Maintenance Jamboree will Spruce Up Lincoln Park

West Seattle is home to one of Seattle’s most picturesque parks, Lincoln Park. Unfortunately due to budget cuts our parks are showing signs of neglect. Luckily many West Siders will be doing their part in preserving our slice of heaven in this year’s Maintenance Jamboree the week of September 17^th.  Helping out gives one the satisfaction of doing their part to help our community.

Read more details by clicking on the link: Maintenace Jamboree will Spruce Up Lincoln Park

Builders: Permits Up Strongly as Housing's Recovery Takes Hold

"The market for new construction is back on track" the article starts out.

If you’ve followed my posts you know by now that ‘all real estate is local’ and the national stats don’t necessarily reflect our Seattle market. However, take a drive through the neighborhoods and you will see new homes going up all around. Small older home are being replaced with modern homes that are ‘built green’.  Check out the full story by clicking on the link below.

Link:  Permits Up Strongly as Housing's Recovery Takes Hold

Bloomberg News: Republican Platform Won’t Protect Mortgage Tax Deduction

 Bloomberg News: Republican Platform Won't Protect Mortgage Tax Deduction
Home ownership provides stability in our communities, and gives one a sense of belonging to their community. It fosters that independent feeling of owning a piece of land to do as one wishes without landlord restrictions. The renter is subject to rent increases while a home owner with a fixed rate mortgage will not see those periodic increases. Owning a home develops "roots" in the community for one's family and the community at large. It fosters creative instinct with design and personality style, and provides a certain peace of mind. Who doesn't love the feeling of pride and accomplishment when entertaining friends at your home?

The home mortgage interest tax deduction is a huge benefit to the middle class. In general terms it saves the average taxpayer with a $400,000 home loan at 4% (here in Seattle the average home is about $400,000) about $4,480 per year in taxes. That is $373 per month. In addition to the interest deduction the property tax is also tax deductible and increases the average savings per month to $467. This is a much needed benefit for the middle class to keep them in the midddle class. Many retirees now and more so in the near future will use the equity in their homes for retirement by using reverse mortgages to supplement their income and keep them out of poverty.

Home ownership drives the economy because for each home sold an average of 3% of the price of a home is spent in the economy for fix up items, appliances, furniture, roofs, paint, carpets, patio furniture, and the list goes on and on. Factor in all the ancillary jobs like those that deliver, mine, process and build causes a ripple effect that goes on and on. Closing loopholes on off-shore accounts, deductions for luxury yachts and corporate jets should be eliminated not something that benefits the vast majority of Americans. To include this in any party's platform is irresponsible, immoral, and mean spirited. Following is the article:

Source: Bloomberg News/Business Week

Republican platform drafters refused to put their party on record for preserving the mortgage- interest deduction, giving Mitt Romney more flexibility to promote his plan to lower tax rates paid by corporations and the wealthiest Americans without increasing the federal debt.

The platform panel, meeting in Tampa, Florida, in advance of the Aug. 27 Republican National Convention, defeated a proposed mortgage deduction amendment by a show of hands as it moved toward today’s scheduled completion of the draft statement of positions the party will offer voters in the November election.

The document, which was also amended to include a call for Federal Reserve audits, will be submitted next week for approval by the full convention.

The mortgage interest vote was a shift in Republican policy from four years ago, when the party platform said that “because affordable housing is in the national interest, any simplified tax system should continue to encourage homeownership, recognizing the tremendous social value that the home mortgage interest deduction has had for decades.”

West Seattle, Washington Part 1

West Seattle has many diverse neighborhoods. This slideshow highlights a few of the neighborhoods of the peninsula of West Seattle. It is a mostly middle class neighborhood with streets of well-kept homes and offers many differing views. For complete demographics of zip codes throughout the United States including Genesee’s 98116 zip code please check out:

http://jimbiava.com/zipcode-demographics.asp#TPREPORTaction=OnSearchSubmit&search_for_primary_address=0&search_for_comparison_address=0&p_zip=98116&c_zip=

Enjoy the Slide Show!

