Recently, Inman News published an article on the misleading prices that are often attached to Trulia.com and Yahoo! Real Estate preforeclosure listings. It’s a good read, which features commentary and possible solutions from Foreclosure.com Founder, President and CEO, Brad Geisen, about how to correct the problem.

Unfortunately (and unsurprisingly), RealtyTrac.com Vice President of Marketing, Rick Sharga, took exception to Brad’s input. That’s because the company that he represents supplies Trulia.com and Yahoo! Real Estate with their foreclosure data.

Let’s go through a few of Mr. Sharga’s comments line-by-line to clear the air once and for all. Here he is talking about their misleading listings:

“Neither Yahoo Real Estate or Trulia or RealtyTrac is setting out to mislead anybody. Anybody looking to purchase a foreclosure property is going to have to educate themselves a little on the process. It’s not as straightforward as just buying a resale property from an agent.”

Whether it is done intentionally or not, RealtyTrac — and by association Trulia.com and Yahoo! Real Estate – doesn’t appear to have either the desire or the ability to make it clear that the prices associated with some distressed listings are often not sale prices. Therefore, while Mr. Sharga claims, in theory, that he and his partners are not setting out to mislead anybody the reality is that they are.

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Where should your money be parked in tough economic times?  Should you be in real estate or in the stock market?  In the news today Wachovia Corp. reported a record quarterly loss of $8.9 billion, slashed dividends and announced 6,350 job cuts. The stock fell 12 percent in early New York trading in a single day.

I was talking with a client yesterday who has watched his retirement account dwindle in his mutual fund accounts over these last few quarters.  Now if your financial adviser and money management firm are good, your losses are small, but the majority of securities and money managers, in my opinion and experience, are more salesmen than professional investment managers.

Diversification is a solid investment principal, but if one had to chose between real estate and the unstable stock market, my argument is that real estate is far more secure.  Real estate prices may go up and down, but over the long run real estate has been a reliable investment, and real estate doesn’t go “poof.”

True Stories.  “Under McFadden’s management, Bradley Simon’s retirement fund dwindled from $700,000 to $267,000.” “Ron and Pam Yandell of Mansfield, Texas, turned over their $1.4 million retirement fund to a stockbroker who invested in risky tech stocks without their approval. They lost $230,000 in the tech crash.”  Read the full stories at Real Estate Still a Good Investment.

If all we had to worry about were the economic variables driving the stock market roller coaster, perhaps it wouldn’t be so bad, but there is another more insidious variable over which none of us have control–fraud.

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Port Angeles has played small parts in some great movies.  The Olympic Peninsula has been visited by some of the great actors of Hollywood.  You might wonder if we have any big names from Hollywood regularly visiting the Olympic Peninsula, either Sequim or Port Angeles, or if any own getaway homes here, but consistent with my articles about purchasing real estate anonymously and about asset protection and privacy, if I know, I’m not saying.  But we can look at what movies have segments filmed here, and who has spent time here.  With the beautiful Strait of Juan de Fuca, this is a perfect place to film a submarine scene, and with our Olympic National Park and mountains, this is also a great place for a wildlife scene.

2003 - The Hunted (Port Angeles, Elwha River Dam, I’ve taken photos of the fight scene below the damn) with this Cast (in credits order):

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Price reductions for real estate listings in Sequim and Port Angeles in the month of June, 2008 are revealing.  There were about 95 properties that were either sold for less than the listed price or are still listed for sale but had a price reduction.  The average price reduction in June is 91%.  [Source of Data:  Olympic Listing Service].

This is valuable information, because it tells us where the market says prices are with respect to the listed prices.  While each property is unique, whether you are buying or selling, it is good to know that prices have been generally reduced in the month of June by 9.0%.

To view the entire data, view the rest of this post.

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Luxury homes in Sequim and Port Angeles are almost secrets.  Privacy, stunning, water views-these are a few  of the words that come to mind, but “wait, there’s more.”  The more is actually less.  Imagine what you would pay for a beautiful luxury home in California or even in the Seattle area.  Then divide that number by 5.  What would cost you $12.5 mil elsewhere is $2.5 mil here.  You pay a lot less for more here.

Here is a peek at what is available in Sequim and Port Angeles on the beautiful Olympic Peninsula.

