Because Puget Sound residents spend so much of the year dealing with
wet conditions, we look for any chance to be in the sun when the weather
turns warm. Cooking and dining alfresco is arguably the single greatest
thing about warm weather in the Pacific Northwest, but most backyard
barbeques involve a million trips to and from the kitchen. As such, one
of the hottest trends in new home construction is outdoor kitchens.
Outdoor kitchens typically feature a comfortable eating area with a
combination of cabinets, sinks, warming drawers, prep counters, ranges,
and refrigerators—all within arm’s reach of the grill. Outdoor kitchens
provide a natural gathering spot for friends and family and can add to
the value of your home.

How elaborate your outdoor kitchen should be depends on how often you
plan to use it. Some people enjoying dining outdoors every evening,
while others reserve it for special occasions and social gatherings.
Regardless of the frequency of use, you need to use materials that do
well in all kinds of weather. Stone sinks, stainless steel cabinets, and
slate countertops will withstand the Seattle rain, as well as the
months that pass between barbeque seasons. Many outdoor kitchens also
feature pergolas or other roof structures to shield guests from sun and
rain. Something else to consider is adding an outdoor gas heater or
fireplace, which will extend the amount of time you can use your outdoor
kitchen into the fall and winter months.

In addition to the convenience of having all your grilling
accoutrements within a handy distance, a well-built outdoor kitchen also
adds to the value of your home. And you don’t have to have a new home
to reap the benefits. With the right space and backyard layout, owners
of existing homes can easily add-on an outdoor kitchen area. When adding
an outdoor kitchen to an existing home, power, gas, and water lines
often have to be extended from the home, so be sure to hire a qualified
contractor to do the work for you. By extending your living space
outside, you have essentially increased the square footage of your home.
In many cases the increase in your home’s value will equal or even
sometimes exceed the cost of the project itself.

The benefits of an outdoor kitchen area and living space are many.
And with the convenience of having your drinks, condiments, meat, and
cooking space all in one easy-to-reach place, you can spend the precious
summer moments right where you should—outside with friends and family.

What features would you include in an outdoor kitchen?

If you are a homeowner, you probably know all-too-well how costly
home repairs can be. And, thanks to Murphy’s Law, appliance break-downs
seem to happen at the worst possible time—like when you are selling your
home. For this reason, it is in the best interest of all home sellers
to consider purchasing a home warranty.

A home warranty offers many advantages to the home seller, the least
of which is a peace of mind that your major home appliances are covered
in the event of a break down. Most home warranties cover both parts and
labor of your home’s most vital systems and major appliances. This
protects the home seller from potentially large, unexpected repair bills
and also allows the buyer to purchase the home with more confidence.
Additionally, a home warranty is usually for the term of at least one
year, so any unforeseen repairs/replacements are also covered well after
the home has been sold. A home warranty also provides a competitive
edge over those homes without warranties because it communicates
confidence to buyers. This can add up to a faster selling period,
resulting in a more convenient process for all involved.

A home is probably the single largest investment you’ll ever make, so
the last thing you want as a home seller or buyer, are unexpected home
repairs/replacements. Major appliance replacement can cost you several
thousand dollars, and during the process of a home sale/purchase, your
budget doesn’t often allow for costly expenses. A home warranty is
designed to protect you from these types of expenditures. Furthermore,
it is convenient for home sellers because a home warranty offers
after-sale liability. While an inspection may find many faults that are
covered by a home warranty, it cannot account for latent problems that
are beyond an inspection’s scope, or problems that occur down the road.
In most cases, a home warranty will cover these expenses, alleviating
potential financial burdens for the seller once they have sold the home.

When considering a home warranty, it’s important to ask the right
questions. Warranties vary from one company to the next and there are
also many different types of coverage available. Your Realtor should be
able to help you with this process. First and foremost, you should
identify which components of the home will be covered by the warranty.
It’s also important to attain annual costs and the charge for service
calls. You will want to ask what the total dollar limit is on the
warranty and what the limits are for the individual items that are
covered. Many home sellers purchase home warranties, which are then
passed along to the homebuyer when they move into the home. As a
homebuyer, you may want to look into whether or not the coverage can be
renewed once the warranty has expired.

