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Reba Haas and Team Reba, CDPE

The resurgence of lead based paint testing in the State of Washington

Powell Homes is a company that we've worked with in the past and they also have a remodel division. In this article they discuss issues around lead based paint (LBP). In older homes, if you'll be disturbing drywall or siding where there might be LBP, and the State of WA requires contractors to be certified to deal with proper handling of it. If you're about to have work done, we recommend LBP testing first to determine if there is any to be disturbed.

A company that does this kind of testing without disturbing the surface is NVL Labs in Seattle. They recently did the testing for a client of mine who is buying a 1959 built home. The wonderful news is that the home is LBP free which means it's quite likely that not only were the windows changed out at some point removing the trim that could have held LBP, but the siding is also newer. Good news for my clients!

In Puget Sound, as a landlord it makes sense to belong to the Rental Housing Association

If you're a landlord, or considering becoming on in the Pierce or King County areas, we highly recommend membership with this organization - the Rental Housing Association of Puget Sound. They keep tabs on changes in State and local laws that affect your property ownership and rights as a landlord. Lots of upcoming classes to help you stay on top of the latest and greatest as well as lower legal risk to you.


There are lots of changes going on in various municipalities such as business license requirements for rental properties (single family homes included) that you need to know about and much, much more....

Is there really a drop in foreclosure auctions in Washington State? Maybe... But distressed properties are still here.

I’m not sure I agree 100% with their assessment of WA State in this DS News article which says Washington State is going down in the number of foreclosure auctions. Just because lenders have slowed down their foreclosure auction rate here, doesn’t mean we don’t still have a backlog of distressed homes. We’re seeing plenty of them coming on market after the auction after no investors have purchased on the courthouse steps. We’re also seeing more lenders willing to work out a short sale thus delaying auctions or foregoing them all together if a short sale occurs.

No Fluff Savvy Home Buying class - Level 1, (Sat) March 3rd, 2012 - in Seattle!

No Fluff Savvy Home Buying - Level I, March 3rd, 2012

03/03/2012
10:00 am - 12:00 pm

RE/MAX Metro Realty office at 2312 Eastlake Ave E, Seattle WA 98102

RSVP to Classes@TeamReba.com by 03/01/2012

If you’ve been wondering what the state of the real estate market is like in Seattle and the general King/Snohomish/Pierce County area, now is your chance to get a No Fluff reality check. We’ll have Team Reba real estate brokers and a 30+ year veteran local mortgage lender (Eric Aasness of Wells Fargo) on hand to help you learn how to navigate today’s new realities of buying real estate. On the agenda will be 3 major topics:

1) Credit repair processes, how credit is scored, what to look for in your credit report,

2) Lending products and options for buyers/refinances in today’s marketplace, including loans that allow for modifications to a property (FHA 203k loans) for those “less than perfect” purchases like cosmetic fixers, bank owned or short sales, and

3) A brief explanation of the real estate purchase process as well as an overview of today’s marketplace and the types of transactions most commonly seen. Including, short sales, bank owned and “traditional” real estate sales. (Our Level II Class goes into more depth of purchase process and typical contract elements)

We hope you can join us and we look forward to seeing you there! If you can’t make it, or this class might be better suited for someone you know (friends, family, or colleagues), again, please feel free to forward the invite – all are welcome. Coffee/Tea available onsite.

REMAX Office Address:
2312 Eastlake Ave E
Seattle WA 98102

No Fluff Savvy Home Buyer class - Level 1, Feb 25th, 2012 in Tacoma!

No Fluff Savvy Home Buyer - Level I, February 25th, 2012

02/25/2012
10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Forza Coffee - Tacoma

Please RSVP to Classes@TeamReba.com by 02/23/2012 with your name, phone number and email for confirmation.

If you’ve been wondering what the state of the real estate market is like in the Pierce and King County areas, now is your chance to get a No Fluff reality check. We’ll have Team Reba real estate brokers and a local mortgage lender (Jerry Rutherford of Legacy Group) on hand to help you learn how to navigate today’s new realities of buying real estate. On the agenda will be 3 major topics:

1) Credit repair, how credit is scored, what to look for in your credit report,

2) Lending products and options for buyers/refinances in today’s marketplace, including loans that allow for modifications to a property (FHA 203k loans) for those “less than perfect” purchases, and

3) A brief explanation of the real estate purchase process as well as an overview of today’s marketplace and the types of transactions most commonly seen. Including, short sales, bank owned and “traditional” real estate sales. (Our Level II Class goes into more depth on the purchase process and most common contract elements)

We hope you can join us and we look forward to seeing you there! If you can’t make it, or this class might be better suited for someone you know (friends, family, or colleagues), again, please feel free to forward the invite – all are welcome. Coffee/Tea/Snacks available for purchase at Forza Coffee. Class is held in the conference room at the back of the shop.

Café Forza located at 2209 N Pearl St, Tacoma 98407