Even in this slower real estate market, you will sometimes face competition when you are bidding for a house. The days of frenzied bidding wars are largely past, but competition does still take place. Right now, we are seeing a number of offers that sometimes compete below the list price. When faced with competition, you [...]
Archive | August, 2010
What is a BPO? (Broker Price Opinion)
Have you ever wondered how banks determine the fair market value of real estate? How do they determine an approved short sale price? Where does the minimum bid at a foreclosure auction come from? How do banks determine the loan-to-value ratio for a loan modification or refinance? In many cases, the answer is by ordering [...]
Olive 8 Condos to be Auctioned on September 19th
After a few weeks of rumors, it was announced that the developer for Olive 8 is planning to auction 34 of the units on September 19, 2010. If you are not familiar with the Olive 8, it is a downtown Seattle condominium that is built on top of a Hyatt hotel. The condo is a [...]
Agent Reboot in Seattle this week
Are you a real estate agent in the Seattle area? If so, there is a great one-day event happening Wednesday, August 18 at the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue. I actually attended this same event in San Francisco and found the social media and marketing presentations super informative and helpful. It is also a great opportunity [...]
Is Your Agent Earning a Special Bonus on the Home You Are Buying?
Home buyers generally don’t pay their real estate agent. Their agent is compensated by the seller who sets the commission when they list the property for sale. As a buyer, most of this is pretty opaque, and there are not a lot of agents who even share what the amount is with their buyers. They [...]
Buying a Home at a Trustee Auction in Washington
Foreclosures remain high in this market, and many buyers look to foreclosures as a way to get a potential deal. In Washington state, and many other states, a home that is foreclosed is sold at a trustee auction through a process called Non-Judicial Foreclosure. It is called a non-judicial foreclosure because the auction process is [...]
