About Pacific County, WA

Inspection in Long Beach, WA a few years back revealed something very interesting... upon entry into the crawl space there was a fine dust, but it wasn't dust that appeared to have come from wood. Looking up, all we could see was aluminum faced foam insulation. While the inspection process typically doesn't "disturb insulation", as the Standards of Practice say, there was something that didn't seem right and our curiosity got the better of us. We pulled back the facing to reveal thousands of Carpenter Ants which had decided to take up residence in the foam insulation.

Make sure that you are re-checking all of the pre-approval letters that were issued before the 18th on this month! Payments will be increasing by $35 to $45 per month and unfortunately some buyers who were previously qualified will no longer be qualified.

If you are unsure of the changes please read below. This should help. And if anyone has any questions please feel free to write them in the comments (just in case others are having the same questions).

New FHA Annual (monthly) MIP Increases

These changes were effective April 18, 2011 (for case numbers assigned on or after this date)

The Upfront Mortgage Insurance remains at 1.00%.

The Annual Insurance Premium will increase from .90% to 1.15% for LTV's greater than 95% on 30 yr loans.

The Annual Insurance Premium will increase from .85% to 1.10% for LTV's less than or equal to 95% on 30 yr loans.

The Annual Insurance Premium will increase from .25% to .50% for LTV's greater than 90% on 15 yr loans.

The Annual Insurance Premium will increase from 0% to .25% for LTV's less than or equal to 90% on 15 yr loans.

To read Mortgagee Letter 11-10 in its entirety, click here. In other words: on a $100,000 FHA 30 year fixed this equals a $21 higher monthly payment for homebuyers. Please call or email us for more information.

A day at the beach

For the first time this year, here in Cowlitz County, we are experiencing the wonderful weather the kid have been waiting for. Since it was over 70 degrees on Sunday, we decided to take a trip to the Beach, Long Beach Washington to be exact. A lot of people just playing around, flying kites, having fun with kids, dogs and some just relaxing, enjoying the sunshine. It turn out to be a great ride down there, the kid had lots of fun burying themselves in the sand and playing with the dog and even though the water was cold they still went in for a swim. As you could imagine, they are eager looking forward to do this again in the coming summer and having a lot of fun.

Last weekend, I had the privilege of meeting one of my clients face to face that had, until now been just a voice on the phone and an email acquaintance. She is one of several relatives that had inherited a bay front property, and had never seen the property. This is undeveloped land consisting of 3 acres that extends from the main road to Willapa Bay.

The first thing we did was try to figure out where to park the car. All along the roadside is a ditch for water drainage. We decided to pull off into a nearby gravel driveway where there was plenty of room without blocking any cars. We made the short hike back from there to the property and found a partial path into the wooded area. From there, we had to rough it. We found spots where the ground gradually sloped toward the Bay as opposed to the clearer path, which led to a steep drop-off.

After climbing around, under and over tree limbs and brush, we emerged to the beautiful sight of the bay and the gorgeous horizon beyond. She and her husband snapped several pictures....the scenery was just gorgeous! Then it was time to try to find our way back out to the street. There was no clear path to follow, so we guessed at where we had come out, and wound back in the general direction of the road. Her husband stopped along the way to pick wild mushrooms growing on the property.

All in all, it was a fun and adventurous afternoon for all, but a far cry from the "typical" day of a Real Estate agent:)

We hear it so often...we see it on our fax cover sheets, on the back of our business cards, are told that we have to build our business by referral, and we should never be too busy for them...I could go on if I thought longer, but I won't.

I love them (or heart them, however you prefer) too! I got a call on Sunday from a Realtor in New York. her brother-in-law is moving to the coast and needs an agent....I'm on it honey! Oh, crap! I just realized I haven't called her back to let her know that we've made contact and he will be WELL taken care of. THAT, is the point of my post! Let me take a moment to call her now.

You see, this agent found me because she sees that I am doing a lot of activity in my neck of the woods. That is how I search for an agent to refer to as well, if I don't already have one in that area. But that also means that my call back to her may be delayed by the very nature of what we do! She called me less than 24 hours after contacting me to follow up and find out if I had shown her brother-in-law any homes yet!

There is no solution to my problem of being too busy. I'm certainly not complaining because in this market, I'm likely to be hung from the handle of the Clam Pan downtown! I don't want people to think I'm to busy for them because I will always make the time available, IF you are asking for it.

So instead of crying in my cheerios that I'm too busy, I will embrace the nature of working by referral and remember that I too, am waiting for that one call back and maybe she just got a little busy and that is a GOOD SIGN!