I read this very interesting article about some of the hidden costs of refinancing too close to a sale date. I thought re-posting it would be beneficial to my readers. Let me know what you think.
Obviously, this means that the decision on whether to refi or not will be on a case-by-case basis. Feel free to contact me if you have questions on whether it is the right decision for you.
Click here to read the article.
Casey
Have you ever wondered whether it'd be cheaper to drive somewhere or perhaps the benefit-cost analysis of taking alternate modes of transportation like the bus, a cab or a bike?
I came upon this website that calculates the cost of gas used to drive between two points based upon the type of car you drive (1990 or newer). It calculates the mileage driven, your mpg based on your vehicle's year-make-model and the average price of gas in your region.
It'll come as no surprise, but the cheapest mode of transportation? Borrow your neighbor's car. :)
Happy driving!
Republicans on the House Financial Services Committee have drafted legislation that would raise the minimum down payment for FHA mortgages to 5% and cut the maximum FHA loan amounts in many markets. The bill looks to be more of a philosophical response - rather than a fiscal one - to the question of how much the federal government should be involved in the housing market. Ironically, the program originated during the Great Depression of the 1930s, when the rates of foreclosures and defaults rose sharply, and the program was intended to provide lenders with sufficient insurance. So, its contraction in a similar economic and housing environment today is worthy of "factoid" status.
FHA loan limits are already set to decrease in various markets beginning in October 2011. If this bill passes, those limits will come down even further. But I'm not here to state that loan limits are, or are not, at the right levels. Quite frankly, the only market I service and know well is Seattle so speaking to the limits of other markets would be spurious.
However, I know that there are many buyers who can only purchase with the assistance of an FHA-approved loan. There have been many who have made the argument that these limits should go up because too many people who can't afford houses are buying. This argument is based more on anectdotes than real life. We should remember that most home-buyers who are FHA-approved still have to demonstrate an ability to pay and have decent credit ratings. FHA has two distinct advantages that a conventional loan cannot provide certain buyers: first, it allows those buyers the ability to get a home loan without a significant downpayment that most conventional loans require; second, it provides for better interest rates than the conventional lender, which in turn makes the home purchases (more) affordable.
And so before you make final judgment on certain people who have good jobs and credit - but not quite the tens of thousands often required to get into a home - don't deserve an opportunity at homeownership, keep in mind that many of those would-be buyers are likely to be the ones looking at your home you've got listed.
Enjoy the sun!
Casey
Edmonds, WA
The fact is, I've closed more short sales and REO (real estate owned -- by banks) this year than the traditional types of private party sales. Some statistics show that 40% of homes for sale now are indeed short sales.
Now I don't go looking for short sales necessarily. They are just so prevalent these days that my (buyer) clients seem to snag them faster than I snag dog fish while salmon or halibut fishing. Short sale response times so far this year are averaging about 4 months for me.
Here's a good article, if not a bit wordy, that gives prospective buyers of short sale homes five tips to help them endure the frustrating process. Meanwhile, my next short sale closes this Friday. I should note that I represent banks and list REO properties regularly. Bank-owned REO's tend to provide a much quicker response time than do short sales. That's a distinction worth making.
Casey
My wife and I are expecting our first son this summer which, naturally, prompted some questions about the schools in Edmonds, WA and how they rate. There are a plethora of websites and organizations out there that rate schools and school districts. Based on the ratings of one website (www.greatschools.org), I've compiled some very broad ratings. Not comprehensive at all, so forgive the brevity! It's just a website I happened upon that rates schools. Their criteria for rating schools is listed at the bottom of this blog post. I would love to hear your own thoughts and feedback of the schools in your own part of Edmonds. I'm sure other readers would benefit from this as well.
The average rating this website gave the eight public elementary schools in Edmonds, WA was a 7 out of 10, with the highest school receiving a 10 and the lowest school receiving a 2. Here's the breakdown with direct links (ranking in parentheses). I didn't include private schools schools.
