Category Archives: real estate

Love Where You Live – Volcano Edition

It all started out as a hope-to, an item I wanted to check off my bucket list: to climb a mountain.

I’ve always thought climbing a mountain was a big, hairy audacious goal that many people talk about but never do. I wanted to separate myself from the pack and be one of the few that do it. So, on July 26th, I had the great pleasure (wait, did I say pleasure?), I mean, I had the great gratification of summiting Mount Saint Helens in Washington State.

I picked Mt. St. Helens as my mountain of choice because it’s a true mountain, achievable with only a moderate amount of gear and training. On the surface, it seems like a moderate-to-hard hike; after all, it is “only” five miles up—two through forest, two across a massive boulder field, and one straight up through loose scree (small, gravelly volcanic rubble). It’s the 8,500-foot elevation gain that really knocks the wind out of your sails and gives you pause to consider (or reconsider) most things in your life.

Looking back down at the one-mile stretch of scree

It’s one of those things that’s hard to explain unless you’ve experienced it, or something like it. All that being said, that moment when you reach the top of the mountain—the cloudless sky, the limitless view, the surrounding peaks, breathing all that in, absorbing it, contemplating it, pondering it—makes the trek more than worth it.

On top of the world (looking down at the lava dome, Mount Rainier in the distance)

Mount Saint Helens is noteworthy for its huge eruption in 1980, and is still an active volcano. Standing on the precipice, looking down at the lava dome with plumes of steam seeping out of it, was magnificent. For me, it was a bit of a full circle, having been nearby in 1980 when the mountain erupted. A high schooler at the time, I had been down in the Longview/Kelso area visiting my brother. I slept obliviously through the eruption, to be greeted on awakening the next morning by swollen rivers, a sky full of ash, and horrific traffic jams of panicked and/or curious residents and onlookers. Nearly forty years later, all that’s just local history. But it was very cool to come back and see how quickly the mountain has repaired itself, its beauty and majesty restored.

Whether you live in the shadow of a volcano as I do, there are adventures to be explored in your neck of the woods, as well. Please comment and share your stories: how do you love where YOU live?

Doug Lawrence is a professional real estate broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington.  Doug’s motto is “Love where you live!” Whether you’re looking to buy, sell, or invest, he’ll put his appetite for adventure and challenge to work on your real estate transaction when he’s not applying it to a mountain.  You can find him at http://www.douglawrencerealestate.com or by phone or text at 253.341.5287.

(c) 2017 Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.


Think You Can’t Afford It? Think Again.

September means back to school, back to routine, and back to . . . home shopping?  Yes, for many folks!

Although, as I mentioned last month, this has been a challenging market lately, affording the mortgage payment for the house they want IS possible for many prospective homeowners. Why then, by all accounts, is a sense of “unaffordability” plaguing the market?

Researchers at Freddie Mac offered several answers to that question in its latest Insight, the first one being perception. Homebuyers struggling to find reasonably-priced listings perceive the housing market in general as unaffordable — a reasonable conclusion, if their only options to date have been out-of-reach stock.

Secondly, the high likelihood these days for competition (i.e., “bidding wars”) is off-putting, both for first-time homebuyers and for sellers re-entering the market. The hesitation of these would-be sellers is notably tamping down already tight inventory.

“Thanks to very low mortgage rates, monthly mortgage payments are affordable for the average household despite currently high house prices,” says Sean Becketti, chief economist at Freddie Mac. “Nevertheless, hurdles to homeownership arise from the difficulty of finding a house. The supply of homes for sale is very tight, especially starter homes, and underwriting requirements are more rigorous than they were in the past.”

Would-be homeowners are also not confident about their prospects because their incomes have stayed relatively flat compared to home prices. Incomes have grown by an average 2.4 percent annually since 2012; home prices, however, have grown an average 6 percent.

“Many potential first-time borrowers are stymied by variable employment and income histories and the challenge of accruing a down payment while simultaneously paying down their student loans,” Becketti says. “In fact, a high level of household debt, particularly student debt, poses perhaps the largest obstacle to first-time homebuyers.”

