Time to remind our clients about cleaning gutters and drains. Today seems to be the first big windstorm in my area, so there will be downed limbs, trees, and lots of debris blowing about. Good will points can be earned by checking in with our clients to see if they need any help. I know I've got my chainsaw and leaf blower all ready to go.

Lettered Streets Residential Market Analysis Report, January 1 - June 18, 2007

 

Total number of homes sold: 9

Price -  Low: $180,000

            High: $335,000

            Average: $252,311

            Median: $252,500

Average days on market: 63

 

Current Residential Inventory: 3

Price -  Low: $235,000

            High: $389,000

            Average: $321,000

            Median: $339,000

Average days on market: 42

2-Office sales: 78%

Single office sales: 22%

 

This info was gathered from the Northwest Multiple List based on listings input by by humans and as such is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Actual numbers may be skewed due to database errors.

Well after completing the required 90 clock hours of coursework and jumping through the other hurdles, I finally received my GRI. It was very much worth the price of admission, including the three weeks of class time away from work. There is so much information to be learned that I recommend everyone get their GRI. For those who don't know, the GRI designation means that the holder is a Graduate of the Realtor Institute. I'm excited that it finally arrived, but I'll write more later.

One of the side bars from last night's neighborhood association meetings was about Accessory Dwelling Units, aka ADUs. Apparently in Bellingham, there are quite a few people who think they own an ADU on their property, but what they really have is an illegal dwelling unit. Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe, you say? In the eyes of Bellingham, there's a difference.

Bellingham code allows for accessory dwelling units in single family zoning, but there are restrictions. Existing ADUs can be attached or detached, so long as they were built prior to 1995. Since then, only attached ADUs are allowed, and owners need to register them as well as file with the city every odd year stating that they're still owner/occupied. A covenant must be signed and recorded which specifies this requirement.

Parking is a major issue, and adding parking in the front setback of the home is not allowed. You may park in the front yard, but not within the setback, and the parking must be improved for parking (gravel, paved, but not lawn). If the ADU displaces existing parking (read: garage conversion), additional on-site parking must be created, and a minimum of 1 space shall be created for the ADU, with an extra one for each additional bedroom.

One of the odd requirements is that only one entrance can be seen from the front street. The front street is defined as the street on which the address falls. The construction and architectural style of the ADU must be similar to the existing building - roof pitch, siding type, windows, etc.

The maximum number of tenants is limited to three, regardless of the number of bedrooms, in the ADU. In addition to that, for new ADUs, Public Works requires that at least one water meter be present, but the two may share a sewer line.  

The exact code is COB Municipal Code 20.10.035

I found the requirements interesting, and I'm going to get involved and try to adapt the code to allow detached ADUs to be built and permitted.

Following in the footsteps of the York neighborhood, the Lettered Streets have decided that they too would like to rezone a good portion of their neighborhood and redraw some of the area maps. The proposed changes would increase the percentage of the neighborhood that is zoned for Single Family from 11% up to a whopping 49%. The VAST majority of the LSN (Lettered Streets Neighborhood) is currently zoned for multi family, and you might think that this is a huge step backwards and contrary to the growth management plans that the city has been working towards. It is, and it isn't.

As a resident of the LSN who has a desire to build an ADU above my garage, this potential rezone was a very scary proposition. What I found out by attending the meeting last night with the LSN Association and the city planning commission rep was that this is only the first step in a series of events that really lead in the right direction. Step two is writing code that will allow for detached accessory dwelling units, which are currently illegal. The long term goal is to allow for infill with ADUs while maintaining the turn of the century charm that a lot of the neighborhood has. Current zoning allows for 45' tall 8-plexes to be built adjacent to single family homes, which isn't congruent with the "look or character" of the existing neighborhood as prescribed by the city plan.

There is a vocal opposition to this currently planned change, who worry that by changing to single family we are prohibiting increasing population density, which will push more and more newcomers out into sprawl, which in turn will cause more traffic and pollution. It does seem like that is what would happen, but the fact is that developers haven't been buying up the existing homes in the LSN to tear down and build the large buildings. Land is cheaper in the outskirts and there's better profit to be had elsewhere so it's not like changing the zoning is going to block dozens of units from being put in within the next year or two, and of course the zoning can always be changed in the future as it is now.

