Does the basement leak?

Basements are not very common in our area but if you’ve owned a home with a basement and you've been lucky enough to keep it dry, it’s hard to imagine the havoc a wet basement can bring to your life.

If you’ve ever lived in a house with a leaky basement or hate the thought of a foot of water surrounding your furnace, you’ll likely be sure to check that the basement doesn’t leak, or has a system that automatically removes water from it.

David Edwards

Real Estate Agent and REALTOR®

Keller Williams Realty Southeast Sound

425-890-8045

E-Mail: david@davidjedwards.com

Website: http://www.davidjedwards.com

Blogsite: http://www.davidjedwards.com/renton-info-blog.asp 

David J Edwards is a full time real estate agent and REALTOR® with Keller Williams specializing in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Renton and Newcastle Washington.

Not all agents or brokers in Renton and Newcastle are REALTORS® - there is a difference.

As a prerequisite for selling real estate in Washington, real estate professionals must be licensed, either as an agent/salesperson or as a broker. Before a license is issued, minimum standards for education, examinations and experience must be met. After receiving a real estate license, most agents join our local board known as the Seattle King County Association of REALTORS® and the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), the world's largest professional trade association. Only, then can they call themselves REALTORS®.

The term "REALTOR®" is a registered collective membership mark that identifies a real estate professional who is a member of NAR and who adheres to its strict Code of Ethics (which in many cases goes beyond Washington state law). In our area, it is the REALTOR® who shares information on the homes they are marketing, through our Multiple Listing Service (MLS) known as Northwest MLS. Working with a REALTOR® who belongs to an MLS will give you access to the greatest number of homes.

What Are an Agent’s Obligations to You?

A real estate agent is bound by certain legal obligations. Traditionally, these common-law obligations are to

•put the your interests above anyone else's

•keep your information confidential

•obey your lawful instructions

•report to you, anything that would be useful

•account to the your for any money involved

A REALTOR® is held to an even higher standard of conduct under the NAR’s Code of Ethics.

In recent years, laws in Washington have been passed setting up various duties for different types of agents. When you first start working with a REALTOR®, ask for a clear explanation of Washington’s current regulations, so that you will know where you stand on these important matters.

Seller’s Agents and Buyer's Agents

Suppose you sign an offer to buy a home for $450,000. You really want the property and there's a chance other offers are coming in, so you tell the agent that "We'll go up to $460,000 if we have to. But of course don't tell that to the seller."

If you're dealing with a seller's agent, he or she may be duty-bound to tell the seller that important fact. In Washington, the seller's agent doesn't have any duty of confidentiality towards you. Honest treatment might require that the agent warn you that "I must convey to the seller anything that would be useful so don't tell me anything you wouldn't tell the seller."

If you're dealing with seller's agents, it’s a good idea to keep confidential information to yourself.

These days many home buyers prefer to hire a buyer's agent, one who owes the full range of duties, including confidentiality and obedience, to the buyer. A buyer's agent is often paid by the seller, regardless of the agency relationship. This effectively renders the services of a buyer’s agent free of charge to the buyer.

Evaluating a Real Estate Agent

In making your decision to work with an agent, there are certain questions you should ask when evaluating a potential agent. The first question you should ask is whether the agent is a REALTOR®. Here are other questions you should then ask the agent:
•Do you have an active real estate license in good standing? To find this information, you can check with the Washington State Department of Licensing.

•Do you belong to the Northwest MLS and/or a reliable online home buyer’s search service? Multiple Listing Services are cooperative information networks of REALTORS® that provide descriptions of most of the houses for sale in Western Washington.

•Is real estate your full-time career?

•What real estate designations do you hold?

•Which party do you represent - the buyer or the seller? This discussion is supposed to occur early on, at "first serious contact" with you. The agent should discuss Washington’s particular definitions of agency, so you'll know where you stand.

•When I commit to working with you, how will you help me accomplish my goals? Will the agent show you homes that meet your requirements and will he or she provide you with a list of the properties you’ve been shown?

