Free First Time Home Buyers Classes in Seattle, WA

Phil Ross of Guild Mortgage in Kent, WA offers FREE First Time Home Buyer Workshop , highlighted by Down payment programs & first time buyer benefits. With historically low rates, and homes more affordable than they have been in years, opportunities for First time Home Buyers are flourishing. Accompanied with lower than ever interest rates, First time Home Buyers education is a necessity and knowing what to expect during the buying process makes all the difference.

Phil has been a Real Estate Professional in Washington State since 1993. He was recently selected by clients, peers and industry experts as a 2011 Five Star Professional for providing exceptional service and overall satisfaction among mortgage professionals in the Seattle area.

Phil specializes in educating first time home buyers, and is currently a state leader in down payment assistance originations. Phil's passion is sharing helpful information to First time home buyers in need of assistance. He wakes up each day with the purpose of assisting others in achieving their goals. Phil's students come from all local provinces: Auburn, Black Diamond, Bellevue, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Issaquah, Maple Valley, Marysville, Olympia, Redmond, Renton, Seatac, Seattle, Tacoma, and Tukwila.

This home buyer class is an educational session designed to give an overview of current market conditions and the home buying process. It will cover a recap of the market trends and stats, including days on market, average sales prices, and inventory levels. We'll also provide tips and best practices for the entire process by focusing on the mechanics of the process including contracts, typical fees, and closing costs.

Get yourself educated on:

Great deals due to record-high foreclosures & record-low rates

An under-publicized first-time-homebuyer tax credit that can pay you thousands of dollars each year… for as long as you live in your home!

Take advantage of special government sponsored down payment assistance!

Tips on how to correct and/or clean up smeared credit, and increase credit scores!

Find out from a tax advantage why it makes sense to OWN rather than rent!

The 9 Deadly Mistakes First Time Home Buyers make!

Phil's classes will cover all the steps to buying a home from Budgeting, Credit, pre- approval, mortgage programs, realtor selection, and home shopping Including...

First Time Homebuyers Education (instructor for WSHFC seminars/workshops)

Dowpayment Assistance Programs/Gov't Lending (FHA,VA, USDA)

The Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC)

How to best capatilize om Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM)

FHA 203k Home Renovation for Purchases and Refinances

Rates are at all time lows and homes are more affordable than ever. Let Phil's Free First Time Home Buyers Classes put you on the right path to Home Ownership.

Once again there is no cost and you are not obligated to anything. We simply want to educate you on what is out there, and make you aware of your options through our FREE First Time Home Buyer Workshop . Seating is limited so let us welcome you to our Home Buying Process.Click Here To Register .

Hope to see you there

Phil Ross

WA-MLO-150797

NMLS ID# 3274

425-260-8999 cell

253-246-6000 office

253-458-1591 fax

www.guildmortgage.net/philross

Free First Time Home Buyers Classes in Kent, WA

Phil Ross of Guild Mortgage in Kent, WA offers FREE First Time Home Buyer Workshop , highlighted by Down payment programs & first time buyer benefits. With historically low rates, and homes more affordable than they have been in years, opportunities for First time Home Buyers are flourishing. Accompanied with lower than ever interest rates, First time Home Buyers education is a necessity and knowing what to expect during the buying process makes all the difference.

Phil has been a Real Estate Professional in Washington State since 1993. He was recently selected by clients, peers and industry experts as a 2011 Five Star Professional for providing exceptional service and overall satisfaction among mortgage professionals in the Seattle area.

Phil specializes in educating first time home buyers, and is currently a state leader in down payment assistance originations. Phil's passion is sharing helpful information to First time home buyers in need of assistance. He wakes up each day with the purpose of assisting others in achieving their goals. Phil's students come from all local provinces: Auburn, Black Diamond, Bellevue, Burien, Des Moines, Federal Way, Issaquah, Maple Valley, Marysville, Olympia, Redmond, Renton, Seatac, Seattle, Tacoma, and Tukwila.

