***if you know
anyone who is thinking about buying a home, our next classes
are:










     Monday, October 22, 2012, from 5pm-8pm, at the
Marshall Center, conference room at 1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd. (kitty corner from
Clark College)











   Saturday, October 27, 2012, from 1pm-4pm at the
Vancouver YMCA located at 11324 NE 51st Circle (corner of SR-500 &
112th/Gher Road).  Remember....with reservation...we will throw in lunch!  :-)
...we also have other class dates/times...check out the website



Please go to www.learningtobuyahome.com, or www.traciedemars.com for information on ALL upcoming
Free Community Home Buyer Classes.  I do keep all updated information, and
directions there... I would love to hear from you about when you might like to
see the classes.  These classes are for you, so please, I love your comments and
feedback!!  :-) ***


>>>sorry
if this is a duplicate email!  It is Monday morning and I received an error
message from my computer/aol regarding my emails yesterday so I am resending
everything because I figure it is better to be safe than sorry!!  Have a great
week!!  :-)



Happy Sunday
morning!


Got your pumpkin
yet?  Yeah?  I don't...I feel kind of bad, but we just haven't been able to make
it out yet to get my toddler to the pumpkin patch....maybe we will skip it this
year?  Sshhh...don't tell the teenagers I just said that!!  :-)  I am having a
difficult time getting into the Halloween spirit today, but maybe that is
because I am a little cranky.  I just woke up cranky, but I think that has a lot
to do with feeling frustrated. 


It is a frustrating
time right now....I have buyers who are ready to go, but who can't find homes. 
There is a distinct absence of homes for sale right now...there just isn't that
many homes...  I can't change what the market is, and it is very competitive for
the homes that are available.  It is frustrating for everyone so I am just
preaching patience....  Be patient..., and be looking at the available homes on
the market that are in your price range.  The market has gone up, considerably,
and anything under $200,000 is a sellers market.  Next week I am going to talk
more about fall/winter homes.  I will also be talking about short sales this
next week because I have clients who are frustrated with the available homes on
the market that they keep looking at all those short sale homes.  Please
remember that, as a buyers agent, my job is to help you find a home that you can
love, that you can afford, and that you can actually purchase.  As I say, it is
my job to be a matchmaker, not a heartbreaker....but more on that next
week!


This week let's go
over the 4 legal reasons to back out of an offer and get your earnest money
refunded to you.  I have been saying that I will get to it, but I keep getting
side tracked, so let's talk about this.  :-)  When you make an offer on a home,
it is a LEGAL contract.  You are offering to purchase this particular home with
the contingencies in place that are there to protect you.  These contingencies
are also your legal reason to back out and get your earnest money back.  I know
that each agent differs here, but I really urge my buyers to only make ONE offer
at a time.  Again, the offer is a legal contract that if accepted means that you
are in contract to purchase this home.  You do have some legal reasons to back
out and get your earnest money refunded, but just deciding not to purchase the
home doesn't cut it....you lose the earnest money.  When a buyers agent writes
up your offer our job is to protect you, the buyer.  We will put in
contingencies to protect you, and the standard contingencies are:  Insurance
(addendum), Inspection (addendum), Financing (addendum), and Appraisal (on the
second page of the financing addendum).  What does this mean?




Insurance

Many people contact their
insurance agent for a binder as one of the last things they do....this is wrong.
  The first person you should call after you write up an offer is your insurance
agent!  You need to inquire about any previous water, or other insurance claims
that could increase the cost of the homeowners insurance for you.  Yep....you
read that right...IF there was a previous water or other insurance claim in the
last 3-5 years on the home you are interested in, YOUR homeowners insurance will
be at a higher premium as that claim follows the home you want to buy, as well
as the sellers on to their new home.

 

Inspection

As we talked about a
couple of weeks ago, and again last week a bit...inspection is a big thing; the
cost of which is non-refundable.  However, if you back out of the contract based
upon the homes failure to pass an inspection, you will receive your earnest
money back.

 

Appraisal

Remember from last week
that this is one of those fees that you pay to the lender, but the lender hires
the appraiser.  The appraisal is non-refundable, like the inspection, but if the
home doesn't appraise for the amount of the agreed upon purchase the price, the
seller has the right to not lower the price to the appraised amount.  IF this
happens, you, the buyer, have the right to back out and have your earnest money
refunded to you.

 

Financing

If you lose your financing
for whatever reason, you have the right to back out of the purchase sale and
have your earnest money refunded to you.  Sometimes it happens that the home
just can't be financed, at least not with the state or government loans...if
this happens you also have the right to back out and receive your earnest money
back.

 

Remember that your buyer's
agent will help you with each and every step of the process, and will help you
as you look at homes to go over any possible defects that could prevent a home
from passing an inspection, or to not qualify for financing.  An agent, of
course, is not a home inspector, and in many cases it isn't what you can see
that could be the problem, but what you can't see....that is why the home
inspector is so important to you.

