By Kim, on April 28th, 2012%
Cute One-of-a-Kind Green Lake House Open This Weekend
Here’s the link to the listing: As a Phinneywood specialist and longtime resident I am holding a very special open house this Saturday and Sunday April 28 and 29th from 1-4 for National Open House weekend. This home is truly one of a kind in the area. Located just a couple of short blocks from the Woodland Park Zoo. A few years ago it was a neglected original Green Lake cabin from the beginning of the last century (maybe even older) then it was completely reinvented as a charming family home on a small foot print with a second story and a finished basement. It might have had one of the smallest floor areas five years ago, but it lives big now. Perched above the street it boasts privacy and and a quiet backyard complete with a water feature and granite retaining walls.
 Beautiful Lanscaping and Shade Gardens Safe to say you haven’t seen another lot like this, and the house is completely remodeled top to bottom. What was once a garage is now a finished bedroom (buyer to verify) or office space and a 3/4 bath. It’s the kind of house that you could easily drive right by on the street without noticing it perched proudly above the street and out of the way, but once you are inside you will find light filled spaces and views over Greenlake Park towards the Cascade Mountains and beyond in your own little private “treehouse”. The master is on the top floor along with another bedroom and a spacious full bath. The ground floor entry level has gleaming hardwood floors, a kitchen with granite counter tops and Stainless Steel appliances, the original brick fireplace in the living room, dining space and a powder room all in an open floor plan.
 Open Ground Floor Plan Downstairs is the laundry room and the converted garage. This house doesn’t scream” look at me”, tucked behind and underneath mature trees but you will appreciate the privacy the mature plantings provide when you are inside. Outside is a well executed landscape plan with low maintenance in mind and year-round color. It’s a charming oasis without a lawn to mow. Complete with a functioning pond,backyard deck and other outdoor “rooms”. OK, it might be a stretch, calling this a” treehouse” with it’s firm concrete foundation and traditional stick built construction. I am referring to how it feels to live in this space. Perched high above the street and sidewalk, placed well above the neighbor to the east, buffeted by the beautiful granite walls to the west (they don’t make them like they used to!), under the large tree to the back of the lot, and the unique tree south of the front door. What I am alluding to is the sense of peace and quiet and privacy with the views looking over the neighbor’s home to the views to the east from the master bedroom and balcony and to the views towards the south in the second upstairs bedroom and ground level.
 Bird's eye view from the sunny side of the street One can’t help but feel above it all in their own private light-filled spaces away from whatever might be happening down below at street level. It’s a very walkable neighborhood, zoo concerts blocks away in the summer along with the Woodlawn and Greenlake parks just down the hill. Up the hill with a Walk Score of 69 is Phinney Ave North with all the restuarants, pubs and galleries. The PNA has zip cars as well as classes and it’s myriad of other activites. To learn more about this special jewelbox of a home please contact: Kim Mulligan kim-mulligan.com kim@cooperjacobs.com 206-579-9066
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on April 12th, 2012%
Pre Inspections in a Hot Market
“Offers, if any, will be reviewed Tuesday the 20th”, comments the listing agent.
Okay so you and 8 other people bid on this house just listed on amazing street in Green Lake. What do you do?
 Well, offering more money doesn’t necessarily cut it anymore. With the dip in home values over the last roughly 4 years, the appraisers are out in force making sure homes don’t get inflated like before. Of course there are other tricks like a bigger down payment, shorter close, more earnest money. But did you know the most compeling offer is one that waives the inspection. The only thing that trumps this is an all cash offer. But for those you don’t have a lump sum of money hanging around, read on.
Does waiving the inspection mean I don’t get an inspection done? No way. It’s too large of an investment to not! But a pre inspection is the ticket these days.
