The Samish neighborhood market statistics for September reflect the active, pending, & sold homes in the Samish area of Bellingham Real Estate market. You can use this information to help with pricing a property you might wish to sell or to help you determine value for a home you may be looking to buy.  There are currently 18 homes for sale in the Samish neighborhood, 7 homes that are pending (under contract with mutual acceptance b/t buyer & seller) & 4 properties that have sold during the month of September 09' in the Samish neighborhood in Bellingham, WA. Here's a breakdown of the activity in the Samish Neighborhood for the past month. Samish Neighborhood Homes for Sale - (*links will expire in 30 days)   Median Price is $389,000 Average Market time: 135 days Average Sq.ft: 2699 Sami... 10/16/2009

The South Hill neighborhood market statistics for September reflect the active, pending, & sold homes in the South Hill area of Bellingham Real Estate market. You can use this information to help with pricing a property you might wish to sell or to help you determine value for a home you may be looking to buy.  There are currently 15 homes for sale in the South Hill neighborhood, 5 homes that are pending (under contract with mutual acceptance b/t buyer & seller) & 2 properties that have sold during the month of September 09' in the South Hill neighborhood in Bellingham, WA. Here's a breakdown of the activity in the South Hill Neighborhood for the past month. South Hill Neighborhood Homes for Sale - (*links will expire in 30 days)   Median Price is $499,900 Average Market time: 141 days ... 10/16/2009

  Now that the state has mandated home inspector education for all people entering the field of home inspection, in my role at Bellingham Technical College, I spend a few minutes almost every day speaking on the phone, or by Email, with potential students. Most potential inspectors, who are checking out the choices in this field, are interested in the BTC program since it is offered through the state community and vocational college system. They ask what to expect if they take the Fundamentals of Home Inspection course that is offered in Bellingham. The student will receive text books that retail for nearly $1000.00. They will also receive classroom training that will  be among the most intense three weeks they have ever experienced. Even former builders find that, during the course, t... 10/16/2009

Welcome to Historic Fairhaven in south Bellingham for the Flavor of Fairhaven event.  A day full of fun, food and friends. Located on Fairhaven.comis a schedule of events as well as a link to the event website for you to review and plan your day.  Or just come on down to the Historic District at 11:00 AM and spend the entire day going from activity to activity and restaurant to restaurant in the Regional Walk-a-about tasting the different fare at a minimal cost. The Chef Show Down, our spin of a "Iron Chef Fairhaven style" at the Flavor of Fairhaven event starting at 3:00 PM at the Big Fat Fish Company is serious business as you can see by our competing Chef's. Activities include:  How to roll Sushi, Cupcake decorating, Dough Throw competition, Tequila tasting, Wine tasting, Desserts Fl... 10/16/2009

This is a question this often on the minds of buyers.  Buyer's want to be sure they are to not going to lose their earnest money. What is earnest money anyway?  It's like a deposit to show the seller that you really interested (earnestly) in buying their property. It's usually in the form of check made out to the escrow company and held in trust accounts until the transaction closes.  It can be in the form of promissory note or anything else the seller is willing to accept.  The full amount of the earnest money is credited toward the purchase price of the property at closing.  There is no standard amount of earnest money, it's commonly about 1 percent of the purchase price.  If the buyer really wants to impress the seller they will make it a lot higher to show them that they are really ... 10/16/2009

While I am not a lender, part of my job as your Real Estate agent is making the home buying process as easy and trouble free as possible. Nothing is more important for a home buyer than finding out how much you can spend, and just as important, how much you WANT to spend when you start your search for your new home. The local Real Estate market here in Bellingham Washington has leveled out in terms of buyer/seller leverage. It has been a buyers market for some time, and still seems to be at the high end of the market. But at the entry level price point, and the mid level price point, there is lots of activity and it is very important to make sure all your "ducks" are in a row when you find that house you love! Here are a few tips: 1) Its very important to start with a reputable lender! ... 10/15/2009

