Silent Sunday, Pussy Willows...Harbinger of Spring - 02/28/10 11:41 PM
Silent Sunday, Pussy Willows...Harbinger of Spring
 


Usually we see the pussy willows before the cherry blossoms and bulbs start to show, but this has been such a warm winter they are appearing simultaneously.  I realize for those buried under the record snows of 2010 this may not seem fair, but you still get to look forward to Spring in your area...hopefully.
… (8 comments)

Issaquah, Sammamish Plateau Open House, Brookshire, Sunday 1-4 - 02/27/10 02:17 AM
Issaquah, Sammamish Plateau Open House, Brookshire, Sunday 1-4
This Sunday from 1-4 please join us for a chance to see this exciting new listing.

Located on a quiet cul-de-sac, this John Buchan built home is fresh and inviting.  Everything is in excellent shape and ready for you to move in, unpack and enjoy. 
Brookshire is a community of stately homes that are of exceptional quality.  Details and conveniences are apparent throughout the home.  Lovingly cared for, it's many upgrades include professional landscaping, stamped concrete patios, new roof, air conditioning, newer kitchen appliances, furnace, fresh paint and 2 gas fireplaces.

… (5 comments)

Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue - 02/26/10 01:39 PM
Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue
Buying, Selling, Refinancing, know all your options!
Rates Ending the week of 02/26/2010
Rates are always subject to change, and often do multiple times a day.  Rates are also subject to each individual circumstance and adjust based on credit score, loan to value, loan size just to name a few items.  My default pricing is at PAR, or with a slight rebate to lower the borrowers fees. 
Prices based on a 30 day lock, longer locks available with slightly higher fee.
I post rates on Mondays & Fridays unless there are … (0 comments)

IF YOU'RE A FIRST TIME BUYER & LOOKING FOR ADVICE .... READ THIS! - 02/25/10 01:14 PM
I'm in the middle of a series called "Home Buying, 12 Steps and the Serenity Prayer" and this post fits very nicely into the entire concept.  I'd rather not sell you a home than have you buy for the wrong reasons, at the wrong time or with the wrong understanding of what's in store for someone as a home owner. 
Gene has done a great job of highlighting some things to consider and understand before you take the steps I'm outlining.  Ideally all these issues are weighed and then my12 step process will bring you to a happy and successful home buying decision and experience. 
This would … (3 comments)

Wordless Wednesday, Sammamish Commons on a Clear Day - 02/25/10 02:48 AM
Wordless Wednesday, Sammamish Commons on a Clear Day
 
The Sammamish Commons is our city hall, police, library, Skate Park and public space.  Located centrally in the city geographically it takes full advantage of the view on this clear day last week.  Downtown Seattle can be seen and the Olympic Mountains rise above the skyscrapers. 
… (7 comments)

Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue - 02/22/10 02:51 PM
Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue
Buying, Selling, Refinancing, know all your options!
Rates beginning the week of 02/22/2010
Rates are always subject to change, and often do multiple times a day.  Rates are also subject to each individual circumstance and adjust based on credit score, loan to value, loan size just to name a few items.  My default pricing is at PAR, or with a slight rebate to lower the borrower's fees. 
Prices based on a 30 day lock, longer locks available with slightly higher fee.
I post rates on Mondays & Fridays unless there are … (2 comments)

Home Buying Step Five, Meet with your Agent - 02/21/10 11:29 PM
Home Buying Step Five, Meet with your Agent
If you've been following along you have seen the overview of Home Buying, 12 Steps and the Serenity Prayer, so you have and idea where we are going.  You have completed Step One, met with a lender and been Pre-approved.  You have taken Step 2, and you have selected a highly competent agent.  You have decided on where, Step Three and followed a process in Step Four, Priorities, setting up your "must haves", "would like to have" and "would take if you could get it" priority list. 
Now you need to take all … (7 comments)

Silent Sunday, Spring is Breaking Out - 02/21/10 07:51 PM
Silent Sunday, Spring is Breaking Out
 


