July :: SoundBiteBlog.com 2007 :: SoundBiteBlog.com

As many of you may know, Buckwheat and I are members of ActiveRain, a very large and popular real estate networking platform with over 40,000 members nationwide.

Recently, we launched a contest to encourage quality consumer-oriented blog articles on the network. Our 1st Round yielded some really excellent writing from the Real Estate Agents/Broker members. The 2nd Round this past week from among our Loan Officer/Mortgage Lender members raised the bar even higher on quality content articles for consumers.

As part of the spoils, we promised to publish the winning articles here on SoundBiteBlog.

And so, without any further ado, here are the 2nd Round Winners and their respective articles:

3rd Place:     Jason Price, Owner of Knightlines Mortgage Services, LLC, in Altoona, Florida. His 3rd Place submission was entitled, “The Best Mortgage is a Fixed Rate Mortgage.”

2nd Place:     Brian Brady, Managing Director with World Wide Credit Corporation in San Diego, California. His 2nd Place entry was, “ARMs don’t Kill Houses, Loan Hacks Kill Houses!”

1st Place:     Jason Sardi, a Loan Officer with First Choice Equity Group in the Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. His 1st Place article was “They Gave Me a Band-Aid and Now I need Stitches!”

Congratulations to all of the 2nd Round Winners and to all who participated!

In two weeks, we’ll publish the winners of Round Three from the Professional Staging members of ActiveRain.

Posted in Mortgage Bites, Real Estate Bites | 1 Comment »

Brynn Grimley, a fellow blogger and reporter with our local newspaper, the Kitsap Sun, recently wrote an article about the continued delays and frustrations surrounding the proposed Central Kitsap Community Campus.

One of the most vocal supporters and potential tenants for the future campus has been the Kitsap Regional Library. Prior to relocating to Silverdale WA, my family and I lived in Lawrence, Kansas, the home of the University of Kansas. Being an academic community, Lawrence had a very large and well-stocked library. When we moved here, it was disappointing to discover such small, limited facilities serving our area. With the strategic central location of Silverdale and the amount of continued growth, a larger expanded library facility makes total sense.

Last May, the Kitsap Regional Library Council placed a ballot intiative before area voters, asking to raise the levy lid by 18 cents. This would have increased the current levy of 30 cents per $1,000 of assessed value up to 48 cents (By law, the library is allowed to collect up to 50 cents). While passage of this measure wouldn’t have necessarily addressed the high price tag (est.  $50M to $100M) associated with the proposed community campus, it would’ve provided the added public support necessary to keep the project moving forward. Unfortunately, the measure failed to receive the simple majority of 50 percent.

So now, after over 8 years of discussion and planning, the hopes for a community campus are unsure.

However, newly appointed Central Kitsap Commissioner, Josh Brown is optimistic that the momentum will continue and hopefully construction can begin in the near future. Brown has recently met with officials from the YMCA and Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority to determine the needs of our community and how the proposed campus could best serve those needs.

Commissioner Brown stated:

“We’re going to be looking at any and all of the funding options for this campus.” Brown said. “We’re going to work with all interested community groups to make something happen soon.”

One such community group that will be directly impacted by the proposed community campus is C-STOCK (Central Stage Theatre of County Kitsap). C-STOCK, a local non-profit live theatre group since 1986, uses the present county facilities almost exclusively, producing 5 shows annually, including a Summer children’s theater workshop.

The Mission Statement of C-STOCK is:

To provide a community-based musical and dramatic performing arts organization for the purposes of:

• Presenting quality family entertainment
• Creating opportunities for children and adults to develop talents in all aspects of theatre arts.
• Providing recognition and support to encourage the youth of Kitsap County.

In my humble opinion, the only way for the proposed Community Campus to become a reality is for all interested community groups to pool their collective resources and efforts, and work together towards a common end. The more diverse of community needs are served by the proposed Community Campus, the wider and greater the public support will be.

Posted in Kitsap County Bites | No Comments »

In many regions across the country, the housing market has been cooling off. Inventories are up, prices are coming down. Basic supply and demand stuff, right?

Well, as is typical amidst such conditions, real estate buyers tend to become increasingly more bold and brazen. Many property sellers are desperate to sell, and real estate buyers are only too happy to accomodate them with an equally desperate offer.