When I teach at Bellingham Technical College, one of my favorite days is when Dr. Dan Suomi of the Washington State Department of Agriculture comes to speak. Up until home inspector licensing going into effect on September 1, Dan was the main guy an errant home inspector was likely to see. Prior to September 1, realistically, anyone who was working as a home inspector in the state would not be able to do a full report without being licensed by the WSDA as a licensed structural pest inspector. If a complaint came in, Dan was the investigator. Part of Dan's strategy is to better train inspectors so there will be fewer complaints. And, two years ago, we started asking Dan to speak to many of our home inspection training classes at BTC. Here is Dan sharing one of his treasures -- hardwood ... 10/14/2009

Fill out my Wufoo form! 10/14/2009

10/14/2009

As a home inspector, I see this one a lot in Bellingham and Whatcom county. It can be hard to spot from outside in winter if people have those Styrofoam plugs in their crawl space vents. Sometimes the first inkling you have to look for the problem is the rat poison or the traps down in the crawl space. When you see those indications of baiting in progress, then it is time to look at the vent screens. When the screens have come loose at the crawl space vents, just about any creature you can imagine might be down in the crawl space -- cats, skunks, opossums and the rather aggressive rodent variety. Many homeowners do not realize it but, often the rodents that end up in the house started down in the crawl space. Once down there, they emerge above around a plumbing pipe, a wire entry point... 10/14/2009

The Silver Beach neighborhood market statistics for September reflect the active, pending, & sold homes in the Silver Beach area of Bellingham Real Estate market. You can use this information to help with pricing a property you might wish to sell or to help you determine value for a home you may be looking to buy.  There are currently 36 homes for sale in the Silver Beach neighborhood, 6 homes that are pending (under contract with mutual acceptance b/t buyer & seller) & 4 properties that have sold during the month of September 09' in the Silver Beach neighborhood in Bellingham, WA. Here's a breakdown of the activity in the Silver Beach Neighborhood for the past month. Silver Beach Neighborhood Homes for Sale - (*links will expire in 30 days) Median Price is $539,900 Average Market time:... 10/13/2009

Looking for something to do...  Check out Fairhaven.com for daily events happening in Historic Fairhaven. Fairhaven.com is a locally owned and operated business, which offers advertising opportunties, publicizes events in Fairhaven from book readings to foot races to Festivals on the Village Green.  This is your one stop site with all the happenings of Fairhaven at your fingertips.  Keep your finger on the pulse of daily activites via the updated postings and pictures of the historic district. Be sure to plan your day in Historic Fairhaven with the help of Fairhaven.com     10/12/2009

Here in the northwest, homeowners love the look, so do the buyers. Buyers might like the plants around a house better than the house itself. I have decided that people love plants, vines and various flowers. They look great around the house -- bursts and bundles of color with a touch of splendid elegance. Enter that rat who supersedes all other rats -- the home inspector. The home inspector looks around and then informs the buyer that the plants should be trimmed back, even a foot or more, away from the siding. The startled clients ask why. How can it be that this beauty presents any kind of problem? The answer is simple: In my climate, when vegetation touches siding, the siding does not dry. It stays damp. Especially with wood siding, that can lead to decay. But, with any siding, the ... 10/11/2009

The following is a quick analysis of the Residential Bellingham real estate market. Currently Active Listings: 505 Price range of active listings - $124,900 - $4,500,000 Average List Price $507,076 Days on the Market: 118 Median List Price: $374,950 Days on the Market: 82 Sold in September: 82 Average List Price: $314,932 Average Sales Price: $304,221 Days on the Market: 75 Ratio of List to Price: 96.9% Median List Price: $275,000 Median Sales Price: $260,000 Days on the Market: 48 Ratio of List to Price: 95.6% Pending Sales Last Week: 35 Total pending sales: 177 Average Sales Price August 2008: $391,516 Median Sales Price August 2008: $326,650 Number Sold in August 2008: 73 The Average Sales price is down 22.3% compared to September 08 and down 22.6% compared to the previous month Augu... 10/11/2009

