Marguerite Giguere's (getrealtacoma) Blog

The News Tribune blog has a great article today about my very favorite lunch spot, Infinite Soups.  To celebrate their anniversary they will be giving customers free cupcakes from Corina Bakery.  Um. Yeah. I'll totally be there. For those of you who have never experienced it's magic, here's how i...

$169,950 Townhouse 3 Beds 3 Baths These days, it seems the majority of my time looking at homes with buyers is focussed on homes that are priced under 200k.   There are a lot of reasons for this, most of them having to do with how much buyers want to be paying for their mortgage each month.   A ...

Homebuyers, Rejoice. Buying a house in 2009 just got even easier. The President signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 this week. The bill is a $780 billion package, with about 35% of the package devoted to tax cuts (mostly for 2009) and the rest to spending intended to occur i...

The News Tribune did an excellent article today about the 2009 Property Tax Assessments that came out on Friday in Pierce County. I thought this article was very well researched and (however you feel about property taxes) gives good insight into what they're thinking over at the Assessor Treasure...

Last week credit companies made some changes to how your FICO score is calculated. If you are buying a house, refinancing a house, or renting an apartment- you are being judged based on your credit score. I am not one of those people who advocates being obsessed with your score. I spent two years...

Here's one way to increase the pool of home buyers: Allow more skilled immigrants to enter the United States legally. Erik Emery wrote a post on a Thomas Friedman article in the New York Times that says we should do exactly that. “All you need to do is grant visas to two million Indians, Chinese ...

I was having a delicious breakfast with some friends at Puget Sound Pizza this weekend, and this blog came up in conversation. "I never read the numbers and stuff" my friend said. "But the numbers are the most interesting part!" I exclaimed in reply. So, in an effort to make my boring numbers mor...

The New York Times has a great article out about some of the new tax breaks available to people buying, selling, and improving their homes! Among the highlights, more information about the $7500 home buyer credit, a new tax break for widows & widowers, residential energy credits, and more.  It a...

The News Tribune is reporting that construction on the Midtown Lofts on 11th & Fawcett have halted construction due to financing issues and laid off 40-50 construction workers who were constructing the building. While it is frustrating to see completed buildings like The Walker and The Roberson m...

One of the most common questions that first time homebuyers have is, "How much money do I need for a downpayment?" The answer is, "It depends!" Most of my first time homebuyer clients these days are opting for a loan program called FHA.  With FHA, the required down payment is 3.5% of the purchase...