nearly as simple as you would like to think. In fact, most of the time it is a ridiculous quagmire of pointless red tape, mixed signals, and limitless frustration. Here are a few fun facts that I thought should be shared.

1. Short sales are anything but short… The average short sale purchase takes anywhere from 60-120 days from the date of “mutual acceptance”. The Seller has to agree to the initial offer (mutual acceptance), but it is the Bank who really calls the shots, and they can be…difficult* to get answers from. They will commonly take weeks or months to even acknowledge the Buyer’s existence, much less respond to an offer. If they don’t like an offer, they’ll probably just ignore it. If they do like it, it may still take weeks to negotiate inspections, closing details, etc.
* pretty much impossible

2. There is no guarantee… It is entirely common for Buyers to wait for weeks and weeks with no response whatsoever, only to find out that the Bank either A) never saw their offer, or B) got a better one and took it. This puts buyers in the unfortunate position of simply hoping that their offer gets accepted…especially those buyers who are buying a place to live, rather than as an investment. I commonly find myself having to explain this reality to prospective clients…”If you need a place to actually live and have any kind of set timeline in place, you should really just forget about a short sale. There are other factors to consider besides the price…”

3. Banks aren’t as motivated as you think… Between tax write-offs for losses, Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) covering those losses, and Government cash being delivered in vault-sized briefcases, the Banks aren’t in any particular hurry to change their behavior or do any favors. Sure, to the outsider it would make sense for the Banks to cut whatever deals they could with struggling homeowners. It seems like common sense…stop the bleeding, put some money back into circulation, slow the accelerating depreciation of home values, etc. Good for everybody, right? Unfortunately, many of the banks are being rewarded for their greed and failure, rather than common sense and good business practices.

4. You don’t really know what you’re getting… Though this one tends to apply more to foreclosed, Real Estate Owned (REO) properties, it is pretty common with short sales. Unsurprisingly, people who are about to be kicked out of their homes tend to be a little disgruntled. They are not always inclined to leave the place looking clean and nice, the way it looked in the pictures the listing agent took 6 months earlier when they still thought they could cover their losses. (That one might be a little inside, but if you’ve ever looked at a short sale listing online, then in-person, you’ll know what I mean.) Generally speaking, the condition of the house will depend largely on whether or not it is still occupied. If the Sellers are still living there, it will probably be in pretty good condition, or, at the very least, in whatever condition they are accustomed to keeping it. If the home has already been vacated, watch out! It is quite common for the vacating Sellers to take whatever isn’t nailed down…and sometimes the nails themselves. If you’ve ever seen the History Channel show “Life After People” you’ll know that it doesn’t take long for a structure to deteriorate in the absence of maintenance. Plumbing and wiring problems, leaks and pest issues are all very common. With an ordinary listing, the sellers will continue to maintain the property, even after vacating. Sellers of short sales usually have much bigger problems…

5. The sellers are real people… This is one that is very significant to me, personally, but is one of those things that buyers would prefer not to think about, like how many people have died in that cute 100-year old craftsman they’re so excited about. Oh, how ironic. I opened up a section on sympathy and sensitivity with a joke about dead people… Welcome to the complicated world of Rob LeRoy. But I digress… When considering the purchase of a short sale, it is important to be mindful of the fact that your “great deal” is someone else’s lost dream. Sellers of distressed properties are usually normal, kind and productive people who have fallen on hard times via job-loss, divorce, or illness…sometimes all three. Remember that these are commonly desperate people who just want to move on with their lives with what little remaining dignity they can salvage. Please don’t take advantage of that. If it’s a short sale, sure, you might be able to haggle down the price a little. At that point it is the bank’s money, after all. Often, though, a homeowner will try to sell before they are totally underwater. In these cases, they have little-to-no room to negotiate much of anything. I would urge prospective buyers to be as sympathetic as possible. Sure, I know…it’s just business. I guess…but that’s just not the way I want to live my life or treat the people in it.

Whew! Sorry to end on such a downer. To make up for it, I invite you to watch this fantastic video that highlights the fun that can be had buying foreclosed, bank-owned homes and short sales.

Thanks for reading! For questions about this article or to hire me as your agent, you can reach me at 206.883.6668 or rob.leroy@exprealty.com

Also, please take a look at my website, www.TheRealEstateNovelist.com, or find me on Facebook!

Please forward this to anyone you think might be interested. I’m always excited to expand my readership!

Whatcom County Real Estate Market Report for February, 2010

The following is an analysis of the Whatcom County real estate market.

• There are currently 1446 homes for sale
• Homes are priced from $16,000 – $4,400,000
• Average Asking Price $407,864 Days on Market: 132 days
• Median Asking Price $328,500 Days on Market: 74 days
• Homes Pending (went under contract) last week: 61 Total Condos Pending: 373
  

	February 2010	February 2009	January 2010
Homes sold	95	92	97
Average Sold Price	258,678	307,992	277,881
Median Sold Price	244,900	254,990	245,000
Ave. Days on the Market	96	101	99

The Average Sales price is down 16.0% compared to February, 09 and down 6.9% compared to the previous month January, 2010.

The Median Sales prices is down 3.9% compared to February, 09 and $100 less than the previous month January, 2010.

The number of sales is down 5 compared to February, 09 and down 3 compared to the previous month January, 2010.

Condo Analysis for Whatcom County

• Currently Active Listings: 411
• Price range of active listings - $19,000 – $1,395,000
• Average List Price $233,105 Days on Market: 164
• Median List Price $180,000 Days on Market: 131
• Condos Pending (went under contract) last week: 8 Total Condos Pending: 61

	February 2010	February 2009	January 2010
Homes sold	10	16	13
Average Sold Price	215,307	182,110	230,346
Median Sold Price	183,085	164,500	194,000
Ave. Days on the Market	146	151	118

The Average Sales price is up 18.2% compared to February, 09, and down 6.5% compared to the previous month January, 2010.

The Median Sales prices is up 11.0% compared to February, 09 and down5.6 % compared to the previous month January, 2010.

The number of sales is down 6 compared to February, 09 and down 3 compared to the previous month January, 2010.

Pending sales are up again, But prices are falling again

The  First Time Home Buyer’s Tax Credit of $8,000 available to anyone who hasn’t owned a home in the past 3 years has been extended until April 2010.  The new program has also expanded the tax credit to include existing home owners who have owned a home for at least five of the last 8 years. You will be able to apply for tax credits of up to $6,500 when you purchase your next home. You might want to talk to your banker to see what you can afford. Meanwhile interest rates are still extremely low and there are some great values in the Bellingham market right now. You might want to take a look at what it would cost you to purchase one of these homes at today’s rates. You might be surprised at what your monthly payments would be, maybe less than your paying for rent right now if you are renting a comparable sized house.

If you have any questions or want to see any Bellingham Property feel free to email me at or give me a call at 360-739-6981

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