Rich Jacobson Your Kitsap County WA Real Estate Broker

Poulsbo Place is the award winning, master-planned community in the heart of the famed waterfront village of Poulsbo, Washington.

Designed in traditional Craftsman style, the architecture compliments the picturesque community of 'Little Norway' with its rich Scandinavian heritage.

Poulsbo Place is situated near the waters of Liberty Bay, a popular destination for area boaters and tourists, and is only a short walking distance to a wide variety of restaurants, bakeries, antique shops, clothing boutiques, book stores and gift shops.

As a licensed professional real estate broker, I view a lot of properties throughout Kitsap County, and into portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties, as well. Every once in a while, you come across a home that really stands out from the rest - one where location, condition, and price all combine together to achieve a truly amazing value. Such is the case with this charming home in popular Poulsbo Place:

148 NE Sugar Maple Place, Poulsbo, WA 98370

NWMLS #203093 provided courtesy of Teri Hewson of John L. Scott

The homes in Poulsbo Place aren't for everyone. They appeal to a very select group of highly discerning Buyers. Though the lots are small, and the homes packed in closely together, nonetheless the close walking distance proximity to Front Street in Poulsbo and the Marina on Liberty Bay, makes this exclusive community highly desirable among Buyers, both old and young.

Senior residents like the professional yard and lawn maintenance provided through the Poulsbo Place Homeowners Association dues. Young urban professionals appreciate the cool, hip environment, and convenient accessibility to the Bainbridge Island ferry.

For more information about homes for sale in Poulsbo Place or other residential properties in Kitsap County WA, contact Rich Jacobson, Your Kitsap County WA Real Estate Professional.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, ActiveRain, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

Here on the scenic Kitsap County WA peninsula, we are fortunate to have a very large military community comprised of Naval Base Kitsap, including the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard, Bangor Subase, and the Keyport Naval Undersea Warfare Center.

As such, many of the active-duty, active reserve, and retired service members buy homes here in Kitsap County WA using VA Home Loan financing. This is a very popular loan product of choice mainly because it doesn't require that the Buyer contribute a down payment.

VA Home Loan rates are usually fairly competitive compared with conventional loan rates. The current VA Home Loan rate is hovering around 3.75% to 4% for a 30-year fixed mortgage, and at 3.0 to 3.25% for a 15-year fixed mortgage. The maximum loan limits here in Kitsap County WA are presently set at $417,000. However, if a Veteran elects to purchase a home with a sales price higher than the loan limit, a down payment is then required which is 25% of the difference between the loan amount and the sales price.

Here in Kitsap County WA, it is fairly common for the VA Buyer to ask the Seller to contribute towards paying a portion or all of their closing costs (typically up to 3% of the sales price).

One of the distinctions of using VA financing to purchase your home is the VA appraisal process. Not only does the VA appraiser analyze comparable market data to determine current valuation, but they also inspect the home to determine if any conditions need to be remedied/resolved prior to closing. These typically involve primary home systems such as electrical, plumbing, and heating, or structural issues, like roof, siding, crawlspace, or foundation. They also look for any concerns relating to safety like steps, handrails, and decks.

So even though you conduct a full home inspection and negotiate any needed repairs with the Seller, the VA appraiser may call out additional conditions that will need to be resolved prior to closing. Just understanding and knowing about the VA appraisal helps VA Buyers to anticipate potential issues or delays to the home buying process.

For more information on the VA Home Loan process, go to the Overview of the VA Home Loan Program.

The first part of the VA home buying process is to connect with a knowledgeable mortgage lender to determine your eligibility and budget price range. I highly recommend Rhonda Porter with Mortgage Masters. You can connect with her through her popular blog, The Mortgage Porter. To get Rhonda's regular rate updates, follow her on Twitter @mortgageporter.

