In the Gospel according to Luke, we find the following saying:

"Do to others as you would have them do to you."    Luke 6:31

This verse provides the basis for what many refer to as 'The Golden Rule' or the Ethic of Reciprocity, which states one has a right or expectation to receive fair and just treatment, and a responsibility to offer similar fair and just treatment towards others.

Just recently, I had the pleasure of representing a 1st Time Home Buyer in the purchase of a property in West Bremerton WA. Overall, it was a fairly smooth transaction. I had the good fortune of working with the Listing Agent previously and knew her to be a very competent professional, as well as a strong advocate for her clients.

We navigated through the inspection process, where the Sellers kindly accepted to remedy all of the items the Buyers had requested. The required work was performed promptly and copies of relevant receipts were provided.

The weekend before closing, I performed a final walk-through with my Buyer to visually verify that all work had been performed. The Sellers were busily packing the last few loads of household effects, so we could meet our Monday closing deadline.

On the day of closing, after receiving notification from escrow that the contract had funded and recorded, I turned the keys over to my joyful and excited Buyer, who immediately began the process of moving into her first home!

Imagine her disappointment at finding the home in less than 'move-in' condition. It was clear that the Sellers had made very little, if any, efforts at cleaning the home after removing their belongings. Even the most basic tasks of vacuuming and sweeping had been neglected. After several days delay and several hundred dollars paid-out for cleaning expenses, my Buyer was finally able to move in.

Let's face it, the relocation process can be a very hectic and stressful time for both Buyers and Sellers. There can be instances where time or travel constraints can prohibit us from ensuring that the home is left in reasonable move-in condition. In such situations, Sellers should be advised to budget for professional cleaning services paid out of escrow, or to provide the Buyers with a credit at closing to cover such expenses.

Both Buyers and Sellers (and their Agents) need to remember and apply the Golden Rule:

"Do to others as you would have them do to you."    Luke 6:31 

In the most recent issue of US News and World Report, Silverdale WA and Bremerton WA were both ranked in 1st place among the Top Ten US Housing Markets for the Next Ten Years.

Citing a recent study conducted by Moody’s Economy.com, Associate Editor Luke Mullins shared findings that the home prices of neighboring cities Silverdale WA and Bremerton WA should expect to increase by an average of 5.2 percent annually from the fourth quarter of 2008 through the same period of 2018.

Situated near the heart of the Kitsap Peninsula, Silverdale and Bremerton WA share more than 300 miles of scenic Puget Sound coastline with other area cities like Port Orchard, Poulsbo, and Seabeck.

While the attractive Pacific Northwest location is certainly a huge draw that brings new residents to the area, the study points to the area’s stable economies as the primary determining factor for the projected future growth.  A large military presence/community— of the U.S. Navy in particular — helps to insulate the local economies somewhat from the widespread volatility being experienced in other markets around the county.

With the current low mortgage rates and the $8000 tax credit, this can be an excellent time for 1st Time Home Buyers to enter the market. And, with the number of bank-owned properties and short sales, there is also opportunities for investors to acquire some bargain-priced properties.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, and Crabbing in the Hood.

As you know from my past articles, I am a huge crabbing enthusiast. Here in the waters of Puget Sound, the prized Dungeness Crab is plentiful, and can be easily caught with the proper gear.

In years past, we had several local options on where you could purchase your crabbing gear supplies.

Unfortunately, several of these suppliers have either gone out of business or are in the midst of bankruptcy proceedings.

With the opening of recreational crabbing season soon to come to the Hood Canal and other waterways of the Puget Sound, where can a guy/gal buy their crabbing gear supplies?

For all the current lowdown on crabbing on Hood Canal WA and options on where to purchase your crabbing gear, go to CrabbingInTheHood.com (opens up into a separate window for your viewing ease).

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and SOUNDBITEBLOG, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

All the usual suspects:  Luke (Future QB for Ohio State); Alex (Lover/Wife of Ben); Ben (Worship Leader/Song Writer); Emily (Hottie like her Mom); Elliot (Class of 2009 and college-bound)

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com , SOUNDBITEBLOG , and Crabbing in the Hood , or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

A while back, I published an article on my local real estate blog, SOUNDBITEBLOG, entitled "The Art of Offering Less." It ended up becoming a 3-part series catered towards a Buyers perspective and provided some practical guidance/advice on how to draft offers that were less than the listing price.