Another reason for this first step, rather than biting the bullet and trying to realize ALL of the goals this first go-around, is that the City has a relatively new planning director and the neighborhood association doesn't really have a lot of experience with writing code and altering the neighborhood plan in the ways that we've recently been granted the ability to do. This is new ground, and the city wants to make sure that we are able to go through the process so that we end up with what the neighborhood really wants. Not only that, but the neighborhood association planning group wanted to take baby steps - get to know the process, pick a goal that is realistic, and achieve it. Attempting to completely rewrite the books is a very lofty aspiration, and it would ultimately lead to burnout on the part of the members and failure in the eyes of the city, which then might close the door on future progress.

This whole process is fascinating, and I'm just sorry I didn't get involved a lot sooner. I've been a resident of the neighborhood for 5+ years now, and I've got no interest in moving. More to come...

Today on our office tour we went to a new listing that featured a 1/30th share of a 1/4 acre waterfront lot with a small boat launch and a small dock on one of the two main boating lakes in the area. Surely there is some value in that small share, the exclusive use of those facilities, but what is that really worth? When I look at it, as a buyer, I see 29 other families and all of their friends who want to make use of the property at the same time as I want to. Granted that won't happen very often, but still it seems like the value isn't all it's cracked up to be.

What kind of value would you place on those amenities? There is a public boat launch about a 1/2 mile down the road, and the home in question has almost 1/2 an acre itself. having close access to a dock is nice, but it's such a small dock that you wouldn't be able to tie up more than 2 boats without intruding into the boat launch area or the neighbor's space.

In following up on a lead from our 800 service I spoke with a nice elderly woman whose first question to me was something along the lines of "My current agent doesn't give me listing information on homes listed by MLS4Owners or Assist2Sell, unless I ask specifically about those homes. Is that normal for agents to do?"

My first thought was that she was a mystery shopper for one of the discount brokerage houses here in town, and then I thought perhaps she was one of Denise's mystery shopper for The Lones Group. I guess I like to think the best of my fellow agents and that none of you are actually boycotting firms with alternative business models, but then again I've seen some relatively shady things in the last year.

Since I was speaking with someone who could be in an agency relationship with a fellow licensee I couldn't really voice my true opinion on the subject, but rather I told her it isn't something that I do, but I cannot speak for the practices of other agents.

Real Estate is a changing market folks, like it or not. There is a large percentage of our business that many home owners feel that they can do better themselves, so why try to fight that? There are still more people who lack the time, energy, resources, or will to do what we do. Boycotting the alternative business model companies isn't in your clients best interest, and it could find you in hot water with the government for antitrust violations, not to mention that here in WA a licensee is obligated to make a good faith and continuous effort to find a home for his/her client, and by excluding homes because of immaterial reasons such as stated SOC or listing office you aren't really acting in the best interests of your client nor do I think it's in good faith.

If you have an issue with working for a slightly reduced SOC, I recommend you start getting signed buyer agency agreements that state what your commission is going to be along with who is going to make up the difference. To me, a half a percent in the SOC isn't really something to get bent out of shape about. A fraction of something is better than all of nothing.

I have been a cyclist for over ten years - not a serious cyclist by any means, but I do prefer to ride in the road and follow the rules of the road. Perhaps I'm a bit too far on the 'by the book' side, but that whole cyclist mantra about "share the road" really doesn't mean jack because the vast majority of those riders who want you to share the road don't actually want to follow the same traffic laws. Why is it that I have to stop for a stop sign while in my car and the guy in front of me just blows through it on his bike, as if it's his right?

