Rent or Buy in Seattle: Seattle RE Chat [Video]

In this episode of Seattle Real Estate Chat, Jim Reppond and I compare renting in Seattle to buying a home. With rents on the rise and mortgage rates at very low levels, it may be worth considering making the move to buy a home.

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Seattle Real Estate Chat [Video] on Preapproval and Commitment Letters

In this episode, Jim Reppond and I discuss Commitment Letters.  A commitment letter is kind of like a preapproval letter on steroids. And in this hot sellers market that the greater Seattle area is currently experiencing – many buyers can use a little extra help to stand out from a similar competing offer.  A Loan Commitment Letter may be the extra boost that could help some home buyers.

Check out our last episode!

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Seattle RE Chat – FHA’s HAWK Program [Video]

In this episode of Seattle Real Estate Chat, Jim Reppond and I discuss FHA’s HAWK program with special guest, Frances Flynn Thorsen.

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Seattle RE Chat: What’s going on in the Seattle real estate market?

In this episode of Seattle RE Chat, Jim Reppond of Coldwell Banker Danforth and I discuss what’s going on in the Seattle real estate market, including the lack of inventory.

Side note: if you have been considering selling your home, today’s lack of inventory could make this a prime time for you to sell your home.

Seattle RE Chat is a Google Hangout that takes place on Tuesdays at 10am Seattle-time. You can follow us on Twitter at @Seattlerechat or #seattlerechat

Seattle RE Chat: Qualified Mortgage (QM) and Ability to Repay (ATR) Rules

In this episode of Seattle Real Estate Chat, Jim Reppond and I discuss recent changes to mortgages with “qualified mortgage” and “ability to repay” which rolled out earlier this month.

Seattle RE Chat is a weekly live show that Jim Reppond and I co-host every Tuesday morning at 10:00 am PST at www.seattlerechat.com via a Google Hangout.  Join us next Tuesday!

2014 Predictions for the Seattle Real Estate and Mortgage Trends #SeattleREchat

In this year’s final episode of Seattle Real Estate Chat (we’re coming back in 2014!), Jim Reppond and I review 2013 and make a few prediction for 2014 regarding the real estate market and mortgages in the greater Seattle area.

We will resume our regular scheduling of Tuesday mornings at 10:00 am PST for Seattle Real Estate Chat on Tuesday, January 7, 2014.

Thank you for watching our show – I hope you’ll tune in next year. 🙂

When an Appraisal Comes in Low: Seattle Real Estate Chat

In the last episode of Seattle Real Estate Chat, Jim Reppond and I discuss what happens when an appraisal comes in low for a home purchase. Since appraised values are based on comps (recently closed homes), the data used to determine an appraised value is often “lagging” behind current home prices. Factor in bidding wars when prices may be escalated along with HVCC (regulations that do not allow lenders to select appraisers) and it’s not entirely uncommon to have an appraisal come in lower than the offer price.

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Seattle Real Estate Chat: Mold, Asbestos and Lead – Oh My! [Video]

This week’s episode of Seattle RE Chat featured a special guest, James Mallory, President of Environix. James shared a lot of important information about mold, asbestos and lead, all of which can be potentially be found in Seattle area homes.

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