I’d be glad to provide more photos or information on any of these homes.  I also have an extraordinary home that is about to come on the market but is not yet advertised. Email Chuck Marunde, or call Chuck at 360-775-5424.

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Greetings to my friends in California, Arizona, and around the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area looking for property in Sequim or Port Angeles.  Here’s my question for you.

When you find a listing in the MLS in Sequim (or in Port Angeles), and it boasts a grand water view, gorgeous “country” acreage, and a quaint old house, and the price looks pretty reasonable, do you jump on a plane (or a car for you in Seattle-Tacoma) and come check this gem out?

NO, NO, and NO.  Please let me save you time and money and frustration.  Maybe a true story will make the point best.

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If you’re selling a home in Sequim or Port Angeles, effectively advertising your home is critical to success.  I find it fascinating that so little is known about traditional advertising and it’s effectiveness, or ineffectivenss.  It’s one of those huge subjects that is hardly given any attention.  I have written several articles addressing this topic, but there’s an interesting little blog post written by a Realtor.  I can’t  link to his post here, because it is part of a “Members Only” section for professional Realtors.  Here are a few snippets from his post and the comments:

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Searching the Sequim MLS or the Port Angeles MLS, which is the Olympic Multiple Listing Service, is unreliable, which means you might not find what you are looking for because of incomplete or inaccurate data.  Most people do not know this, so let me explain.  Then I’ll give you a partial answer to the problem.  [By the way, many Realtors have not thought this through either.]

There are three reasons the database of real estate for sale is not accurate in the MLS:

1.  Not all agents enter all data accurately;
2.  Not all agents enter all the data on each of their listings in the same way;
3. The MLS data input sheet is not perfect and creates some divergence in how the database stores information and the expectations of consumers when they enter search parameters.  (I’ll explain this.)

If you are a buyer searching for your ideal home or land in Sequim or Port Angeles, you need to know that the database is a great source of information, but it is not perfect, and you may miss that ideal property, or several of them.  Here’s a brief explanation of the three reasons.  (For sellers this is also vital information, because your primary task is to connect with buyers, and you can’t do that if the buyers don’t know your home’s features because they can’t find your home in the MLS.  This is another reason I do more on the Internet than any other Realtor in Clallam County.)

Not all agents enter all data accurately.  I have seen this many times.  Let’s admit it.  Agents are human.  I know, there are plenty of jokes about real estate agents, as there are about lawyers and used car salesmen.  The MLS data input sheet is quite lengthy and detailed.  Not only do agents make mistakes, but believe it or not, there are lazy agents, too.

Not all agents enter all the data on each of their listings in the same way.  How many times have I looked at listings, even for the same listing agent, and found dramatically different data.  Sometimes the name of the development is included, sometimes not.  Sometimes the street address is included, sometimes not.  Sometimes the lot number is included, sometimes not.  There are probably a couple of hundred input fields, so there is a lot of room for inconsistency here.

The MLS data input sheet is not perfect and creates some divergence in how the database stores information and the expectations of consumers when they enter search parameters.  Sometimes the folks in programming are not of the same mindset as the agents working on the street.  The data sheet we fill out as Realtors is not necessarily what we would create in a perfect world.  But it’s more than that.  For the sake of brevity, one example here.  A client told me last weekend she searched the MLS by checking the “water view” option.  She also searched the “mountain view” option, and she searched the “water and mountain view” option.  The last option does not include the properties in the first two.  You would think it would, but it does not.  You get three different results, or property lists, although not completely different, because there is some overlap.  The result is unreliable or inconsistent with what consumers expect.

Conclusion.  If you do a very careful search of the MLS with specific parameters, and if you expect to find that ideal property, think again.  That perfect property may not show up in your various MLS searches, but it may actually be out there . . . somewhere.

Partial Answer.  I have written elsewhere that it is important to find a competent and experirenced Realtor before you start looking at properties.  Why?  Because a good Realtor will know the market, and can help you find that needle in a haystack that you might otherwise never find.  Anyway, as a buyer, your Realtor doesn’t cost you a dime.  The seller pays the commissions.  You gotta love that!  More importantly, you want to be certain you find that “one” property perfectly suited for you and your family.

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You can buy Sequim real estate anonymously, but do it right.  Who wants to buy real estate in Sequim quietly and with no one ever knowing they own it?  Plenty of people.

