Keely's Broker Blog

Fannie and Freddie Halting Foreclosures

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be suspending foreclosure actions on the mortgages they back from Nov 26th to Jan 9th to allow time for those mortgages to be restructured (where applicable) - see previous post.

Should You Stop Making Your Mortgage Payment?

There is a fair amount of debate going on about this. . .

see here for a prime example

Tough Competition

One (major) reason why non-distressed sellers are having a hard time selling.  Their competition of 'distressed' sellers are a large portion of the resale market right now, dragging down the price per sq. ft.  Too much 'cheaper' competition makes it hard to sell at a price anywhere near what you otherwise could. The way I see it, while my house has certainly devalued in this market, until I sell it, that loss isn't 'realized' and therefore doesn't exist (or so I tell myself).

Say Goodbye to Never Never Land. . .

Michael Jackson's historical "Neverland Ranch" was sold off to an LLC per Santa Barbara's tax records.  It's rumored the ranch may be turned into a public theme park.  Not sure if anyone would go though. . .

Donald Trump is Suing Mad

What do you do when your Donald Trump and your line of credit mortgage gets frozen?  You sue!  The Donald is suing the lenders involved in his latest high rise project in Chicago. 

The suit demands -- among other things -- that an extension provision in the original loan agreement be triggered because of the "unprecedented financial crisis in the credit markets now prevailing, in part due to acts Deutsche Bank itself participated in." This so-called force majeure provision is common in contracts and can be applied to acts of war and natural disasters. Mr. Trump already extended the loan once in May.

Luxury Real Estate is Slower to Sell

One of the main topics at the National Assoc. of Realtors Convention this week deals with selling luxury property.  Here are some key points NAR found. . .

Luxury home buyers are more tech savvy and expect to see an established online advertising presence with professional photography and dedicated website(s) (see www.views-views-views.com)

75% of the world's wealth is held by individuals in OTHER countries (not the U.S.)

The top six countries of international wealth are. . .

     Canada

    United Kingdom

    Mexico

    China

    India

     Germany  

The average days on market for Seattle's luxury homes is 113 days currently.

 

Local "Extreme Makeover" Home for Sale

Kirkwood’s Extreme Makeover house
1366 SE Spruce Rd, Port Orchard, WA
For sale: $650,000

This time it isn't due to a pending or foreclosure sale but because the couple is splitting up.  The MLS price actually looks to be 550k now.

Our New President's Take On Housing

As a refresher, here is Barack Obama's stand on how to help fix our housing market:

Barack Obama wants the Federal Reserve to have more authority over regulating financial insitutions, reducing what he calls the patchwork of regulatory authorities that contributed to this crisis. He wants banks to renegotiate loans with troubled borrowers. He wants judges in bankruptcy court to have the ability to restructure home loans. Better loan term disclosures. He also wants a 10% mortgage interest deduction for borrowers who don't itemize their return.

I think the election being over will be a great thing for the market.  While the recovery may be slow, many buyers I know were waiting to see if Obama were elected before proceeding to purchase.  I'll report back once the data is in to see if we end up with a spike in offers/closings.

Colonial vs. Tudor - 'Typing' Homes

I thought I'd go over the different types of home styles (with a drawing and short description of each) for any architecture buffs (myself included). . .

Art Deco: popular in the 80's, seen all over Miami AND the show "Miami Vice", often in shades of pink and gray.

Bungalows: one and one and a half storied homes.  Found throughout the more established Seattle neighborhoods like Green Lake, Phinney Ridge, Wallingford, Ravenna, and Bryant.

Cape Cod: this property type is one of the most incorrectly utilized (guilty as charged).   There are few Cape Cod style homes in Seattle that aren't floating on Lake Union.  This style home is distinguised by it's sharply pitched roof and sometimes features dormers and shutters.

Colonial: rectangular in shape with double hung windows.

Contemporary: think Frank Lloyd Wright

Craftsman: my personal favorite and also very common among established Seattle neighborhoods.  Distinguishing features include low slung roof's and front porches (often with columns).