If you know the seller isn’t looking at offers for a week, go ahead and get it pre inspected by a trusted inspector or contractor. When it’s time to write up an offer, you can waive the inspection since it was inspected before writing an offer instead of after mutual acceptance. This not only saves the seller a lot of potential inspection negotiations (repairs, credits, etc) but it means the seller gets his home sold quicker too. An offer pending an inspection can take up to 10 days or longer. Above all, waiving an inspection contingency makes it clear the buyer is serious about buying the home.
You can expect to pay anywhere betwen $400 to $1,000 (sewer scope, contractor bids if relevant) for a home inspection.
Happy House Hunting!
Besides listing and selling wonderful floating homes on the shores of Lake Union, I sell in my own neighbor - Green Lake, Tangletown, Wallingford. Feel free to contact me for any of your real estate questions!
By Brian Olsen, Chief Operations Officer at Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, 206.327.4420, on April 6th, 2012%
Heads Out for Spring
The turtles have come out of hibernation on Green Lake and Lake Washington and many people are thrilled to see them. For some folks, seeing the turtles bask in the sun on wooden logs is the unofficial start to Spring.
Turtles surfacing the waterline is a magical time in Seattle. These shelled critters act as a barometer for this body of water we know as Green Lake.Many of the flowers and cherry blossom trees have been out for about a month now but the turtles seem to know when there’s little chance of going back to freezing temperatures.
Baseball’s in the air too! The Seattle Mariners have their season opening game at Safeco Field today after starting the season overseas in Japan. There have been more and more Green Lake open houses, too, and that’s another sign that warmer weather and sunny days are more common. If you are interested in open houses held by Cooper Jacobs please contact us at courtney@cooperjacobs.com.
If you are looking at homes for sale in Seattle, then Green Lake is a great place to live.
Active Green Lake real estate listings can be viewed at Green Lake Properties.
For ALL the listings in Seattle and surrounding neighborhoods go to www.cooperjacobs.com.
By Courtney Cooper, Seattle Realtor, 206.850.8841, courtney@cooperjacobs.com, on March 8th, 2012%
Green Lake Real Estate in Seattle, WA
Click on any of the Green Lake homes for sale below – This page has all listings from all Seattle real estate companies and is current from information swept from the NWMLS for changes every 15-20 minutes. You can find all Green Lake Seattle real estate here including Green Lake homes & condos and even some Luxury Green Lake property for sale.
Green Lake Real Estate in Seattle WA – Find Green Lake homes For Sale
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on February 16th, 2012%
Should I buy a Co-op?
“Should I buy a Co-op?” asked my client. Hmmm…good question! We’ve been looking at condominiums in a higher end neighborhood in Seattle. It’s a good shoe-in for an expensive neighborhood.
I think we can largely agree it’s a good time to buy real estate in general right now. But let’s back up for a sec. First let me answer the question what is a condo association and what is a co-op association.
Condominium is a big building with individual units. Each unit has a tax parcel number and the owner has ownership of the interior walls inside. They also own the Title for the unit. Each owner pays a home owner due (HOD). Which it turn goes into an account managed by the home owner association. If there are any needed assessments (aka repairs) on the building or lawsuits to pay out, it is debited from this account. You qualify. You buy. You’re in.
Co-Op is a big building with individual units. The building is the company. The units are the shareholders within the company. You don’t hold Title. The co-op committee does. And usually the building is one big parcel number. There are home owner dues just like condo ownership. You interview with the co-op board. You buy. You’re in. Oh yeah, and no dogs (usually) and no leasing (usually).
Should you buy a co-op? Yes, you should. If you are a person who likes people, who likes sharing, who likes working together for a common goal, then yes buy a co-op. If you like relinquishing some of your control issues and collaborating with your fellow shareholders, then yes you should think about buying a co-op. If you don’t want to pay 1.78% excise tax as a seller in King County, co-op is a way to avoid this tax.
Should you buy a co-op? No, you should think twice about buying a co-op if you own a dog (usually), if you like larger buildings (co-ops are generally smaller buildings), if you are an investor/landlord and intend to rent. Oh, and perhaps you don’t want to know who your neighbors are.
