James Heintz

When should I begin the Short Sale process? Immediately! Foreclosure and short sale situations tend to be extremely time sensitive and time consuming for negotiations. Our short sale transactions in Bellingham, WA have taken up to 4 fours months to get lender approval. So the sooner we can begin the negotiations with your lender, the greater the chances of a successful resolution. There is no need to wait until the lender sends you a notice of default or initiates formal foreclosure proceedings against you. Time is of the essence! Lets talk, we will send you our short sale presentation and get the the packet, including some sample hardship letters. Please contact us today 360-319-4894.

Although all short sale situations are different in Bellingham, WA Whatcom County and have their own time-line, typically a short sale is completed within one to four months from the time we have a complete short sale package including your hardship letter, ready to present to the lender. The timing depends on how fast we can begin negotiating with your lender. So we need to get started immediately. This involves getting your home on the market. If you are imminently facing foreclosure or even if an auction date has already been set, the process can certainly be expedited and we may even have the lender postpone the auction date. Please contact us today at 360-319-4894. We are in Bellingham, WA Whatcom County. We will email you our short sale presentation and then follow up to see how we can help you.

The City of Bellingham today announced that new road projects have been added to the long-term planning for this great city. One of the projects that have been added to the plan includes a pedestrian walkway over the bay from Boulevard Park to the end of Cornwall Ave. The new boardwalk, estimated at more than $9 million, is a parks department project, and part of the funding will come from Greenways III property tax levy money. This project is possibly in anticipation of the future Waterfront site that continues to be discussed in Bellingham, WA.

In this same announcement the City of Bellingham is again delaying the San Juan Boulevard extension. I personally disagree with the City of Bellingham on this. The San Juan extension has been on the agenda for years, but the cost keeps rising due to not only the cost of doing business, but also mitigating wetlands. This extension was going to help reduce traffic congestion on Lakeway Dr in Bellingham, which is badly needed.

So, how is real estate selling in your part of the world? Statistically, it isn't too bad here in Bellingham, WA. If your home is priced correctly and is under $300,000, these homes are ‘pending' in about 80 days. Where is the doom and gloom with that? There isn't. The market is pretty good in Bellingham, WA. Rates are down and people are looking to buy a well priced home. Six months ago, marketing time was well over 120 in Bellingham.

We need to say something nice about real estate EVERYDAY! The media is so full of crappy reports every single night. Our local paper here in Bellingham on the past Sunday, had a story about the low number of building permits that had been issued this year. Why wasn't there a story about how strong the first time buyer market in Bellingham was?

I challenge you to find a stat like the one I quoted above and go out and tell your friends, family, office and either network it or blog about it. Also tell everyone one you run into, a positive stat, then let human nature take over from there. You know the old saying..."they'll tell two friends..", people love stats. Give them something positive about the market to help build a ground swell.

Inventory levels are low in Bellingham, WA right now. It is a great time to buy and sell.

Say something NICE about real estate today!

This coming 3-day weekend in Bellingham & Blaine five terrific wineries from the Whatcom Winery Association will participate in their annual Spring Release Weekend by offering their current and new releases of wines.

The most well know winery in the Bellingham area is Mt. Baker Vineyards. About 10 miles East of Bellingham, WA off of Hwy 542, Mt. Baker Vineyards. For a sheer variety, you can't beat Mount Baker Vineyards, which offers one of the most extensive lineups of wines in the state. A terrific favorite is the 2007 Barrel Select Pinot Gris, a steal at $13 a bottle. And the just-released 2006 vintages of pinot noir, tempranillo, dolcetto, and zinfandel will also be available for tasting during the event. A bonus will be with the weather that is supposed to be sunny, so this drive east, should be spectacular. Also bring some pocket change and hit the Nooksack Casino in Deming too. Or you can make a weekend of it and drive another 30 minutes east of Bellingham, WA and stay at The Inn at Mt Baker, a fabulous bed and breakfast owned by Carole MacDonald and Bill Snyder. Tell them that their Realtor says 'Hi'.

In Downtown Bellingham, WA is the Chuckanut Ridge Wine Company. They will feature three new releases, including the winery's signature wine, the 2006 Bad Bunny. They will also be serving an old world-style 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2006 Madrona.

The third Winery, just 5 minutes East of Bellingham, WA is the Vartanyan Estate Winery. Vartanyan produces a nice selection of red wines. If you go, make sure you try the 2006 Syrah and the 2005 Trilogia, a smooth blend of three red varietals aged in three different types of oak barrels.

The other two Wineries are in Blaine, WA, which is about 15 miles North of Bellingham, off of I-5. Dakota Creek Winery will roll out a bevy of new red and white wines for the weekend. Red wine options include the 2007 vintages of malbec, syrah, and petit verdot.

Finally, if white wines aren't your preference, check out Glacial Lake Missoula Winery in Blaine. The winery focuses only on small lots of Bordeaux-style reds from Yakima Valley.