Homeownership — stripped down to just the mortgage payment — is affordable, the researchers concluded, but challenged by barriers that play a hefty role in the home-buying process. Perception, after all, is reality.

Are any of these factors playing into your decision to buy or not buy, to sell or not sell?  I’d be happy to talk through with you how these issues might affect you (or not), and help you find workable solutions for your unique home-buying or home-selling situation. After all, I’m here to help you “love where you live!” ~Doug

Doug Lawrence is a licensed broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. You can find him at http://www.douglawrencerealestate.com, or by email at dlawrence@kw.com, or by phone at 253.341.5287

Source: Freddie Mac , Photo by 2.0 Generic

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Rocky Bay / Gig Harbor KPN .6-Acre Building Lot

The road is in and the well has been drilled! Bring your plans, dreams, and ideas to this conveniently located parcel. Perched above Rocky Bay, this parcel is the perfect opportunity to build your dream home. Potential views with thinning and clearing. Private road, next to brand new construction.

11415 189th Ave. CT KPN, Gig Harbor, Washington  98329

MLS#: 1151682

Offered by Doug Lawrence and Keller Williams West Sound

http://www.douglawrencerealestate.com

253.341.5287

On Low Inventory: From Challenge Comes Opportunity

The last few months have been a bit frustrating for a number of my clients as it took longer than anticipated for them to secure contracts on new homes. Finding suitable and available houses, and then securing the winning bid among competitors, has been a challenge!

My clients are not alone when you look at what’s going on around us: low inventory is the foremost issue in the housing market right now. Buyers in today’s market in our area face relentless demand for a scarce supply of reasonably priced homes. In fact, in a recent survey by the National Association of Mortgage Professionals (NAMB), fifty-eight percent of mortgage professionals cited low inventory as the biggest hurdle for homebuyers today.

The inventory dilemma has even overshadowed concerns about mortgage lending standards. These standards, which some still view as too strict, have relaxed since the early, strong-armed days post-recession. In fact, according to a recent survey by Fannie Mae, more lenders have taken steps to open up access to credit since the start of 2017, and more plan to continue to do so in the future. This is good news! And coming up with enough money for a down payment has also become less of a factor, according to the same NAMB survey.

I was glad to be alongside my clients, helping them navigate this challenge, and ultimately helping them find and secure their homes. At the same time, my clients who are sellers have also appreciated the  professional assistance to deal with multiple offer situations.  Face value is not always an accurate representation of reality. That’s why having an experienced real estate agent is more important than ever to help both buyers and sellers navigate this intensely competitive market.

Undeniably, there are fewer homes on the market—but there are also many opportunities. How will you use today’s environment to your advantage?

Doug Lawrence is an agent with Kellers Williams WestSound in Gig Harbor, Washington. You can reach him at dlawrence@kw.com for advice or assistance on your upcoming home sale or purchase.

Love Where You Live: The Adventure

In other posts, I’ve written about the joy of loving where you live, and I certainly do! (When I say “love where you live,” I’m not just talking about the space you occupy, your home, or the town you live in, but also the region you inhabit.)

Loving the region where you live can take a bit more work than simply loving the house you live in, making an effort to get out and discover it to appreciate it. I thought about that recently when I had the privilege of accompanying one of my sons-in-laws on an overnight backpacking trip to one of his favorite places: La Push, Washington.

Not all destinations are easy to get to and this was one of them. La Push is a wild place where land meets water and jagged rock formations make stunning silhouettes against the brilliant red sun when it sets over the Pacific Ocean off Washington’s west coast. First, Second, Third, and Rialto Beaches are highly recommended there; we chose Second Beach, a mile-long stretch with several freshwater streams that meander from sand to sea. It’s one of the few places I’ve encountered where you’re still free to help yourself to driftwood for a fire.

You can’t see Second Beach by just pulling off the freeway at one of those visitor viewpoints and jumping out of your car for a quick look. No, this is one of those places that requires some planning and attention to detail to get there. So, we diligently packed our backpacks, grabbed our bedrolls and—oh, did I mention our bear cans?—and set out.

