Washington State Mortgages, Made Clear. Buying or Refinancing? Let's find the right loan together.
If you’re planning to buy a home in Washington State, you’re not alone — and you’re probably using a mortgage between $300,000 and $1,000,000.
That loan range now represents the largest share of homebuyers across Washington, from first-time buyers to relocations and move-up homeowners. But where people are buying has shifted significantly in the past few years.
Below are the top Washington cities attracting homebuyers and what mortgage financing typically looks like in each market. [Read more…]
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in July 2024. The example scenario below uses appreciation and payment figures that were accurate at that time — the underlying math still holds, but if you want current numbers for your own situation, I’m happy to run a personalized analysis.
In my post How to Improve Your Odds of Getting YOUR Offer Accepted, I touched on understanding the numbers behind bidding wars, low appraisals, and commissions. It’s worth exploring in more detail — you may be surprised that bidding above list price doesn’t affect your payment as much as you’d think, since the added cost is amortized over the life of a typical 30-year mortgage. [Read more…]
Last Friday, NAR (the National Association of Realtors) announced a settlement which included a major change to real estate commissions. This settlement still needs court approval to be finalized.
Several media sources have been spreading misinformation about commissions with headlines including that buyers agents will no longer be compensated. This is far from accurate. [Read more…]
