As reported in the Seattle PI on Dec. 3:

King County house sales continued to surge in November, as buyers rushed to close deals before a tax-credit deadline, while prices remained lower than a year earlier, according to a new report.

Closed house purchases were up 81 percent countywide in November from a year earlier and 78.4 percent in Seattle, according to data the Northwest Multiple Listing service released Thursday. That’s up from year-to-year increases of 33.3 percent in the county and 39.5 percent in Seattle in October.

Pending sales, which indicate more-recent activity, were up about 31 percent in Seattle and 36 percent countywide from a year earlier. That’s about half of October’s year-to-year increase.

The reason pending deals were higher in October and closed sales in November is that buyers were rushing to take advantage of a $8,000 first-time buyer tax credit for sales that closed by the end of November.

Click here to read the full article.

Foreclosure is Devastating to Your Credit

There is nothing more damaging to your credit than a foreclosure. It will reduce you credit score about 300 points and stay there for 10 years or more. If you have both a low credit score, and a foreclosure on your credit report, you will have a very hard time getting approved for new credit to purchase a car, receive a student loan, or even to be accepted as a tenant. Many job applications ask if you have ever had a foreclosure. The devastation of losing your home to a bank foreclosure will keep rearing it’s head for years to come, even after the deal is complete.

Click here to learn about 11 alternatives to protect you and your family from foreclosure.

What is a Short Sale?

A short sale is where a property is sold for less than it is worth. The lender must agree to the short sale, and a process is followed.

1. The homeowner must be deemed in a distressed state, behind in payments, and the property is usually faced with threat of foreclosure.
2. Documents must be completed to prove the homeowner cannot continue mortgage payments, a letter explaining the cause of the financial distress is usually required.
3. Efforts must have been made to sell the property at its full market value and a detailed report of the sales activity supplied.
4. If the lender approves the short sale, a buyer is found, and a price is agreed upon. Then the sales process would continue as a normal sale would.

Many times the lender will pay almost all of the seller’s required fees and commissions in a short sale. The homeowner may walk away owing nothing, but they cannot walk away with any proceeds. The process from start to finish can take anywhere from 3 to 12 months, and help from our Certified Distressed Property Experts© can be invaluable.

Don’t let a temporary problem become a long-term nightmare.

Call Brazen Sotheby’s International Realty today at 425-454-4141, or fill out and submit the information form so we can contact your for a completely confidential consultation. Contact us now so we can help.