Elementary schools:
Middle schools:
High schools:
GreatSchools Rating Criteria:
"GreatSchools Ratings for Washington In calculating these ratings, GreatSchools analyzed the 2009-2010 Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) and High School Proficiency Exam (HSPE) reading, writing, math and science results and compared them to the standardized scores of all Washington schools with the same grade levels. If there are no GreatSchools Ratings for a school, the school's test results were either not reported or incomplete. The different student groups are identified by the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction; if there are fewer than 10 students in a particular group in a school, data is not reported for that group. Keep in mind that when comparing schools using GreatSchools Ratings, it's important to factor in other information, including the quality of each school's teachers, the school culture, special programs, etc. GreatSchools Ratings cannot be compared across states, because of differences in the states' standardized testing programs." -- Taken directly from their website @ http://www.greatschools.org/issues/wa/ratings.html.
Another website you may be interested in is www.schooldigger.com.
I proposed to my wife in Richmond Beach. She works in the Shoreline School District. We live in Edmonds. Practicing what we preach..... serving Edmonds, Shoreline and Richmond Beach since 2001.
Casey holds a Masters Degree in Public Administration and is a Managing Broker. Prior to becoming a Realtor, he worked as a policy analyst for the Washington State Senate. He works tirelessly for each of his clients with the utmost integrity - and a bit of levity too. Casey also commits a significant amount of his personal time to various causes and serves on several boards throughout the greater Seattle region.
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Crazy enough to be a Realtor during a recession! But that's the true test of one's committment to the job, isn't it? To be here even during the worst recession since WWII is a testament to Casey's commitment to his clients, past and present. For over 10 years, Casey has worked throughout the greater Seattle metropolitan market. He has worked with many first time home-buyers as well as investors and other home sellers - from the highest to the lowest price points. In fact, one of the very first deals Casey closed was a mobile home for $50,000. Having spoken to this prospective buyer on the phone for a bit, Casey decided that it would have been disingenous of him "hang up" on him. Instead, Casey took ownership for the call and worked with this client until he closed.
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“Wow. What can I say? Casey has been my Realtor in getting me into a condo in the Seattle area and then out of it three and a half years later as I moved back to the Midwest. Casey took what had the potential to be an extremely stressful time and turned it into a smooth ride. But this was just the finale of what I call a three-and-a-half year working relationship.
“First of all, after buying my place in Renton, I decided to rent out one of my rooms. I wasn’t sure how to do that so Casey got me leasing forms and walked me through the process of making the renting situation legal and binding. He gave me professional advice as far as what to charge and how much deposit to ask for. Later, when I was getting ready to sell my place, I decided to enter into a “rent to own” situation, which again, he was instrumental in helping lay the ground work for. When my “buyers” decided to move to the Midwest themselves and therefore not buy the condo, I had already moved back to Chicago. I was therefore unavailable to do much with the place to get it ready to sell. I was a little beside myself. Casey took it upon himself, to work with my current renters in making the condo inviting to new potential buyers. He stayed in regular contact with my renters, pushed them to stay on top of certain things and connected me with electricians, plumbers and contractors to do work on the condo. He paid out of pocket for these different jobs (which I of course paid him back for). What Realtor does that? He was so supportive emotionally and professionally.
“Overall, Casey goes out of his way to make things as best as they possibly can be for his clients. Even at the last, Casey nit-picked a few dollars for me here and a few dollars there because, as he would say, “every bit helps.” Wow, I was really being looked out for. Would I recommend Casey? That’s a no-brainer. His actions speak for himself.” - Gayle S.
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“Thanks for all your help selling my home. You went way beyond our agreement and it gave me peace of mind knowing you were on the job.” - Lisa M.
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“You were so great to work with and I would absolutely recommend you to anyone looking to sell. I really appreciate how helpful you were throughout the whole process and willing to go the extra mile for us. Thanks again for making it such a good experience.” - Lewis & Shannon B.
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“Casey provided us with great recommendations on getting our place ready for the market. We got the offer we wanted 8 hours after the house went on the market. He was professional, friendly, and stayed in communication with us through the entire process. We would happily use him as our agent again.” - Don & Brandy P.
