About Bremerton's Puget Sound Naval Shipyard

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

Doom and Gloom. Doom and Gloom. It's playing like a broken record through the news media outlets across the country.

As a licensed real estate broker, I hear this particular sentiment being expressed a lot these days, both as it relates to the housing market in general around the US, and right here in Kitsap County WA.

Let's face it. Times are tough. Our current economic struggles breed uncertainty and unrest. The natural tendency is for people to hunker down, hold tightly to their money, and not make any major purchases.

While this may be a prudent direction for some, others may unfortunately lose out on a prime market opportunity. One of the best times to invest in real estate is at the low end of the cycle when home prices have bottomed out. Add to that dynamic the large number of short sale and bank-owned properties currently available, and you have an even better equation for investment success.

But what about the Kitsap County WA real estate market? Are there any indicators from trusted industry sources that some select markets may rebound faster than others? In spite of all the doom and gloom, will some housing areas fair better than others?

According to a recent study by Moody's Economy.com, the most robust housing market in the entire US by the year 2014 is none other than our little corner of the globe, Silverdale WA and Bremerton WA.

To read more about these projections, go to Silver Lining in the Silverdale Real Estate Market.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate broker 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, Everyday CK, HomesByHarbors, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail: kitsapagent@gmail.com

Let me preface this article by stating for the record that I am a big fan of VA financing. It’s one of the few home loan products currently available for active-duty service members and veterans that requires little or no money up front in order to purchase a residential property. The first two houses my wife and I bought were financed with VA home loans, otherwise we would have been renters for a very long time!

It’s just that I really dislike the whole VA appraisal process. While we have many highly qualified appraisers here in Kitsap County WA, and most of them do an admirable job at determining property valuations, the whole VA appraisal process is horribly flawed.

To find out why VA Appraisals are the Ultimate Deal Killer, hop on over to SOUNDBITEBLOG (opens up into a separate window for your viewing ease)

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional 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, Everyday CK, and Crabbing in the Hood, or you can e-mail him: kitsapagent@gmail.com

Thre is nothing more interesting than seeing photos of an area you may live in or are thinking of living in. Below you will find some photos that I took at the new Bremerton attraction PSNS Memorial Plaza. If you would like to read the information or watch a video you can click the links which will open in a new window so you can really capture the newest area attraction - Puget Sound Naval Shipyard Memorial Plaza.

Bremerton Attractions | Hyper Local Video | PSNS Memorial Plaza

Bremerton Attraction : Terrorist Blockade to PSNS Memorial Plaza

After the September 11 attacks security for military installations around the country implemented new security measures, and bases in Kitsap County followed suit. The Navy proceeded to purchase land in downtown Bremerton adjacent to the Bremerton Puget Sound Naval Shipyard entrance for a security buffer. Instead of looking at some jersey barriers along the sidewalk the City of Bremerton had a vision that would lead to the creation of PSNS Memorial Plaza.