 
Hope this
helps....as always, give me a ring, text, email, or facebook me if you have any
further questions!











Please call, email, text, or even facebook me (at Tracie DeMars Real Estate) anytime with any questions, or if
there is anything I can do to assist you with your home buying adventure! As
your buyers agent, I am, as always, here to help!!
:-D




Thank you
again for your business and for your referrals!



...as always...if you
have already purchased a home, or no longer would like to receive these emails
from me, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from receiving any
more.




Thank you again for
attending the home buyer education classes, and I hope that you will continue to
refer the classes out to your friends, family, and co-workers. Upcoming class
dates and times are located at www.freehomebuyerclasses.com. Just click on the link
on the left hand side. Or you can go to www.learningtobuyahome.com and click the
links.


We appreciate your
referrals and word of mouth! Also, if you have somewhere that we can place the
flyers at, please let me know....
:-D






Next Week: Fall/Winter homes...what you need to know
to look for.....or types of heating and what they mean
Last Week:
Explanation of who is involved in your loan, and what they do.




Remember
that you can always go to 'Tracie DeMars Real
Estate' on
Facebook for all of my weekly blogs
and upcoming class dates/times/locations.
I post the weekly blogs
on there as well.





Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,
;-D
Tracie DeMars
Buyer's Agent
Re/Max - Van Mall
360/ 903-3504 cell
360/ 882-3600
fax
www.traciedemars.com

find me on
LinkedIn
traciedemars@aol.com



“Interested in free and non promotional home
buyer classes? Go to www.freehomebuyerclasses.com or www.learningtobuyahome.com for local upcoming classes, or facebook: Tracie
DeMars Real Estate.”



*****Remember that if you are interested I
can, and will be happy to, set you up on an email that will automatically email
you with new home listings in your area and price range as they come up on the
market. This email will include all bank owned homes and anything with price
changes. Just send me what you are hoping to find, your top 3 things in a home,
and what is the best email to send it to. This is with no obligation, and is a
good way to 'window shop'.
:-)

***if you know anyone who is thinking about buying a home, our next night class is:



     Saturday, October 13, 2012 at the Vancouver YMCA located at 11324 NE 51st Circle (corner of SR-500 & 112th/Gher Road) from 9am-12pm.  Remember....with reservation...we will throw in lunch!  :-) ...we also have other class dates/times.


 Please go to www.learningtobuyahome.com, or www.traciedemars.com for information on ALL upcoming Free Community Home Buyer Classes.  I do keep all updated information, and directions there... I would love to hear from you about when you might like to see the classes.  These classes are for you, so please, I love your comments and feedback!!  :-) ***




Happy Sunday!!

Ok...is anyone else waiting for the rain?  No, wait, really!  I am missing some rain, and please stop shaking your head at me!  LOL  My husband is loving this weather, and so is my oldest daughter, but I miss the pretty leaves that is usually associated with fall, I am disliking the low humidity (dries my skin out), and all these fires worry me.  It doesn't feel like fall...well, except for the cool nights which has been very nice!  We are starting to decorate for Halloween at my home, and my toddler is running around singing, 'this is halloween, this is halloween'....  cracks us up!  She loves the 'spooky stores', but insists on daddy holding her as we go through them.  I think twice was enough to take her to Spirit.....even if she keeps wanting to go back.  Honestly, I am already looking forward to christmas!!  Do you think it is too early to put out our "xx days to christmas" countdown light???  LOL

Don't forget if you are out and about today, we will be at the Oregon Convention Center for the Bridal show today.  We will also be at the one in January as well.  :-)

So...market trends...

I have been talking most of this year about how the market has picked up.  Homes are not staying on the market as long, are selling for listing price, and often have been having multiple offers which means that home sells for more than listing price.  It has been a crazy year....last fall/winter there were many homes on the market and at scary good prices...and people were just looking.  In January of this year we had about 70% of our active market go pending in two weeks, and it has been busy ever since.  Now...home prices have gone up, but interest rates have gone down so we are still in excellent times for buying a home.....the downside is that the market is very tight.  Per the RMLS (regional multiple listing service) that the Clark County real estate agents use these are the stats for the last three months:

I put in a search criteria of under $200,000, and not counting short sales, or bank owned homes...for the past three months we have had 316 homes listed, and 305 sold!  The average/median sold price has been about $172,000, and we have 1.3 months of inventory on the market.  What this means is that if no more homes were listed and we keep on the current pace we would run out of homes in about a month!!  91 active units on the market that are not short sales, or bank owned homes under $200,000 in Vancouver. 

 Bank owned homes for the last three months have had 40 listed and 60 sold...which means that there were 21 homes that sold that were listed either the month or two before.  Average sold price for bank owned homes under $200,000 is about $157,500.  Total active units are 6 still out there under $200,000 for bank owned homes.  


