We recently worked with a buyer who wanted to purchase one of our listings. Our listing was going off the market, and they called us in a frenzy wanting to see our listing so that they could place an offer while they still had a chance. Why did they call the listing agent? They claimed [...]
Archive | April, 2009
Vulcan’s Rollin Street Flats changing to apartments
Rollin Street Flats, one of Vulcan’s high-end condo projects in South Lake Union is cancelling their condo sales and changing the building into apartments. In a letter sent to buyers today, Vulcan advised buyers who had contracts to buy the new condos that they are cancelling their contracts and returning their deposits. The project was [...]
Can you reach your agent?
Being a real estate agent can mean being on call during all days of the week. You never know when your buyer is going to find the property they want, and you never know when your seller may receive an offer. Sometimes the offer process happens at inconvenient times, and I’m sure that most agents [...]
Shame on us for wanting to set our own commissions?
We constantly get a lot of grief from other real estate agents who criticize our commission structure. Since home prices remain relatively high in Seattle, we believe in charging lower real estate commissions than are currently charged here, yet offer the same level of service that you can get from another full-service agent. The other [...]
Buying your home should not be like shopping at the Dollar Store
I have a friend who loves the Dollar Store. He is lured in by anything that is really cheap and can’t resist the urge to buy something. We sometimes see our buyers having a similar mindset when buying a home. Short-term this may get them a great deal on a home, but long-term I’m not [...]
The shroud of the Dark Side has fallen on our current tax system
Another tax day is upon us, and many people are probably rushing to get their taxes filed on time. I just finished my own taxes, giving me a moment to ponder just how complex our tax system has become. Maybe most of the population has simple tax returns with one or two W-2 returns and [...]
Should I use a mortgage broker or a bank?
Ron Lieber of the New York Times recently published an article comparing the services of a mortgage broker and a bank when securing a new mortgage for your home. His conclusion? Banks are super-busy, and you may have delays and heartache when trying to reach your loan processor during your application process. Mortgage brokers may [...]
