Get Real Tacoma

UPDATE:  Today it was decide that REET does not apply to Short Sales. THANK GOODNESS!

Washington Realtors Association sent out a notice to it’s members this morning, saying that “The Department of Revenue (DOR) recently sent a letter to the Escrow Association explaining its position that in short sales, the Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) applies not only to the selling price of a home, but also any debt forgiven by the seller’s lender.” 

Of course, this is total crap.  Why should you pay taxes on a price the market wouldn’t bear out?  NWMLS broke it down like this:

 

For example, if a seller owes $350,000 on its mortgage, the property sells for $300,000, and the lender agrees to forgive the remaining $50,000 in debt (i.e. the seller will not be held liable for the $50,000 difference) - there are tax implications for the seller related to the $50,000 debt forgiveness.

The seller is already potentially having to report that $50k that the bank forgave as income, now the state is saying they must also pay excise tax on that? 

Realtors are not allowed (by law) to give tax or legal advice in this situation.  If you are selling your home in a Short Sale, make sure to talk to a Real Estate Attorney and a CPA.

Everyone loves a good year end wrap-up. Me included! Here are the sales stats for The City of Tacoma for 2008:

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Here is a great post on the blog QVisory about the difference between a fixed and adjustable rate mortgage.  

It’s mortgage rates 101: the difference between a fixed and adjustable rate home loan. Just like it sounds, a fixed rate mortgage stays at the same interest rate for as long as you are paying down the loan, regardless of whether interest rates, in general, go up or down.

Conversely, an adjustable rate mortgage can go up (and sometimes down) based upon the overall interest rate market. Sometimes it is possible to get an adjustable rate mortgage at a much lower interest rate than a fixed rate mortgage, but the rate could skyrocket in a matter of a few years.

Also, there is an explaination of what “Points” on a mortgage are.  Useful information for first time homebuyers and homeowners alike!

Thanks to my #1 Client Mary for sharing this with me on Google Reader!

Tacoma has a ton of great blogs, covering every topic you can imagine. Thank goodness for Google Reader!  Check out this new blog by Jacob Rose.  Jacob is all over town and loves to dig up stories, but he’s also very knowledgable about zoning, business, real estate, and life in Tacoma in general.

Ken Madsen, The Assessor-Treasurer

I’ll never forget the first time I visited the Pierce County Assessor-Treasurer parcel search website.  I was shocked to find out that all you have to do is type in the address of a house or piece of land and it would tell you who owned it and how much they paid for it.  This is a fantastic tool for first time buyers to use when researching homes they find online.

It’s useful for homeowners as well.  If there’s a house on your street that is rented and the tenants are causing trouble, look up the landlord and send them a letter.  Is there a house that appears abbandoned that you might be interested in buying?  Look up the owner.  I work with a guy who keeps an eye out for empty houses then looks up the owners on the parcel search.  If they are out of state he sends them a letter offering to purchase their property.  He turns them into rentals and he has made some pretty incredible deals this way.

Find Your Optimal Home Location!

When buying a house, it is fair to say that the majority of my clients place an extremely high priority on commute time.  For people who are still part of the workforce (sorry retireds and trust funders!) this consideration is usually second only to price. 

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Foreclosure is not pretty.

I do not exaggerate when I say that at LEAST once a day, someone will ask me a question about foreclosures.  Foreclosure terminology can be a bit intimidating, but it’s easy to learn.  Here are some common terms and what they mean:

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