According to American Home Shield, one of the largest home warranty
companies in the nation, the average home warranty customer uses their
warranty plan 2.3 times. Furthermore, the number of home warranties is
increasing with every year because homeowners are becoming more informed
of their benefits. Eventually home warranties will become commonplace,
as buyers and sellers realize the advantages they offer. Ultimately,
what it comes down to is that a home warranty is a very simple,
cost-effective way to purchase a peace of mind for both homebuyers and
sellers alike.

With the increased emphasis on global warming in recent years, combined with rising energy costs, more and more people are asking what they can do to make their homes more energy efficient. Energy conservation can be as simple as closing your curtains at night, changing a light bulb, turning down your thermostat, or closing the fireplace damper. Many of the most inexpensive solutions quickly pay for themselves in conservation, which you ultimately benefit from when you get your power bill. One of the biggest ways you can conserve energy is to take advantage of “off-peak” hours. This is a step that everyone can take because it simply involves shifting your power use of major appliances, such as washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers. Puget Sound Energy recommends using these appliances outside of peak hours—peak hours are between 6am-10am and 5pm-9pm. Studies show that by shifting a portion of your energy use, consumers can significantly lower wholesale electricity prices, which saves everyone money in the long run. Another way you can save energy is by washing your clothes in cold water and only running full loads. When using the dryer, toss in a couple of dry towels with your clothes to help speed up the drying process. It’s also important to clean the lint trap in your dryer after every load and make sure the dryer hose and vent are clear. There are several steps you can follow to reduce your home’s demand on heating during the winter months. Conventional measures, such as setting back your thermostat, are effective at reducing energy consumption. It is recommended that you keep your thermostat set between 65 and 72 degrees during the winter months. Keep in mind that by simply lowering your thermostat one degree, your furnace will use seven percent less energy overall. It’s also important to clean your furnace filter frequently—doing so will enable your heating system to run more efficiently and cost-effectively. It’s estimated that lighting accounts for 10 percent of your overall home energy bill, so another way you can conserve is by using energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs, known as CFL light bulbs. CFLs use approximately one-quarter of the energy of equivalent incandescent bulbs, they give off warm, indirect light, and they last ten times longer than average light bulbs. When shopping for CFLs, look for those with the Energy Star label on them—this ensures that you’re purchasing a product that has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). For more information about energy conservation, please visit http://www.energystar.gov/

I have often found that following a prolonged decline, residential
real estate investors tend to re-enter the housing market ahead of
buyers who are looking for a home for their own use. This is because
investors are generally less concerned with timing the bottom of a
market perfectly and more focused on the longer term financial benefits.
And because these investors often pay cash for their investments, I
tend to track markets where the percentage of cash buyers is on the
rise, as it is likely an indication that the rest of the home buyer
population will soon follow.

I’m currently seeing this trend in Washington State, as well as parts
of Oregon, which leads me to believe that these markets may have
finally turned a corner. Investors now appear to be prepared to make
their move based upon the belief that prices are bottoming, and their
cash is better invested in real estate than money market accounts, where
it might actually be losing money given the current rate of inflation.
There is also evidence to suggest that interest rates will not trend any
lower. In fact, if the economy improves at a faster rate than
forecasted by the Federal Reserve, rates are likely to tick up more
quickly than is currently predicted, and this will likely spur on buyer
activity.

Further indicators of this trend is that many mainstream buyers, who
have been sitting on the sidelines in the belief that neither home
prices nor interest rates are expected to rise, now seem willing to jump
in. Unfortunately, the woefully low supply of new homes coming on the
market is giving those buyers few options and creating stiff competition
in many areas. In fact, we’re now hearing about multiple offers and
bidding wars – something we haven’t seen in several years.

In as much as we would all like to think that we can “time the real
estate market”, quite frankly, nobody can. If the investors are moving
in, there is a fairly good chance that the market has reached (or is
reaching) its lows and that may be the signal for reluctant home buyers
to think about getting off the fence.

