5-15-12 – Sharon was helping her son move into an apartment near the north end of Broadway. She walked by one of the statuesque, brick “Anhalt” buildings – “I want to live there.” She was ready to stop tossing away $ on rent, and her market timing was perfect. She contacted Joe, referred to him by a friend. We wisely looked at other available Anhalt condos nearby, to compare. This 2-br 2nd-floor unit was it. We submitted the offer that evening and had mutual acceptance the next evening, with a nice price drop to cover re-painting. How often does it work like that? The inspection panned out, the HOA docs looked good, closing went smoothly. She shook with excitement as she showed her son her new condo.
5-17-12 – Lauren and Christian set their sites on moving their family of four to San Diego for Lauren to start the job she wanted for so long. We just needed to sell their very-nice West Seattle home, located on a doctor’s row of sorts adjoining Fauntleroy Park. They had bought right at the peak in August 2007, so the hardest part was accepting that they would sell for substantially less – and to identify precisely what that asking price should be. They brought the home up to great condition. And we had two offers at the end of the 2nd day on the market! Guess we found that right price. They’re off to San Diego.
4-30-12 – Steve and Sandy had to take the long way, since they would have to “short sell” their Central District home in order to get out of a nasty mortgage that was eating up their retirement. They had bought just before the peak with a plan of refinancing a bit later to bring the mortgage under control, but when the market collapsed, it took the refi plan with it. They held on for a long time (enjoying the home), but last summer it was time to throw in the towel, including start defaulting on the mortgage. We listed the short sale in late August and got buyer #1 shortly thereafter. Thus began the Jumanji, as they called the emotional ups-and-downs game of waiting for lender approval. We even got approval in November, but then a rogue appraiser blew up that deal. Back to the well. By March Buyer #2 surfaced, and we got lender approval at the end of March. Closing wasn’t easy, but the consolation is a charming 1st-time buyer is enjoying the home, and S&S will relocate to live with their children in Hawaii! (Sounds like a silver lining to me!)
12-30-11 – Stephen and Heather wanted their first home in Seattle. They knew their market timing was right – values very low, interest rates at record lows. They had funds for a down payment and to do some fixing up, so a foreclosed property was possible. They wanted “close-in” – Capitol Hill, the Central District, Madison Valley. Not too much yard. Basement for playing drums. On bus line. With that much clarity, the search was quick. We zeroed in on a three-bedroom home near 24th & Union with a few rough edges, for sale by a bank. The deal started with Internet bidding. They’ve got the keys and are finalizing plans for their new kitchen.
10-28-11 – Candice was a first-time buyer who nonetheless wanted a significant house in a strong neighborhood. She has a very good job and had come into an inheritance that she wanted to wisely invest in buying a home during this low market ebb. Her father, her good friend and I formed Team Candice, which spent numerous enjoyable Saturdays browsing one interesting home after another. That included condos until it grew clear that Candice preferred a solid old-world home. The home she now owns is blocks from where she grew up in Madison Park.
9-2-11 – We listed Mark’s elite townhome (3,775-sf of classical elegance in North Capitol Hill) last spring at $1.8M — on par with what the last one to have sold in this spot went for the summer before. But the market had changed. And with an unprecedented scene of 3 other homes there also for sale, it was very changed. We exposed and exposed that home, and Mark lowered the price and lowered the price. He was ready to sell! We closed with a happy buyer at the start of Sept. And a happy seller.
8-5-11 – Dave & Clara wanted a modest Seattle condo for their mid-20′s daughter to live in for a time before she “moved up” and Dave & Clara “moved in(to the city).” We quickly spotted a 2-br, 2-ba on the west side of Lake Union that had just gone on the market for only $180k. HOA dues were low (self-managed), small building, neat group of residents. And the sight of seaplanes coming and going regularly from the lake seemingly just off the balcony provided the crowning touch.
6-30-11 – Nate & Sara were close to being folks you’ve been reading about. They owned a small-but-nice condo in West Seattle that they bought near the peak but no longer planned to live there. They tried renting it out, but the rent didn’t cover their mortgage costs. Do they try to hold with the prayer that the market comes back enough, or sell at what they can get now? We worked the listing hard for them. We’re happy to report that the sale has closed with them receiving some cash back at closing.
