Puget Sound Properties & Lifestyle

When navigating the home buying process, contingencies are essential tools that protect buyers and help ensure a smooth transaction. A contingency is a condition that must be met for the sale to proceed. If a contingency is not satisfied, buyers typically have the right to back out of the deal without losing their earnest money, as long as dates are adhered to. Let’s explore four key contingencies: inspection, appraisal, buyer property sale, and financing. Inspection Contingency The inspection contingency is one of the most common and crucial safeguards for homebuyers. This clause allows buyers to hire a professional home inspector to assess the property’s condition. The inspection typically covers structural elements, plumbing, electrical systems, roofing, and HVAC systems. Though a home inspector will never find everything, they are an incredibly valuable asset for buyers hoping to purchase their new home. If significant issues are uncovered—such as a cracked foundation, outdated ...

 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: Low Appraisal Guarantee If you’re considering buying a home in Washington or most places, with financing, there’s almost always going to be an appraisal required. The entity holding the mortgage is taking the most risk by lending you the funds to purchase the property. If you were in their shoes, you’d want to know as much about the property as possible, to ensure it’s a good risk/reward.    When a homeowner has their listing agent place the home on the market for sale, in general, the agent has done their homework and prices the property within a certain value range that’s appropriate for it’s size, age, condition, location and many other factors. If the home is overpriced, it’s likely just going to sit and sit until the listing expires, or the homeowner realizes that the market is not going to overpay for the home. It’s a tough scenario for agents and buyers.    Sometimes the real estate market is so hot, that buyers may be willing to...

  Off Strategies That Work In the world of real estate, each party to the transaction has responsibilities to uphold to ensure the process follows a logical and successful end. Of course every transaction has unique challenges, surprises and bumps along the way and it’s your Realtors job to make that process as smooth as possible.  When you’re considering buying a home in Washington, there are often contingencies in place as a buyer, that you and a seller agree to, to protect you along the way. Usually there’s a financing contingency, allowing you reasonable time to obtain underwriting approval. There can be inspection contingencies allowing you time to have a home inspector check the home for potential issues. And there can be other contingencies like delivering clear and marketable title, appraisal, well or septic and many other contingencies that could be a valid reason to exit a contract if problems arise.  You may remember during the Covid-19 pandemic, the housing ma...

  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...

Relocating to a new state, is not for the faint of heart. It takes patience, tenacity, ingenuity and resourcefulness to make a long distance move happen. There are so many factors that come into play when you’ve finally decided to take that dive into the deep end. I manage a lot of people moving to Washington from places like Las Vegas, San Francisco, Chicago and elsewhere. Because the Puget Sound is a tech hub, with quality education options up and down the state, it’s hard to disagree with the sentiment that Washington is a great place to move to. If you love outdoor recreation, moving to Washington state makes a lot of sense. Like any state, Washington is vastly different north to south , but even more so, east to west. The Cascade Mountains separate the western side from the eastern side, and the climates are vastly different. From Bellingham to Seattle, Tacoma and down to Vancouver, Western Washington gets a lot of gray days, with ample precipitation, though not as much as people...

  3 Reasons Why HOA's Aren't Worth It Homeowners Associations (HOAs) were once hailed as the guardians of neighborhood aesthetics and property values. However, as many homeowners have discovered, the reality can fall short of the promise. While some might find value in the services provided by their HOAs, there are many drawbacks that make homeowners reconsider their association. Whether you’re living in the popular Canterwood in Gig Harbor or Tehaleh in Bonney Lake, homeowners can feel the constant eye of their HOA keeping watch. Here are three compelling reasons why HOAs might not be worth it to you.  Poor Management One of the most common complaints among homeowners in HOA-governed communities is poor management. HOAs are typically run by volunteer boards comprised of residents, and while their intentions may be noble, their expertise often falls short.  Inadequate management can manifest in various ways. Maintenance issues may go unresolved for extended periods, leadi...