Financing is no different for co-ops. You can do an FHA loan if you want. Just make sure you ask for the Financials Addendum from the building. This is similar to the Resale Certificate for a condo building. It contains meeting minutes, financials, and future assessments.
Hope this bit of info helped you make the right move. Questions? I’m here.
Ciao.
Molly@cooperjacobs.com
206.841.6800
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on January 26th, 2012%
Bank Owned and Short Sale Properties
Over the last nearly two years, I’ve seen a huge surge of foreclosed, or real estate owned (REO) properties around Green Lake and other nearby neighborhoods. In fact one broker I know specializing in just this.
But what is the difference between a short sale and bank owned property? I had a client ask this exact question of me last Saturday as we were out in full force looking at REO properties.
Short sales = seller owes more than the value of the house. Upside down equity. They qualify for a hardship, don’t pay their mortgage for 60 days and the process begins. The object is to try to sell the house before it’s foreclosed on because the lienholder gets (most) of their money back when they sell for less as opposed to getting no money when it goes back on the bank’s books.
Bank owned = short sale didn’t sell the house. No one bought it at auction. So the house goes back to the bank who is now the “seller”. Owner gets a bankruptcy on their credit.
I definitely don’t shy away from either scenarios. If my client wants to get a screaming deal then I’m not stopping them. What constitutes a screaming deal is usually 10 to 20% lower than the retail market value for these bank owned properties. The lower market value attracts offers quickly usually as soon as the Listing hits the market. Which leads me to talk about…
Multiple offers. Yes! Many multiple offers on bank owned properties these days. Is it on purpose? Well…the bank does want to create a bidding war so yes, it’s on purpose – they want that financial burden off their books. And with a bidding war means hopefully the bank gets more $$.
How should a buyer’s agent handle multiple offers on a bank owned property? It starts with excellent communication between me and the listing broker (who represents the bank). The bank will ask for the best and highest offer via an electronic bid. Folks involved are the listing agent, an asset manager, and the bank. Many moving parts here so indeed COMMUNICATION is the key – and quite possibly getting your offer accepted.
HOW TO MAKE THE BEST “HIGHEST AND BEST OFFER”: The BEST offer is not always the highest price. Terms are considered such as… are there any contingincies? How many days to closing? Is there a pre-quailification letter? Is it a cash sale? Cash is not always king when you low–ball it. What type of mortgage is it? FHA is the favorite choice of Buyers but least favorite by Sellers.
My top tips are to read the directions for submitting offers and follow them. The less corrections the better. Eliminate all contingencies except for a 7 day home inspection and mortgage contingency. Which means waiving appraisal. Place a closing date 30 days for conventional and 45 days for FHA. this will give you a better chance of getting your offer accepted.
If you have questions about bank owned properties, feel free to contact me!
Do you know how many bank owned OR short sale homes are on the market right now in Green Lake? 9 Active and 10 pending to close but haven’t yet – so now is your opportunity to put in a back up offer! Not all those short sale and bank owned properties are bound to close – espeically short sales since they can take longer to close. Buyers get antsy and walk away scotch free.
By Courtney Cooper, Seattle Realtor, 206.850.8841, courtney@cooperjacobs.com, on January 8th, 2012%
Green Lake Real Estate in Seattle, WA
Click on any of the Green Lake homes for sale below – This page has all listings from all Seattle real estate companies and is current from information swept from the NWMLS for changes every 15-20 minutes. You can find all Green Lake Seattle real estate here including Green Lake homes & condos and even some Luxury Green Lake property for sale.
Green Lake Real Estate in Seattle WA – Find Green Lake homes For Sale
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on January 3rd, 2012%
John Stanford Attendance Area Changes
If you’re a mom with a child or children in public schools, hearing about the over-population problem in our schools is nothing new. John Standford Elementary is the school essentially getting re-evaluated and this time portables might not cut it.
