Discover North Seattle: March 2009

Welcome to the first edition of my multi-part Home Buyer Education Series!  The goal of the next several blogs is to help current buyers and those thinking of buying to find their core motivation and help determine their Ability, Readiness, and Willingness to buy a home.

Let's start with Ability:

Most people I speak with don't believe they are currently able to buy a home.  But after they spend some time with a trusted mortgage professional, they realize quickly that a new home is well within their reach! 

If you're thinking about buying a home, the best place to start is setting an appointment with a trusted mortgage professional.  Most people start the process by going online and looking at homes, but that should be the second step in your process.  A good mortgage professional worth their money is one who can sit down with you, discuss your goals and map out a plan of action to make those goals a reality at a pace that feels best for you.

Now, let's talk about how Ready you are:

Here are the most common reasons people buy houses:

• Relocation - you must move due to work or other life changes.
• Dissatisfaction - your neighborhood has changed for the worse/too far from work
• Positive Life Changes - marriage, new baby, promotion, market conditions make it easy to buy
• Negative Life Changes - death, divorce, loss of income
• Second Home - for retirement or vacation
• Previous Home Sold - searching for a step-up or step-down home
• Lease Ending - you don't want to keep paying someone else's mortgage for them
• Investment - you're ready to start using real estate as a wealth-building opportunity

So, how do you determine your Readiness?  Ask yourself some questions:

What is prompting your move?

What does your new home need to accomplish for you that your current/previous home did not?

On a scale of 1 - 10 (10 meaning as quickly as possible) how soon do you want to get into your new home? 

What needs to happen to get you to "10"?

You must find out whether your core motivation is and if it's strong enough to get you through the entire process of buying a home.  If you're motivation is less than a "10" after answering these questions, you should consider A.) Waiting until you're truly "Ready" to buy a home, or B.) Doing what it takes to get to "10".

Otherwise, you may end up wasting your time as well as all the time and effort of your lender and real estate agent.

Finally, let's discuss Willngness:

Willingness is whether or not you are ready to take action.  If you are Willing, you are able to listen to and follow sound advice from trusted professionals and weigh that advice with your motivation and education in the home buying process. 

You have sufficiently tapped into the "why" of buying a home and understand clearly what your motivation is. 

At this stage, you should be ready to write an offer for a home if it meets all or most of your criteria.  You also feel comfortable with your real estate agent as a trusted advisor.  Side note:  If you don't completely trust your real estate agent, fire him/her immediately!  You are about to embark upon the biggest investment of your life!  Don't settle for an agent if you don't feel they have your best interests in mind.

I hope this exercise helps you start understanding your motivation and see where you are in the process!  I believe every buyer should be clear-minded, fully prepared and well educated before committing to such a large investment.

Share your thoughts and questions with me here on my blog.  I will try my best to answer any questions and look forward to reading your comments!

- Jay

Hey, first-time homebuyer: How does $8,000 from your Uncle Sam sound?

Want an extra $8,000?  If you're a first-time homebuyer then we have a nice surprise for you.

Last fall, the Federal Government introduced a financial incentive to prospective first-time homebuyers - an income tax credit of up to $7,500. The rules were simple: you must have been a first-time homebuyer (as defined by not owning a home in the previous three years) and you met certain income restrictions.

The new $8,000 tax credit is available to those who buy between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. It's not a deduction, it's an actual credit.  Unlike the $7,500 first-time homebuyer tax credit introduced last summer; this does not need to be repaid.

First timers who qualify can make no more than $75,000 in adjusted gross income if they're single or $150,000 if filing jointly. The maximum tax credit is $8,000 or 10 percent of the sales price of the home, whichever is less. Three years residence in the property are required. As always, check with your accountant for details and be sure to submit IRS form 5405 when you file your taxes.

 I previously posted this, but put in the wrong info and link.  It's fixed now, so feel free to check it out!

The opportunity to invest in North Seattle has become even easier.  Click on the link to see all the different homes in North Seattle zip code of 98125 with at least 3 bedrooms, and at least 1,200 square feet.

These homes are located in Pinehurst, Olympic Hills, Lake City, Northgate, Victory Heights, and just south of Shoreline.

I'm the North Seattle expert, so if any of these interest you just click on "Inquire.." or "Request Showing..." on the right side of the property info.

Click here:  Homes in North Seattle for Under $300k.

- Jay

With the rising energy costs there has been an increase in interest for energy saving appliances. Efficent "tankless" water heaters have become very popular for their capability to heat hot water on demand, with no storage tank required. Instead of holding water in a traditional water tank, they circulate the cold water through a series of electrically heated coils that warm the water as it moves pass this heat source.

This newer process of warming water requires more expensive equipment than the conventional water heater, but this money is regained in the long term with energy efficiency savings. The energy savings is mainly gained from no longer needing to heat an entire tank of water.

 

Since the tankless water heaters do not store hot water but rather constantly heat water as it is demanded, they do not run out of hot water. There is one exception, to this "endless" supply of heated water. The flow rate is limited. In other words if you simultaneously use more water than the flow of the water heater (i.e. 3 people showering at one time) you will receive unheated water.

Since conventional water heater stores the water together in a large tank it is able to provide water at a set temperature. Tankless water heaters differ in this aspect since they are dependent upon the incoming water temperature and the flow rate. The incoming water temperature can vary greatly from summer to winter. The capacity of a tankless water heater is generally measured by how many temperature degrees it can increase water temperature by gallons per minute (gpm).

Most tankless water heaters are powered by gas to better handle the heat output and response time required. These gas powered water heaters require proper venting, normally more venting than the older, conventional water heaters required. If you are replacing a conventional electric water heater tank, you may want to add a power vent in the side of the wall. This would be the less costly alternative if there is no existing roof vent. Some of the smaller and more portable single-fixture units are powered electrically.

I thought this was great info to share, so I am sharing with the permission of the author: Jack Russell