As many people at active rain know, I am program coordinator and an instructor of home inspection at Bellingham Technical College. We offer one of the few state approved "fundamentals of home inspection" courses in the state. Here is the story that goes with this post. The first three weeks of the course are dedicated to classroom training, 120 hours of it. The final week is spent in actual field training, where instructors -- who must be state licensed -- take students on field inspections. Below is a photo of students descending on a house for a full home inspection as part of the final week of field training.  For the first time, in the several years that I have been teaching this, I had a physical injury. A few days before the field inspections were set to begin, I twisted my back ... 10/11/2009

The Birchwood neighborhood market statistics for September reflect the active, pending, & sold homes in the Birchwood area of Bellingham Real Estate market.  You can use this information to help with pricing a property you might wish to sell or to help you determine value for a home you may be looking to buy.  There are currently 14 homes for sale in the Birchwood neighborhood, 2 homes that are pending (under contract with mutual acceptance b/t buyer & seller) & 4 properties that have sold during the month of September 09' in the Birchwood neighborhood in Bellingham, WA. Here's a breakdown of the activity in the Birchwood Neighborhood for the past month. Birchwood Neighborhood Homes for Sale (*links will expire in 30 days) Median Price is $245,750 Average Market time: 45 days Average Sq... 10/10/2009

The Roosevelt neighborhood market statistics for September reflects the active, pending, & sold homes in the Roosevelt neighborhood of Bellingham, Wa Neighborhoods. You can use this information to help with pricing a property you might be preparing to sell or to help you determine value for a home you may be looking to invest in.  There are currently 5 homes for sale in the Roosevelt neighborhood, 2 homes that are pending (under contract with mutual acceptance b/t buyer & seller) & 4 properties that have sold during the month of September 09' in the Roosevelt neighborhood in Bellingham, WA. Here's a breakdown of the activity in the Roosevelt Neighborhood for the past month. Roosevelt Neighborhood Homes for Sale (*links will expire in 30 days) Median Price is $239,900 Average Market time... 10/10/2009

As a Bellingham WA home inspector, I see this one a lot. I see both sides of the coin: Sellers who have done no maintenance on the home they are selling, to those who have gone all out in their efforts. In the Pacific Northwest we have many trees growing around our homes. Many of those trees shed their leaves about this time of year. When that occurs, the leaves end up in the gutters more often than not. When leaves block a gutter, obviously, not much drainage takes place. This is one, usually quite simple, maintenance problem that the seller could have resolved prior to the home inspection. Now, if the seller cannot get up on a ladder, there are affordable avenues available to get this problem resolved. Put simply: Hire someone. Thanks for stopping by, Steven L. Smith 10/09/2009

I did an inspection at a manufactured home recently. As is often the case, the siding and trim was a composition wood material, essentially a waferboard, that is called oriented strand board. Working as a Bellingham home inspector, I see lots of this product. Some of it is newer and some of it is old school. One of the best known manufacturers of OSB is Louisiana Pacific and, years back, their inner-seal siding was subject to a class action lawsuit as a result of defects like I saw recently. Below are photos of some typical problems you are likely to find with OSB, at least in the northwest's damp climate.   The photo to the left is trim over a window. The one to the right is the classic problem of what happens to the exterior wall when there is no metal flashing where the deck meets t... 10/08/2009

DeWaard and Bode, Bellingham's Appliance Giant, has opened its new flagship appliance store in the old Circuit City building off Meridian St in Bellingham Wa. In business for over 60 years, DeWaard and Bode has been Whatcom County's leading appliance and mattress store, serving satisfied customers from Blaine, Lynden, Ferndale, Everson, and all over Whatcom County. In opening their new store across from Bellis Fair Mall, they have closed their location at 1815 Cornwall Ave. DeWaard and Bode has retained its Scratch and Dent store just north of Bakerview at 4175 Hannegan Rd., where you can find some of the best prices on major name-brand appliances such as Wolf, Sub-Zero, Miele, Viking, Dacor, Amana, Maytag, KitchenAid, Electrolux, GE, Frigidaire, Jenn-Air, Whirlpool, and the list goes on. 10/08/2009