D. Marty Nelson

This is it. This is the weekend for the annual Tastin N Racin, limited hydro races on Lake Sammamish, Issaquah, WA. For the third year Realty Executives of Issaquah has supported this event and will have a booth at the event.

This year the weather promises to be great. We have been experiencing "summer" weather in the PNW - heat in the high 80's and NO RAIN. (Sorry Activerain) Realty Executives of Issaquah has been a participant in this event for the past two years and in those years the weather has been cold and damp. Not this year, the forecasters promise sun and the high 70's. Who Hoo!

Visit our booth and learn the latest benefits for first time homebuyers. Hear how you can still get zero down loans with NO PMI. Realty Executives of Issaquah is working with the Washington State Finance Commission and our partner Golf Savings Bank to provide education to first time homebuyers and access to Washington State supported loan programs by simply attending a 5 hour Seminar on first time homebuyers. Classes are held twice a month at different locations with no charge to participants. Attendees will receive a Certificate of Completion providing access to the State programs.

The other great benefit is the $8,000 tax credit for homebuyers who have not owned a home in the past three years. This money is not required to be paid back as was a previous program. To qualify for this credit you must purchase and close on your home by December 1, 2009.

D. Marty Nelson and Bob Peterson are Broker and Owner of Realty Executives of Issaquah.

Are you living through a short sale? Representing the Seller? It takes a ton of patience and skill to weather the endurance race mistakenly called a "short sale". There is nothing short about it.

My experience began with a listing that was inherited from a agent who had promised a Seller to perform a discounted commission - sale. The house was beautiful in a rural neighborhood and at the time it was worth the $700,000 it was listed for. The Seller was upside down with a negative amortization loan and no job. It was either sell the house or give it back in a foreclosure. Desparate moves resulted in a major price discount to create offers. The price reduction resulted in a solid offer for $655,000 and began the path to the short sale.

My inexperience in this situation began the frustrating process of dealing with two lenders and negotiate with them to accept an offer where neither lender would get back the principal of their loan. Calling the Loss Mitigation Department of a large lender can be a difficult process. Most often the 800 number goes to a call center and is answered by the next person in line. Rarely will you speak to the same person twice. It is very important that you have the client information documents in order before you get started in this process. Financial records, listing agreement, hardship letter, HUD-1 and other items are necessary before they will even begin talking to you about the process.

When you fax information to the Loss Mitigation Department it goes into a computer and is entered into a file without being managed by a real person. In my experience it took at least 4 attempts to fax the information before they acknowledged receipt. It took about two months of faxing and calling before I was able to speak with the person who would be dealing with me to negotiate this transaction. If you have two lenders you will need to deal with two companies in the same process.

Half way through the transaction I was encouraged to hand the process over to a local law firm who specialized in escrow and short sale negotiation. I would like to tell you that this was a superior process but sadly it was not. The communication between the law form and my client was difficult at best. If the law firm worked directly with the client and negotiated on their behalf it might have been easier but in my case I was in the middle and my client of 12 months expected me to be their advocate during the process.

It has been five months since we received our offer and thankfully the buyer was able to delay their closing and allow the process to work its way through the system and eventually close. We are not yet closed but the end is in sight. I recommend to any agent wanting to get involved in a short sale to educate themselves prior to jumping into the process. Take classes, read information about the subject and seek experienced support or make mistakes and jeopardize your sale and commission.

Man, it is tough out there...I just closed the hardest transaction (listing) ever. I had a willing and motivated seller and we dropped the sale price by $100K to make the market. Bang! Two offers in as many days. We snagged a qualified Buyer and set for a 30 day close.

Then came the inspection. Sometimes the inspection just has to be the defining moment in the sale Water in the crawl space and mice in the attic...ridge caps on the roof and a difficult Jacuzzi tub. Sounds simple enough, but not so fast. How about those failed window seals (4) and that defective water heater?

Finally, we defined what would be perfection in this home and it looks like $7K would cover it. The Seller says "we will do it all". (whataguy). The handyman fills the Jacuzzi to check it out and when he is done he walks away and leaves water in the tub. Bad idea. The next day there is water dripping from the kitchen ceiling below...the Jacuzzi leaks. $1500 and two plumber trips later we have to remove tile from the tub surround and there it is; a failed glue joint on the tub. No problem, rush everything here and we can get it done by closing. We never counted on 16 inches of snow, closed roads and a Christmas/New Years holiday.

Perserverance and pressure resulted in everything to be done to the Buyer's satisfaction (inspection #3) and we finally closed, sans the windows and the tile is still not here for the Jacuzzi. It seems the house was 10 years old and there was no matching tile to be found without a special order. Murphy's Law was at work.

Oh, I have never met my Seller (client) he moved away in January of 08 and I have had the pleasure of listing, fixing and selling the house.

We finally closed. Who said we don't earn our commission?

The original Montreux is a Swiss town located in the SW corner of the country near Lake Geneva. The name must be considered "cool" because when "googled" you come up with many hits on the name and different locations around the U.S. that have taken the name. The most recent popularity of the Swiss Montreux is for the Montreux Jazz Festival, which is held every year.

Our great development "Montreux" is on the side of Cougar Mountain in the city of Issaquah, WA. There are about 250 homes in the development and most are upscale and of high value. We have a diverse culture in this neighborhood but we all seem to get along just fine. Sales are slow this year and prices have slipped but not seriously. I have a new listing of a 10 year old 4 bedroom home for $824,900.

Our Annual Neighborhood Block Party will be held this weekend commencing with a tykes parade and ending with a barbeque and fun events for the kids. These events are well attended and it is a good way to get to know your neighbor. The theme every year is "Remember" and it is held on the Saturday closest to 9/11.