First Prices and Now Rates

The home values in Seattle have appreciated about 10% since last year. Now the other component to a successful home purchase, interest rates, has also taken a turn upward. This is a double edged sword. The good news is rates are still in the 3% range. Since we are all procrastinators by nature we will be experiencing more buyers realizing now is the time to buy. Remember the housing market drives the economy. A study conducted a few years back shows the average buyer spends about 3% of the purchase price on consumer goods. Usually when someone buys a home they also buy paint, carpet, furniture, appliances, roofs, furnaces, and the list goes on.

Check out the Bloomberg article at  US Mortgage Rates Increase for the First Time in 7 Weeks

Seattle Night Out Block Watch Party Tuesday August 7th!

Tuesday evening is the Annual Seattle Night Out Block Parties. It is part of the National Night Out program. Many blocks have set up a Block Watch program through the Seattle Police Dept. When the perpetrators of crime know someone may be watching them they tend to avoid the homes in that block. The Block Watch program is an excellent way to get to know your neighbors and develop friendship and community awareness. If you have an active Block Watch I hope you will be participating in the fun next Tuesday.  If you would like to start one in your area you can find out the details at http://www.seattle.gov/police/blockwatch/default.htm .  For information about the Seattle Night Out go to http://www.seattle.gov/spd/nightout/

It is lots of fun!

7 Home Repairs You Just Can’t Ignore

Owning a house can be expensive, which is why so many homeowners procrastinate on repairs. Some fixes, however, should never be delayed. Ignoring these problems can result in much more expensive repairs later on - or even injury and death.

I've attended hundreds of inspections with the buyers I represent. Here’s what home inspectors say you should be on the lookout for:

A water leak -- anywhere
A stain on your ceiling. A toilet that rocks. White powdery stuff that grows on your bricks or foundation. A musty smell in your house.

Whatever the source, the culprit is water, and the damage can be severe. Left unchecked, leaks can lead to rot, dry rot, mold and termite infestations. Water can cause roofs to collapse, foundations to buckle and all manner of expensive repairs. What’s more, water-related problems can get your home blackballed by insurance companies worried about the soaring number of mold related claims nationwide.

The fix:
Stop the leak by any means necessary, repair the damage and take the required steps to make sure the problem doesn’t reappear. Minor roof leaks, for example, can be patched with roof cement, but if your roof is aged and failing, you may need to have it replaced. That’s expensive, but not as bad as replacing the trusses and underlying roof structure that can rot away if not protected.

Flickering lights
Do your lights dim when the fridge switches on or you crank up the microwave? You may have bad wiring or too many appliances hooked on to one circuit. Either one can cause a fire. Flickering lights also can be a sign of failing connections in aluminum wiring, a feature in homes built in 1965 and 1973.

The fix:
You can try to distribute power hungry appliances more evenly, by not running more than one at a time or by plugging some into another circuit. But the best fix is a cure: Get an electrician to upgrade your wiring, add more circuits, or both. If you have aluminum wiring but can’t afford to upgrade, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends making your wiring safer by using special crimp connectors rather than the usual twist-on style.

Rodent incursions
If you hear the pitter patter of little rodent feet, don’t turn up the stereo to drown them out. It’s not just that rodents can carry disease and make a mess nesting in the tax records you’ve stored in the attic. Rats, mice, and other vermin love to chew through insulation and wiring, and are suspects in many house fires.

The fix:
Use traps and bait products or call in an exterminator. Mice droppings can carry the deadly Hantavirus, and rodents themselves can carry everything from salmonella to the plague, so professional help might be the wisest course.

Soaring fuel bills
If you are paying a lot more for gas or oil and there hasn’t been a rate hike recently, the culprit could be problems with your furnace. This is more than a pocketbook issue, since poorly functioning systems can cause deadly carbon monoxide buildup in your home. The Consumer Product Safety Commission estimates about 200 people die annually from carbon monoxide exposure in the home, typically from malfunctioning heating systems.

These are just some of the problems that arise. If you would like more information or a personal home consultation please contact me.