Sandra VanderVen

Julia,

Hi Julie,

The Wall Street Journal recently published a neat summary of market stats for different areas, and Seattle and Ft. Lauderdale are both on it. You will see when you click the link that it would take about 3 years to sell all of the houses that are on the market in Ft. Lauderdale at the current pace. That is not great news if you are planning to sell before moving here. Seattle is considered to have one of the strongest markets in the country, but buyers are still finding that they can ask for more concessions than they could a year ago. I hope this helps.

Sandra - Tue Jun 3 2008, 09:46

Dear Nadine,

I understand you want to find low income areas for a senior citizen moving to Seattle. I'd like to give you the best answer possible, but that would be quite a challenge without knowing a few more things. For instance, would you like to be in a retirement community? A condominium? A neighborhood of single family homes? Do you prefer being in the heart of the city or would you like to live a bit outside it? Do you prefer car or bus for transportation, or would you like to be in walking distance of stores? Please let me know. You can take a look at some of the neighborhoods through my website (below). You can also email me with those answers so I can get started helping you. My email address is svanderven@windermere.com. - Mon May 12 2008, 13:32

Hi HomeHound,

Great question. I will start with telling you what my idea of a great agent is, and I'll give you some ideas about how to find out if an agent posesses those qualities.

The first thing I would look for is someone who gets the bulk of his or her business by word of mouth. If an agent makes her clients happy every time, those people will be out telling their friends what great service they got, referring business her way. In contrast, agents who do huge, costly bulk mailings use name recognition to gain clients, so this type of agent doesn't have livelihood as directly linked to performance. So asking how much of a person's business is by referral is a great clue. The more the agent depends on clients having a positive experience, the better.

Your agent should be great at communicating. She should get back to you quickly when you have questions. In every aspect of the process, you should feel comfortable and in control.

Your agent should be an expert on the contracts used in real estate. Understanding the purchase and sale agreement, and every implication of every one of the terms within it is crucial to protecting a client's interests.

A good agent has an encyclopedic knowledge of your market. Not just your neighborhood, but your home style, price range, the economic forces influencing the local housing market. This agent should be able to watch what is selling and what is presently on the market in your area to gain a command of the best timing to make your move.

One of the most crucial qualities is a sense of integrity. If you know your agent is putting your interests ahead of hers, you are in good hands.

How do you find this person? One thing people looking for homes do is chat with the agents they meet at open houses to get a feel for that agent's personal style, market knowledge and experience. You can make it more like a job interview when you meet someone you like, and ask him or her to show you some other homes. After an interview and a day of driving with this person, you should have a pretty good sense of whether you think the business relationship will work out. As for people looking for an agent to sell a home, they can ask friends and co-workers if they know a good agent, they can look at who is writing the really great answers on Trulia ;) and ask each of these agents to help you arrive at a price for your home. The really great ones will meet with you once to see your home and then again once they have put together a market analysis for you, free of charge. During this presentation, you will get a sense of each agent's expertise. You can then pick the person who you feel confident will meet your goals of price and timing.

Good luck, and write again or call me if you need any clarification.

Sandra - Sun Apr 20 2008, 15:15

Hi Missy,

Thanks for your question. Construction costs can vary too much for an agent to be able to give you a helpful answer. I suggest you find a few contractors who build the style of home you would be interested in and ask them the same question. Same answer for remodels. - Wed Apr 16 2008, 12:22

Hi Natalie,

When you look at properites on line, you might start by taking all the parameters except price out of the search terms for a while. That way you can see exactly what $250,000 will buy you, and either make adjustments to your expectations or to the amount you will spend. If you haven't yet met with a mortgage broker, s/he will give you some definite numbers to work with so you can be sure you are looking in the appropriate price range, and not limiting yourselves unnecessarily (nor getting your hearts set on things that are out of reach). If you want to work with a mortgage broker here, the one I use is Susan Langendorfer at 206-440-1000. It doesn't cost anything to have a consultation with her. I would be happy to set you up with a custom search that will email new listings that you might be interested in every day. Feel free to contact me via my website if you need any more assistance.

Sandra - Mon Apr 7 2008, 12:34