settlement services king county: Information is King When Creating an Est. HUD 1 for Short Sale Consideration - 09/15/10 07:49 AM
Information is King When Creating an Estimated HUD - 1 for a Short Sale.
When setting up an escrow that has a contingency for a short sale, I start to think of all the items that will make the HUD preparation go smooth:  Collecting commission amounts and utility figures - is this property subject to sewer capacity charges?  Even if the buyer is going to assume the debt, the seller would normally bring the account current and that can add up to thousands of dollars. 
Is the property subject to Homeowners Association dues? 
What would a reasonable closing date be?  … (0 comments)

settlement services king county: Can you have too much fun in Belltown, Seattle? (Part I) - 02/15/10 10:08 AM
Can you have too much fun in Belltown, Seattle?  Well Jean Marie & I certainly tried last Thursday. 
We met up at List in Belltown after hearing really good things about their menu.
We dined on Grilled Sea Bass with Wild Mushroom Sauce, that our waitress, Tanya recommended strongly.  She was right on the mark with that one.  Delicous!  She told us that they always ran out of it very early, day after day.  I can see why. 
We also had their Gnocchi with Black Truffle Cream and this was a perfect compliment to the Sea Bass.  Both were really outstanding.
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settlement services king county: Washington States Layoff-avoidance program saves jobs - 01/26/10 03:27 AM
Audio link:   http://www.esd.wa.gov/newsandinformation/releases/audio/index.php
 
Layoff-avoidance program saves jobs
 
OLYMPIA – More than 20,000 Washington workers got paychecks instead of pink slips in 2009 by participating in the state Employment Security Department’s Shared-Work Program.
The program allows employers to cut their payroll costs by reducing the hours of their full-time employees, and the workers collect partial unemployment benefits to make up for some of the lost wages.  The estimate of jobs saved last year through Shared Work comes from information on the employers’ original applications combined with their actual use of the program.
“Shared Work can make the difference … (3 comments)

settlement services king county: Fabulous Friday's song while you blog & get ready for your weekend - 01/22/10 04:03 AM
Fabulous Friday's song while you blog and get ready for your weekend is by Blind Melon and is called "Change". 
This song applies as much today as it did when in came out in the early 90's.  I had not seen this version of it before today - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Have a great weekend!
Julie
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settlement services king county: Ben Comilang with Golf Savings Bank speaks to the escrow assoc. - 01/21/10 10:40 AM
The South Sound Regional Escrow Association hosted an LPO clock hour last night at the LaQuinta Inn in Tacoma with Ben Comilang from Golf Savings Bank being our speaker. Ben covered different issues that the real estate market has been faced with including foreclosures and short sales and also talked about a number of different programs currently available in the South Sound area:Here are a few of the programs that we learned about: Washington State Housing Finance Commission - House Key Federal Way House Key Plus, 2nd mortgage loan - 5% interest with a 10 year term up to $10k statewide … (0 comments)

settlement services king county: Fabulous Friday and the song of the week for your blogging enjoyment! - 12/18/09 09:56 AM
Its already Fabulous Friday and so here is the song of the week for your blogging enjoyment!   Today it is a song called "Heartless" by The Fray.  It was originally done by Kanye West (and I really like that one too), but I think that this version is better suited to Active Rainers.  
Its so nice to hear good music while you are blogging, isn't it?  Especially on a Friday afternoon. 
Enjoy!
Julie
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settlement services king county: When Does "Closing" Actually Take Place? Isn't that when I sign? - 12/17/09 04:23 AM
When does "Closing" actually take place?  So often this word is used when referring to the signing.  The NWMLS Purchase and Sale Agreement defines it as the date the closing documents are recorded and proceeds available to the seller.If your property is located in the State of Washington and the buyer is getting financing, this is what the process might look like on the day of closing:
Your Escrow Officer will talk with the buyers lender (funder) to balance as to the exact amount needed to fund on that day. Your Escrow Officer will need that Funder to release.  This means … (0 comments)

settlement services king county: During this Holiday Season, a young woman needs your prayers - 12/16/09 08:50 AM
Would you kindly take a moment to pray for Macey Haywood?  She is a beautiful 19 year old college girl who has recently been hit with a THIRD bout of cancer in this precious girls life.   Click here to enter her Fan page on Facebook and pray.  Please join me in praying for her life.
Last week she was feeling good and getting ready for her bone marrow transplant and this weekend she was hit hard with a virus that has made her body "septic".  Her kidneys have shut down and they transported her to another hospital that can handle her … (0 comments)

settlement services king county: Fabulous Friday and the song of the week for your blogging enjoyment! - 12/11/09 08:22 AM
Here we are at Fabulous Friday and I have selected a great tune for you to enjoy while you are blogging today, it is from the same couple that provided that Oscar winning movie, "Once".   Click here to start enjoying this song.  This was a very recent performance held at the beautiful venue in downtown Seattle called, The Triple Door.

During a recent Active Rain contest, we were asked to explain how we make use out of our blogging in other areas of our business.  Here is my December Newsletter that I created from different blogs on Active Rain and … (0 comments)

settlement services king county: Here is your Friday song for you to enjoy while you blog on this terrific Friday! - 11/20/09 01:55 AM
I am really starting to love sharing music with you and we all have U Tube to thank for the ability to share and listen to just about anything you can imagine.
So imagine creating your best blog as you enjoy this tune called Kandi from One Alaska.
I took this photo of the morning sky on November 2nd - another great shot from Redondo, Washington!
Happy Friday from Booth Escrow!
Julie
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