Bulbs are blossoming, buds are blooming, Spring is setting up early.  We've been treated to an early taste of Spring this year.  These pictures were taken today, Sunday February 21st.  While other parts of the country have had a colder than usual winter, we've been warmer. 
… (16 comments)

The Market is Heating UP, Write Strong Offers - 02/21/10 01:51 AM
The Market is Heating UP, Write Strong Offers
I have a client who's been looking for a while.  This week a new home came on the market that met their criteria for the most part.  It is in a popular area and in great shape.  My CMA indicated that last few similar sales within a half mile had an average of only 14 days on the market; a long of 20 and a short of 7.  The 4 of the 5 of the homes had sold for 100% of list price, the other for 97.8%, for an average of 99.56% of list … (9 comments)

Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue - 02/19/10 01:02 PM
Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue
Buying, Selling, Refinancing, know all your options!
Rates Ending the week of 02/15/2010
Rates are always subject to change, and often do multiple times a day.  Rates are also subject to each individual circumstance and adjust based on credit score, loan to value, loan size just to name a few items.  My default pricing is at PAR, or with a slight rebate to lower the borrowers fees. 
Prices based on a 30 day lock, longer locks available with slightly higher fee.
I post rates on Mondays & Fridays unless there are … (0 comments)

Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue - 02/15/10 01:44 PM
Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue
Buying, Selling, Refinancing, know all your options!
Rates Beginning the week of 02/15/2010
Rates are always subject to change, and often do multiple times a day.  Rates are also subject to each individual circumstance and adjust based on credit score, loan to value, loan size just to name a few items.  My default pricing is at PAR, or with a slight rebate to lower the borrowers fees. 
Prices based on a 30 day lock, longer locks available with slightly higher fee.
I post rates on Mondays & Fridays unless there are … (3 comments)

Home Buying Step 4, What are your Specific Home Priorities? - 02/14/10 11:37 PM
Home Buying Step 4, What are your Specific Home Priorities?
Going through the process of deciding where to live, how much to spend and what amenities you want your next home to have is a series of compromises.  Compromises between people, spouses, children, work demands...compromises with your budget and compromises with your ideal list and what is actually available.  Another way to look at this is negotiating, not on the price but on all of the factors that bring us to the point of selecting a home and then negotiating a price. 
A method I've used with buyers is to … (3 comments)

Home Buying Step 3, Location, Location, Location - 02/14/10 11:24 PM
Home Buying Step 3, Location, Location, Location
Another Real Estate cliché, this one is true on many levels.  Where you want to live is critical to you, your resale value, your long term satisfaction and the relative affordability. 
Granite counters and 5 piece master baths may be high on your desirability list, but the problem may be your budget.  I've recently been in beautiful new construction homes offering both of these for around $250,000 in the greater Seattle area.  I've also been in homes over $600,000 that didn't have them.  The difference is location.  Where you want to live? 
Generally the … (3 comments)

Happy Valentine's Day! - 02/14/10 03:12 AM
Happy Valentine's Day!
 
27 Years ago on Valentine's Day, I proposed marriage to Elsie and she said yes.  It was my biggest sale ever!  We were married that July and I have never been happier.  Thank You Elsie for all the good years, and tolerating the tough ones.  I love you.
… (10 comments)

Home Buying Step 2, Who Needs an Agent? - 02/13/10 09:06 PM
Home Buying Step 2, Who Needs an Agent?
This is Step 2 of Home Buying, 12 Steps and the Serenity Prayer.
We live in a time where using an agent may seem less important than ever. The ability to search homes on line, ask questions on various online sites and do lots of independent research all make it seem as if an agent may not be necessary.  I will be honest, I felt this way too once. 
Before entering Real Estate as a profession I had been in other sales careers.  The agents we met early on in our home buying experience didn't … (3 comments)