Creole: see "French Quarter"

Dutch Colonial: rooflines create a 'barn-like' effect from the side (or even the front, example not pictured above)

Federal: most typically seen on the east coast or in areas of the midwest (i.e. 'Tera' from Gone with the Wind).

French Provincial: several upscale new construction communities on the E. side of Seattle and on the Sammamish Plataeu were built with a nod to Provincial styling.  Defining features include a steep, high, hip roof; balcony and porch balustrades; rectangle doors set in arched openings; and double French windows with shutters. Second-story windows usually have a curved head that breaks through the cornice.

Georgian: a rarity which is probably a good thing considering how militaristic these look (to me).

Gothic Revival: we had one of these on my block growing up.  They are few and far between but ornate in character; the residents tend to have great Halloween parties!

Greek Revival: Where townhouse's originated!  Features: full-height, or full-building width porches, entryway columns sized in scale to the porch type, and a front door surrounded by narrow rectangular windows.

International: molded from modern materials--concrete, glass, and steel--and characterized by an absence of decoration. A steel skeleton typically supports these homes.  Remember the house on Magnolia from "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle"?

Italianate: can be quite ornate despite their solid square shape. Features include symmetrical bay windows in front; small chimneys set in irregular locations; tall, narrow, windows; and towers, in some cases.  Very unusual in our neck of the woods.

Monteray: A second floor balcony distingushes this style. 

National: Born out of the fundamental need for shelter, National-style homes, whose roots are set in Native American and pre-railroad dwellings, remain unadorned and utilitarian.

Neoclassical: columned porches!  Some of these types exist in areas of Beacon Hill, Queen Anne, and Magnolia.  The rest are located on UW's Greek Row. ;-)

Prarie: this style was Frank Lloyd Wright's first claim to fame.  Distinctive features are rows of casement windows; one-story porches with massive square supports; and stylized floral and circular geometric terra-cotta or masonry ornamentation around doors, windows, and cornices.

 Pueblo: See "Land of Enchantment" - I'm a fan of stucco but alas our local weather is not.

Queen Anne: guess where you'll find this style locally?  Multistory floor plans often include projecting wings, several porches and balconies, and multiple chimneys with decorative chimney pots (chimney pots?)

Ranch: otherwise known as a 'rambler' in these parts, a ranch home is one level and typically has a patio in back (the house De Niro occupied in "Casino"). 

Regency: can't they just conglomerate this style with Greek Revival, Georgian and Colonial?

Saltbox: only respresented in every one of King counties libraries.

Second Empire: Wow.  Munsters meet the Adams'.  Can also be seen in every single Scooby Doo episode.

Shed (this really is a qualifiable style): multiple roofs sloping in different directions, which creates multigeometric shapes; wood shingle, board, or brick exterior cladding; recessed and downplayed front doorways; and small windows. There's virtually no symmetry to the style. 

Shingle: Shingle homes borrow wide porches, shingles, and asymmetrical forms from the Queen Anne.  They're also characterized by unadorned doors, windows, porches, and cornices; continuous wood shingles; a steeply pitched roof line; and large porches. The style hints at towers, but they're usually just extensions of the roof line.

Shotgun: tradition has it that if you fire a shotgun through the front doorway of this long, narrow home, the bullet will exit directly through the back door.  Shotguns are usually only one room wide, with each room leading directly into the next. Mail-order plans and parts for shotgun homes were widely available at the turn-of-the-century, making it a popular, low-cost structure to build in both urban and suburban settings.


Spanish Eclectic:  The houses usually have low-pitched tiled roofs, white stucco walls, and rounded windows and doors. Other elements may include scalloped windows and balconies with elaborate grillwork, decorative tiles around doorways and windows, and a bell tower or two.  If you went to Catholic school you ate dinner with the nuns here.

Split-level: This home may well be the most common architectural style.  That is likely due to the fact that it's the least expensive type of home to build.  Many neighborhoods in Seattle are chock full of split levels, especially in S. Snohomish and S. King counties.  Some buyers are turned off by split levels, depending much upon the way the stairs are situated when you enter the front door.  The distinct feature of a split level, and where it gets its name, is the orientation of the staircase to the front door: as soon as you open the door you are greeted with staircases both up and down.