Mark Hall Vancouver Washington Real Estate

Green Built Schools vs. Bottled Water. Which is GREENER?

Tuesday night was our Monthly BIA dinner and Janice and I were looking forward to it. We were excited because they had scheduled a keynote speaker from the Washington Policy Center to address the group on the future of green building in Washington. As one of only 10 Earth Advantage certified realtors in Washington, I have been disappointed in the small amount of sustainable building projects in Clark County and I was eager to hear what the folks up in Olympia were going to do help us catch up with our friends across the river in Portland.(The Greenest City in America!)

As the speaker approached the podium, (I am intentionally not using names here for obvious reasons) he proudly placed a bottle of Arrowhead water next to the microphone stand. I am thinking to myself, "Yeah! We're planning on going after those landfill filling petroleum based..."

But wait?

Did I hear him correctly? Did he just say that this is one of the "Greenest" achievements of the past several years? He did! He went on to explain in detail how the new bottle design is using less plastic than the past designs. This makes perfect sense to him. He never mentioned the rate at which landfills are filling up. The plain fact that the bottle is made from a petroleum based material was never mentioned until some one from the audience asked him about it.

His next topic was a national survey of green built schools. He quickly informed us that studies indicate that previous green built schools were a failure and that on average those schools use 30% more energy than non green built schools. No facts. No charts. No support. He just threw it out there and surmised, while rolling his eyes and smirking (o.k. well, maybe I imagined the rolling eyes and smirking. I was furious by this time!), that that it had something to do with the fact that green built schools use too many windows to allow in nature light and therefore the heating and cooling bills were driving up the power bills. End of story!

He concluded that the residents of Washington need more smart design ideas like the bottled water and less ideas like green built schools! When asked what incentives they were considering to help boost the green building industry he indicated that there weren't any at this time and they are still studying the situation.

The sad part of the story is that we have been behind the curve with these projects since the beginning. The builders in our group need guidance in order to be able to make it through to the next generation of building. Our friend from the Washington Policy Center didn't do anything to help us get there.

As real estate agents in Vancouver Washington, Janice and I strongly feel that it is important to support the other industries that work in and around us. Almost since the day we earned our licenses we have been members of our local building industry association. Our passion has always been green building and sustainable living. We have just volunteered to be part of the newly created Green Building Committee with the Building Industry Association of Clark County.

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area. Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here.

REO's - Everything you ever wanted to know. Part 2 - How to buy a REO home

Purchasing a bank owned home is not unlike the purchase any other home from its owner. Find it, visit it, fall in love with it, have your agent write and submit an offer, and wait a few days until the bank gets around to either accepting your offer or sending a counter offer. Sounds simple, doesn't it?

Well it is if you are working with an agent who is experienced in REO transactions. We can give you a list of current REO's in the Vancouver Washington Real Estate Market and, more importantly, we can guide you safely past the hazards that can hide in these types of transactions.

But, what if you choose another agent who isn't up to speed on these types of purchases? Here are just two of the most common and expensive pitfalls that can be encountered if you choose an agent who is inexperienced in this type of buyer representation:

1. TITLE / ESCROW- In bank owned transactions the bank always chooses the title insurance/ escrow company. A title insurance/ escrow company is supposed to be an impartial 3rd party to the transaction. An experienced agent will tell you that they aren't impartial in REO transactions and we work hard to save our clients from paying "junk fees" that are designed to compensate for the deep discounts that they are giving to the bank (seller). This past week we caught a title company charging our client over $800 worth of junk escrow fees. Most agents would have missed these extra charges and you would have been stuck overpaying! BTW, it was $800 on a $110,000 purchase. That is .72% of the purchase in OVER CHARGES. It brought the escrow charges up to 1.4% of the entire purchase. OUTRAGEOUS!

2. INSPECTION- Did you know that common knowledge is that all REO sales are "As Is" sales? Or are they? Just because it is listed as "As Is" in the listing doesn't mean that you are stuck buying a home that has a fundamental defect. We can guide you through this potential mine field and get you through to the other side with a home that is everything of which you dreamed.

These are only 2 of the major issues that might be encountered. What do you do when the banks try to take away your rights to the state mandated disclosure statements? or if they demand that you pay their obligated closing costs? or what if the HUD shows up and you owe all of the unpaid HOA dues for the past year? What if they try to charge you $100 a day for every day that the closing is delayed? (With a minimum of 7 days!)You will wish that you had hired a buyer's agent who was experienced and confident with REO transactions.