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“I was very tentative about the buying and selling process when I first started talking with Casey. I simply wanted to learn more about the process and the current market. Casey was able to answer all of my questions and explain things in a way that made sense. He was very patient with my numerous questions and busy schedule as well. Casey was able to carefully balance optimism with realistic expectations which meant I was never let down and could always see the light at the end of the tunnel. I couldn’t be more pleased with the house that Casey found for me, not to mention all of his help with my old condo which he listed and sold very quickly. Based on my experiences with Casey, I would recommend him to help sell or buy your next home.” - Alisa C.
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“Casey worked diligently with us to sell a home in a very slow market. He kept us updated at all steps of the process, was very responsive to questions via phone and email, and went out of his way to make the whole situation as easy and convenient as possible.” - Grace L.
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“This was my first home and I feel so lucky that I had Casey Bui as my agent. He knows so much about so many different areas in the greater Seattle community. He is organized and prompt. He could spot advantages and disadvantages of properties that we would never have considered. Without ever being coercive or pushy, he would reflect back to us our own ideas and opinions- and he was a great listener, both to our explicit and implicit communications. We feel that he hugely contributed to our decision making process. My wife and I felt like we were “difficult” clients: we would want to see new places immediately (like that afternoon); we would want to see places again and then change our minds about them and we couldn’t narrow down our search geographically and so we wanted to see a huge quantity of houses. Casey couldn’t have been more accommodating with all our requests. If something was a priority for us, he made it a priority for him. And he went above and beyond the call of duty so often- down to the point where he helped us install some new doors in the house. Casey’s years of experience have meant that he has accumulated a lot of contacts in the building and real estate industry. He always knew someone who could give us specialized advice about roofing or electrical circuits or permits when we got serious about a property. But possibly his biggest strength is his strategic vision. A lot of sellers and buyers want to play games and Casey is very skilled at recognizing the game and working out what to do about it. Had it not been for Casey we would have been lost when it came to counter offers and pre-inspections and escalation clauses.” - Saul & Seema C.
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“Casey was very helpful in finding our first home. He's patient and really listened to our likes and dislikes. He was always on top of new listings. In fact, the house we finally bought had only been in the market for less than 24 hours. He's very easy to get a long with and is very knowledgeable about the market. We recommended Casey to our friend who eventually also found his first home with Casey's help.” - Elmer & Regina D.
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“Casey Bui came to us highly recommended by other first-time home buyers and we were not disappointed! Casey was incredibly patient and flexible as we went through our house search and helped us look at almost 30 houses before we found the perfect one. Always willing to work around our schedules and needs, Casey was a dedicated advocate for us in the negotiation process and a wonderful support. We strongly recommend Casey as a real estate agent." - Kevin & Amy B.
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“After meeting Casey, we can honestly say we couldn't have picked a better agent to help us find our home. From the moment we met him we felt comfortable. His dedication, knowledge and experience was evident in every step of the home buying process. His patience and understanding our needs was the key to successfully helping us find our perfect home. Thanks Casey!” - Dan N. & Sidnie S.,
Casey made the process of buying my condo an easy one. He made sure I was aware of all the steps that needed to happen to make the deal happen and has made sure that I've been taken care of since I've moved in. - Lara H.
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Casey is exactly the kind of person you want helping you with something as important as buying or selling your home - he is knowledgeable and patient, he has great integrity and he is committed to helping clients. My wife and I were residing overseas when we purchased a condo, with a great deal of assistance from Casey. We were in town only for a short period of time and Casey went far above and beyond our expectations in terms of accommodating our schedule and meeting our needs, including addressing specific concerns we had related to purchasing a condo and then leaving the country again. Casey continued to provide support even after we returned to our temporary home overseas. He is someone you can trust completely, and someone who will go the extra mile for you. I would strongly recommend Casey to anyone looking to buy or sell a home. He made all the difference for us. - Peter H.
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