I added a few more snow photos to Lylene’s tour. We got quite a bit of snow in Sumas and fierce winds making some very interesting snow drifts! Enjoy, and don’t forget to send us your snow photos too! You can send them to lylene@johnsonteamrealestate.com and we will be happy to post them.

We thought it might be fun to share “snow days” photos - the last time I remember a snow like this was about 10 years ago!  If you would like to look at our photos, go to www.homedebut.com/317901.  If you would like to add yours to the tour, send them to Lylene@JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com and I’ll try to get them up (Nickie is the one who is good at this, but she can’t get to the office right now…I wonder why?).  Give me a caption and let me know where they were taken - then we can all send the link to our out-of-town family and friends.

From all of us here at the Johnson Team, we would like to wish you and your family a very Happy Thanksgiving! We hope that you enjoy time with loved ones, yummy food and maybe even some good sales on Friday (if that whole 5am shopping is your thing).

Have a great long weekend!

Today’s real estate tip of the day is for buyers - ask what the average utility bills are. This is particularly important if you are moving to a new area or if you are significantly increasing the size of your home. Don’t just assume that your utility bills will be around the same amount - they could be quite different.

Here are this week’s real estate sales statistics for Whatcom County, specifically Bellingham, Blaine/Birch Bay, Ferndale, Lynden and Sudden Valley. The pending ratio (percentage of homes for sale that have a sale pending) in each city are as follows:
Bellingham: 23%
Blaine/Birch Bay: 17%
Ferndale: 18%
Lynden: 19%
Sudden Valley: 17%

To view charts of the real estate sales trends over the past 18 months and for a further explanation of the data, please click here.

Today’s real estate tip is for sellers -make repairs to your home before you list it. Sometimes it’s tempting to just leave the little things and think that maybe the buyer won’t mind. However, chances are they will mind. In today’s market with such a high inventory, it’s important to make sure that your home is the best that it can be before you put it on the market. It will have a lot of competition and you don’t want to give buyers any reason to not choose your home. So touch up the paint, fix the leak, replace the broken tile, make sure that the gate works - whatever it is that you need to do.

If it is a major repair, make sure that you get it done! If not, the buyers inspector will likely find the problem and the buyers will probably do one of 3 things:

1. Walk away from the deal
2. Demand that you make the repairs (which means that you have to pay to get them done anyways)
3. Not get you to do them, but reduce the purchase price.

In any of these 3 options, you would be better off just getting the repairs done first.

Today’s real estate tip is for buyers - take pictures and notes when you go to listings. Chances are you will see at least 5-10 listings before you decide on one. However, those 5-10 can seem quite similar, particularly if you are looking within a certain subdivision or looking at new construction. So take some notes and bring along your camera too. The best way to do this is to have your agent print out the MLS reports for the houses that you are going to see - then you can just make extra notes right on there along with the rest of the info.

So what should you document? Certainly not everything!!!! But if you see a fireplace, or a desk nook or a kitchen island that you particularly like, take a picture of it (and make a note on your MLS printout that you took the picture and what it was of so that you can tell later on). This way, when you go home that night, you can review all the houses you looked out in order to narrow down your decision.

Western Airlines is starting service out of Bellingham International Airport in January!!! They will offer direct flights to airports in Phoenix, LA (Ontario), San Diego and Reno. They will mostly be flying into the smaller airports in each of those cities. And the best part is, they are having sale to get started! Only $59 each way! I checked it out and with all the taxes and stuff it comes to $140.60 round trip for one person, and that includes trip cancellation insurance. Not too bad!!! Certainly beats driving down to SeaTac.

Today’s real estate tip is a general one that applies to buyers and sellers - don’t be afraid to ask!!! The process of buying or selling a home is complex, at times arduous, and involves TONS of paperwork!!! As you are going through the many steps of buying or selling your home, feel free to ask questions. Why are we doing this? What does this mean? What am I signing? How do we do this? What is the next step? These are all important questions and should always be asked if you do not know the answer!

I got today’s real estate tip of the day from Ardell at Rain City Guide. In her post Should I Rent or Buy?  (actually it’s in the comment on the post as she is responding to someone) she suggests trying out a mortgage payment amount for 3-6 months before committing to it and actually buying a home requiring that high of a mortgage. Her example is someone who has a $800 rent, but wants to buy a home that would give them a $2000 a month mortgage payment. She tells them to put aside an extra $1200 every month for the next several months to see how it fits into their budget.

The benefits of this strategy are two fold. First, you get to see if a payment that high will fit into your budget and lifestyle. Second, if you decide to purchase a home, the extra that you have been putting aside can be added to your down payment!