Tuesday, January 21, 2020 / by Dixie Simon
Few people are predicting that 2020 will be a record-breaking year for home sale prices.
However, 2020 might be the best time to put your house on the market. If you’re on the fence about selling this year or next, selling in an environment that's more familiar and predictable, rather than waiting for time to pass and circumstances to change then 2020 may-be your best decision ever.
If you bought your house in the past few years, still love it and don’t want to part with it, go ahead and wait another five years before revisiting the thought of selling. But if you’re weighing your options to sell and are considering selling this year or next, don’t play the waiting game.
Here are four reasons you should consider selling in 2020:
·
New buyers are still entering the market.
· Interest rates are expected to remain low.
· You have high equi ...
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Thursday, January 16, 2020 / by Kylene Emery
If you’ve only ever rented before, the necessity of a home warranty may be unknown to you. As a renter, you are used to a landlord who will fix any issues you run into - but that all changes when you become a homeowner. Now, when a water heater breaks or the fridge starts to leak on the new floors in the kitchen, there is no landlord to call. So what do you do now? You may have a friend or family member who can handle the smaller fixes, but when it comes to the big issues that will end up emptying your pockets, a home warranty can save the day.
A home warranty is similar to insurance, as it covers some or all of the costs of replacements or repairs when a system in your home malfunctions or stops working altogether. They range in annual costs of $300-$600 and remove the middle man in the fixing process. Instead of finding someone to fix an issue, you will directly contact your warranty provider and they will set up the repair or replacement with the appropriate vendors. Your pre ...
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Wednesday, January 15, 2020 / by Keri McCombs
Effective January 1, 2020, a new law went into place that impacted the way excise tax is calculated in the state of Washington.
But before I address what changes were made, I first want to go over excise tax, what it is, what you need to know about it, and how it impacts YOU.
What Is Excise Tax?
Excise tax, generally speaking, is a tax on the purchase of a good. So in this case, real estate excise tax is a sale on the sale of a home or property. In the state of Washington, the seller is responsible for paying this tax when a property sells. However, if the seller doesn't make sure it's paid, the buyer does become liable. There is only one time where I know this happens, which I'll discuss towards the end of the article.
Real estate excise tax, also known as REET, has historically been 1.78% of the purchase price for most of the greater Spokane area (1.28% state levy rate plus 0.50% levy rate for most cities). However, the state of Washington has been discussin ...
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Monday, January 13, 2020 / by Kylene Emery
While house hunting in the winter was never really a thing of the past, today’s culture keeps things going year-round - which means finding a home can be done at any time of the year. While exploring in the cold might be your focus or concern, house-hunting in less-than-ideal conditions can show you things you can’t always see on a warm, sunny day. Here are some things to keep in mind as you try to find a house can call home.
Winter Weather Can Help You See Hidden Flaws
Even if you don’t love the cold and snowy weather, it can help you see household flaws that you may not see in the warmth of summer. Maybe the windows are drafty or there is a major loss in privacy when the trees are bare from the cold. It will also help you to love your home for its’ bones, and only love it more when warmer seasons arrive bringing flowers, grass, and colorful foliage.
Photos Can Help Fill In The Blanks
It can be hard to picture what a poolside oasis looks like when it is cov ...
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Friday, January 10, 2020 / by Dennis Isip
We are finally here, Spokane has experienced 20 years of real growth in real estate. If you bough a home in 2000, it's very likely that your home may have doubled in value within the last 4 years. The typical home with 3-4 bedrooms, and 1 or 2 baths, with living space of about 1600 sq ft, was valued at $109,500 in 2000.
Today, assuming that you've kept up with its maintenance requirements, that house is now valued at $270,052. Further appreciation may yet continue in this upcoming year of 2020. However, we need to watch it very closely. As the data indicates, there has been a drop in number of homes sold in 2019, compared to 2018 and 2017.
There are 2 possible reasons: 1) Spokane is continued to be plagued by the extreme lack of housing inventory, or 2) the buyer demand (especially from out of town) is softening up.
Housing Inventory
There has been a dire shortage of homes for the significant part of the past 36 months. Inventory has been consistently hovering at 1 month. ...
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