This home buyer class is an educational session designed to give an overview of current market conditions and the home buying process. It will cover a recap of the market trends and stats, including days on market, average sales prices, and inventory levels. We'll also provide tips and best practices for the entire process by focusing on the mechanics of the process including contracts, typical fees, and closing costs.

Get yourself educated on:

Great deals due to record-high foreclosures & record-low rates

An under-publicized first-time-homebuyer tax credit that can pay you thousands of dollars each year… for as long as you live in your home!

Take advantage of special government sponsored down payment assistance!

Tips on how to correct and/or clean up smeared credit, and increase credit scores!

Find out from a tax advantage why it makes sense to OWN rather than rent!

The 9 Deadly Mistakes First Time Home Buyers make!

Phil's classes will cover all the steps to buying a home from Budgeting, Credit, pre- approval, mortgage programs, realtor selection, and home shopping Including...

First Time Homebuyers Education (instructor for WSHFC seminars/workshops)

Dowpayment Assistance Programs/Gov't Lending (FHA,VA, USDA)

The Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC)

How to best capatilize om Energy Efficient Mortgages (EEM)

FHA 203k Home Renovation for Purchases and Refinances

Rates are at all time lows and homes are more affordable than ever. Let Phil's Free First Time Home Buyers Classes put you on the right path to Home Ownership.

Once again there is no cost and you are not obligated to anything. We simply want to educate you on what is out there, and make you aware of your options through our FREE First Time Home Buyer Workshop . Seating is limited so let us welcome you to our Home Buying Process.Click Here To Register .

Hope to see you there

Phil Ross

WA-MLO-150797

NMLS ID# 3274

425-260-8999 cell

253-246-6000 office

253-458-1591 fax

www.guildmortgage.net/philross

Kent WA Real Estate | Homes that Sold January 2012

During the month of January there were 60 homes (residential excludes condos) that sold in Kent, Washington. These homes all have the city listed as Kent which would include areas of unincorporated King County. Any of the homes out in Covington that are not in the Covington City limits will be reported in the Kent market data. If you would like to see stats for an individual neighborhood just fill out the form below and we can get the information to you. These Kent WA homes actually had a transfer of home ownership. Contracts complete and lender funds available for the home buyer. The seller signed all of their documents and escrow prepared the closing packages for all parties. Once all the I’s were dotted and the T’s crossed there where deeds recorded at the King County courthouse that transferred the property into the new home owner’s name!

If you want to learn more about how we transfer property in Washington State a really great site to visit is the Escrow Association of Washington site. There you can find definitions and explanations of the home buying process for Kent Washington.

Let’s look at those 60 Kent homes -

Kent WA January Homes Sold 2012

Total number of Homes Sold	60
Median Original List Price	$244,075
Median List Price	$235,000
Median Selling Price	$233,500
Cumulative days on Market	87
Days on Market	66

Not a bad time to purchase a home in Kent, Washington. Prices are down, interest rates are at an all time low you might want to look at what it means to you.

What do these numbers mean? Is it a good time to buy? Is it a good time to sell. It all depends on your individual situation. I would rather buy in a buyers market and I would rather sell in a buyers market if I have to buy another home with the proceeds. I am a fan of the NORMAL market – everyone can feel more comfortable and real estate transactions are not as stressful.

If you would like to find out the value of your home please feel free to contact me via phone or email. I would be more than happy to supply you with a FREE Market Analysis.

If you would like to purchase a home in the King County Real Estate Area please give me a call or contact me via email. We can discuss your future plans and I can set you up on an email campaign to receive the hot new listings quicker than YOU can find them.

Originally Posted at: Homefront Realty

“Statistics not compiled or published by NWMLS.” Equal Opportunity Housing All information deemed reliable, but not guaranteed”

Welcome to the year 2012! I am calling a Buyer's market in Kent WA. It's all about supply and demand with any type of product and a house is no different. Currently in Kent WA there are 407 homes on the market, 67 homes pending their inspection and 157 homes that are pending having already had their inspections. These 67 homes will most likely close and ownership transfer in the next 30-90 days. In January 43 of those 157 went pending with 9 pending inspection and 12 pending SS. There are a total of 69 homes currently in the SS pending status. These homes are waiting for the underlying lien holder to approve the short sale price submitted.