The proposal is to re-establish the attendance area stopping North and South at 45th Street (currently it’s 47th Street) and stopping at Burke Ave (currently it’s Stone Ave) going East to West. McDonald Elementary and BF Day would be welcoming those new students.
The 35 page proposal by the school board can be read here. If this affects you or someone you know, make sure to be at the meeting tomorrow night in the auditorium, Wednesday January 4th at 6pm at 2445 3rd ave South to be heard. The voting begins January 18th for this proposal.
Get involved!
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on December 15th, 2011%
 Friends want to know, am I keeping busy in the Green Lake Real Estate Market for 4th quarter…notoriously a sleepy time of the year for Realtors. The answer is YES I’M BUSY! Keeping track of the real estate market is a daily, constant routine and the inventory is literally changing every day. Clients want to know what’s going on every day.
Many buyers are asking what’s up with this lack of inventory. On the flip side, sellers are asking is it a good time to sell with home values seeming to be slipping. True, the Green Lake real estate market has seen better inventory before, but the homes that are active are selling! A home listed for sale on my street went for $10,000 over list price which means, yes, multiple offers. Then there’s the bank owned property for sale around the corner. So you really do need a professional Realtor in this market who can help you understand the market and the pros and cons.
So how is my favorite neighborhood, Green Lake, faring in this 4th Quarter so far?
Just to show you how active Green Lake’s real estate has been as we are nearing the end of the 4th quarter, here’s a quick snap shot.
Green Lake 4th Quarter 2011 Solds
If you want the short version, here goes:
High Sold Price
$910,000
Median Sold Price
$482,500
Low Sold Price
$246,500
The average price per square foot rounds out at just about $240.00 and with 63 days on the market, things have been selling for 98% of list price.
If YOU’RE interested in understanding the Green Lake Real Estate Market, I’d be happy to help. I’ve lived in this ‘hood for 17 years and love every minute.
molly@cooperjacobs.com / 206.841.6800
By Molly Cartwright, Realtor, Cooper Jacobs Real Estate, Molly@CooperJacobs.com, 206-841-6800, on November 11th, 2011%
We all hate popcorn ceilings, right? I mean what does it really have going for it besides temporarily masking uneven ceilings or cracks. Before 1978, this fabricated binding material was used for insulation around the boiler room, in roofs, windows, and electrical wiring and you got it – texturing on walls and ceilings. Don’t let the age fool you – some homes in the 80′s have it too.
 If a buyer has the option of purchasing a home with or without popcorn ceilings, guess which one they’ll choose? And as a seller, do you want your home to be overlooked just because you didn’t want to go the extra mile to make your home standout and get sold? Depending on the square feet, what could cost you around $2,500 before a buyer puts an offer on your home might cost you 4x that if a buyer asks you to do while in contract.
First of all, not all popcorn ceilings are considered asbestos. And don’t rely on the “sparkle test” because that doesn’t cut it anymore. The best action for you, Mr. Popcorn, is to get it tested for asbestos first.
There’s a great place in Seattle to take your sample to:
NVL Laboratories Inc
4708 Aurora Ave N., Seattle, WA
(206) 547-0100
The cost is $30 and the turn around time is 24 hours. If it’s not abestos, a spray gun full of water and a lot of scraping will do. If it is abestos, try calling Tony at Affordable Environmental (206) 793-1321 or tc@affenv.net.
A license and bonded contractor, his bids start at $3.00 per square foot.
Now don’t even get me started with lath and plaster. That’s another post!
Green Lake has plenty of homes built before 1978, before asbestos was banned. So if you’re a seller looking for some answers on your popcorn ceiling, give me a call – I’d love to help! Whether you’re a buyer or a seller, feel free to give me a call for a free consultation. Popcorn ceilings begone! Molly 206-841-6800 or molly@cooperjacobs.com
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