Home Buying Step 1, Pre-Qualifying or Pre-Approval - 02/13/10 08:53 PM
Home Shopping Step 1, Pre-Qualifying or Pre-Approval
This is Step 1 of, Home Buying 12 Steps and the Serenity Prayer
Buying a home is easily the biggest purchase most will ever make, this is a tried and true cliché.  In reality, buying a home is a series of decisions with multiple purchases leading up to the biggest one.  (*) Solid, well informed choices along the way are critical to a successful, satisfying buying experience. 
An early decision is your loan.  In reality this decision may be a bigger one than the home purchase.  If you ever look at the disclosures provided in … (0 comments)

Home Buying, 12 Steps and the Serenity Prayer - 02/13/10 01:54 PM
Home Buying, 12 Steps and the Serenity Prayer
Did you ever find yourself in the middle of a mess and wonder, how did I get here?  Have you ever been given directions to go somewhere, you try to follow but still end up lost?  Have you ever had this experience with hundreds of thousands of dollars on the line? 
Can you spell S-T-R-E-S-S? 
Stress is a killer both literally and figuratively.  Trying to make a home buying decision is stressful enough, but trying to do so when you don't understand the process, terminology or your qualifications is at least doubly stressful.  … (5 comments)

One Family's Treasure is Available for Someone New, Lake Sammamish Waterfront - 02/13/10 03:04 AM
One Family's Treasure is Available for Someone New, Lake Sammamish Waterfront.
Did you ever dream about a waterfront getaway?  A place you could live in, or have as a second home with a beach, dock space for a boat, dry storage for toys, tables & chairs; a place with sunsets glowing through your windows as almost a personal good night wish.   

I was in such a home today, built in 1990 and lovingly cared for by the original homeowners; two stories with unobstructed views of the lake from both levels.  Eagles soar and fish jump practically right out your windows.  … (5 comments)

Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue - 02/12/10 02:45 PM
Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue
Buying, Selling, Refinancing, know all your options!
Rates ending the week of 02/12/2010
Rates are always subject to change, and often do multiple times a day.  Rates are also subject to each individual circumstance and adjust based on credit score, loan to value, loan size just to name a few items.  My default pricing is at PAR, or with a slight rebate to lower the borrowers fees. 
Prices based on a 30 year fixed, 30 day lock, longer locks available with slightly higher fee.
I post rates on Mondays & Fridays … (1 comments)

Wordless Wednesday, It’s Winter Now, But Spring’s Coming, Acres of Flowers! - 02/10/10 07:05 PM
Wordless Wednesday, It's Winter Now, But Spring's Coming!

 


La Conner Washington is about 90 minutes north of Sammamish, an easy drive most days.  For 2010 the Annual Tulip Festival   is April 1-April 30th.  The best time to see this event changes every year, these pictures were taken in March.  With our warmer than usual winter I imagine 2010 may be an early year too. 

… (11 comments)

Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue - 02/08/10 12:18 PM
Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue
Buying, Selling, Refinancing, know all your options!
Rates beginning the week of 02/08/2010
Rates are always subject to change, and often do multiple times a day.  Rates are also subject to each individual circumstance and adjust based on credit score, loan to value, loan size just to name a few items.
Prices based on a 30 day lock, longer locks available with slightly higher fee.

I post rates on Mondays & Fridays unless there are substantial changes.  Every scenario is different, but these are real rates available at the time … (0 comments)

Silent Sunday, Smoking, who said it's bad for your health? - 02/07/10 10:27 PM
Silent Sunday, Smoking, who said it's bad for your health?



Not cigarettes of course they are not healthy, but a little beef brisket, some pork ribs and a couple of chickens are good for you, right? 
The weather was a little of everything on this day, overcast, rain, hail, sun breaks, but the food was good. 
… (11 comments)

A peek into the Future, New Technologies - 02/07/10 03:04 AM
A peek into the Future, New Technologies
I love to crawl the web and use sites like Digg.Com to find interesting articles that I might not find in my local paper.  Tonight I learned of two new technologies which will impact our lives as homeowners and as agents.
First, Lithium Ion batteries that last 10 times longer than our current generation of batteries.  I've bought hundreds of batteries for my digital camera, my kids controllers, flashlights, radios all types of things.  Currently our choices are one time use alkaline or rechargeable lithium-ion.  Rechargeable batteries are great, they hold up longer in … (3 comments)