As you file your 2011 taxes, this is a good time to think about how you can make the most of certain tax benefits now or in your future. For example, if you became a homeowner last year, you are now eligible to take advantage of one of the smartest ways to reduce your taxes.

You can deduct your mortgage interest payments: Typically, the biggest tax advantage of home ownership is that you can deduct the interest you pay on your mortgage. That means the mortgage interest you paid during 2011 can be deducted on your 2011 tax return. As long as your mortgage loan amount is lower than the price of your home and is less than $1.1 million, it’s usually deductible unless you’re in a particularly high tax bracket.

In the early years of owning a home your mortgage payment is mostly interest, so the amount you deduct can really add up. But remember: to take advantage of this tax benefit, you must file IRS Form 1040 (Schedule A) and itemize your deductions.

Your property taxes are deductible, too: In addition to deducting your mortgage interest, you can deduct the property taxes you pay for both a first home and a vacation home. If your property taxes are held in an escrow account, be sure to deduct only the amount that has actually been paid out. Also, if you receive a local tax refund (from the state or county, for example), you’ll need to subtract the amount of the refund from your deduction.

When you buy your house, if your closing date is not on the first day of the month, you may have to pay pro-rated property taxes in addition to prepaying your mortgage interest. If you do, the extra taxes and interest are tax-deductible.

Do the math: When it comes to reducing taxes, home ownership is “the gift that keeps on giving.�? Year after year, you can deduct your mortgage interest and property taxes, lowering the Federal Income Taxes you have to pay. Here’s how it works:

Essential tax-time documents: Whether you complete your taxes on your own or go to a CPA, make sure you have what you need to maximize your real-estate tax benefits.

IRS Publication 530 (2011)

From the U.S. Government, this is essential tax information for homeowners. This includes 2011 changes and upcoming changes in 2012.

1098 Form

Issued by your lender, this form shows you the mortgage interest and real estate taxes you paid in a given tax year; both are tax-deductible.

IRS Form 1040

If you want to qualify for home-mortgage interest and real-estate tax deductions, you must itemize your deductions on IRS Form 1040 (Schedule A).

HUD1 Settlement Statement

This form indicates the “points�? you or your seller paid when you purchased your home; sometimes you can deduct the full amount in the year you bought your house. You can even deduct the points your seller paid, if they don’t deduct them.

A few pointers on “points�?

Known by a variety of names, including origination fees, loan discounts and broker discounts, points are the money you pay your lender as part of your closing costs. A point is equal to 1% of your mortgage. You can deduct the points for the year in which you pay them if your mortgage loan is for the house you live in most of the time. In order to qualify as a deduction, the amount you pay in points must be less than the amount of your down payment. So let’s say you make a down payment of $25,000; if you pay $24,999 or less in points to your lender, you can deduct it.

Sometimes the seller pays the points; you can deduct them, too, so long as your seller doesn’t. The points must be clearly shown in your HUD1 Settlement Statement.

Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP)

If you benefit from Pay-for-Performance Success Payments, the payments are not taxable under HAMP.

Record of home improvements

Be sure to keep accurate records of any home improvements you make. Though not deductible, these costs are added to the value of your house when your capital gains are calculated. If you live in your house for at least two of the last five years and decide to sell, any profit you make up to $500,000 ($250,000 if you’re single) is yours—tax-free.

Moving expense records

If you moved for a new job, or because your employer changed location, you may be able to deduct some of your moving expenses.

Finance your home improvements the tax-deductible way

When you take out a first or second mortgage to buy a home, build one, or improve it, whether that means updating your kitchen, adding a new roof or undertaking an extensive remodel, the IRS calls that mortgage “home acquisition debt�?—and it’s a great way to gain tax benefits while upgrading your home.

For most homeowners, the interest you pay on home acquisition debt is tax-deductible on loans up to $1 million for married couples filing jointly and $500,000 each for couples filing singly.

If you’d like to know more about the tax benefits that you, as a homeowner, are eligible for, visit www.irs.gov or consult a certified public accountant.

