Tara Camp

The Roosevelt neighborhood market statistics for September reflects the active, pending, & sold homes in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Bellingham, Wa Neighborhoods. You can use this information to help with pricing a property you might be preparing to sell or to help you determine value for a home you may be looking to invest in.

There are currently 5 homes for sale in the Roosevelt neighborhood, 2 homes that are pending (under contract with mutual acceptance b/t buyer & seller) & 4 properties that have sold during the month of September 09' in the Roosevelt neighborhood in Bellingham, WA.

Here's a breakdown of the activity in the Roosevelt Neighborhood for the past month.

Roosevelt Neighborhood Homes for Sale (*links will expire in 30 days)

• Median Price is $239,900
• Average Market time: 69 days
• Average Sq.ft: 1386
• Roosevelt Bank Owned Real Estate for Sale (0)
• Roosevelt Short Sales for Sale (0)
• Roosevelt Estate Sales for Sale (0)

Roosevelt Neighborhood Pending Sales - (*links will expire in 30 days)

• Median Price is $182,000
• Average Market time: 6 days
• Average Sq.ft: 904
• Roosevelt pending Bank Owned Real Estate (0)
• Roosevelt pending Short Sales (2)
• Roosevelt pending Estate Sales (0)

Roosevelt Neighborhood Sold Homes - September 09' (*links will expire in 30 days)

• Median home price is $171,750
• Average Market time: 22 days
• Average Sq.ft: 1060
• Roosevelt Bank Owned Real Estate (0)
• Roosevelt Short Sales (0)
• Roosevelt Estate Sales (0)

*Information gathered from the NWMLS is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.

I include Roosevelt neighborhood distressed propertiesin the market reports because they have an impact on prices in the neighborhood. If a given neighborhood has 5 distressed properties out of 6 sales, you can pretty much guarantee that the sales prices are going to be lower than in a non-distressed transaction & thus, have a declining effect on the neighborhood market, as well as, the over Bellingham real estate market.

*Below are charts showing changes in median price & number of homes in the Roosevelt Neighborhood in the last 18 months.*

Median Price

The Chart below compares the historic median price of sold and active inventory in the Roosevelt neighborhood.

Neighborhood Inventory

Neighborhood inventory is the number of active properties on the market and the number of homes sold in the Roosevelt neighborhood.

Roosevelt Neighborhood Residential Statistics

Tara is a full time Realtor in the Bellingham, WA. As a buyer's agent she specializes in finding you under-valued properties: good deals, bank owned real estate, short sales, estate sales, etc. As a Seller's agent your home will reach millions of buyers via internet, virtual tours, and target marketing to buyers looking to buy a property like yours. She is well versed in real estate values, finance, and negotiation. Whether you're looking to relocate, buy, sell, or invest you're in good hands with Tara.

Learn more about the 1st time Home buyers tax credit (1st time doesn't really mean 1st time)

Search for a Home or List your property today

A few weeks ago, I received an inquiry about a Blaine Bank owned property. I was happy to help this potential client and wanted to give her as much information as I could regarding the property so that she could make an informed decision as to whether she wanted to move forward in pursuing this property. After her initial inquiry, she decided that she'd like to view the property. We met the next day to view the property and she informed me upon arrival that she had been working with another agent...for a while. I'm definitely not one to step on anyone's toes, but I'm also aware that some agents out there perhaps shouldn't be. I gave her the spill of agency relationship, which she knew & she was aware that she was stabbing her agent in the back by calling me. The point was she didn't care. She wanted to work with someone that was familiar with distressed properties, because she didn't feel that her agent was.

She proceeded to tell me that she had a offer in on a Blaine short sale property, but didn't realize that it was "such a long process". She was tired of waiting. I informed her that bank owned properties also take time, although not nearly as long as short sales. (Not by a long shot.)

Her question of the day, which has turned out to be my question of the year was "Is it illegal to make offers on multiple properties at the same time"? UM, No, no, & NO! My response of course, was whom-ever gave you that idea? Well, it turns out that her agent gave her that idea. Of course, you have to commit to one property upon acceptance, but that's the making for another blog in itself.

My point - I actually encourage multiple offers if you have an offer in on a short sale. Bellingham short sales take time, as do all short sales, and if another property pops up that you like...you better bet I want you to make an offer on it. Why? Well, because if it's a bank owned property or a motivated seller it's going to be a faster process and sometimes(most often) a better deal. Of course, upon acceptance of an offer I'd recommend very timely notice to any other offer that you might have on the table. After-all time is of the essence.

Feel free to email me with questions, comments, or concerns.

Tara specializes in Bellingham Short Sales, Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate, Lease options, & Seller financing. If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Bellingham, give her a call. She's honest, reliable, and well educated in the realm of real estate & finance.