To be fair though, it's not just bicyclists who are ignoring state and local laws, there are more and more automobile drivers who feel like stop signs are there for everyone else. I live on a corner near a police station, city courthouse, and across the street from a middle school, and I must say that the number of people I see on a daily basis who are speeding down a one-way road going the wrong direction or who blow through the stop sign in a school zone in full sight of the police station is mindblowing. But you know what? I have yet to see anyone get pulled over for it. So instead of stepping up traffic enforcement in areas like mine, what does the city do?

Traffic calming devices. You know, the quasi-roundabouts, chicanes and speed humps that have to conform to existing city streets so they're completely ineffective. What good is a traffic calming device if you can just flick the wheel while doing 35 in a 25 and avoid it? What's the alternative? I suppose the sidewalk could be moved 15' closer to my front door and what used to be my front lawn could become a full-on traffic circle, but what would that accomplish other than destroying my property value? I've seen inexperienced drivers blowing through a traffic circle going the wrong way with plenty of other traffic, so not even these are the end all of increasing road safety.

What it boils down to is respect. Respect for the law even when unenforced, respect for your fellow motorists, and respect for the people who live, walk, and ride on those roads with you. No amount of city money getting diverted into contracts for road construction crews will make people pay attention to the road, it all lies with the person behind the wheel, or handlebars, and their willingness to inconvenience themselves for the good of all.

As a taxpayer, motorist, and cyclist I really don't want to see more traffic calming devices because the money could be better spent in many other ways that would improve the community and increase property values.

Here's the fast track on how I got here -

 February 2006: In the midst of a personal struggle to find a new career path my mother asked if I wanted to attend the Rockwell Institute with her for the required State real estate course, as a birthday gift.

April 2006: Mom and I attended the course, 2 weeks of 9-5 classroom work with an hour and a half commute on both ends. It was good to spend some time with mom again outside of the family holiday chaos. I passed the course, and on Cinco de Mayo I passed the state exam.

May-July 2006: My grandmother's health failed and she was hospitalized. When she passed away I started looking around to see what firm I wanted to work for here in Bellingham.

August 2006: On the recommendation of my neighbor, I called two agents from two companies in town. One of them returned my call and we spoke for a little while. We arranged a meeting with the new office team leader, and I started meeting others in the office. The people here at Keller Williams were all very welcoming and eager to help others succeed. It just felt like a great place to make a start, so I signed on and my license hangs on the wall here.

February 2007: I attended the Keller Williams Family Reunion. Essentially it's their corporate annual convention. There were over 9000 agents from all over the continent who showed up. Every day there were educational sessions where top producing agents divulged how they run their businesses - their "secrets" if you will. The secret was a resounding "There is no secret". Top agents do what we're all doing, only they do it more systematically and more regularly. The key points I took away are that top agents never stop advancing their education. Courses, classes, seminars, and conventions are avenues to success because of the sharing of knowledge and also because of the networking. This is truly a referral based business and getting out of your local market center and networking with other agents is key to taking the business to the next level.

March 2007: I had decided, after Family Reunion, that I was going to try and attain two NAR designations in 2007. My goal is to attend 8 courses every year, ranging from 3 clock hour "how-to" classes on up to 30 hour designation courses. Again the key reason for continuing education is not just to satisfy the Department of Licensing's requirements, but rather to become better at what I do so I can provide the best service possible for my clients. Alternatively, the goal is also to network with out-of-area agents who may have customers coming to my territory, and to find agents in other areas who I can refer my clients to. I decided that the GRI would be the first designation I wanted to obtain, for two reasons. First, the classes were in Renton, Olympia, and Mount Vernon, which would get a wide range of agents from eastern Washington as well as from the Peninsula. The second reason I picked the GRI is that one of the components was the At Home With Diversity certification. Being in a market where there are a diverse group of people to serve, I felt it would be a great eye-opener and perhaps give me a head start in learning how people from different cultures might need different things. I attended the GRI 200 course in March.

April 2007: April saw me through my 30th birthday and through the GRI 300 course.

May 2007: The GRI 100 course was offered in May and again in October and December. I decided it was time to get the GRI series done with, so I bit the bullet and drove to Mt. Vernon every day for a week. Active Rain was mentioned several times, so I thought I would check it out. There you have it.