- Steve Tytler continues to argue with his critics on the pages of the @EverettHerald about pricing a home to sell: http://t.co/E7GOR2IZ #
- "2 leading research firms agree" RT @seattletimes: Rents in King, Sno. likely to keep increasing through 2012 http://t.co/55g1jLcF #
- "Apartment vacancies hit five-year low, But new construction will soon turn the trend" http://t.co/GhiLQf3y via @RealEstatePI #
- Remember when @LovelyListing actually featured listings? Now it's all bookcases, furniture, & concept homes. Thanks, @ICHCheezburger :( #
- Really? RT @SEATTLEHOMEoCOM: New WA State Law: Carbon Monoxide Alarms Required To Sell Owner-Occupied Homes http://t.co/gT5wr3FD #
- RT @seattletimes: What would Seattle's skyline look like with Amazon's downtown towers? See the renderings http://t.co/wsvBh8NQ #
- Heh. RT @NickTimiraos: FHFA should buy a lottery ticket. $500 million is a lot of principal reduction. #
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The CO thing is a great example of the quality of legislation coming out of Olympia.
RCW 19.27.530 provides:
They implement this with WAC 51.51.0315 which until today will provide:
After today, that exception is removed, so the thinking is that after today the resale provision applies. That’s the general consensus, and I think it’s correct because of the WAC, but I don’t know how you create a WAC that conflicts with a statute.
But then, let’s get to the nuts and bolts. You can have a house with no garage and all electric, and it still requires a CO detector. Seemingly makes about as much sense as giving a fish a bicycle, in part because that CO detector will probably be working no more than two years (the life of its batteries). So when some person ignorant of the dangers of CO brings in a BBQ during a power outage, they still won’t be protected.
But the real kicker is this “owner-occupied” language. The consensus seems to be that these CO detector rules wouldn’t apply to an REO sale, because that’s not an owner occupied sale. What about a vacant listing owned by a natural person? What about a normal listing owned by a family trust? What about a normal listing where the seller moves out the day before closing? Why not cover any dwelling unit instead? What’s the purpose of having an owner occupied restriction?
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LOL. HB 2614, which provides relief to short sellers, also has the “owner-occupied” language.
http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2011-12/Pdf/Bills/House%20Passed%20Legislature/2614-S.PL.pdf (see page 4)
So if a short seller moves out the day before closing, are they protected?
Edit: Despite that complaint, this legislation is much better on the short sale issue that either of the two original bills.
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1800 rental units coming on line last year is a 40 year low. 5000 rental units coming to Seattle next year is next to nothing, and 8000 the following year ramps us up to about normal, on average.
None of that takes into account the number of residential units that were sold since 2003. Builders weren’t sitting idle.
For the price of renting a two bedroom down town condo you can buy a house for the rental price in a mortgage payment, even at 2007 pricing. Isn’t that also happening?
So just about the time the builders finish building out the rest of the rental units the Fed will be more comfortable letting interest rates float? More rental units, higher interest payments, and a housing glut paints a picture of further falling home prices.
This is the time to sell, if you are thinking about that.
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I was actually more interested in Lovely Listing. There is no money in providing home searches.
Once people figure out the way the Real Estate industry works there is no incentive for them to pay for an internet property search. There is much more money in selling book cases.
What most people don’t realize is that there are such things as virtual assistants, and transaction coordinators. Total package for both is about $1000. Once you pick a house, any house, the most you need to pay to get the house closed, and recorded is about $2000? maybe $3000 for both sides?
That’s why online Brokerages continue to hammer on the idea that consumers should get money back for doing the “leg work.” Once you get to a stage of gifting redfin, WaLaw, 500 REalty, Zip, or MLS for Owners, the cost should be maybe $4000 tops for both sides, and that should include escrow no matter what the price is.
You can make $4K easy selling book cases.
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“That’s why online Brokerages continue to hammer on the idea that consumers should get money back for doing the “leg work.”
Dave you will find that Red Fin is NOT “hammering the idea” of getting money back anymore because they are essentially giving back NOTHING! Pull up some listings and click on the Red Fin link to see what the Buyer gets back. Pennies I tell you, IF ANYTHING! Its sad but necessary to survive…With WA LAW charging UP FRONT 5000 (because it can take years in this market to find a suitable home at a suitable price), Findwell having a 7500 “office minimum”, and ZIP with a mere 20% rebate the online Brokerages are getting squeezed like all the Conventional Brick and Mortars.