In the 1st article we identified the market dynamics that tend to encourage or breed low offers.

In the 2nd article, we shared various strategies for Buyers to achieve success with low offers.

In the 3rd and final part, we discussed the risks that are inherent with making low offers.

Just recently, I received an offer on one of my listings, a secluded Hood Canal view property near DeWatto Bay in Tahuya WA.

Prior to faxing over the offer, the Selling Agent gave me a heads-up that the offer was going to be less than the current listing price. Evidently, the Buyer's home, which had been on the market for nearly a year, had just recently gone under contract, but at a price that was significantly lower than their original asking price. Even after 3 price reductions, another larger home on the same street had just closed for $23,000 less. Since they had taken such a huge hit on their home, I guess they only felt it reasonable to expect other Sellers to be as equally accommodating.

The Selling Agent informed me that their offer was going to be approx. $30K below the Listing price, and wanted to know what I felt the Sellers response would be. I told her that I would present any and all offers, and that it was up to my Sellers to determine what kind of response was appropriate for them.

When the offer finally came in, the offer price was actually $35K below our Listing price, and also asked for the Sellers to contribute $11K towards closing costs, making the effective net offer nearly $46K below what my Sellers are asking.

Typically, when counseling my Sellers, I tell them that every offer should be considered as a serious offer, regardless of how low the offer price may be. Usually, I advise them, at the very least, to counter back at a price they feel comfortable with.

However, after discussing this offer at length, my Sellers felt that the disparity in price was just too substantial, and did not warrant their consideration.

It was one of those rare instances where I had to tell the Selling Agent, "Thanks, but no thanks!"

Once again, my previous point was reinforced:  If you're going to submit an offer that is less than asking price, make sure it's enough to at least capture the Seller's interests and establish a starting point for negotiation. Also, realize that market dynamics do not apply equally across the board for all properties, even if they're in the same State, County, City, or even the same neighborhood.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, and Crabbing in the Hood.

Real Estate Market Report for Kitsap County WA  06/01/2009

The following is a brief analysis of the combined single-family home and condo market within Kitsap County, Washington for June 2009, provided by Rich Jacobson of Windermere Real Estate, in Silverdale, WA (this includes data for Bainbridge Island WA)

• Properties currently active on the market:  2014 
• Properties closed in the last 180 days:  971 
• Average Sales Price:  $291,864
• Average List Price:  $305,043
• Ratio of List Price to Sales Price: 96%
• Average Days on Market: 104
• Sales Pending this Week: 97

Bainbridge Island WA statistics separately: (Area 170)

• Properties currently Active on the market:  350 
• Properties closed in last 180 days:  98
• Average Sales Price:  $646,191
• Average List Price:  $687,266
• Ratio of List Price to Sales Price: 94%
• Average Days on Market: 134
• Sales Pending this week: 7

Home prices in Kitsap County WA continued to drop slightly in May, while pending sales showed further improvements.

Lending rates have jumped rather significantly just over the past several weeks (from 4.5% to 5.25%), spurring many potential Buyers to get off the fence and make the home buying leap.

The market continues to offer excellent opportunities for qualified 1st Time Home Buyers with the low rates, the $8000 1st Time Buyers Tax Credit from Uncle Sam, and the large amount of homes available on the market.

If you're a motivated Seller, now may be the time to seriously consider making a meaningful pricing adjustment, so you can move onto the next adventure in life!

Top selling neighborhoods in Kitsap County WA were Area 141 (South Kitsap West of Hwy. 16);  Area 148 (West Bremerton); and Area 150 (East Central Kitsap).

For more additional information and resources concerning real estate in Kitsap County WA and the Western Puget Sound, access my website, Kitsap Life .

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

I've always been a big fan of Clint Eastwood. When I served onboard a submarine in the US Navy, we watched "The Outlaw Josey Wales " a gazillion times while out on patrol. There's just some very basic and wise counsel we can derive from the rich history of 'Clintisms' found in his archive of quality male-bonding films.

For instance:

From Pink Cadillac:   "I have strong feelings about gun control. If there's a gun around, I want to be the one controlling it."

From The Rookie:   "If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster."

From Dirty Harry:   "Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya punk?"

From Sudden Impact:   "Go ahead, make my day."

In the movie "Magnum Force " the Oscar-winning actor made the memorable quote, "A man's got to know his limitations ."