For example, law enforcement officers (police departments, FBI, CIA) or judges who move here may have a need to shield their families from the risk of criminals tracking them down.

Wealthy or famous people have a need for anonymity.  We live in crazy times, and there are stalkers out there, and over zealous fans. There are many ways to accomplish this, and it involves some discussion about estate planning, asset protection, entities, and so on. If you’re going to retain a Realtor, your Realtor needs to construct your offer anonymously from the get go.

I enjoy helping clients with this, because as a Realtor I can bring 20 years of law practice to the table, including my background as a Certified Estate Planner, and advisor in asset protection strategies.  I also obtained my securities 7 and 66 licenses and life insurance license.  I practice exclusively as a Realtor now helping clients buy and sell real estate, which helps avoid any conflict of interest.

Email Chuck Marunde or call me on my cell (360-775-5424).  It would be a privilege to work with you.

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In Sequim and Port Angeles, there is one complaint I hear over and over again from people who had their property listed for sale with an agent at some point in the past.  I’m hesitant to share this, but I hear it so often, I don’t think this is any kind of secret.  In fact, it seems to be something that many homeowners have experienced in the school of hard knocks.  Here is what many have told me, almost verbatim:

“I had my property listed, but all my agent did was put it in the MLS.  I never heard from ‘him/her’.  Nothing happened.  No showings.  For six months.”

It’s a shame that such things happen, but this is not unusual around the country.  Getting a real estate license is not much harder than getting a driver’s license.  Sure you have to take an online course and take a test, but let’s fact it, just because someone has a license doesn’t mean they have knowledge and experience to handle your biggest investment.  I’m part of a large nationwide network of professional Realtors, and this is a common theme around the U.S.

I had some clients recently who took a very intelligent approach to searching for property.  First, they did their due diligence to find an agent they thought had the requisite knowledge and experience to help them find their ideal property and negotiate the best price.  Second, only then did they start looking at properties.  Makes sense, doesn’t it?  I think it does.  Of course, I am a Realtor, but I’m willing to be interviewed, and you’re welcome to do your due diligence in looking at my background to see if I can help you sell or buy your next property.   I love helping people buy and sell real estate, and everything I have learned in 30 years of real estate (including 20 as a real estate attorney) is yours for the asking.

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An Arizona couple dreamed of the perfect lot in Port Angeles or Sequim where they could build their retirement home.  For months they would get on the Internet to look at properties, compare prices and views, wondering if they would ever find their lot.

They arrived in Port Angeles to meet with their Realtor and look at the properties they had identified as possibilities.  Their first choice was a nice little development with water views, and it was high bluff property.  Their agent already had experience submitting an offer for another client on a lot in that development, but that deal was killed by an inexperienced seller who put ridiculous conditions in an amendment at the 11th hour.

But there was another problem with that development that turned these new buyers off.  The bluff lots with the best views had a restriction in the CC&R’s that prohibited construction of two story homes.  While this idea might seem good at first, because it helps to preserve some small view for lots further away, it actually kills sales of bluff lots.

Anyone who is going to spend over $220,000+ on a lot and another $350,000+ on a home is going to want to be sure they can have what they want, which includes in this case an incredible water view from the first and second floor of their home.

But this story has a good ending.  This weekend the Arizona couple did buy a lot with an incredible water view.  It is bluff property in another development, and the seller did not prohibit two story homes.  The buyers are ecstatic.  They got their dream lot and at a good price after hard negotiating.

So what real estate brokerage did our new Port Angeles residents from Arizona discover on the Internet?  Who was the agent who helped them negotiate a really great price on their lot?  Yes, it is yours truly.  The brokerage is Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate, LLC, and their agent was Chuck Marunde.

This is a great time to buy real estate here, but it takes experience to draft a good offer and negotiate a good price.  On the selling end, it is critical that sellers (or their agents) have a lot of knowledge of the market and what buyers want.  Sometimes a little knowledge is dangerous.  For buyers and sellers.

Search the local Port Angeles and Sequim MLS of over 1,500 listings free at SequimPortAngeles.com.

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Are buyers of homes and land in Port Angeles on hold?  Are they not buying?  What are they going to do in the months ahead?  I will tell you what I am seeing, although I cannot reveal my sources, because of my “patented” and confidential business secrets that I certainly do not want to share with my competition.  (In this market, I need to sustain every advantage.)

