Welcome to This & That - A Real Estate Blog by Steve Swanson Sign in | Help

Browse by Tags

All Tags » First Time Home... » Redmond Real Estate

Washington State Wide Open House Weekend June 27th & 28th

This weekend, June 27th & 28th, thousands of homes for sale across the state of Washington are going to be open for viewing as part of the State Wide Open House Weekend being organized by Realtors throughout the state. The Seattle area Real Estate market is starting to see increased sales, especially in the lower priced homes.  Attractive interest rates and [...]
Posted Saturday, June 27, 2009 1:20 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

Ethics in Advertising – I’m having my doubts

I hate misleading advertising.  I really do.  And I don’t think I’m alone in that.  I’m also not that keen on hypocrisy.  And trying to figure out mixed messages has never been my idea of fun. Lately, in driving around and previewing homes with clients, we see these riders that say “$8,000 Tax Credit Available”, or [...]
Posted Tuesday, June 16, 2009 7:34 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

$8000 Tax Credit Advance for Downpayment – UPDATE

Previous posts have detailed the Washington State Legislature’s efforts to get the Fed’s $8,000 first time home buyer credit available for use as a home buyer’s down payment at closing. Washington’s Governor Gregoire has signed the legislation that allows the Washington State Housing Finance Commission to make the funds available, however the program’s implementation has stalled at the [...]
Posted Thursday, May 28, 2009 11:28 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

Update - $8,000 Tax Credit Advance at Closing Still on Hold

Previous posts covered the Washington State Legislature's efforts to get the Fed's $8,000 first time homebuyer credit available to the buyer for use as a downpayment at closing. The Governor has signed the legislation that allows the Washington Read More...
Posted Thursday, May 28, 2009 8:21 PM by Steve Swanson | 0 Comments

Are We There Yet?

Like a ten year old on a road trip, people are wondering if real estate prices have hit the bottom… are we there yet? It goes beyond the usual “how’s the real estate market?” More than ever, it’s: Is this a good time to Read More...
Posted Wednesday, May 20, 2009 10:42 AM by Steve Swanson | 0 Comments

Housing Activity Surges in King County

In a news release published today by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service, pending sales reported by members showed an overall increase of 11.4% from a year ago and up 21.3% from March.  Though these statistics are averages of the 19 counties that make up the NWMLS market area, there are areas where the surge in [...]
Posted Tuesday, May 05, 2009 9:27 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

Tax Credit Advance Loan Program waiting for Special Session

Included in the budget passed by the Washington State Legislature is a $25 million dollar fund to implement a Tax Credit Advance Loan Program for First Time Home Buyers.  (The definition of a First Time Home Buyer is basically if you have not owned a home in the past Three years.) Introduced by Washington State Treasurer James [...]
Posted Saturday, May 02, 2009 1:05 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

Using First Time Buyer Credit as Home Down payment

Hot off the Press is news from the Washington State Legislature provided to me by Georgette Ballard, Sr Loan Officer with PrimeLending.  This budget provision would help First Time Home Buyers with their down payment thus helping home sellers getting their house sold.  If signed by Governor Gregoire, this would be the first program of it’s kind in the country.  When the Legislature [...]
Posted Tuesday, April 28, 2009 1:16 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

Ways to use $8000 tax credit to purchase first home

I was just reading that the National Association of Realtors is working with the State of Washington in exploring ways that will put the federal $8000 First-Time Homebuyer tax credit and economic stimulus money coming to the state to use at the closing of a sale. I’ll be following this to see if this develops into something real.  It would be [...]
Posted Tuesday, March 24, 2009 10:37 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

2009 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit

As an update to a previous post, details are now in on the First Time Home Buyer Credit in the Economic Stimulus Bill (formally called The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009).  The bill was signed into law on Tuesday, February 17th.   Here’s an overview of the provisions in the bill that will benefit First [...]
Posted Thursday, February 19, 2009 11:36 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

Stimulus – Not all Bad

In reading and trying to stay updated on what details that have been made available on the Economic Stimulus package that has apparently been negotiated and agreed, it appears that the proposed $15,000 Home Buyer Tax Credit was a casualty.  Sort of.  The overall cost of this credit would have been $35 billion. In its place, a more modest proposal was [...]
Posted Sunday, February 15, 2009 12:29 AM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

A Real Estate Myth-Understanding

Beyond the usual “how’s the real estate market?”  …I’m being asked more real estate related questions than ever.  Is this a good time to buy?  How do you buy a foreclosure?  Is it hard to get a mortgage?  Are homes selling … How long would it take to sell my home?   There is curiosity, confusion, and myth-information.   Myth-Understanding [...]
Posted Saturday, February 14, 2009 11:22 PM from hello Real Estate | 0 Comments

Real Estate Myth-understanding

Beyond the usual “how’s the real estate market?” …I’m being asked more real estate related questions than ever. Is this a good time to buy? How do you buy a foreclosure? Is it hard to get a mortgage? Are homes selling … Read More...
Posted Wednesday, December 03, 2008 3:40 AM by Steve Swanson | 222 Comments