If you're a 1st Time VA Home Buyer, or even a repeat VA Buyer, give me a call @ 360.440.4758 or email at KitsapAgent@gmail.com, and I would be honored to assist you in your VA Home Buying Adventure!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SoundBiteBlog, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

There is great excitement in the real estate air here in Kitsap County WA. Keller Williams West Sount Realty has recently signed a 5-year lease for space next door to Forza in the Town Centre Plaza in Silverdale WA. Tenant improvements are underway with a Grand Opening sometime in late February to early March.

The Keller Williams Real Estate Hub in Kitsap County WA will be a relatively new concept in retail real estate office space, offering a consumer-centric, technology-driven resource center for new & current area residents.

It will also provide an efficient wireless technology environment for agents/brokers to connect and quickly accomplish work-related tasks.

Roughly a third of the space will be dedicated to providing technology tools and resources for consumer clients. Everything relating to real estate and living life on the Kitsap Peninsula will be readily available, including information on area schools, local businesses, current events, recreational attractions, etc.

Discounts & coupons for products/services will be made regularly available through partnerships with local businesses.

A computer/monitor station will be available for visitors to perform their property searches and print out information from the Internet.

Another section of the space will offer high counter work stations where agents/brokers can plug in their laptops, tablets, or mobile devices, connect to the Internet Wi-fi, print up contracts, scan/email documents, etc..

A small private conference room will offer agents/brokers additional space to meet with their clients.

This location offers great visibility exposure and high traffic potential. Forza and the surrounding businesses in the Town Centre Plaza are very popular with area residents, including the new Fujiyama Japanese Steakhouse and the new Blu-Berry Frozen Yogurt.

If you want more information on the new Keller Williams Property Hub, simply call (360) 440-4758.

As many of you may recall, I announced my recent move to Keller Williams West Sound in a post last September:

"Turning a New Page"

My decision to move brokerages has turned out to be one of the best career moves I've ever made! The team at Keller Williams West Sound is nothing short of amazing and provides a truly fun, positive, empowering environment for success!

A recent exciting development has been the signing of a long term lease for retail space here in Silverdale WA.

What has me really pumped about this new office is the concept we're creating. Instead of the traditional 'brick & mortar' stand-alone office building, we decided to go with a more 'consumer-centric' real estate resource center, situated in a high-traffic/high-visibility location, right next door to one of Kitsap County's most popular coffee hang-outs!

The Kitsap Keller Williams Real Estate Hub will serve two primary purposes:

1. Provide valuable local resource materials and technologies for community members and new residents
2. Provide a cutting-edge technology-driven support base environment for our agents/brokers

Just recently, here on ActiveRain, I posted an article that was featured entitled "Are Brick & Mortar Real Estate Offices Becoming a Dinosaur?"

The comment stream was wonderfully stimulating and thought-provoking, even better than the article itself!

This article was actually a condensed 'teaser' post based on an article that I had published a day earlier on GeekEstateBlog entitled "Real Estate Outside the Box: Questioning the Value of Brick & Mortar"

Which leads me to pose yet another question that inquiring minds want to know:

If You Were Designing the Real Estate Office of the Future, What Would It Look Like?

My basic premise for asking this question is two-fold:

1. The majority opinion from my previous articles clearly indicated a shift away from a traditional brick & mortar real estate office environment. If that's the case, where are we heading?
2. My Brokerage, Keller Williams West Sound, is currently involved in opening up a location here in Kitsap County WA, so your input/ideas may actually get incorporated into what we do!

So if you were opening an office (would it have to be an office, per se?), what would you do differently than what you already have?

Keep in mind that this space needs to be both agent-friendly and consumer-engaging. Agents/Brokers need a place to plug-in, print out copies, scan documents, meet with clients, etc. Consumers need something to draw them in, engage them, offer relevant value, and encourage repeat visits.

How big of a space would you need? What basic elements/furnishings would you have? What features would you provide for your agents/brokers? What kind of space would you create for consumers/clients? What information/takeaways would be of most value to them?

I am anxious to see what the collective creative braintrust of ActiveRain can come up with!

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional with Keller Williams West Sound, providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife, SoundBiteBlog, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com