This past Summer I was contacted by a couple moving to Maple Valley from out of state. They had been working with another agent who did not know the area very well and asked if I would be willing to help them find a home quickly. On the first day out, they found a home they liked quite a bit, and another on the same street. Both of the homes backed to a golf course and had a nice fairway or greens view.
I shared with them that the golf course was leased from King County and part of the "Donut-Hole" about which Jay Leno had joked this past Winter. (The do-nut hole is a 167 acre piece of County owned property completely surrounded by the City of Maple Valley)
As always, I let the buyer's know what I knew about the potential sale, and that as far as I knew the sale had stalled, but that they needed to verify all of it to their own satisfaction.
They did, and decided the risk of the unknown was not something they were comfortable taking on; especially with so much inventory on the market from which to choose.
When the listing agent for one of these homes didn't like my showing feedback, she told me that the Donut-Hole project was off the table and would never happen.
OUCH!
I literally winced when she told me this.
Never can be a VERY long time.... or in this case just a few short months.
As reported in the Seattle PI last night, the County has reached an agreement with Yarrow Bay Development and is working with the City of Maple Valley to move forward on the development of the Donut-Hole project.
I have no idea what the final project will look like. Retail, mixed use, single family homes, condos, parks, trails, apartments....I have no idea.
But that's the point.
When it comes to "the unknown" about any property; will a busy road be widened, will the vacant lot next door ever be built on, will the farm across the street smell worse in the summer than it does now... I tell my clients to imagine the worst case scenario. If they can live with that then buy the house. Anything better will be a bonus and if the worst case comes to pass, they'll be prepared.
The moral of the story: if you're an Agent, be careful what you're representing to clients as fact. If you're a consumer, make sure you work with someone familiar with the market area and do your due diligence on any property you're considering purchasing.
You just can't rely on "never".
Colleen Fischesser is the Broker/Owner of RE/MAX Select in Maple Valley, WA. She has been successfully selling and marketing properties all over South King & North Pierce counties since 1990. She may be contacted directly at: 425-432-5400
Copyright 2008, All Rights Reserved Colleen Fischesser
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