Lylene,
The van was just the right size to haul the scrap metal to the recyclers in
one trip.
I raised $5600.00 for the Spark Museum from the scrap I collected from my
radio antenna replacement project at work.

The “Spark Museum”, in case you didn’t know, is the new name for the former American Museum of Radio and Electricity, located at 1312 Bay St.  If you haven’t ever visited them, you have missed a real treat.  It is full of fascinating, interactive displays – great for kids as well as adults  – and even houses a radio station.   

Remember The Johnson Team Moving Truck is available FREE to local community non profit organizations and our clients. To schedule the truck call (360) 303-2734

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

- Go out in your yard and collect any loose items that may blow away in a storm. Lawn chairs, lawn ornaments and even trampolines are example of items that tend to take flight in storms.

-Check out your fencing around your home that might need repair to assure the wind does not further damage it and potentially let your pets out of the yard.

- Be sure to check for loose or missing shingles on your roof or chimney flue caps which may have become loose. Damaged or loose flues can allow deadly carbon monoxide to enter a home.

-Be sure to have trees and branches trimmed back from your home to prevent damage when wind may batter them around.

-Have at least a 72 hour supply of food, water, flashlights, batteries, medicine & etc in case of power outages & the potential inability to leave your home due to blocked roads or other issues.

-Check your windows for cracks that may leave your windows vulnerable during a storm. If a window has a small crack it can sometimes spread in extreme winds causing it to shatter.

- After a storm be sure and remove debris from yard as this can attract insects and lead to problems in and around your home.

Hope everyone stays safe and warm in tonight’s windstorm!

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

Unofficially, you can go just  outside the ski area’s boundaries to sled down the hills around the frozen lakes of Highwood Lake and Picture Lake. The area around Bagley Lake also is great area to check out.   That being said be sure and pay attention on warm days or years when there is little snow fall to be sure the lakes are frozen solid and ready for sledding. We were up this weekend and the conditions were PERFECT for family friendly sledding.

Directions:Go east on state route 542 until you reach the Mt. Baker Ski Area. Park in the upper parking lot. Look for people carrying sleds or big tire tubes. You will find the lakes on your right hand side over the large snow banks. Little trails will be built in the snow bank to allow children and families to get up and over the banks and into the sledding area.

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

As of Saturday, January 14th, the pending ratio in Bellingham was 21% . Pending is the time frame between when an offer has been mutual accepted between the buyer’s and the seller’s of the home and when the title actually transfers hands. This give the buyer’s time to get the financing, do inspection, review the title reports and more.

Birch Bay had a pending ratio of 18%

The Lynden area in East Whatcom County has a pending ratio of 18%

The Sudden Valley pending ratio was 27%

The Ferndale pending ratio was 24%

If you would like to search for Real Estate in Bellingham and Whatcom County that is currently for sale visit The Johnson Team Real Estate’s Property Search Page to search.

To view a complete history of Whatcom County Pending Ratios or for other real estate statistics don’t hesitate to contact The Johnson Team at (360) 303-2734 or by email at Info@JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

Below are some tips to help you drive safely courtesy of AAA:

Accelerate and decelerate slowly. Applying the gas slowly to accelerate is the best method for regaining traction and avoiding skids. Don’t try to get moving in a hurry. And take time to slow down for a stoplight. Remember: It takes longer to slow down on icy roads.

• Drive slowly. Everything takes longer on snow-covered roads. Accelerating, stopping, turning – nothing happens as quickly as on dry pavement. Give yourself time to maneuver by driving slowly.
• The normal dry pavement following distance of three to four seconds should be increased to eight to ten seconds. This increased margin of safety will provide the longer distance needed if you have to stop.
• Know your brakes. Whether you have antilock brakes or not, the best way to stop is threshold breaking. Keep the heel of your foot on the floor and use the ball of your foot to apply firm, steady pressure on the brake pedal.
• Don’t stop if you can avoid it. There’s a big difference in the amount of inertia it takes to start moving from a full stop versus how much it takes to get moving while still rolling. If you can slow down enough to keep rolling until a traffic light changes, do it.
• Don’t power up hills. Applying extra gas on snow-covered roads just starts your wheels spinning. Try to get a little inertia going before you reach the hill and let that inertia carry you to the top. As you reach the crest of the hill, reduce your speed and proceed down hill as slowly as possible.
• Don’t stop going up a hill. There’s nothing worse than trying to get moving up a hill on an icy road. Get some inertia going on a flat roadway before you take on the hill.
• Stay home. If you really don’t have to go out, don’t. Even if you can drive well in the snow, not everyone else can. Don’t tempt fate: If you don’t have somewhere you have to be, watch the snow from indoors.

