Drive down the cherry tree-lined driveway and come home to your efficient 1848 square foot manufactured home on 3.5 acres! Go beyond the ordinary ( 3 bedrooms, 1.75 baths, dining room, living room with fireplace, family room, and utility room), and savor the extraordinary- a quiet morning in the sun room with a view of your 2.0 acre fully fenced pasture. Enjoy marionberries, raspberries, blueberries, and over 30 fruit trees in this uniquely pastoral setting. A woodshop and a 1287 square foot 3-car multi-purpose garage complete this picture. You have many opportunities here- equistrian, hobby farmer, livestock, or build. Public water and mountain views are here! Call me with any questions or for an appointment to view this beautiful property!

Looking for a 4 bedroom home on acreage for under $255,000? Then look no further! This enormous 1960 square foot 2005 manufactured home boast an open floor plan that includes a dining room, family room with fireplace and French doors that lead to you deck, living room, and a large kitchen with a island. The master bedroom is located on the opposite end of the other 3 large bedrooms and includes a walk-in closet and 5 piece bath. Your .42 acre lot has a fully fenced backyard, ample parking, storage shed, and a large deck.  Call me with any questions or for a time when I can show you this great property!

I see it evey day on the 24 hour watch I have set up in the MLS - more price reductions than new listings in Snohomish County. Why? Here is what I am observing. We currently have at least a 1o month supply of inventory available to today's buyer and not enough active buyers to consume that amount of inventory. So sellers and agents are becoming desperate to sell their homes, hence the prices drop. I believe that this market is more about time on the market than price. Let's say you have six homes in one neighborhood with simular floor plans and lot sizes all priced within $5,000 of each other to start. Thirty days later you have one seller that is desperate to sell their home, they drop their price by $20,000, and in 30 more days their home goes under contract. What options do the other 5 sellers have? Is the market value really $20,000 below what they are on the market for? In the buyer's eyes they see the home that is under contract for $20,000 less than the other homes and think this is market value. Is it? In my opinion, no! The home under contract didn't have the patience to wait for their home to be exposed to the market and had to sell in a short amount of time. Even if the other 5 homes reduce their prices by $20,000, there are not enough active buyers to buy the remaining 5 homes. Just because we have sellers and agents that are lowering their prices out of desperation does not mean that the rest of the homes have to follow suit. Again, in this market where there are few active buyers, it is more time than price. Don't get me wrong, you do need to be competitively priced, but you don't have to give your house away to get it sold!

If you'd like an honest evaluation of the value of your home in today's market, give me a call.

What should you do if you can't pay your loan? Foreclosure is not the only answer. Here are some steps that can help prevent foreclosures.

1. Call your lender immediately, the number of your lender should be on your statement, and ask for the loan mitigation department.
2. Get a hold of a reputable credit counseling agency. You may want to call the Homeownership Preservation Foundation (888-995-HOPE) or contact your local HUD- approved counseling agency (800-569-4287) or www.hud.gov
3. Look into loan modification options. The following modifications could be available to you-

• Forebearance: an agreement to temporarilylet you pay less or nothing for a agreed upon time
• Reinstatement: pay the total amount you're behind in a lump sum by a certain date
• Repayment plans: a fixed amount of time to repay the amount you are behind by combining a portion of what's past due with your current payment
• Loan modifications: a written agreement that permanently changes one or more of the original terms, such as extending loan term or lowering interst rate

As you can see there are ways to avoid foreclosure if you are willing to make the effort. The lender does want to foreclose on your property and will work with you if you make yourself available to work with.

Now if your financial circumstances have changed that your are no longer able to afford your house, your mortgage company may offer some other options, like-

• Loan assumption: Even if your mortgage isn't assumable, your lender may allow someone else to take over the payments
• Short sale: This allows you to sell your house for less than the amount of the loan
• Deed-in-lieu- of foreclosure: The bank may be able to transfer title to your property to the mortgage company in exchange for the complete cancellation of your mortgage debt. In most cases, your lender will have required you to try to sell the house for 90 days before a deed-in-lieu will be considered.

Here some examples of loans available to first time home buyers or repeat buyers that require little to no down payment-

Fannie Mae Flexable 100                                                                      

• For repeat or first time home buyers                                     
• Down payment:   none
• Loan limit:   $417,000
• Income restrictions:   none
• Interest rates:  As much as 1/2 percent higher

Fannie Mae Mycommunity Mortgage

• For low-to-moderate income buyers who don't have a traditional credit history
• Down payment:  none
• Loan limit:   $417,000
• Income restrictions:  Combined household incomes must be $85,000 or less in the county based
• Interst rates:   As much as 1 percent higher

Federal Housing Administration  (FHA)

• For first time home buyers, people with fair to excellent credit and modest assets
• Down payment:  3%   but can be gifted or come from nonprofits (Nehemiah program)
• Loan limit:  $362,790 subjet to change
• Income restrictions:  none
• Interest rates:  comparable to conventional market rates if not better

Veterans Administration  (VA)

• For honorably discharged, retired or active duty service personal
• Down payment:  none
• Loan limit: $417,000
• Income restrictions:  None
• Interest rates: comparable to conventional loans

These are just a few of the available loans. To chose the right loan for you I would suggest talking with an experienced mortgage broker. I work with only qualified, trusted mortgage brokers and would willing to give you there name and number.

Snohomish County Stat Comparison	January	December	November	October
Residential Home Sales	343	441	445	544
Residential Home Pending Sales	768*	743	868	997
Active Residential Listings	4,644	4,239	5,021	5,404

*397 went pending in the month of January.

Interest rates have dropped, available inventory is up, and the local economy is strong. What does this all mean? We are in a strong buyer’s market. If you are looking to buy, now is the time! Home selection is tremendous and interest rates are at a 4 year low.  I'm already seeing a increase in buyer traffic and an increase in inventory - the housing market is starting to pick up!

For a breakdown of January’s sales by price go to SalesBreakdownbyMonth.xls .

Interest rates are still hovering around 5.5% with no points.