Remember that bank owned homes don't come on the market as much in the last quarter of the year.  All of these homes are bank write-offs...the banks really aren't losing as much money on them as you would think since in the long run since they can use them to lower their taxes at the end of the year...don't get me wrong...they are losing money, but for the banks these are tax write offs.  At the beginning of the year the amount of bank owned/REO homes on the market pick up again.  Again, PLEASE remember that there is no special lists of bank owned homes....the only list you might get is the list of homes coming up for auction.  Auctions are great, but they are cash only....and they don't accept financing or pre-approval letters.  When a bank owned home becomes available to sell it does go on the rmls....no special lists...  

Scary thing....331 active short sale units under $200,000.... crazy...

So...average price for 2 bedroom homes is $115,000, average price for 3+ bedroom homes is $175,000, and average price for 4+ bedroom homes is $270,000.  I can't get it down to exactly how many days but per the rmls 179 residential unit sold with being on the market less than 30 days...honestly I would say that good, clean homes in good neighborhoods, with good prices go pending within 7-10 days of listing.

The most popular floorplan is (still) the 3 bedroom/2 bath home and the range for those are $165,000-$180,000....the average cost seems to be about $170,000-$175,000.  Four bedroom homes seem to be averaging between $195,000-$200,000.  These, of course, are for non-short sale homes

As for loans...FHA is still king.  The average buyer will use a FHA home...no numbers for how many use the bond down payment assistance loan though.  

So...yes, the market has been crazy and homes are moving....prices have been going up, but again, interest rates are lower than where they were last year so it really does balance out.  Last I heard some of my clients are locking in at 3.25%!!!  To me, that is insanely awesome!!  When I bought my home our loan was for 6.875%...and we were thrilled because the interest rate had been hovering around 7%....we did the 'happy dance'!  LOL...sounds weird, huh?  

I can break down stats, and trends even more if anyone would like...just let me know.  On average the best time to buy a home, for the best possible price, is usually the fall/winter months of November, December, January, and February.  October and March are considered 'swing' months because they can go either way...and this October seems to be swinging with the summer.  Of course, with the weather, who is surprised?  The market usually cools with the weather....so if you are hoping for the best deal possible, hang in there....  I know I have said it before, but I am going to say it again....there is no crystal ball so I can't tell you what will, or won't happen.  I can only tell you what has usually happened in the past...so don't hold me to it!  :-) 

On the bright side, the Washington State Bond changed their program a bit.  We had heard some confusing and conflicting information when it first came out, but it seems all the kinks have been worked out now.  If you don't have a down payment and need some help this is a great loan.... it is a 100% loan program and you can buy anywhere in Clark County.  If you had heard that Battle Ground might be removed from the USDA/RD loan boundaries, then you will be happy to know that they have decided to postpone that decision for now.  Battle Ground is still available for the USDA/RD 100% loan program.  

hmmm....it is late Saturday night and I can't think of any other information to give to you tonight, so I think I will head to bead...  Please...as always....if you have any questions, or if there is anything I can help you with, please let me know!  I am always available by phone, email, text, or even facebook!!  

Have a great week!!!  Enjoy the sunshine....the rain will be coming...  :-D

Hope this helps....as always, give me a ring, text, email, or facebook me if you have any further questions!


Please call, email, text, or even facebook me (at Tracie DeMars Real Estate) anytime with any questions, or if there is anything I can do to assist you with your home buying adventure! As your buyers agent, I am, as always, here to help!! :-D




Thank you again for your business and for your referrals!


...as always...if you have already purchased a home, or no longer would like to receive these emails from me, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from receiving any more.



Thank you again for attending the home buyer education classes, and I hope that you will continue to refer the classes out to your friends, family, and co-workers. Upcoming class dates and times are located at www.freehomebuyerclasses.com. Just click on the link on the left hand side. Or you can go to www.learningtobuyahome.com and click the links.

We appreciate your referrals and word of mouth! Also, if you have somewhere that we can place the flyers at, please let me know....
:-D




Next Week: Current Market Stats...or Legal Reasons for Backing Out of an Offer.
Last Week: 3 (4) Fees associated with buying a home.

Remember that you can always go to 'Tracie DeMars Real Estate' on Facebook for all of my weekly blogs and upcoming class dates/times/locations. I post the weekly blogs on there as well. 


Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon, 
;-D 
Tracie DeMars
Buyer's Agent
Re/Max - Van Mall 
360/ 903-3504 cell 
360/ 882-3600 fax 
www.traciedemars.com 
find me on LinkedIn
traciedemars@aol.com

“Interested in free and non promotional home buyer classes? Go to www.freehomebuyerclasses.com or www.learningtobuyahome.com for local upcoming classes, or facebook: Tracie DeMars Real Estate.”

*****Remember that if you are interested I can, and will be happy to, set you up on an email that will automatically email you with new home listings in your area and price range as they come up on the market. This email will include all bank owned homes and anything with price changes. Just send me what you are hoping to find, your top 3 things in a home, and what is the best email to send it to. This is with no obligation, and is a good way to 'window shop'. :-)