Once on the beach, we found a place to make camp: close to fresh water but far enough away from other campers to make us feel like we were miles away from anywhere and anyone. The continuous sound of the waves was both our lullaby and our alarm clock. No cell phones, no computers. It is some of the best of the wild that Washington has to offer.

This kind of adventure reminds me that many times, the best things in life take work to experience and appreciate. Loving where you live can require planning and preparation, not at all unlike buying and selling real estate. Buying a home—or selling one—is admittedly a lot of effort. But it also can afford you that sweet spot of being in a place that’s perfect at just the right time in your life.

My ocean adventure was worth every bit of effort it took to prepare for it and get there. It reinforced my conviction that the best things in life require effort—and reminded me how much I love where I live!

(c) 2017 Doug Lawrence. All Rights Reserved.

Doug Lawrence is a licensed broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. He loves the opportunities the real estate profession gives him to help people love where they live! If you’d like to buy, sell, or invest in real estate in the Pierce or Kitsap County area, give him a shout (or a call, or an email): dlawrence@kw.com or 253.341.5287.

Determining Your Home’s Accurate Market Value

I recently contributed several hours to the Keller Wiliams booth at the Gig Harbor Maritime Festival, our town’s annual kick off to the summer season. Somehow the first weekend in June always turns out to be gloriously sunny, and a significant portion of the town’s population turns out for the parade, live music, street vendors, and the “blessing of the fleet,” harkening back to our fishing village roots.

At our booth, in addition to offering kids’ activities and a raffle for a wine basket, my colleagues and I endeavored to engage festival-goers with the teaser, “Would you like to find out how much your house is worth?” I was surprised by the number of people who were confident they already knew.

Do you know what your home is worth? I mean, do you really know its accurate value in today’s market?

With the advent of real estate search engines like Zillow and Red Fin, and our increasing reliance on technology, there is a general assumption that the app on your phone is accurate. Not necessarily.

House values can be determined in several ways. There is the tax assessed value, which is the formula your local government entity uses to determine the taxation value of your house and land. Then there is the market value determined via a professional consultation with a licensed real estate professional, which factors in square footage, amenities, location, and, most importantly, what similar houses have sold for within a reasonable distance from your home.

I used my own house as a test case and was surprised, although not really, to find a more than $100,000 spread between four different real estate apps. Most apps rely on algorhythms and public records to determine house values. Depending on their public record source, the information will vary based on the accuracy of the record. I’m sure this contributed to the erroneous values assessed to my own house, considering that, between the various reports, there was up to a 1000-square foot difference in the stated size of my house! (This is probably one reason why one of the best-known real estate search engines is currently being sued for inaccurate valuations.)

It’s important to remember that these discrepancies exist. If I were a seller, I would obviously want to sell my house for the highest price possible. And if I were a buyer, I would want to purchase for the lowest price. In the case of my home’s online assessed value, that could be a $100,000 discrepancy! That’s why, when it comes to determining your house’s value, it’s imperative that you enlist the help of a real estate professional to be your expert advisor.

In the current frenzied market (at least, in our area), it’s easy to become emotional and get caught in the trap of overpaying for a home just to have the winning bid. It’s not uncommon these days to see a house deliberately listed below market value, in anticipation of a bidding war between prospective buyers that can actually take the price far over market value. Don’t get sucked into this trap!

What I do for both my sellers and my buyers is to systematically assess a home’s true value. This takes into consideration:

  • location
  • size of house and property
  • number of bedrooms and bathrooms
  • overall condition of the house and property
  • age of the home
  • degree of finish
  • energy source and heating/air conditioning
  • fireplace and if so, what kind
  • kind(s) of flooring
  • number of covered parking spaces

All of these factors and more go into a systematic process of determining the value of the home you want to sell or purchase.

So back to my original question: Do you know what your home is worth? Perhaps you are pausing now before answering, because you realize the answer isn’t necessarily found in an app or an assumption. That’s where your local real estate professional can be an invaluable asset. Call for an APP-ointment today; it’s the most accurate real estate “app” at your disposal!

