Wayne Paulson

Both of those items are incentives the seller is giving to the buyer. The $5000 bonus is usually done as a credit to the buyer at closing and typically is applied to costs involved with the transaction - things like escrow fees and loan points. The 2/1 buy down is a temporary buy down of the interest rate on the buyer's loan. That means that the seller would pay a fee to the buyer's lender so that the buyer's loan interest rate would be reduced by 2% the first year, 1% the second year and would return to the regular rate after that. Depending on the specifics (like what your final rate would be compared to the current market rate and how long you expect to stay in the home) this may or may not be a good deal for you. For more information on 2/1 buydowns go to: http://www.mortgage101.com/Articles/LoanPrograms.asp?Article…

I am not the listing agent, so don't have a floor plan, but could inquire on your behalf if you were to contact me.

Wayne Paulson

wpaulson@windermere.com
http://www.BigWaterProperties.com - Thu Oct 9 2008, 14:19

You can see more photos of the house at http://www.bigwaterproperties.com/28130306. - Wed Oct 8 2008, 12:04

The people to talk to at the county are at Community Development - 360-379-4450. As long as everything (houses, water source if necessary, septic if necessary) fits on the property with the necessary setbacks, you can build a primary and a secondary house (ADU). Being able to sell them individually at a later time is another matter. They have to be on separate tax parcels for that to be possible. If there are already two parcels, you are fine. Depending on where your property is located, you may or may not be able to subdivide it. Much of the county can not be newly subdivied into parcels smaller than five acres. If your property is in that category you would have to have 10 acres to be able to sudivide it. Again, give the community development people a call. They can answer a lot of your questions over the phone. - Wed Aug 27 2008, 11:39

I think a little clarification might be in order for those reading these answers. The Hood Canal Bridge will be closing starting May 2009 for six to eight weeks for repairs. It will be reopening in June. During that time period access from Kitsap to the Olympic Peninsula will be by driving around the canal or by passenger ferry from Lofall (near Poulsbo). - Fri Aug 22 2008, 15:10

Disclosure: I am a realtor, but have the possibly rare capability to talk without pitching myself. What works best between the two areas depends on personal preference and circumstances. If one is still working, Poulsbo has more local employment options (the Navy is the biggest employer) and commuting to the east side of Puget Sound is practical. In the Sequim or Port Townsend area, work options are more limited and commuting to outside the area is largely impractical. Also, Poulsbo is closer to more cultural opportunities such as world class symphony, opera, ballet and theater. And access to sporting events is much easier. There is also easy access to boating, though in a more populous area. Access to the excellent medical facilities of Seattle (e.g. University of Washington Medical Center, Fred Hutchinson, Swedish Hospital) is much better. And the local hospital, Harrison, in Bremerton is steadily improving. The temperature tend to be a little warmer in the summer because it is more isolated from the the Pacific Ocean. The rainfall is about 30 to 35 inches, depending on the exact location. From the norther tip of the Kitsap Peninsula, where Poulsbo is located, the rainfall starts at about 18 inches and increases about an inch for each mile you go south. If you can excuse on slight pitch, my web site has some good resouces to learn about the Poulsbo area, such as a quarterly report put out by a local economic development group that gives demographics, employer information and the like. You can get to the resource page of my web site by clicking on the web reference link and scrolling down to Kitsap Trends in the first section.

Negatives about Poulsbo? For a rural area, more traffic than I would prefer. A shortage of higher quality retailers, Not as many good restaurants as I would expect - though it is getter better. But the last two can be addressed by a trip to Seattle.

For the Sequim/Port Angeles area, proximity to pristine outdoor activities is much better. Hiking, freshwater fishing and cross country skiing in 30 minutes or less. Especially in Sequim, the rainfall is lower due to the rain shadow. There is about 15 inches of rain there a year. Port Angeles is higher. I don't know the exact number, but it is more like 25 to 30 inches. Port Angeles is a fairly straight shot in from the Pacific Ocean, so it tends to be cool in the summer. Sequim does not have much local employment outside of retail. Port Angeles has more. Port Angeles had a forest products-based economy, but that is largely gone now.

Hope this helps.

Wayne Paulson - Wed Aug 20 2008, 11:41

Hi Karen,

As of April 27, the statistical average market time for the Bainbridge Island market is 135 days, the average listing price is about $1.05 M and the average selling price is $1.024 M. Another measure of the health of a market is the number of months of inventory there is on the market - how long it would take to sell everything now on the market at the current rate of sales. As of the end of March there were 15.5 months of inventory on the market on Bainbridge. The dividing line between a buyers and sellers market is often thought to be about 6 months of inventory.

The bottom line? There are houses selling, but they are the ones that are priced best or have a unique advantage. There is no reason to panic, but there is reason to understand and accept the realities of the market.

You can see average market time and price graphs updated monthly on my web site BigWaterProperties.com. Click on the link below and click on Market Graphs.


Wayne Paulson - Thu May 1 2008, 14:26