Patrick Johnson

I have been doing open houses for a new Condo complex here in Bellingham Washington called"Telegraph Ridge".

I wanted to quickly answer some questions that frequently come up regarding financing of new condo projects. I am not a lender or in the banking industry, but as a real estate agent, I feel I should have some basic answers for potential customers who are looking to buy.

When you are talking financing for "New Condos" as opposed to resale condos, your lender will probably ask you what exactly you are trying to finance.

For conventional financing, each lender must approve each condo project they lend in.

There are two types, "New" or "Existing".

New condos are where the homeowners have not taken over control of the association, the project is still under construction (phases), there are more than 10% of the units still for sale (any of the above criteria makes it new ((at least in Whatcom County Washington )).

Existing condos:

1. Full project approval requires obtaining:

A. Current budget B. Association Declarations C. Articles of Incorporation D. Bylaws E. Evidence of Insurance F. Use for Investment must have 51% owner Occupancy.

There are many factors in getting financing on condos, but this is just a quick guideline for buyers to follow when they do decide to make the exciting leap into home ownership!

Patrick Johnson, ABR E -pro

Windermere RE

360-220-0281

Well, as far as Real Estate and the economy goes?

As an American citizen ( who am I kidding, everyone on planet earth ) not living under a rock for the last couple of years, you have no doubt heard about all the ups and downs of Britney Spears regarding custody battles, music award show mishaps, and questionable behavior right? Do you ever look at things around you, like the economy, taxes, consumer confidence reports and of course, our real estate market and think "ya know, maybe Britney was on to something by just wigging out"?

It seems like one day, everything seems to be turning a corner. You start getting more calls on your listings, The war in Iraq looks like it is really quieting down violence wise, President Elect Obama makes a cabinet pick you like......ya, things are looking...ok!

Then BOOM, oil prices go up, Russia turns off gas to the Ukraine, Israel and the Gaza situation.....(Is it time to shave my head yet?)

But wait, interest rates are how low???? 4.65 percent!! Our local mortgage lenders are actually having conversations with real people again!! That has got to be good news, people will refinance, or better yet, get off the fence and buy homes again!!....(Maybe that trip to Mexico with Mel Gibson was a good omen)

Lets just say I am not a big fan of Mrs. Spears, before or after her life went from teenage popstar to slightly less than stable Mrs. Kevin Federline and a mother of two. But she seems to have righted the ship and got things back on track, I just hope the ups and downs of the American economy can do the same thing.... and quick. (What, MTV wants her BACK ON the awards show!?!)

I ran across a few home improvement ideas that you can incorporate when you are updating your home. The list is made up of small but helpful ideas that you can incorporate to help you save energy and also make a smaller impact on resources.

1: If you are re-roofing your home, you can always put in some skylights that will allow you to use less electricity by using natural sunlight.

2: Use reclaimed or sustainably harvested materials like bamboo or cork, and avoid wood composites that contain glue or formaldehyde.

3: Try to use products that are manufactured within 500 miles of your home to cut down on fuel costs for transportation.

4: Choose paints low in volatile organic compounds instead of latex-based enamel.

5: When it is time to replace any appliances, install energy efficient ones. Stats show that if one in ten households bought energy star rated heating and cooling equipment, it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by the same amount as taking 1.5 million cars off the road!

6: Of course, by replacing old light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, yu can trim 5 percent from your electrical bill.

There are several other ways to cut down on energy use, thereby lowering your house hold bills. Try google and see what other ideas you can come up with to help reduce your monthly bill and maybe save some resources along the way.