The purchase of your new home may be the largest financial transaction of your life. Why would you ever even consider using a real estate agent who isn't the most experienced agent available? By the way, did you know that a buyer's agent is free of charge to the buyer? In Vancouver Washington real estate transactions the seller pays the real estate commissions for both the listing agent and the buyer's agent. Find the best and most experienced agent possible. You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!

Did you miss Part 1? Find it here.

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area. Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here.

Sustainable SUSHI?

Janice and I had the pleasure of dining at a very unique restaurant in the Pearl District of Portland last night. It is a seafood restaurant called BAY13. It is not unique because of the food, although I think that they serve the best sushi that I have had in Portland. They are not unique because of the service, although the service last night was exceptional. They are unique because of their mission statement. Quite simply, they are dedicated to serving sustainable seafood.

BAY13's Mission:

BAY13 is committed to serving 'sustainable seafood'- fish that is caught or farmed in a manner that protects the individual species and conserves marine habitats. We believe that a healthy ocean is vital to human life and essential to ensuring the long term supply of seafood for all to enjoy. So relax and indulge. The good news is that the seafood from these sources happens to be the highest quality available... so you can have your fish and eat it too.

BAY13 is located at 701 NW 13th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209. They are housed in the historic 1909 converted Crane warehouse building in Portland's Pearl District. BAY13 is a modern seafood restaurant, featuring a sushi bar and oyster/raw bar.

Be sure to call for reservations because they fill up fast! 503 227 1133.

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area. Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here.

Hello Everyone!!!!

The next Vancouver Green Drinks event is right around the corner.

The details: March 31st at the Downtown Vancouver Hula Boy

Informal intros will start @ 6PM Feel free to gather earlier.

This month the 5 min spiel speaker is Rachael Pecore of the Columbia Riverkeepers. She will speak for a bit about who they are, what they do in general, and about their Adopt-a-River program. Just like it sounds, volunteers adopt a river stretch and commit to picking up trash, looking out for invasive species, conducting seasonal habitat assessments, and responding to any river emergencies! Rachael Pecore is the water quality and outreach director for the Columbia Riverkeepers 541.399.1307

Our 2 min business showcase this month will be Kate Smith from Greystone Consulting

Upcoming events - We are looking forward to our 1 year anniversary for Vancouver Green Drinks!!!!!We will celebrate for our April meeting. Details are soon to follow.

Block Foam Collection events
For Block Foam (Styrofoam^TM) Recycling:
Recycle your clean, dry block foam at one of the free events listed below. Please note: Packing peanuts of any type and no polyurethane foam will not be accepted. Please visit Foam Peanuts to find recycling information.

Participation is open to residents of Vancouver and Clark County. Washington-licensed cars or pickups only! Participants must wait on site to have materials accepted. No loads larger than what fits in a passenger van, please.

May 2
9 a.m - 1 p.m, Fisher's Landing Transit Center, 3510 SE 164th Avenue, Vancouver

April 4 and June 6
9 a.m. - 1 p.m, Clark College Yellow 1 Parking Lot, Fort Vancouver Way

I hope to see you there!

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area. Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here.

Lately, I have found myself in a bit of a moral dilemma of which I would like to hear the opinions of my fellow "Rainers."

My phone has been ringing off the hook with short sale sellers wanting me to list their properties. I say "properties" instead of "homes" because a large majority of these calls are from investors who are looking to get out of their underperforming investments. We can do it and we have shorted many investment properties in the past but I have to wonder what the effect is on our Vancouver WA estate market.

Should I be saving my powers for Goodness?

When you choose us to handle your Vancouver Washington real estate needs, you choose a team of realtors® who care about you and your family. Buying or selling a home is always more enjoyable when you work with professionals who will listen to your needs and who will work together with you to achieve your objective. We are very familiar with all types a real estate in Clark County and we specialize in Vancouver, Ridgefield and Battle Ground. We are also very experienced with new home and custom home construction having assisted several local builders in selling new neighborhoods in the Vancouver Washington area. Additionally, we have helped numerous families build their own Vancouver Washington dream homes. We are dedicated to helping you make intelligent, informed decisions and to providing you with exceptional service. Go to www.ernw.org for more information. See our video here.