It seems to be a slow news day today, as far as real estate in the Seattle area goes. So, I’ll share this “Home Forum” that appeared in the Seattle Times a few weeks back. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s a short Q & A column where Elizabeth Rhodes answers reader questions about real estate. I thought that the questions that were asked in the September 9th column were an interesting and amusing mix:
Q: My Edmonds condo is in a building with six units. One recently sold for $760,000, which I think is well above what that unit or any other in the building is worth.
What effect will the sale of this unit have on the property taxes the rest of us pay?
…
Q: The condo I just bought had a termite problem that was successfully treated before the sale closed. My plan is to update the unit and sell it soon.This is an investment property I don’t intend to live in. Am I legally required to disclose the termite situation to potential buyers?
…
Q: I am downsizing by moving into my mother-in-law apartment and renting out my four-bedroom main house. How does one figure the cost of shared utilities?
It’s a ‘trifecta’ of bubble queries. We’ve got one homeowner that’s worried about their budget being ruined by the bubble, an “investor” (a.k.a. a flipper) that hopes to sneak potential problems past some poor sap buyer, and a homeowner that can’t afford to live in their own home. What a wonderful time we are living in!
(Elizabeth Rhodes, Seattle Times, 09.09.2006)