Now there’s nothing inherently wrong with a low offer. Everyone wants to feel like they got a good deal. It’s the American way! I always tell my Sellers that a low offer is better than no offer, regardless of how ridiculous and laughable it may be. It takes time and energy to draft a contract offer. Every offer should be considered as serious and worthy of consideration. If nothing else, it may simply be the starting point for further negotiations.

However, as a Buyer, there are several key priniciples/strategies to writing a successful low offer.

1. The first key is to offer an amount that doesn’t overly insult the Property Sellers, and yet still warrants their response. Your real estate agent should be able to offer you guidance with this. Consider the following questions:

• How long has the property been on the market?
• Have there been any previous offers?
• Have there been any price reductions?
• What are comparable properties in the area currently selling for?

2. The second key ingredient is to strengthen all other elements of your offer. There are many times when other aspects of the offer are nearly as important to the Sellers as price. What accomodations/exceptions can you provide to make your offer more attractive? Consider the following:

• Increase your Earnest Money Deposit amount. The more cash you are willing to provide as Earnest, the more serious your offer will be taken.
• Do the Sellers have a preference for a closing date? Do they want a quick closing, extended closing, or rent-back?
• Write your offer as clean and straight-forward as possible. Keep the amount of contingencies to a minimum.
• Make sure to enclose your Lender’s loan pre-approval letter along with your offer.
• Do the Sellers or Listing Agent have a preference regarding where to direct title & escrow?

3. The last key is to convey a positive upbeat attitude towards the Sellers and their Listing Agent. You’re behind the 8-ball to begin with by offering the Sellers less than what they’re asking. You don’t need to pour salt in the wound by telling them what a ‘dump’ their home is, and then rattling off a exhaustive laundry list of how much work it needs.

You rarely know what a Real Estate Seller’s motivation or bottom-line price may be, but by incorporating some of these suggestions, you’ll definitely come closer to achieving a mutual agreement.

Posted in Bainbridge Island Real Estate, Bremerton WA Real Estate, Buyers, Gig Harbor Real Estate, Kitsap County Bites, Port Orchard Real Estate, Poulsbo Real Estate, Real Estate Bites, Sellers, Silverdale WA Real Estate | 4 Comments »

Back in high school, my passions were Drama, Choir, and Marching Band. From the time I was a freshman, I was fortunate to get leads in all of the school plays and musicals. In my senior year, I was Snoopy in our local community theatre production of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”

For the next 30 years, my theatrical skills took a backseat to my career, marriage, and raising a family.

In the winter of 2005, I finally ended the drama dry-spell by playing the part of Clifton Feddington in the C-STOCK production of ”1940’s Radio Hour.” It was a wonderful experience!

A year later, my son Elliot and I had some great male bonding time when we performed together in “Footloose!”

This coming September, Elliot and I will be joined by younger brother, Luke, in the Broadway hit, “Damn Yankees!” It’s a classic tale of good triumphing over evil, with loads of great songs & dancing thrown in!

Join us Sept. 14th thru Oct. 7th (Fridays & Satudays at 7:30PM; Sundays at 6PM)

Silverdale Community Center, 9729 Silverdale Way NW, Silverdale

Tickets available at the Kitsap Mall Customer Service Desk and at the door.

• Adults – $12
• Seniors and student ID – $10
• Children 11 and under – $7

Posted in Bites of Washington, Kitsap County Bites, Silverdale WA Real Estate | 1 Comment »

As many of you may know, Buckwheat and I are members of ActiveRain, a very large and popular real estate networking platform with nearly 40,000 members.

Recently, we launched a contest to encourage quality consumer-oriented blog articles on the network. Our first round yielded some really excellent writing from the Real Estate Agents/Brokers members.

As part of the spoils, we promised to publish the winning articles here on SoundBiteBlog.

And so, without any further ado, here are the First Round Winners and their respective articles:

3rd Place:   Laura Warden, a Broker/Owner of Choices Real Estate in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and her winning article,  “Buyer’s or Seller’s Market? The Key is Location, Location, Location!”

2nd Place:   Thesa Chambers with Sunriver Realty in Sunriver, Oregon and her article “Honesty Hurts! But it Sells Your Home!”

1st Place:   Lenn Harley, Broker/Owner of Homefinders.com in Maryland/No. Virgina, with her article, “Buying & Selling Homes in No. Virginia in a Slow Market”

Congratulations to the 1st Round Winners!

Next week, we’ll publish the winners of Round Two from the Loan Officers/Mortgage Lender members of ActiveRain.

Posted in Miscellaneous | 1 Comment »