It's that time of year, the seasons are changing and with them bring thoughts of the upcoming holidays, family get togethers, and planning for a new year. Those who are on the fence about whether now is the right time to buy don't have to look much farther to find four great reasons to consider buying a home now, instead of waiting.

1. Prices Will Continue to Rise

The Home Price Expectation Survey polls a distinguished panel of over 100 economists, investment strategists, and housing market analysts. Their most recent report released recently projects appreciation in home values over the next five years to be between 11.2% (most pessimistic) and 27.8% (most optimistic). The bottom in home prices has come and gone. Home values will continue to appreciate for years. Waiting no longer makes sense.

2. Mortgage Interest Rates Are Projected to Increase

Although Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey shows that interest rates for a 30-year mortgage have softened recently, most experts predict that they will begin to rise later this year. The Mortgage Bankers Association, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the National Association of Realtors are in unison projecting that rates will be up almost a full percentage point by the end of next year. An increase in rates will impact YOUR monthly mortgage payment. Your housing expense will be more a year from now if a mortgage is necessary to purchase your next home. 

3. Either Way You are Paying a Mortgage

As a recent paper from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University explains: “Households must consume housing whether they own or rent. Not even accounting for more favorable tax treatment of owning, homeowners pay debt service to pay down their own principal while households that rent pay down the principal of a landlord plus a rate of return. That’s yet another reason owning often does—as Americans intuit—end up making more financial sense than renting.”

4. It’s Time to Move On with Your Life

The ‘cost’ of a home is determined by two major components: the price of the home and the current mortgage rate. It appears that both are on the rise. But, what if they weren’t? Would you wait? Look at the actual reason you are buying and decide whether it is worth waiting. Whether you want to have a great place for your children to grow up, you want your family to be safer or you just want to have control over renovations, maybe it is time to buy.

Bottom Line

If the right thing for you and your family is to purchase a home this year, buying sooner rather than later could lead to substantial savings.

Give us a call, text or email today, we would love to get to work for you!

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


BrennerHill.com

BrennerHillReviews.com
Your Instant Home Value

By Rachele Belle, MyNorthwest.com

It's been five years since Sara allowed anyone to enter her Seattle home, until today. Sara isn't her real name, she wanted to remain anonymous, since no one, except the daughter she lives with, knows that she's a hoarder.

Her rental house is wall-to-wall, ceiling-to-floor packed with trash and belongings. There's absolutely nowhere to sit, barely anywhere to walk, and it smells sour and stale.

"Food products, papers, soda cans, snack foods that have been ground into the carpet, piled over the couch. You can't tell for sure which furniture is under. We're starting to find a coffee table now," says Lisa Martinez, project manager at BioClean, a hard-core professional cleaning company.

"Cleaning up after homicides, suicides, unattended deaths. We do drug contaminated jobs, mold, rodent jobs, hoarding. Anything that nobody else wants to, pretty much."

Today, Lisa and two of her coworkers started to chip away at the five years worth of garbage and stuff acquired by Sara and her adult daughter. They use shovels to scoop it up into big black garbage bags that will make their way to the dump.

"She had a rodent issue as well, so the rodents have gotten in through the cupboards and stuff. So we're going to clean out all of the cupboards and just get rid of all that stuff."

Sara says she is OCD and actually used to be obsessively neat. But then her life dramatically changed.

"Lost my husband, my house, my car, my job in one year," Sara says through tears. "I spent that year laying on the couch doing nothing and slowly came back to something of a life. But this, I guess, is a result of major losses. I don't really know how those two connect, how loss manifests itself like this."

Therapist Jennifer Sampson is executive director of The Hoarding Project, a Tacoma based non-profit that provides resources and counseling to hoarders.

"As of May of last year, hoarding is a mental health diagnosis," she says.

Jennifer says hoarding is complex and manifests itself as the perfect storm of psychological and biological issues.

"We know that hoarding is genetic, it runs in families similar to other types of mental health issues, like depression. We also know that the brains in people who hoard tend to look different. The front part of the brain that's responsible for executive functioning; those just don't tend to work as well in brains of people who hoard. So, like, decision making, categorization, organization."

The fact that it's a mental health issue is important when it comes to attempting to erase the stigma that surrounds hoarders.

"I don't think of myself as a slob, as a person with no ambition or drive or passions, goals in life. I'm a professional woman, career wise. But this is something different. This is a mental health issue and I think people who have mental health issues are stereotyped as just being weak, not very intelligent, and it's not that. It's something else."

Sara's mental illness has isolated her for many years.

"It's one of those embarrassing, shameful secrets that you keep. It's like I live a double life. And it has definitely impacted my socializing with people."

For the BioClean workers, this isn't just a cleaning job. They refer clients to therapists and add an element of compassion and trust.

"You become their friend instantly because you're not judging them," Lisa says. "You go in, you help them, and it's hard to keep yourself separate. It's really rewarding to know that you did something, you're making their life better. You're making a safer, healthier environment for them to live in."

For Sara, that's finally what she wants for herself. If she wasn't ready, and didn't seek help on her own, she'd most likely relapse into her old ways.

"To get rid of it is very cleansing," Sara says. "To shed that thinking, literally. I want open, free, unencumbered. I don't want to be tethered to this anymore."