What about an ARM? Adjustable Rate Mortgage, Benefits and Warnings - 02/05/10 05:43 PM
What about an ARM?  Adjustable Rate Mortgage, Benefits and Warnings.
In an earlier post I highlighted the difference between the high risk loans of a couple of years ago, the part they played in the housing and financial meltdown and the benefits of today's ARM products.  In this post I'd like to focus on the proper application of these products.  Anyone who doesn't understand all of the possible scenarios should not take out this type of loan.  If the language or terms are confusing or too complicated, please use a loan you understand and are comfortable with. 
Now, why would anyone … (8 comments)

What about an ARM? Adjustable Rate Loans are back? - 02/05/10 05:37 PM
What about an ARM, Adjustable Rate Loans are back? 
I read a reblogged post recently complaining that 5/1 and 7/1 ARM's are back.  They seemed to believe that these products were responsible for the housing bubble and collapse in values. 
First, let me say there is enough blame to go around, but to blame these products is to demonstrate a lack of understanding of what they are and how to properly use them.  Personally I place the blame on the MISUSE of these and several other products primarily by unscrupulous lenders who didn't look out for their borrowers or their … (0 comments)

Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue - 02/05/10 12:36 PM
Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue
Buying, Selling, Refinancing, know all your options!
Rates Ending the week of 02/05/2010.  Rates are Down slightly
Rates are always subject to change, and often do multiple times a day.  Rates are also subject to each individual circumstance and adjust based on credit score, loan to value, loan size just to name a few items.
Prices based on a 30 day lock, longer locks available with slightly higher fee.
The week's rates started at 4.75% (4.871% APR) and stayed in this range all week finishing down where we are today. 
I post rates on … (0 comments)

Wordless Wednesday, Did your high school have a view like this? Skyline HS, Sammamish - 02/03/10 07:38 PM
Wordless Wednesday, Did your high school have a view like this?  Skyline HS
 
 
Did your high school have a view like this?  This was taken from the parking lot at Skyline High School in Sammamish WA.  Skyline is one of 3 high schools in Sammamish and is in the Issaquah School District.  Skyline is known for outstanding academic and sports.  The Spartans are State Football champions for 2009, this is their third State Title. 
It's a beautiful campus currently undergoing an addition, even though it was opened in 1997.  What I find amazing is this prime view real estate was … (9 comments)

Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue - 02/01/10 04:56 PM
Interest Rates through Northstone Mortgage, Issaquah, Sammamish, Redmond, Bellevue
Buying, Selling, Refinancing, know all your options!
Rates Beginning the week of 02/01/2010
Rates are always subject to change, and often do multiple times a day.  Rates are also subject to each individual circumstance and adjust based on credit score, loan to value, loan size just to name a few items.
Prices based on a 30 day lock, longer locks available with slightly higher fee.
Last week's rates started at 4.75% (4.882% APR) and stayed in this range all week finishing where we are today. 
Want a lower rate?  Pay a … (1 comments)

It all Started at RainCamp, My 100th Blog Post, The Power of Active Rain - 02/01/10 04:51 PM
It all Started at RainCamp, My 100th Blog Post, The Power of Active Rain
March of 2009, I wrote my first post on Active Rain.  I wrote, I Want to sell, but should I wait? a members only post regarding listing in a buyer's market, highlighting the upside for certain sellers who would also be buyers.
I had some nice welcoming comments and thought, this was interesting, but I let things go for a while.  I was signed up to receive the ActiveRain Newsletter, which came into my inbox on a daily basis.  When time would allow, I'd peruse through some of … (4 comments)

 
Dan&elsie Rainmaker_large

Dan Tabit

Sammamish, WA

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Northstone Real Estate Inc.

Address: 1495 NW Gilman Blvd Suite 16, Issaquah, WA, 98027

Office Phone: (425) 868-7653

Cell Phone: (206) 310-8629

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