Doug Lawrence is a licensed real estate broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. His mantra, both personally and professionally, is “love where you live!” He is an avid fan of the beautiful Pacific Northwest and enjoys helping people find their perfect fit. You can find him at www.douglawrencerealestate.com.

Approach Your Move with Confidence

May is often a month of transitions. As I write this, we are in the process of collecting our youngest daughter from her university, packing up her apartment, and moving her belongings into storage for the summer. Next year, she’ll be in a new apartment, bigger, better, with more amenities and opportunities. Out with the old, in with the new.

This is but one of many transitions she will encounter throughout her adult life. According to the US Census Bureau (2007), the average American moves around 12 times in his or her lifetime. That’s a lot of packing and unpacking!

Moving to a new home can be overwhelming and sometimes downright daunting, whether we’re transitioning from one college apartment to another, or downsizing from a family home to an empty nest condo. Maybe it’s moving up from a starter home to a second home, or the consideration of a rental or vacation property. How we approach these moves makes all the difference in the world.

Here are some pointers for helping you approach your transition with confidence and enthusiasm:

  1. Prepare. I learned early in my life that “prior proper planning prevents poor performance.” Don’t be that person who starts packing the night before the movers arrive. Start early. Make to-do lists. Delegate jobs for friends and family members. Schedule help and/or the moving company well in advance. If you have small children, arrange for away-from-the-house childcare; animals can go to the kennel for the day.
  2. Purge. Take this opportunity to get rid of excess possessions you can live without. Decluttering is cathartic—not to mention it makes moving a whole lot easier on your back (and on the friends who help you move!). As soon as you know your move is imminent, start packing away (or giving away) anything you know you won’t be using between now and your move. A great rule of thumb is: if you haven’t used it in a year, it can go. If you have adult children who have moved away, now is the time for them to claim their stuff—or lose it!
  3. Be Proactive. Where are you headed? Research your new community ahead of time. Have an idea of schools, restaurants, places of worship, community organizations, recreation activities, etc. that appeal to you so you can jump in right away and feel connected as soon as possible. This will help build anticipation toward your new destination, and help alleviate the feelings of loss about your old one.

Doug Lawrence is a real estate broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. He and his wife have already beat the national average, having moved 13 times in their 34 years of marriage! Every single move has been an adventure in and of itself. Doug’s motto is “Love where you live!” If you’re ready for a transition of your own, he’d be delighted to help make your dream a reality. You can find him at www.douglawrencerealestate.com or dlawrence@kw.com 

Photo Credit: Nicholas Huk

Buying a Home in a Low Inventory Market

Probably the biggest frustration I’m hearing from buyers these days is, “Where are all the houses?” The problem transcends price range and location, and even buyer demographic. What’s going on?

It’s been many months now of a below-normal supply of homes for sale in most regions. And, according to a recent analysis from Realtor.com, this year is expected to be even more challenging. “We started 2017 with the lowest inventory of homes for sale since the recession, and possibly in decades,” said Realtor.com Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke.

Add to that the expectation that interest rates will rise to perhaps 4.5 percent or more this year. The result? The demand for homes has become even more intense, and will only get more competitive as the calendar year goes on.

Real estate experts say that eight of the 10 “best value” days (statistically) to buy in a new year are generally in February, and the other two are in January. For 2017, those days have come and gone, but the analysts maintain savvy buyers can still obtain discounts—albeit smaller ones—in April. However, they say, if home buyers wait until the period from May through September, they are likely to pay a premium of up to five percent above the median home price for their area.

So what to do? Don’t give up. Here are five creative ideas for finding a home in a low-inventory market:

  1. Be clear on your ideal location/neighborhood(s).
  2. Search expired listings.
  3. Don’t rule out sale pending listings. Make a back-up offer that will put you in a first place position if the other buyer walks away.
  4. Talk to people in the neighborhood – do they or anyone they know want to sell? Consider door knocking. (Granted, this is desperation and it is recommended you be accompanied by a realtor.)
  5. Join groups or follow social media pages from that location, in hopes of a “Home for Sale” posting.