First, the obvious.  Sales have slowed down dramatically, but they have everywhere.  But homes are still selling here, just not as many.  Here is a chart of June Home Sales in Sequim and Port Angeles in each year since 2000:

Second, the not-so-obvious.  Many people who have put their buying decisions on hold are still looking, and they are scouring the market for what they intend to buy when they are ready.  Of course, part of being ready to buy may involve any of several hurdles.  For example, many are waiting for their markets to pick up, so they can sell their homes in California, Arizona, Oregon, Texas, or wherevery they live.  Some are waiting for that magic retirement date, when they plan to move to Sequim or Port Angeles.  For others, there is another trigger, such as a job transfer, and so on.

These buyers are still out there, actively looking at the market, but have simply put their action to purchase on hold for now.  This demand exists, it’s just below the radar.  It is pent-up demand, meaning that when their key event happens (retirement, sale of their home, etc.), they will be making a decision to purchase here, and they will know exactly what they intend to purchase.  I do have hard data for these conclusions, but I need to keep this data confidential.

What I cannot tell you with precision is when this will happen.  But it will happen.

[Source of data:  Olympic Listing Service]

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Two pieces of news struck me lately as significant news that the Western Washington Real Estate Market of Seattle and all the way through Sequim and Port Angeles is strong, certainly compared to most of the rest of the country.  Here are the stories.

The Seattle Post Intelligencer wrote an article entitled, “When it comes to new jobs, Seattle is the leading cybercity,” dated June 24, 2008.  “The Seattle area added the greatest number of high-tech jobs in 2006, outpacing Boston, San Fransisco and more than 50 other U.S. cities, according to the Cybercities report from the American Electronics Association.” Seattle’s tech wrok force is not 127,700 strong, which makes it the ninth biggest city for tech workers.

The other news with very strong implications for the real estate business is from the “New Project News, Washington State Construction News.”  The publication reports the following construction news:

1. 118 unit Capital Hill area mixed use apartment-retail-office development receives conditional DNS go ahead
2. 42 story mixed use residential-office-retail development slated for 601 Fourth Ave in Seattle
3. 5,000 home unit Yelm residential-commercial development progressing
4. 8-unit residential townhouse project proposed for W. Seattle
5. 134,000 s.f. 6 story N. Westlake Ave-South Lake Union area office retail project gets conditional DNS approval
6. 176 unit N. Seattle area residential senior development progressing
7. 20,200 s.f. Seattle area Magnolia-Interbay area office space change of use and expansion project subject of revised application
8. 4,900 s.f. Isaaquah area commercial office development receives mitigated DNS approval
9. 133 unit 8 story lower Queen Anne area mixed use residential-retail development in early phase
10. 17,300 s.f. Olympia area light-manufacturing addition receives MDNS approval
11. 40 story 366 unit mixed use retail-residential development slated for 1823 Minor Ave. gets conditional DNS approval
12. 12,000 s.f. W. Seattle area mixed use -retail apt development continuing in design review stage
13. 4 story Kirkland arae office-retail project receives DNS approval
14. 4 story Renton area apt office development slated for use by Veterans nearing DNS approval
15. 84 unit 7 story Belltown area residential retail project in the works
16. 40,000 s.f. 3 story W. Bremerton area commercial-residential development nearing DNS approval
17. 41,800 s.f. Rochester area Industrial process-fabrication facility development receives mitigated DNS approval
18. 30 unit 4 story mixed use residential retail project proposed for Beacon Hill
19. 27 lot Othello area residential subdivision project gets mitigated DNS approval
20. 263,500 s.f. UW Campus medical center facilities expansion in the works
21. and there is another 20 to 30 more just like this.

The point is the real estate market is far from dead here, and economic activity in the real estate business is anticipating growth and more growth.  This is all good.  The Northwest continues to be one of the strongest real estate markets and economies in the nation.  Yes housing sales have taken a hit, but 100’s of millions of dollars are getting pumped into the real estate market by major plays in the real estate industry.  You can bet they’ve done their demographic and economic studies before risking so much of their own money.  We have a bright future.  We just need to be patient and remember, “This too shall pass.”