You may have heard rumors about a 3.8% seller real estate tax to begin in 2013 and wondered if there was any truth to it.

Simply put, these rumors are a mixture of fact and fiction: When people refer to the “Medicare Tax�?, they are talking about the tax provision of the Patient Protection Affordable Care Act (PPACA), a piece of health care legislation. This provision of the legislation is an investment income tax, not a sales tax on the sale of real estate. It may mean that a small percentage of home sellers who fit very narrow parameters might pay additional taxes on the profits of home sales that exceed a designated threshold amount.

Who exactly will be affected by this tax? Only those taxpayers BOTH designated by the provision as “high earners,�? AND who sell their homes at a substantial profit. “High earners�?, according to the new law, are those who earn $250,000 (for married couples filing jointly) or $125,000 (for couples filing separately), or $200,000 (for all others).

The tax affects only those “high earners�? who will see a substantial profit from the sale of their property, but this situation is uncommon. Why is this? Profit, according to this statue, will be calculated not on the basis of sales price. Rather, it will be adjusted to reflect existing capital gains exclusions for primary residences. The existing home sale capital gains exclusion on a principal residence is $250,000 for individuals and $500,000 for couples. No “Medicare Tax�? will apply to gains within these limits.

If you feel that you may be among the few who must pay this new investment tax, you may want to consider selling before the law goes into effect in 2013. It is always best to consult with an accountant and/or tax attorney before making any decisions.

Below is a link the year ends stat's from the Northwest Multiple Listings comparing 2010 to 2011. As you can see we have experienced a drop in inventory but an increase in the number solds since 2010. You can also note that prices have decreased with a breakdown of area.

http://www.joshuakoffler.com/uploads/11vs10SnohomishJoshua1.pdf

Later this month, Windermere agents from throughout the Western U.S.
will come together in Seattle for our annual Windermere Symposium.
They’ll talk about important issues, share ideas, and learn about new
products and services to help them better serve their clients. It’s a
time for camaraderie, collaboration, and celebration. And this year,
that celebration includes kicking off Windermere’s 40th anniversary.

In honor of this exciting milestone, we thought it would be fun to
look back at how things have changed during the past 40 years. In 1972,
real estate looked a lot different than it does today. Instead of
websites there were Polaroids. Instead of email there were hand-written
notes. Real estate deals were done on the back of cocktail napkins and
sealed with a handshake. And when you wanted to look at homes, you did
so while riding around in the back seat of your agent’s car. Here are
some other things we found interesting when looking back at the last 40
years:

Much has changed since 1972, but one thing we’re proud to say has
remained the same is our agents’ steadfast commitment to their clients
and their communities. They carry on the tradition started by our dad in
1972 when he founded Windermere and built a business centered on
community and mutual respect. For us, Windermere’s 40th anniversary is
about honoring those humble beginnings, as well as our agents who are
truly the ones who make this celebration possible.

I was doing some year end stat’s using the data from the Northwest Multiple Listing and wanted to share my results with you.

 

I compared how many homes sold last year compared to this year and what percentage of these closed sales were “distressed�? (short sale/bank owned).

 

From January 1, 2010 to December 8, 2010 in Snohomish County there were 6,518 sold residential home with 34% being “distressed�?.

 

From January 1, 2011 to December 8, 2011 in Snohomish County we have sold 6,930 residential homes with 46% being “distressed�?.

 

So, in 2011 our sales have increased, the percentage of distressed home sales have increased BUT our inventory is down (around 25%) along with home values (around 10%).

 

My conclusion- with interest rates being as low as they are and home values being around the 2002/2003 prices the affordability of homes today are at an all time high. I see many first time homebuyers taking advantage of today’s market along with investors. My prediction is that the market will continue along the same lines thru Spring and Summer.

Here is another testimonial from a seller I represented in selling their short sale condo in South Everett!

How would you describe the service you received?

Excellent! Extremely thorough! All of our question were answered promptly. Josh made this difficult process bearable and smooth.

Is there something  Josh could have done better?

Nope!!

Other comments.

Thank you!