For the next few years-or until further notice its a great time to sit back, watch the blood spill, dabble at the Trustee Sales and save save save!
The greatest GEMS are yet to come because we all know…………………They are all coming back and getting reset to current values and this will take a very LONG time! Buyers WALK from all bidding wars and do NOT engage!
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By ray pepper @ 5:
Two to three years ago people here were predicting the end of the traditional model. What they missed is that the traditional model is very flexible. Individual brokerages might go under, but overall the system survives regardless of whether it’s better at the time to represent buyers or sellers. This market has flip-flopped in that area a couple of times in the past couple of years, and the traditional model takes it in stride.
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RE: Kary L. Krismer @ 6 –
Wow Kary. Probably the worst comment ever! “traditional model takes it in stride”. Please explain the closures of thousands upon thousands of traditional offices across this country year after year and tell their staff “were taking it in stride.”
The “system” further is being destroyed by the banks in controlling who and what gets paid through the decade ahead of short sales and Reo’s . The agents job continues to dwindle and is resembling more and more of a mere facilitator and I say, It’s about time!!!
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RE: Ray pepper @ 7 – I said individual brokerages might go under. I don’t know that the number is “thousands upon thousands” as you state. Locally it hasn’t been all that bad. I did, however, address that happening, so clearly I wasn’t making a claim that it was all rosy for every individual brokerage.
But the point was more a limited service brokerage which is setup best to service buyers stops functioning all that well when the market is such that it’s better to represent sellers. And that a discount brokerage which is setup to represent buyers doesn’t work that well when not only is it better to represent sellers, but when it takes a lot of time for a buyer to find a property because of poor inventory.
What I’m addressing is that in a traditional brokerage there are some agents that mainly represent buyers, some mainly sellers and some both. As the market shifts it balances out for that brokerage. If you have a brokerage which was primarily representing buyers, things get tough when it gets tough for the buyer’s side. It doesn’t balance out.
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RE: Kary L. Krismer @ 8 – RE: Ray pepper @ 7 –
Clearly the answer is more government control. One thing to look for is a higher percentage of the commissions going back to the banks and various government entities. Taxes and fees, my friends, taxes and fees. /
When I buy another home it will be through a lawyer on a per hour basis, at least for my side of the transaction. The amount I paid for for very marginal service when having to use the bank’s agent was absurd.
While the traditional model will always be there to serve those who need the help, a majority of buyers/seller will eventually find a cheaper way to complete the transaction. Seems to me the real lock is held by the MLS- that is what needs to be broken. A searchable data base more along the lines of Craigslist with a flat listing fee under $100 and a standardized format would kill the dominant players in no time. Advertise legal service providers and packaged staging services etc. in the sidebar and away you go.
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By Scotsman @ 9:
The bank’s agent wasn’t your agent, so there by definition would be very little service provided. At best you probably received “courtesy.”
But I’m curious. Did a bank agent actually agree to allow you submit an offer through them? If so, was it an offer they helped draft, or something you gave the agent?
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RE: Kary L. Krismer @ 10 -
After my attorney threatened to sue for discrimination the bank decided it would be a good idea to accept an offer from an existing tenant, something they normally won’t do. A local realtor had secured the listing from the bank so everything went through him. While I could have gotten my own realtor or continued with my attorney it seemed best to lock in and incentivize the agent by handing over both sides of the deal. At the price point we were at transaction costs weren’t really an issue so much as just getting what had become a contentious deal closed.
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RE: Scotsman @ 11 –
So everybody’s happy? The lawyer made money, the listing agent got two commissions, and you get to keep your crown as the Emperor of Fall City?
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RE: Scotsman @ 11 –
You did good, and the right thing.
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RE: Scotsman @ 11 – I had one of those last year. It was tough getting them to agree to sell to the tenant, but rather than threaten suit I just appealed to the bank to do the right thing.
You were probably right going through an attorney in that situation. Very few agents could probably deal with that type of situation.
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By Ira Sacharoff @ 12:
I wouldn’t assume the agent got two commissions because the property probably wasn’t listed yet.
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RE: Ira Sacharoff @ 12 –
Eh, not really- I prefer to do business with friends or at least give my money to people I respect.
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Scotsman:
Confucius say, be careful when bending over in prison shower to pick up soap. Sometimes better to leave shower dirty than get nailed by smiley-faced hammer.
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