4-21-11 – Catherine’s mother had passed away more than 2 years earlier, but cleaning out and selling her mother’s cherished Eastside home wasn’t a favorite activity. A neighbor’s unsolicited offer to buy the home put a light at the end of the tunnel. Catherine turned to Joe to get a market valuation and negotiate and close the sale for a fixed fee. The offer price was low, but not so low when factoring in that the neighbor would take it as-is, freeing Catherine from the costs, work, time and risk of fixing it and other prep for, and costs of, a market sale. The transaction went smoothly and before we gave the keys to the neighbor we held a nice event to honor all of the memories and love that had happened there.
3-21-11 – David and Candace had done a fixer before, long enough ago that they were ready to do another. They were renting and didn’t want a long purchase time, though, so we ruled out short sales. And a light fixer fit their bill. They wanted the area from north Beacon Hill north thru Judkins Park and the Central District to Capitol Hill, to bike-commute to work. The location needed to be walkable to the grocery, restaurants, bank, transit, gym, pub, some culture – a Creative Class couple! And a basement suitable for a work room. We kept circling back to the first one, which had been sitting on the market a long time because it had foundation and chimney problems, small bedrooms and a light drone of freeway noise. Every new home we looked at helped show that this first one had the right mix. Negotiating about the problems was complicated. So was completing a loan in this tough banking market. But they’re happily in their new home.
1-21-11 – Curt and Carrie wanted to buy a fixer during this time when prices and interest rates are at about their lowest ebb, squeezing an opportunity from this nasty recession. They wanted a large, character-filled older home in Capitol Hill, Madrona, Leschi, Mount Baker or similar in-close neighborhood. They have experience at “doing the work themselves,” so messes didn’t scare them. One difficulty: The best deals were short sales (horribly uncertain to go through), or equally-traumatic bank-owned foreclosures. We pursued several prospects that were great properties but so complicated to buy. One in Mt. Baker had most issues, but it sang to C&C, so we strapped in for the wild buying ride. We got it under contract as a short sale, but then the bank took it in foreclosure anyway. The bank then ignored our offer to take it off their hands. New REO agents tossed it onto a novel internet auction service; C+C stepped up to win that strange auction. They closed, then worked through removing the squatter and are now happily bringing this once-gorgeous home in a wonderful neighborhood back to its glory.
10-15-10 – Amy was ready to move to California. She had tried renting out her very nice Queen Anne condo herself for $3,600/mo, $3,200/mo, $2,800/mo. Now she was 2 weeks from her drop-dead deadline to lose her right to rent it out if no signed lease, so she turned to us. We exposed it everywhere at $2,195/mo and came close. With 5 days to go we had prospects but no deal. We went to each prospect with, in effect, “make your best offer.” We turned in a signed lease on deadline day and toasted with champagne and the new tenants that evening. The lower rent vastly beat the alternative of no rent for a year.
10-5-10 – Emily wanted a “cottage”-feeling home on enough land to make an organic orchard in the back yard, close to the PCC in the Bryant-Wedgewood area. It had to work just right for her and her young son as they moved from a much larger, luxurious home. It needed a basement apartment for rent income. And it had to cost no more than $525k. We found one that was so right. But also so wrong in a couple of ways. The solution was to argue the price down far enough to leave a budget for righting those few wrongs. Discovering that the sewer line needed a $4k repair didn’t make that any easier. But we made it. The orchard will soon start taking shape.