In January there were 60 homes sold in Kent WA. Now remember these figures are only for homes that are in the Kent area, which can include the city limits and unincorporated areas like those out in the Covington area, like Winterwood Estates, Remington, etc. All of these homes have the address with Kent listed as the city.

The homes that sold in Kent WA sold for an average sold price of $242,585 which is a decrease of 32.962% from the boom days of 2007. That January average sold price is a 6.82% INCREASE from December 2011. We can only hope that trend continues. The Kent WA market is really trying to get to normal.

How do we decide if this is a buyer's market? Its all about supply and demand or absorption rates. We figure this using the current inventory of 407 homes on the market and the number of homes sold last month, which was 60. Divide 407 by 60 and you have the number of 6.78. I know this could be a normal market on the high end but looking at only 35 homes sold in Feb so far this figure is going to increase.

• NORMAL MARKET :: conditions exist when the Absorption Rate is between 5 and 6 months
• SELLER’S MARKET :: conditions exist when the Absorption Rate is lower. (1 – 4 months)
• BUYER’S MARKET :: conditions exist when the Absorption Rate is higher. ( 7 plus months)

Real Estate Values

This should have been an easy short sale. The Owner had reached out to her lender, Wells Fargo to begin the pre-foreclosure paperwork.

Her loan was insured by FHA and she would need to be approved to participate in the short sale process.

Having been referred to me by a work colleague, we met on a late Summer Saturday morning and talked price and process.

She had a new job waiting for her out of state and would be leaving Washington within the next 30 days.

Good news was, the appraisal had already been completed.

It's good news because in an FHA short sale, an appraisal is used to determine the net offer which would be acceptable to the investor.

Cool....we know our price.

Even cooler, we get an offer on the first day, from the first buyer who viewed the unit.

(Granted it showed well and had some nice upgrades, but I was expecting a more pro-longed market period just because of the high condo inventory at the time).

Offer accepted, GREAT.

EASY.

Only not so much.

Even though the appraisal had been completed, it still took about 40 days for the ATP (Approval to Participate ) letter to be generated.

In the South King County market, it's not uncommon for first time buyers to ask for 3% in seller concessions, which can be applied towards closing costs and/or pre-paid expenses.

BUT...(why is there always a but?)

FHA will only allow $1,000 towards closing costs, and even then, only if the buyer is obtaining their financing with an FHA loan.

Ok, not a problem, we'll just ask for a variance.

Tack on another 21 days.

Variance granted

Cool....ready to go.

Uh oh.........we find out the complex just lost it's FHA eligibility due to some flood bla blah blabbity blah...problem which wasn't even accurate, but caused us another 3 weeks for the property manager to get the FHA eligibility re-instated.

Cool...ready to go.

Uh oh.......Buyer's financing is through WA State Housing Commission (State Bond). Bank of America announces end of November they will no longer be the "Master Servicer" of these loans.

No one knows who will be the servicer and until then, we can only wait.

Ok, we'll wait.

Uh oh.....short sale expiration pending, request an extension.

Extension granted.

30 days pass....still no Servicer.

Request a second extension with the knowlege this is our last bite at the apple most likely.

Yes, this story has a happy ending....barely.

Thanks to a motivated Seller, committed buyer, great Lender who communicated well throughout the whole process and the BEST Escrow closer in the world...we recorded the sale just under the wire of our extension expiration.

The moral to this story is, there is rarely such a thing as an easy short sale.

No one short sale is ever like another and the likelihood of success lies in direct proportion to the commitment of all parties to be patient, go with the flow, and always keep the ultimate goal in mind.

Harbor Reach 2 BR 2 BATH Condo, Kent, WA SOLD $110,000.

Whew !