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

The forum will be held from 7:00-8:30pm at Eagleridge Elementary School on Tuesday, January 24th, parents, teachers, principals, community members, district administrators and school board members are all welcome to attend.  At the form the Ferndale Board of Directors will sharing their facts and data on each elementary school and explaining the school board’s process and timeline for making their decision on the school closure in addition to listening to public opinions.

To learn more about the forum you can click here to view the flier sent home with elementary school students presents by the Facilities Advisory Committee.

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

Question:

When your house goes into foreclosure, do they inspect it and decide if it is a tear down or do they just sell it as is?

 Answer:

If it is a straight foreclosure:  homeowner doesn’t make payments, lender goes through the legal process and ends up with the house, what happens next looks something like this.

 Lender tries to determine value by having several real estate agents do BPOs (broker price opinions) or having an appraisal. 

Lender contacts a real estate agent to assess the condition of the property and make recommendations.  Usually this is an agent with whom they work regularly, so s/he knows how the lender prefers to approach a foreclosure.  Sometimes a professional inspection will be done.

 Lender determines how much more money they are willing to invest.  If the home is newer and can be cosmetically improved, they may do so.  If the home is in terrible condition, they may sell it as is.  If the home is liveable except for some minor issues, they may have those done.  At a minimum, they usually have the property cleaned up if needed.  

Different lenders have different procedures – there is no one size fits all answer.  In our area, I don’t believe I have ever seen a lender tear down a structure, but I understand this does happen elsewhere

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

That's Rich in front in the red coming out of Lake Padden holding a sheet of ice!

The Bellingham Parks and Recreation Department is putting on their annual Celebrate Bellingham! event Thurday, Dec. 29th-Sunday, January 1st. The Sportsplex and the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center are parternering up with the event and offering  free ice skating and free swimmingin conjunction with the other activities.

The free ice skating at the Sportsplex includes skate rental and is being offered 9am to 11:45am this Thursday, December 29th-Saturday, Dec. 31st.  The free swimming at the Arne Hanna Aquatic Center is being offered 6:45pm to 8pm on Thursday and Friday and 4:30pm to 6:30pm on Saturday.

In addition to the hours and times listed above there will also be the Ring in the New Year at the Sportsplex Party being held 6 to 9pm on New Year’s Eve.  The event will feature free indoor soccer play, ice skating, carnival games, and other fun family friendly activities.

If you are looking for something to do on New Year’s Day there will be the free New Year’s Resolution Run/Walk at Lake Padden, followed by the annual Polar Dip into the Lake. The run/walk starts at 11am. Our every own Rich Johnson is Polar Dip Alumni, wonder if we can talk him into doing it again this year?

Happy New Year!

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!

A Response to Comments on an Earlier Post

On October 27, 2008, I did a post regarding Bellingham real estate short sales, distressed properties & foreclosures.  In it, I defined these terms and others related to the process, and I also discussed the impacts on the Bellingham and Whatcom County real estate market.

Recently we received a comment on that post, raising some questions and making me realize we needed an update.  The discussion below consists of the comments and a response.

Comment: “ I am not sure this article answered the sentence preceding the link…’Bellingham and Whatcom County Real Estate is being increasingly affected by short sales and foreclosures…’  In what way is it being affected?”

