Puget Sound Properties & Lifestyle

 5 Must Do Things Before Buying A Home The prospect of buying a home, whether you’re a first-time buyer or a seasoned veteran can be a daunting project. Especially if you’re new to the market, you’re filled with questions, confusion and possibly even dread, not knowing how to navigate a seemingly complicated housing market. I’m here to help you get the process started if you’re looking to buy a home in Tacoma or Gig Harbor or anywhere in Pierce County. And even if you’re looking elsewhere, these steps are applicable anywhere.   You want to get a handle on your credit score. There are lots of free services out there to access a free credit report. Ensuring you don’t have any derogatory marks against you in the form of late payments or worse, can help you get your score higher. Age of credit, amount of credit used, diversity of credit, on-time payments and other factors can play a sizable role in how your credit score is calculated. The reason it’s so important, is mortgage lend...

  Strategies for Winning: Escalation Clauses In the upside down world of competitive real estate, both buyers and their agents inevitably need to consider numerous strategies when submitting an offer for a home. And since we are in an extended sellers market with low inventory, it’s important to consider using every tool in your toolbox when needed.  If you’re thinking about buying a home in Washington, our state offers the ability for buyers to escalate their offer over another buyers offer. Not every state allows it, so I’ll go into the finer details of its used and why it’s often a game changer for many buyers.  Countless times throughout my real estate career, I have sat with buyers after looking at a home they’re considering an offer for. There are strategies beyond just offering a high number. Sometimes there are multiple buyers submitting offers for the same home, and you want to know what it takes to be the winning offer, and escalations play a significant r...

  Have you noticed how the whole game of homeowners insurance seems to be changing lately and faster than ever? It's like we're all caught in this whirlwind (bad pun) of rising costs and  unpredictable disasters , and it's hitting homeowners harder than ever before. Let's dive into what's going on. Natural disasters used to be these rare, headline-grabbing events, but now, it feels like we can't go a year (or even a couple months) without hearing about some major hurricane, wildfire, flood, or tornado tearing through communities due to climate change. And guess who's left footing the bill? Yep, you guessed it – homeowners like you and me. And we don’t often live in places where these events occur, but we’re still  footing the bill , because that’s how the homeowner’s insurance pool works. Here in Washington state, we skew closer to the average for annual homeowners insurance costs, but as the Pacific Northwest temperatures rise, do we face some of the same c...

  Why Buying Real Estate Today Still Makes Sense Real estate has been a topic of conversation on most people’s minds the last several years. From the Great Recession of 2009, through the years of post-recession stagnation and the decreasing volume of new construction, to the pandemic and seismic shift in real estate, causing prices to skyrocket, we have seen many markets in a relatively short period of time. Without those previous markets, we would not be where we are today. Supply Shortages Driving Price Appreciation : Many regions are facing a shortage of available housing units relative to the growing demand for housing. Rapid population growth, urbanization trends, and limited land availability exacerbate this supply shortage. As a result, property prices are on an upward trajectory, presenting opportunities for investors to capitalize on potential capital appreciation. As homeowners committed to historically low interest rates through the end of 2021, even through the extremes...