Sweet Lake View Condo

Can you believe this great one-bedroom condo for under $200,000???

New listing today!!! MLS #886162
The address is 3825 NE 155th Pl, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155

This condo boasts great views of Lake Washington from its living room and from the building roof top! A new rooftop deck is on its way to add future enjoyment to the stunning lake and mountain views. The Sequoia House condominiums were recently remodeled, which means no new special assessments for the lucky homeowner. Completed renovations include new roof, siding, decks, windows, and upgraded elevator. Landscaping and the new roof deck will be coming soon.

This is a beautifully-maintained condo, in clean move-in condition. Within the condo there are kitchen updates with granite counters and glass backsplash, updated bathroom with new toilet, new windows, new patio and glass rails. This unit comes with a designated parking space, two storage units & bike storage!

The Sequoia House condos are in a quiet location, with scenic water and mountain views, and easy access to the Burke Gilman trail, Seattle and parts north. Nearby are Third Place Books, grocery, restaurants, and retail.

If you are tired of renting, you will not want to miss this opportunity to lock in today's low, low interest rates at one of metro Seattle's most affordable and desirable locations. Don't miss!

For more information, contact Wendy Ceccherelli at HomeLandInvestment@gmail.com or 888-621-4999 x3.

Happy Investing!

Rent or Buy? Sell or Hold?

Fannie Mae's September 2013 National Housing Survey reported that 72% of Americans say now is a good time to buy a home; 38% believe it is a good time to sell.

According to Trulia, buyers are sometimes stunned at the number of potentially life-changing decisions and choices they are required to make over the course of a house hunt. This neighborhood or that one?  Condo or single family? Fixer or move-in ready? Is that the right house? How much to offer, and on what terms? When to make an offer?  Whether to remove contingencies?

And that’s just the short list.

But one of the most basic decisions real estate consumers ever make is the most impactful one, and it’s often one they make before they have the benefit of our expertise: whether to rent or to buy their home.

Trulia recently released a sophisticated Rent vs. Buy calculator – you can work with it here. The calculator allows smart would-be buyers to understand the many economic factors that influence whether it is cheaper to rent or to buy in their area and more importantly, in their personal situation, including line items like:

·         how long you intend to stay in the home;

·         your income tax bracket;

·         mortgage down payment, term and interest rate;

·         property taxes;

·         closing costs or selling closing costs;

·         rental and homeowners insurance; and

·         utilities.

The calculator also makes it incredibly simple for consumers to understand alternative scenarios by changing the mortgage rate, the income tax bracket for tax deductions, and the number of years that they plan to stay in the home.

Trulia's Chief Economist Jed Kolko provides answers to the math – and the myths – around the rent vs. buy cost factors nationwide.  Here’s what he had to say:

Myth:  Rising home prices and mortgage rates make it more expensive to buy than to rent.

Fact: Homeownership remains cheaper than renting nationally and in all of the 100 largest metro areas. But rising mortgage rates have narrowed the gap between the cost of buying and the cost of renting.

The 30-year fixed rate is now 4.80%, compared with 3.75% one year ago (according to the Mortgage Bankers Association, or MBA). This jump in rates has raised the cost of buying relative to renting. As a result, buying is 35% cheaper than renting today, versus being 45% cheaper than renting one year ago.

The key reason buying is still cheaper than renting is this: both rates and prices are rising from very low levels and are still below their long-term historical norms. But the rent versus buy math depends on your local market, as rising rates and prices have pushed a handful of metros very close to the tipping point when renting becomes cheaper.

Myth: The mortgage interest deduction is the only reason home ownership is more affordable than renting.

Fact: A key factor affecting the rent-versus-buy math is whether you itemize deductions on your income taxes and what tax bracket you’re in. If you itemize, you can deduct mortgage interest payments (not principal payments) and property tax payments from your income before calculating how much you owe in taxes. That said, only 33% of tax filers choose to itemize. Itemizing lowers the cost of buying relative to renting – especially if you pay taxes at a higher rate, because that means you’re deducting more.

But buying remains cheaper than renting almost everywhere even if you don’t itemize. Without itemizing – or if your tax situation means you get no benefit at all from itemizing – buying looks 22% cheaper than renting nationally. And buying still beats renting in 97 of the 100 largest metros – everywhere but San Jose, San Francisco, and Honolulu, even without assuming that the buyer will itemize their taxes and use the mortgage interest deduction.

Happy Investing! 

A Landlord's Market

When people ask me what kind of market this is, I reply that it is a landlord's market.

Norada's real estate investing blog confirmed this, citing that the home-ownership rate reported by the US Census Bureau this past quarter was the lowest rate of home ownership since 1995. The chart above shows the rise and fall of homeownership within the United States. Many young adults have decided to rent or move in with parents, rather than buy a home.

At the same time, the median asking rent for housing just hit an all-time high of $735 per month.

But of course, Americans are fortunate to have seen a rise in their incomes over this time.

Oops. Maybe not. How about personal wealth?

Oh well. Better start getting to the more lucrative side of this equation!

Happy Investing!