The other day, I was responding to a question I had received through Trulia's Voices . This is one of the better features of their platform where consumers accessing their site can pose questions relating to real estate. ActiveRain used to have something very similar that had dominant placement, but its been lost in the wake of other value-added features.

On Trulia, if you register for a specific geographic market area, they will automatically notify you whenever a question is submitted for that area.

Unfortunately, Trulia has the same kind of problems we experienced here on ActiveRain. Everyone's an expert. It doesn't matter if you're licensed in Alabama, and the consumer is submitting a question from Alaska, everyone with a question is fair game!

On Trulia, you can gain some notoriety for being one of the 'Top Real Estate Professionals on Trulia Voices .' All you have to do is answer the most questions. It doesn't matter if your advice/answers have any bearing on the question, or provide any substantive value to the consumer. Whoever has the most answers earns the Top Spot, period (And I thought we had problems with people gaming the point system here on ActiveRain!). Personally, I think there would be greater value in scoring/ranking their top members by using the rating they receive from the actual consumers who are posing the questions. To me, that would be the most realistic and meaningful measure of a real estate professionals worth.

Regardless, the bigger problem, as I see it, relates to so-called real estate professionals who are attempting to answer questions beyond their area of expertise. Now granted, there are aspects to our business that apply to virtually all markets. And some people are legitimately licensed to conduct business in more than one State. But that's usually the exception, and not the norm, in these kinds of forums.

For me, it's normally a dead give-away when the first part of their answer begins with "I don't know how they do it in your State, but here in XYZ we".....

If you're not licensed to do business in a particular State, or aren't familiar with their specific State laws or statutes, don't answer! There are few things worse than giving unqualified advice. You end up being like that guy on the Holiday Inn Express commercials:

"No, I've never performed open heart surgery, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night! "

And who in their right mind would open themselves up to the increased exposure for potential liability by giving an unqualified answer on the Internet where the digital record is such an enduring source of incrimination?

The other thing that really bothers me (and this is more of a personal pet peeve), are those whose actual answers are shorter and of less substance that the incessant volume of blatant self-promotional banter that they cram into the body of their weak, emaciated answers.

Do you really want to earn the consumers trust? Do you really want to provide them with information that is relevant, helpful, and practical? Do you want to establish your credentials as the local resident real estate expert? Do you want them to contact you if they want further assistance? Then answer only the questions you are clearly qualified to respond to, and make your answers complete/meaningful. Don't try to bait them into accessing your website, or contacting you by email for more details. Give them the good stuff, right up front, and in its entirety.

"Go Ahead, Make Their Day!"

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com , SOUNDBITEBLOG , and Crabbing in the Hood , or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

Let’s face it, these are challenging times, especially for Sellers. Nearly half of the market areas in Kitsap County WA have more than a year’s worth inventory of homes currently available for purchase. Add to that mix the decreasing property valuations, along with an increase in short sales and foreclosures, and the result is an intensely competitive and difficult market dynamic for Sellers.

So what viable home marketing options are available for today’s Sellers in the midst of such dire circumstances?

To learn more about the options available for selling your home in today's tough market, go to SOUNDBITEBLOG (opens up in a separate window for your viewing ease).

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

The picture shown above was taken for Mother's Day 2009. From left to right: Alex, our daughter-in-law (Ben's wife); Luke, Ben, Emily, and Elliot.

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com

“And you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”

                                                                John 8:32

Okay, so the topic of VA appraisals here in Kitsap County WA isn’t on quite the same level playing field as Biblical Truth, but the principle is still the same.

One of my marketing catch phrases is ‘providing knowledgeable empowerment’ for my clients. By that, I mean, one of my primary goals is helping to more fully educate my clients through my years of experience, training, and education as a real estate professional, so as a result, they are more empowered to make intelligent and prudent decisions regarding buying or selling real estate.

One of the potential pitfalls of a VA loan transaction is the appraisal process. To learn more about how Buyers can better anticipate possible VA appraisal issues, go to SOUNDBITEBLOG (opens up into another window for your viewing ease).

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Rich Jacobson is a licensed real estate professional providing knowledgeable empowerment and relentless representation for his clients of residential properties and vacant land throughout all of Kitsap County WA and portions of Pierce, Mason, and Jefferson Counties. You can also find him at KitsapLife.com, SOUNDBITEBLOG, and Crabbing in the Hood, or e-mail:  kitsapagent@gmail.com