Thinking of making an offer on a Bellingham Bank Owned property? Well, if you've made offers on distressed properties before, you're probably aware that banks & lenders have their own set of rules. One of them being the bank's request of your "highest & best offer" on the Bellingham bank owned property. Usually the "highest & best" phrase comes into play when there are multiple offers. Instead of the bank countering each offer individually, they will counter all offers verbally by asking for "highest & best" from each bidder.

As a buyer, there's no way of knowing at what price the other offers came in at, not to mention the fact that for all you know there might not even be other offers on the table. The weight of certain factors can make or break an offer, so the highest doesn't always mean the best. Financing terms, as well as, how the offer is written will also make a difference in whether your offer is accepted or not.

If your looking for a Bellingham bank owned property have your Realtor run comps., determine the property's after repair value, & bid out any repairs that are needed, so that you don't offer to much for a property. Have an idea of what your exit strategy is before you start negotiations. For instance are you going to live in it for 5+ years, fix-n-flip it, or hold it as a rental? These factors will help you determine how much the property is really worth to you and help you define your margins.

As always, I'm here to help you reach your real estate goals. Let me know if I can help.

Tara

About the Author: Tara is a full time Realtor in the Bellingham, Wa. As a buyers agent she specializes in finding you under-valued properties: good deals, bank owned real estate, short sales, estate sales, etc. As a Seller's agent your home will reach millions of buyers via internet, virtual tours, and target marketing to buyers looking to buy a property like yours. She is well versed in real estate values, finance, and negotiation. Whether you're looking to relocate, buy, sell, or invest you're in good hands with Tara.

Learn more about the 1st time Home buyers tax credit (1st time doesn't really mean 1st time)

Buy a Home or List your property today - Contact Tara at 360-296-3244 or tara@taracamprealestate.com

If you're shopping for Bellingham Real Estate you might have noticed that there is a bit of excitement around the topic of Bellingham Bank Owned Properties & you might be wondering what the fuss is about. Well, Bellingham Bank owned properties are usually priced at or above fair market value, but occasionally there are some that have a really low listing price. The low listing price can mean one of two things...it may mean that it's a great deal, priced-right or it could mean that it's a real dump in a bad location. We've seen it all here in the Bellingham Real Estate market.

If, in fact, they are great deals, they may seem to-good-to-be true...& sometimes they are. Bank owned, low listing prices, is a strategy that some banks use to create bidding wars in order to get buyer emotions involved so that they'll pay more for a property. Sometime it works, sometimes it doesn't. Here in the Bellingham real estate market I've only seen a few bank owned deals that actually sold for more than they we're listed for.

If you're shopping for a Bellingham bank owned property, know what you're willing to pay before the negotiations begin. Don't get caught up in a bidding war, as there will be others. Also, base your offer on other distressed comparables in the area & know your exit strategy.

Tara specializes in Bellingham Short Sales, Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate, Lease options, & Seller financing. If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Bellingham, give her a call. She's honest, reliable, and well educated in the realm of real estate.

If you're currently looking to buy Bellingham bank owned real estate, you might have seen or heard the phrase sold "AS IS". If so, you're probably curious and maybe concerned about the "AS IS" phrase, as you should be. After-all, it sounds pretty foreboding and kind of implies that something could be wrong with the place. Well, while there could be something wrong with this particular bank owned property, "AS IS" just means that the seller (the bank/lender/note holder) is not going to do any repairs before they sell.

How do you protect yourself from this "AS IS" clause, when buying Bellingham bank owned real estate? Well, a home inspection is always recommended, as it's a good way to find hidden problems that the seller may or may not know about. This is important because banks do not occupy the dwelling therefore, they don't fill out/include a seller's disclosure, which would typically disclose issue(s) with the property. I recommend an inspector that is ASHI Certified, which insures that they are qualified, as well as, insured in case they miss something in the inspection. The appraisal, which will be ordered & required by your lender also has guidelines to protect their investment, which should also spot any potential problems.

When it comes to negotiating Bellingham bank owned real estate, you should negotiate with the "AS IS" clause in mind with your initial offer. Some agents & buyers have the mind set of putting a high offer in, getting an inspection, and then asking the bank to lower the price or fix problems that came up in the inspection. This may work with normal sellers, but the banks usually refuse to do any work to bank owned properties and they are most often not going to reduce the price. If you decide to choose this route you could be wasting your inspection money especially if you're banking on seller concessions or a price reduction...negotiate the "AS IS" clause into your initial offer, enough said.

To make a long story short, when buying Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate the "AS IS" clause shouldn't make you run the other way with your tail between your legs, but heed caution, do your due diligence, & utilize your real estate team to help you make wise decisions.

Tara specializes in Bellingham Short Sales, Bellingham Bank Owned Real Estate, Lease options, & Seller financing. If you're looking to buy or sell real estate in Bellingham, give her a call. She's honest, reliable, and well educated in the realm of real estate