Greg Saffell - Kent Wa - Homes - Condos Buyers Rep - First Time Buyers Seniors

We don't need to dwell on the faltering economy or the real estate business in particular. But problems abound in our industry and some of these difficulties are enormous. I was reading a story about a large real estate investment company that had it's humble beginnings in the grocery business. This was a generation ago but the family still controls the company, at least for now.

Like many other large organizations, they grew a bit too fast loading the company with debts of more than $27 billion. The family's ownership stake in the company six months ago was estimated at about $3.2 billion, but is now worth about $116 million. Needless to say the acting CEO and controlling family member was asked to step down by the board of directors.

It's a long story that tracks the company's growth and eventual slide into oblivion. Not unique in this unforgiving economy. For me, the most interesting part of the story deals with the personal side. Wealthy families are different that you and I. They run around the world in personal jets and can stay at the Four Seasons Hotel in Nevis as long as they want.

Of course this family member had many homes in all the right places. The story mentioned their 70th floor Chicago condominium filled with modern art and hand-crafted furniture as well as their stone-and- timber vacation compound in Aspen, Colo., currently assessed at $20 million.

But the real interesting part is the company they keep. Wealthy individuals enjoy the benefits of their stature by associating with other rich and prominent individuals. This family frequently hosted dinner parties for famous musicians like Yo-Yo Ma and violinist Joshua Bell. Their annual New Year's party became one of Aspen's most coveted invites, attracting Madeleine Albright and other dignitaries.

I'm impressed. I would love to mingle with some of these people and enjoy their illustrious company. Just think, lunch with Madeleine Albright. I get goosebumps just thinking about it.

Who would you like to have lunch with?

Greg Saffell/South Sound Surfer
Lunch with Madeleine Albright

This is an interesting dilemma. There is a guy in the Miami area that is illegally moving homeless people into foreclosed homes. He says" we're matching homeless people with people-less homes". So far, he has moved six families into foreclosed homes and has nine on the waiting list.

With the housing market on the skids, squatting in foreclosed homes could be on the rise. This poses an interesting ethical problem. We know it's illegal but on the other hand, the idea has some merit. Here is a guy that's just putting people first and disregarding the legal aspects and rights of the property owners. See what you think. To read the complete article go to squatters.

Previously published by Greg Saffell/South Sound Surfer
Should foreclosed houses shelter the homeless?

I was talking with a friend of mine in Southern California this morning. He is a real estate agent too, so the conversation included thoughts about our business as well. He asked me how things were and I told him that I had a closing on the 16th of this month. He then asked me " what kind of problems did you have with this deal". My answer surprised us both when I said that I had absolutely no problems during the entire transaction. We both have a few years of experience in this business and can only recall rare instances when a transaction was trouble free.

We have spoken many times over the years sharing our experiences and the troubles we have encountered in the real estate business. It's a complicated industry and each transaction is different, so you never know what may occur.

The real reason that this transaction was such a joy was due to the people involved. I must give credit to all parties including the lender, title, and escrow people. Even the inspection and appraisal went well. But most of the credit belongs to the clients. Both the sellers and the buyers were exceptional people to work with. The sellers agent was competent, thorough and a pleasure to deal with. We all worked together with one goal in mind, and that was to complete the sale. It sounds simple, but it can be elusive.

To further illustrate, the seller called me yesterday and offered to have my clients come over to the home so that he could show them around, point out important issues such as shut off valves etc. Believe me, I've never had a call like that and I was completely surprised and impressed by it.

I guess this business is like all others, even as complicated as it can be, people make the difference.
If I could chose my clients, I would chose these folks over and over again. Thank you.

Previously published by Greg Saffell/South Sound Surfer
Good agent and nice clients, what could be better

I remember years ago hearing people say " a million here, a million there and soon you're talking about a lot of money". It usually referenced some government program or tax proposal that was being considered. Well, these days it's billions. Tomorrow it will be trillions. But even then it was difficult to really grasp how much this truly was.

So today let's consider the 700 billion dollar bailout package that Congress passed in October. How much is 700 billion dollars?

U.S. Military spending has increased to $671 billion for fiscal 2008 and they could spend over $700 billionon defense in 2009, more than double that of 2001. This represents more than half of all global spending on the military and almost 20 times what the U.S. spends on diplomacy and foreign aid.

The U.S. trade deficit reached $700 billion in October. This may now be on the decline because the economy has slowed imports considerably.

The $700 billion bailout package represents slightly less than the $829 billion value of all U.S. banknotes and coins currently in circulation worldwide.

The most graphic example of how much $700 billion really is, is to imagine a stack of $1 bills 52,000 miles high, almost one-quarter of the way to the moon. If the bills were placed end to end lengthwise they would stretch 65 million miles, two-thirds of the way to the sun.

A billion here, a billion there, we're still talking about a lot of money

Previously published by Greg Saffell/ South Sound Surfer
A billion here, a billion there

If you're a homeowner seeing property values plummet, look to the commercial real estate market for solace. It might tell you which areas will recover fastest and which will likely remain weak.
The Urban Land Institute recently asked 700 real estate professionals to name the best and worst places to invest in commercial real estate in the coming year. Those surveyed included private developers, Realtors and Real Estate Investment Trust executives. Their answers also apply to the residential market, since the single-family-home sector typically follows the economy. As wages go up and there are more jobs, more people can buy homes, pushing prices up.

The best cities in which to invest are those that are considered gateways to international investment, have vital downtown's where people can forgo cars, and don't have a glut of condos or office space.
These traits landed Seattle the number 1 spot on the list. No city scored above a 6.15 on a scale of one to nine ( one being an abysmal place to invest and nine being excellent ).
Seattle is "a diversified market, has a good base of business and is becoming a 24-hour city," says Stephen Blank, senior resident fellow, finance, of the Urban Land Institute. " It's going to be in a good position to come back."

Although the city is suffering from the loss of Washington Mutual and the downsizing of Starbucks, Boeing and Microsoft are still relatively strong. Apartment vacancies are low and there aren't too many new buildings going up, meaning the market won;t be oversupplied. The same is true in the retail space.
San Francisco comes in second with a 6.12. The City by the Bay learned from the tech crash of 2001 not to overbuild. There is a reasonable supply of office and apartment space, which should limit vacancies. San Francisco's port is also expected to help the city during the downturn as Americans continue to rely on Asian imports.
Washington, D.C., New York and Los Angeles round out the top five.

Of course, there's no guarantee that an improved commercial market will lead to an improved home market. However, investors have a better chance of seeing home prices rise in fundamentally strong markets like Seattle than in struggling cities like Detroit. It landed at the bottom of the list, scoring a 2.24. Detroit has been reliant on the auto industry, which is rapidly shrinking. Other businesses are unlikely to fill the void in the next few years, which means the city will be hit hard by further economic struggles.
New Orleans also lands near the bottom with a score of 3.33. The city has been losing businesses to Houston, Dallas and Atlanta since Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005.

The other cities at the bottom of the list: Columbus, Ohio, Milwaukee, Wis, and Cleveland suffer from dying industries and lack of tourist appeal. Recent attempts to turn downtown Milwaukee into a thriving 24-hour city haven't been enough to protect it from the coming downturn. Increasingly picky investors are expected to favor higher-quality port cities over Midwest towns. And while Columbus has the potential to become a major shipping hub for goods traveling cross-country, that revitalization may have to wait for a stronger economy and a government focused on improving the nation's highways.

Excerpted from an article by Dorothy Pomerantz/ Forbes

Previously published by Greg Saffell/SouthSoundSurfer
Kent and surrounding areas will benefit from being close to Seattle