To learn more about buying property with the assistance of a buyer’s agent, feel free to contact me directly. I would be happy to answer any questions you might have.

David Edwards

REALTOR®

Keller Williams Real Estate

425-890-8045

david@davidjedwards.com

http://www.davidjedwards.com

davidjedwards111.topproducerblogs.com

I am a full time REALTOR® that specializes in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Renton and Newcastle.

Examine your finances and shop around before you apply for a mortgage. Shopping for a mortgage is the first step toward owning a home and perhaps the most daunting, especially if you are not prepared.

Once a simple task that meant comparing fixed rates from among perhaps a dozen or fewer savings and loan companies, the mortgage hunt today is like finding your way through a maze.

There are dozens of loan types and hundreds of loan programs available through thousands of mortgage brokers, bankers, lenders, finance companies, credit unions and even stock brokerage firms. Pam will be able to walk you through the process and find a program that works for you.

Contrary to popular belief, finding a mortgage doesn't begin with an application.

Education is a better first choice. Mortgage information sources are as vast as the number of mortgages available: Web sites, topical newspaper articles, mortgage books, consumer seminars and workshops, financial planners, real estate agents, mortgage brokers and lenders are all available to assist you along the way.

First and foremost, you must determine how your mortgage payment will fit your current budget and, to some extent, your future obligations 15 to 30 years down the road.

If you discover too late that you can't afford your mortgage, you'll not only face the possibility of losing the roof over your head, but you could also damage your ability to purchase a home in the future.

Step 1: Examine Your Finances

If you can afford to buy a home, you must then determine how much mortgage you can afford. Lenders are apt to put your loan application in the best light and qualify you for as much as they are willing to lend, which can be more than you can afford.

It's up to you to take stock of your income and expenses, both current and projected, to determine what you can comfortably manage each month. Along with your mortgage payment, don't forget related insurance, taxes, homeowner association dues and any other costs rolled into the mortgage payment.

Step 2: Shop for a Loan

When you are ready to shop for a loan you have two basic types of mortgage stores to shop from: direct lenders and mortgage brokers.

Direct lenders have money to lend. They make the final decision on your application. Lenders have a limited number of in-house loans available.

Mortgage brokers are intermediaries who, like you, have many lenders from which to choose. Brokers shop from many lenders, each with their own offering of loans.

If you have special financing needs and can't find a lender to suit them, an experienced broker may be able to ferret out the loan you need. Mortgage brokers, however, are paid with a slice of the amount you borrow - some more than others, so it pays to compare rates. Internet brokers today perhaps receive the smallest cut, sometimes none at all, and can prove to be a real bargain.

Along with shopping the source, you'll also have to shop for loan costs, including the interest rate, broker fees, points (a point is an amount paid to the lender and is charged at one percent of the amount you borrow), prepayment penalties, loan term, application fees, credit report fee, appraisal and a host of others.

Step 3: Apply for a Loan

The application process is the easy part - provided you've gathered the documents necessary to prove claims you make on the application.

The application will ask for information about your job tenure, employment stability, income, your assets (property, cars, bank accounts and investments) and your liabilities (auto loans, installment loans, mortgages, credit-card debt, household expenses and others).

The lender will run a credit check to determine your credit status, but you'll have to supply additional documentation including paycheck stubs, bank account statements, tax returns, investment earnings reports, rental agreements, divorce decrees, proof of insurance and other documentation. A lender that deems you creditworthy will likely hire a professional appraiser to make sure the value of the home you are about to buy is truly worth your loan amount.

To simplify the process, I recommend that you contact Pam Spring. She is a Mortgage Broker with Wells Fargo out of Bellevue and she is an expert in this field. Her e-mail is pamela.spring@wellsfargo.com and her phone number is 425-301-8319.

Pulled from my website article database at www.davidjedwards.com

David Edwards

REALTOR®

Keller Williams Southeast Sound

425-890-8045

david@davidjedwards.com

http://www.davidjedwards.com

Blog: davidjedwards111.topproducerblogs.com

I am a full time REALTOR® that specializes in Residential Real Estate for buyers and sellers in Renton and Newcastle.