Response:  The short answer is price.  Particularly when the market first started to see a number of short sales, they were often priced substantially below list prices for “normal” sales.  Some of these prices were “real” – that is, the home actually sold close to the listed price – but many were designed to create bidding and sold for considerably more than the list price. This is not seen as often now due to changes in MLS rules attempting to bring more credibility to pricing.  Whether the prices were real or not, they created a very strong impression that prices had dropped substantially.  Even if the list prices were

realistic, short sales and bank owned properties typically sold for less money than “normal” properties.  As more distressed properties entered the market, “normal” sellers realized they needed to compete, and all prices have drifted lower.  

            As of November 30, 2011, 13% of the homes for sale in Bellingham were distressed, 55.6% of the pending sales were distressed, and 25.4% of the sales in November 2011 were distressed.  It’s pretty obvious that buyers are looking for a good deal, and the “normal” sales have to compete.

Comment: “Real Estate prices are still too high in Whatcom.  More specifically, too high for this economy.  The cost of buying a home is out of balance with incomes, so either incomes need to rise or housing needs to fall.  I own a home and … what my home is “worth” greatly exceeds what I paid for it only a few years ago even after the bubble burst…”

Response:  Let’s begin by defining “worth or value”.  Unless a home has recently been sold, no one knows what it is “worth”, because that is determined by the price to which a ready, willing and able buyer and a ready, willing and able seller will agree.  A variety of methods are used to estimate value, but they do not establish it.  A current example from our practice:  a home was appraised at $235,000 in August.  The list price has gradually been reduced until it is now listed at $185,000.  The seller just accepted an offer of $175,000, and that could go down after the inspection is completed.  I can virtually guarantee that any home sold in 2005 or thereafter is worth less than the sale price at that time, unless very significant upgrades have been made.

            Affordability is a mixed bag.  According to the Washington Center for Real Estate Research at Washington State University, during the 2^nd quarter of 2011 (the most recent stats available), the Homeowner Affordability Index in Whatcom County was 128 (5^th lowest in the State of Washington).  The first-time buyer Homeowner Affordability Index was 63.7 (also the 5^th lowest in the State of Washington).  The higher the index number, the more affordable housing is relative to income.

Comment:  “Bank or mortgage companies are part of the problem.  They make statements that they can’t sell a house for less than XXX or refuse to sell a home at a loss…  Until banks “let go” and clear the market of these properties (by selling at reasonable prices even if at a loss to the bank to eager first time buyers) this market will continue to struggle.”

Response:  Lenders have been part of the problem, although not necessarily because they aren’t willing to take the losses.  Some of them, particularly the surviving very large lenders, still don’t have efficient systems in place to process these

properties…particularly the short sales…which leads to incredibly long waiting times for approval, properties being sold at foreclosure while they are in negotiation for a short sale, loan modifications being denied that could work for both parties, homeowners remaining in homes after skipping payments for months without notice of default, etc. 

            The flip side, however, is that in areas with massive numbers of properties in default, the delays have helped to feed homes into the market gradually rather than in one big batch.  This may have been a godsend to “normal” sellers by helping to keep prices somewhat more stable. 

            In the State of Washington, a new law took effect last July with requirements that may help distressed sellers negotiate more effectively and in a more timely manner with their lender.

An Observation:  It is worth repeating the numbers regarding distressed and “normal” sales from above: As of November 30, 2011, 13% of the homes for sale in Bellingham were distressed, 55.6% of the pending sales were distressed, and 25.4% of the sales in November 2011 were distressed.  Note the disparity between the percentage of active listings which are distressed, (the lowest percentage of the 3), the percentage pending sales which are distressed (the highest percentage of the 3) and the percentage of homes sold in November which were distressed.  A “normal” sale typically closes in about 30 days.  Most bank-owned properties close in 30 to 45 days.  A short sale may never close, and the default period of time to hear back from the lender according to our contract forms is 60 days…and it typically takes an additional 30 days to close.  Buyers and agents are learning about the frustrations, delays and risks of a short sale, which means the price for one has to be really good to tempt a buyer to go through the process.  This may actually lessen their impact on prices as fewer buyers want to mess with them.

For more information on Bellingham Real Estate or to search for homes in the Bellingham and Whatcom County area visit www.JohnsonTeamRealEstate.com, your one stop Bellingham real estate and community information resource!