8-15-10 – “99″ is nearly 70. She has one son, in Seattle, so she sold her home in suburban New York to move here. That was very draining. But when she got here, she felt the most life would come from owning a condo where she could nest, garden and rest well. She could buy all-cash if we kept the price down. “Gardening” and sitting privately in outdoor air were paramount, but aren’t condo features. Yet we felt condo was best for security and company with others. She also wanted to be close to culture, groceries and other urban amenities. She wanted new-ish, but not brand new, too. How do you find a condo in or around Capitol Hill like that … for under $350k? Well, we did. We knew we were close with the 4th floor of a 10-year-old building in Pike-Pine. The building has a fenced-in ground-floor pea patch for residents. And the unit opens onto an amazing rooftop, part of which would be 99’s private space with massive planters for gardening. Perfecto. Except it was a short sale. That made the price nice and low. But that’s because few can, or want to, endure the patience, frustration, bewilderment, anger, fatigue, etc. of 6 months to a year of uncertainties. Despite the New York sale drain, 99 went for it. It proceeded as badly as just described, yet she not only hung in there but drove some key decisions, such as covering $5k to the 2nd-position lender when the 1st-position refused. 99 now has her garden condo in the city — and that $6,500 tax credit that since expired.
7-28-10: Pearl and James own a nice, small, Lower Queen Anne condo. They wanted to rent the condo and buy a single-family home with Lake Washington views, improvement potential and high-end neighbors, at bottom-of-market prices. We visited a lot of properties. Some of the best were nasty short sales. We went into contract on one short sale in Leschi, but after a few months of aggravation, we walked. One in Lakewood (north of Seward Park) that had been priced just a bit too high had come down some, so we called to say we could offer this much. They said send it in writing. Pearl and James have happily moved in.
6-22-10: Ron and Gail and their 2 grown children wanted to buy a Seattle duplex, preferably in Wallingford, for the two young adults to live in and manage as a good investment. At first, finding the right one was hard. But when we found it, they knew it, so they outbid two other eager buyers. We closed today. And it’s in a great spot … in Wallingford!
6-21-10: Tim wanted to buy a place in or around Capitol Hill to house the offices of his landscape architecture firm. The right deal couldn’t come together, but he still wanted to move. He had always dreamed on that one corner in Madrona, so when it came available for lease, we snatched it up. Both sides signed the lease today.
5-19-10: Myyk was a college grad starting his new computer programer job, which happens to pay well enough that he thought he ought to go ahead and buy a home, catching the “bottom of the market.” He wanted a close-in townhome with some architectural style yet enough room to have friends move in too. The first one that he really, really wanted couldn’t be had. We closed today on a 4-br one in the north end of the Central District.
1-19-10: Laura wanted a fixer in the Central District that would be big enough for her and her brother to call home as both created and raised families. We chased some difficult short sales and then they zoomed in on a 4-br townhome for sale by a bank that had foreclosed on it. That transaction closed today.
1-14-10: Todd needed a new retail tenant to replace the one who succumbed to the recession in his South Downtown Seattle historic building. Tenants are few and far between in this climate. But a non-profit Grameen bank was in the market, so we contacted them. They wanted to create an eclectic shop at which their microborrowers could sell the goods they produced. We came to agreement and the last part of signing up the lease was finished today.
11-4-09: Mark wanted a floating home on Lake Union. He had rented one years before and was now in position to own one. He knew we were near the bottom of the market, and “they won’t be making more of these (floating homes),” establishing them as strong investments (if you can get one). He got a beauty; we closed today.
10-4-09: Julia wanted an urban condo in Seattle to buy as an investment to build her American credit rating and then move into when her kids have started college. We built a rapport so that with her an ocean away, we found just the right unit with fresh walnut floors, warm brick walls and tons of light in a fully re-done historic building in Pioneer Square.
7-15-09: Mark (#2) wanted just the right small Neighborhood Commercial site in Capitol Hill on which to build a small mixed-use building (residential over retail) with NO PARKING. This was one of those “find something off-the-market” opportunities. We used maps to locate a short list of prospects, knocked on doors and we closed today on the one he would most want out of them all — the triangular plot at 12th & Madison that up to now has housed the Acacia flower shop.
6-09: Deb & J wanted to move up from renting the space for their Capitol Hill physical therapy clinic to owning their space. They had sent hundreds of letters to property owners, but no luck. We found them a big house on 12th near Cal Anderson Park that they love. We closed in June ’09 and just today (6-22-10) they concluded a full renovation and moved in.
3-09: Art also felt ready to move up from renting to owning the space for his popular Seattle retail store. The search was slow and methodical, but he closed this month on a prime corner and opened the new store within weeks.