Do you have clean up projects around the house? Give us a call, text or email and let us get you in touch with someone who may be able to help.

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


BrennerHill.com

BrennerHillReviews.com
Your Instant Home Value

Some homeowners may consider trying to sell their home on without the assistance of a real estate professional, known in the industry as a For Sale by Owner (FSBO). We think there are several reasons this might not be a good idea for the vast majority of sellers.

Here are five of our reasons

1. There Are Too Many People to Negotiate With

Here is a list of some of the people with whom you must be prepared to negotiate if you decide to FSBO.

• The buyer who wants the best deal possible
• The buyer’s agent who solely represents the best interest of the buyer
• The buyer’s attorney (in some parts of the country)
• The home inspection companies which work for the buyer and will almost always find some problems with the house
• The appraiser if there is a question of value
• Your bank in the case of a short sale

2. Exposure to Prospective Purchasers

Recent studies have shown that 92% of buyers search online for a home. That is in comparison to only 28% looking at print newspaper ads. Most real estate agents have an extensive internet strategy to promote the sale of your home. Do you?

3.  Actual Results also come from the Internet

Where do buyers find the home they actually purchased?

• 43% on the internet
• 9% from a yard sign
• 1% from newspapers

The days of selling your house by just putting up a sign and putting it in the paper are long gone. Having a strong internet strategy is crucial.

4. FSBOing has Become More and More Difficult

The paperwork involved in selling and buying a home has increased dramatically as industry disclosures and regulations have become mandatory. This is one of the reasons that the percentage of people FSBOing has dropped from 19% to 9% over the last 20+ years. 

5. You Net More Money when Using an Agent

Many homeowners believe that they will save the real estate commission by selling on their own. Realize that the main reason buyers look at FSBOs is because they also believe they can save the real commission. The seller and buyer can’t both save the same commission. Studies have shown that the typical house sold by the homeowner sells for $184,000 while the typical house sold by an agent sells for $230,000.   This doesn’t mean that an agent can get $46,000 more for your home as studies have shown that people are more likely to FSBO in markets with lower price points. However, it does show that selling on your own might not make sense.

Bottom Line

Before you decide to take on the challenges of selling your house on your own, sit with us and see what we have to offer.

Give us a call, text or email today!

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


BrennerHill.com

BrennerHillReviews.com
Your Instant Home Value

Homeowners Insurance 

Prior to finding you the best quote for home insurance, we always ask about smoke detectors and security systems in your home. Many insurance companies offer discounts for those homeowners who have security systems. Here are few of the different kinds of security systems that can help reduce your home insurance costs.
 
1.    Outside lights- Set these up on timers so they come on even when you are gone. Also, motion detecting lights are an excellent deterrent and can be installed at a low cost.
2.    Cameras are also a good deterrent.  Place cameras around outside doors and your yard. Many home improvement stores offer cost-effective products.
3.    Alarms are always a good idea. Alarm systems that are connected to a central station will yield the best discount.

Other Home Insurance Credits

Most insurance companies offer many types of discounts for homeowners. We are committed to keeping up on all these discounts to make sure you are getting the best coverage and price. Some of these discounts can include:
 
1.    Gated communities
2.    Community security
3.    Updates in wiring and/or plumbing
4.    New roof
5.    No claims
6.    Non smokers – The No. 1 cause of home fire fatalities in the United States is smoking.   Smoking caused 16,000 residential fires in 2012, killing over 500 people and causing $376 million in residential property loss. Source- U.S. Fire Administration
7.    Senior citizen discounts- If you are over 55 and retired you may have discounts waiting for you.
8.    Sprinklers- Many new home building codes require sprinklers. These can be expensive but will provide home insurance discounts.

These tips are brought to you by the Nate Root Insurance Agency. The Nate Root Insurance Agency will work hard to find you the best possible combination of coverage, price and service. Please call us today at 206-219-5306 for a free quote!

For all for your estate related questions, give us a call, text or email. We are happy to answer any questions you may have.

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


BrennerHill.com

BrennerHillReviews.com
Your Instant Home Value

The Insightistics Real Estate HEAT (Housing Experts Anticipating Trends) Index measures current and expected real estate conditions in more than 60 major markets across the country.

The Real Estate HEAT index decreased to 44.9, compared to 46.7 last week:

• 16.5% of respondents reported buyer traffic increasing in their markets, compared to 20.2% last week.
• 25.6% of respondents reported a sellers’ market, compared to 29.8% last week.
• 39.3% of respondents reported rising prices in their markets, compared to 37.5% last week.

To see the HEAT Index report for Seattle and over 60 other markets, point your browser to: http://insightistics.com/reports/HEAT20141031/Seattle.pdf

For more information on real estate trends for your specific neighborhood, visit: http://brennerhill.withwre.com/seattle-real-estate-statistics/

Give us a call, text or email, we would be happy to answer any or your real estate related questions!

Happy Halloween!

-Steve and Sandra

Steve Hill and Sandra Brenner

SEATTLE-NORTHWEST

Windermere Real Estate

206-769-9577

stevehill@windermere.com


BrennerHill.com

BrennerHillReviews.com
Your Instant Home Value

http://insightistics.com/reports/HEAT20141031/Seattle.pdf