Finding a home in a low-inventory market is not impossible, but it is a challenge. Work with your realtor (that’s me!) in coming up with out of the box ideas for finding listings that may not surface on an initial MLS search. Have your financing all ready to go, be realistic about your inspection expectations, and be ready to start with your best offer. All these will contribute to your best chances at being in your dream home come summertime!

Doug Lawrence is a licensed broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. Finding the right buyer for the right house (or the right house for the right buyer) at the right time is his specialty. You can reach Doug at www.douglawrencerealestate.com or dlawrence@kw.com.

Photo credit: home yellow by nikcname

Is a Rehab Loan Right for You?

baumgaertel_rehab-3

If you’re a person who wants to get the house you want for the price you can afford—without getting into a bidding war for that move-in ready one—you might want to consider a rehab loan. Known in the industry as a 203K, this is a great option for getting a nearly custom home for a steal.

I recently worked with a young couple to buy their dream home, sort of. In that, I mean, it their dream home. But when they bought it, it wasn’t even close. Here’s how it worked:

  1. We found a house with good bones in a great location that just happened to be owned by HUD (Housing and Urban Development). We purchased the property at a good price, based on its condition. My clients had a fantastic vision for what this little rambler could be.
  2. That’s when the leg work started. We gathered bids for all the desired—and, in some instances, required—improvements.
  3. They applied for a loan for the purchase price plus the estimated repair budget, added on a little extra for anticipated cost overruns, and submitted the whole package to the bank for approval.
  4. When the approval was granted, the great news was that the final subject appraised value was going to instantly give my clients a boost of 10% equity once all the improvements were completed.

These were the kinds of repairs they made for this project:

  • new roof
  • new kitchen
  • new flooring throughout the house
  • removal of popcorn ceilings
  • paint throughout
  • new millwork
  • upgrading insulation in crawlspace

baumgaertel-rehab-2

Essentially, they will have a move-in ready, custom home, purchased for well within their budget, and with instant equity. What’s not to love about that? Although a 203K might not be for everyone, it’s a great way to end up with the house you want, for the price you want, if you’re willing to invest a little extra time and effort.

DOUG LAWRENCE is a licensed real estate broker with Keller Williams West Sound in Gig Harbor, Washington. If you are looking to buy, sell, or invest in real estate (203K’s or otherwise) in the Pierce or Kitsap County areas in Washington State, he’d be happy to lend a hand! You can find him at www.douglawrencerealestate.com.

The Gift of Giving

christmasgifts

The value of a (person) resides in what he gives and not in what he is capable of receiving.

~Albert Einstein

As much as I enjoy receiving Christmas gifts, I think my favorite part of Christmas has always been watching my family unwrap and enjoy the gifts I have chosen for them. I really do find it more fun to give than receive (not that I don’t like receiving!).

The quality of “living to give” is something I admire in others. People who live generously—not just with their money, but who give generously of themselves—really make the world go around. Many times, they are nameless and faceless, so to speak—not motivated by recognition or financial return on their investment, but rather by the intrinsic joy that comes with generosity.

This runs counter cultural to the messages we receive around us in our culture most of the time and especially over the holiday season. Buy, buy, buy. Accumulate. Indulge. You deserve it. At the same time, there is a whole population, a whole world, that is desperately in need—and not just materially. Sometimes the greatest needs are needs of the heart, for things like compassion, friendship, and assistance.

Generosity is that quality that empowers us to be the answer to another person’s need, whether that need is financial, emotional, practical, or spiritual. A friend of mine pointed out, “We win by losing. We gain by giving away. And, our greatest memories are of the gifts we gave rather than the ones we received.” I couldn’t agree more.

I hope you enjoy the best gift of all this holiday season – the gift of giving!

Best wishes, Doug

Doug Lawrence is a certified real estate broker with Keller Williams Realty in Gig Harbor, WA.