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You’re going to hire a home builder to build your next home.  Should you hire a small builder or a large builder?  There’s much more to this question than meets the eye, and this short article addresses assumptions that good people often make.  By the way, for purposes of Sequim and Port Angeles, I’m considering a small builder as most people do, a contractor who builds one to six or seven (plus or minus) houses per year.  There are a number of contractors who build one to four houses each year.

Can a small builder provide greater personal service or quality?  Not necessarily.  The reality is that many small builders:

1. do not have the skills offered by specialized subcontractors hired by a larger builder;
2. do not have a good bookkeeping system and good financial management;
3. do not have the financial strength or security of a larger builder;
4. do not have good project management;
5. do not get the substantial quantity discounts of larger builders on materials; and
6. do not have well oiled systems in place to handle construction from beginning to end.

Having practiced real estate law for 20 years, I repeatedly saw these issues come up with small builders.   These are real issues that are true more often than not.  Consider each of these important issues, and you can imagine how much they can impact the quality of your home, the cost per square foot and the timeline.

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I’m a Realtor.  If you are not a licensed Realtor, can I pay you a referral fee for sending me business?  The answer may fascinate you.

Both state and federal law restrict the payment of a referral fee to an unlicensed third party, although it appears neither jurisdiction will enforce the restrictions.  I’m not interested in violating the law, even if it is unenforced, but there is more to the story.  Read on, because it turns out that I can pay referrals fees, provided they are paid under very specific circumstances.  As a retired real estate attorney I must admit I get a real kick out of these exceptions that can put money in your pocket . . . and mine because of your referral.

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Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, LLC, Broker Chuck Marunde is paying out 90% to agents, and that’s virtually unheard of in Sequim and Port Angeles.  Chuck reflects here.  “Agents need to be able to take home a lot more of their own commissions, and that means reducing their ridiculously high overhead and monthly expenses, and keeping much more of what they earn.”

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Building a Sequim custom home or a Port Angeles Custom Home?  Here’s a local attorney (ret.) and real estate broker’s diplomatic counsel on hiring a local builder.

There are builders who love their work, and who pour out their hearts to build a beautiful product.  They take pride in their workmanship, and they are honest and men of integrity.

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Relocating to Sequim, Washington is not a hard decision if you’ve been to Sequim many times, or if you have family here.  This is one of the best kept secrets for retirees, and if this is where you’ve been planning to move for years, it’s an easy decision. 

If you haven’t lived here or spent a lot of time here, you might need to do some research to find out for sure if this is to be your next home.  To make your research a little easier, here are some great links about Sequim, the climate, the real estate market, the John Wayne Marina, recreation, and articles on Sequim. 

Just go through these pages, and you’ll find the equivalent of an entire relocation package, actually much more than you would get if someone where to simply mail you a package.

      #1 - Sequim Facts

      #2 - Sequim Special Activities

      #3 - Sequim Real Estate News

      #4 - Search the Sequim MLS for Over 1,500 Listings For Sale 

This is a free service offered courtesy of your host,

Best regards,

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Homeowners in Sequim and Port Angeles, and for that matter throughout the country, are not satisfied with paying typical 6% real estate commissions.  Hence the rise of discount brokerage services, flat fee consulting services, and for-sale-by-owner websites. 

There are some very good reasons.  The whole business of buying and selling real estate has been changing.  Traditional advertising has been loosing its appeal to consumers.  Remember cold calling?  That used to be popular.  The public grew to hate cold calling so much, we have stringent laws controlling that distasteful practice, and we have "do not call" lists.  Remember the cigarette ads on billboards in the ’60’s and ’70’s?  Billion dollar judgments have been entered against cigarette companies, the advertising has been regulated by law, and billboards have become passe.

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When a Sequim or Port Angeles homeowner wants to sell, they have one home to sell.  When a buyer from California or Arizona is shopping for their next home in Sequim or Port Angeles, they have one and only one home that will become theirs.  This is much more than just a play on words, and the implications for both parties is significant.

Each home is unique, unless it is a crackerbox in a Vegas subdivision, and we don’t have those here.  Each buyer is unique.  The seller is unique.  The match of a buyer, seller, and a home is unique.  Do buyers care how many houses are on the market, or what the state of the economy is, or how many DOM (days on market) a house has been listed?  No, except indirectly if it helps them get a better deal.  But even when we talk about a better deal, for each buyer, there is one house they expect to fall in love with and that is the only house they will buy.

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