February 25th, 2009
Notes from the expert…
Here are some interesting thoughts on home preparation from Rick Bunzel at Pacific Crest Inspections in Anacortes. Rick is one of my favorite area inspectors - he has provided many quality inspections for my clients and has outstanding customer service follow-up. Call me if you’d like to get in touch with Rick!
“One mistake I see sellers make is not getting their home ready for the home inspection. Yes, they may have gotten it cosmetically ready which is important, but if a seller doesn’t address functional or maintenance issues they can lose a substantial amount of equity in the inspection process. In fact, more than a few buyers will use the home inspection to renegotiate the purchase price and getting a bigger discount.
“The first step to mitigating this issue is an inspection of the home. Either the seller can do this or they can hire a company like Pacific Crest Inspections to do it. If you’re going to do it yourself you may want to ask your REALTOR to go through with you so you will have someone who has a fresh outlook and will think like a buyer. You may want to take a look at our website where we highlight the most frequent problems we see during inspections. Compile a list of to do’s and if you can’t remember when you had your furnace cleaned or check the condition of the crawlspace, add those to the list. We offer a free walkthrough checklist on our site to help you.
“If you have an item on your list, fix it before you put your house on the market. There are several benefits to a proactive approach. First, buyers tend to turn little issues into big expensive issues. It’s a way for them to rationalize offering less on the house or eliminate your home from their consideration. Many times, we’ve seen buyers look at something that might take 15 minutes and $50 to fix, and use it as a reason for knocking $5,000 off the purchase price. Second, if you wait to fix things after the home inspection, you’ll find yourself paying more to get it done. In most home inspection responses, the buyer requires that all repairs be made by a licensed contractor. So, if you’re a bit handy, you can do some of the easy repairs up front by yourself, or you can wait until after the inspection and pay a contractor $150 an hour to do the same thing. Third, we all have those things that have been broken and bugging us for years. Fix it now, and you might actually get a few months of enjoyment by marking that little annoyance off your list. It’s easy to let a home inspection turn into a negative, adversarial problem between the buyer and seller. If you identify something that you decided not to fix, you can disclose it and acknowledged that the home has been priced with consideration to the issue.
“In a buyer’s market a seller needs every advantage they can get. A pre-listing inspection will help give you that edge over similar homes. Issues found and repaired can be documented as part of the report. Many buyers will see that you have been proactive and resolved most of the issues. A pre-listing inspection is no guarantee that the buyer won’t have their own inspection but in most cases that inspection will discover few, if any, new issues.
Good luck with your sale!”
Rick Bunzel, CRI
Pacific Crest Inspections
NPSAR Affiliate of the Year 2006-2007
WWW.PacCrestInspections.com
360-588-6956
Fax 360-588-6965
Toll Free 866-618-7764
January 14th, 2009
Tide Tables
Going to the beach? Backing the boat in? Here is a useful link…tide tables for the Anacortes/Guemes Channel area from NOAA!
January 9th, 2009
Coudn’t happen to a nicer guy!
The Skagit Valley Herald and the Anacortes American are reporting that Bill Evans, longtime Anacortes resident and athletic coach, has been named as the head football coach at Anacortes High School.
That is GREAT NEWS for Seahawk fans! Bill is a great guy -my own son has had him for a couple of classes and speaks very highly of him. He has a past record as a winning head football coach, and is very well-respected among the kids at the high school.
Congratulations to both Bill and the Seahawks!
Read the whole story here.
January 9th, 2009
Back to normal?
Wow! We have had some wild and wooly weather to say the least! I know that everywhere else in the country, out weather woes seem like minor inconveniences, but to us it’s a big deal! We pride ourselves on our mild climate - so major snowfalls and endless rain have a big impact on our community.
It seems everyone is emerging from the storm(s) and getting back to normal. We have seen some activity this week in the Anacortes real estate market. I have had several inquiries about listed properties - and with the inauguration next week, there seems to be a bit less panic about the economy. All good things for our market, but more importantly, for our community. Buyers and sellers are getting the message that while it’s a different market, it is not the end of the world and there are very good, sound reasons to buy and sell in this economy.
November 20th, 2008
Old Town Building Lot
Rare lot in the historic Old Town district of Anacortes with views of the Guemes Channel and surrounding San Juans! 6000 sq Ft lot with all utilities in the street is ready to go and includes custom plans for a 3500+ sq Ft 4 bedroom & 3 bath home with all main level living, alley access, daylight basement with shop space and wine cellar. Enjoy walking to downtown shops, dining and theaters! $219,000
