Marguerite Giguere Specializing in Tacoma, WA

Here's a great article by the News Tribunes Dan Voelpel, (who is my favorite because he mentioned me and linked to my website in a story once) about Harold Allen. Harold is retiring after 60 years in Real Estate and will be honored at Cheryl O'Brien's Installation as Tacoma Pierce County Association of Realtors President tonight at the Tacoma Yacht Club.

I thought it might be interesting to take a look at two ends of the sold spectrum in the City if Tacoma. I ran a search for homes that had SOLD for over $1,000,000 since January 1st, 2008. Here she is... Miss Tacoma... The Most Expensive House to Sell in 2008 (so far!)

This house was on Ventura Drive in Narrows area. It has 4 Bedrooms, 3.5 Bathrooms, and 5,240 Square Feet. It has an inground pool with some pretty amazing views of the water, and an outdoor kitchen.

It sold for $1,645,000. It was listed for $1,850,000 and was on the market 200 days. There were 7 houses and 1 condo that sold for more than $1 Million Dollars in Tacoma this year. They spent an average of 148 days on the market and sold for an average of 92.5% of their list prices.

This is the winner though, at only $55,300. It sold after 511 days on the market after initially being listed for $121,999. It is 1 Bedroom, 1 Bath, with 414 square feet. On average, homes under $100k sold for 87.62% of their currently listed price and took an average of 119 days to sell.

As an honorable mention I am including this Bank Owned House as well, which sold for $37,500. It's pretty much a tear down though, so I thought the other one was the more fair winner. It was on .30 acres though, which makes it a pretty awesome deal IMHO.

You know you have one. That bad christmas sweater that you got from your mom, your grandma, or some distant aunt who still thinks you're 11.

In celebration of the bad christmas sweater- Doyle's Public House in Downtown Tacoma (both the Stadium District and St Helens Neighborhood claim this awesome bar) is having a Bad Sweater Party. Mark your calendars for November 26th at 8pm!

There is no cover, but you have to be 21. There will be prizes! Raid your grandmas closet or head over to the Goodwill if you're too classy to have one of these waiting for you in your closet!

Today I attended a Progressive Brokers Open in the South Hill neighborhood of Sunrise. These are not my usual stomping grounds, but since the Brokers Open was put on by my Real Estate BFF Craig, off I went!

A Brokers Open is an Open House for Real Estate Agents. They are usually held during the week, often on Tuesdays. Craig was having a "Progressive Brokers Open" which means 3 Agents in the same neighborhood with homes to sell did theirs at the same time to draw agents.

Craig served sandwiches, someone else Fried Chicken, and the last house had delicious desserts. Agent attendance is greatly influenced by the presence of free food!

If you are selling your home, a Broker's Open is a fantastic way to get exposure for that house. I have often attended brokers opens that I didn't have buyers for, only to find myself in a conversation with an agent a few days later who asked me, "Have you seen a house that..." and I can suggest the house from the Broker's Open.

By the way, if you want to buy this house, I'm sure Craig would love to sell it you. You can check it out here.

Your accountant will probably tell you if you buy a house this year, you will have a $7,500 Tax Credit coming back from Uncle Sam. While they call it a "Tax Credit" you do have to pay it back over 15 years. I call that a no interest loan.

It goes like this, you buy a house. You'd better be a high roller, because It has to cost more than $75,000. You must be a first time homebuyer (or have not owned a home for 3 years and be buying again). You must close escrow by June 30th, 2009. When you file your tax return, you will have a credit of $7,500. So that means if you are already getting a $1,000 tax return, go ahead and make that a $8,500 return.

Still with me? Let's talk about how you pay the man back. Starting in year 3 after you buy your house you pay back 1/15th per year until you're all paid up. That means if you have a $1,000 tax return coming, you would only get $500 back. There are income restrictions, if you're single you can't make more than $75,000 per year. If you are married you can make up to $150,000. If you make more than that (lucky dog!) you still qualify for a partial credit, so talk to your mortgage banker.

Of course if you sell before you pay back the $7,500 the government is going to get their money, and there are other nuances. It's complicated enough that you want to make sure to talk it over with a Mortgage Banker that you trust. Or your accountant.

I know people that completely lose interest in the Tax Credit once they hear they have to pay it back, but if there is a purchase you want to make or an remodel you would like to do, it's a great way to get it done at 0% interest. T

Thanks to Mortgage Banker Brian Saltvick for the detailed information.