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Ever start searching through different home websites, magazines or look though Craigslist and wonder if you can afford that dream house? You may currently rent or even own a home and are longing to upgrade to a bigger place but just aren’t sure what you can afford. On my website I have a tool called a Mortgage Calculator.

The first half of the page calculates what your mortgage payment would be based on home price, interest and your down payment. The second half of the page is where you input specific information about your annual income and monthly bills, etc. and it will calculate what your maximum monthly mortgage and maximum home price will be. Click here to check it out!

The Mortgage Calculator is a fun tool to enter in different numbers and see if the dream home you have been eying is even a possibility or how far down the road until you can upgrade into a bigger home.

Now, the Mortgage Calculator is just to give you an idea. I always suggest meeting with a lender. You might be surprised at the different loan types that are out there or how much you do qualify for. Also, they can help guide you in the direction to help your credit score if you don’t currently have the credit but you do have the income. These are all things that something like the Mortgage Calculator can’t offer.

Long story short: after you check out the Mortgage Calculator, I suggest finding a lender and discussing your options- even if you don’t plan on buying for another year.

If you have already met with a lender and are all ready to start looking at home please contact me. Also, if you need help finding a lender I would love to help with that too,

Thanks for reading,

Danielle

Lynden is currently a sellers market. If you don’t believe me, check out my previous post here.   I just wanted to draw attention to a Seller Guide Summary that I have on my website.

Since the current market in Lynden and most of Whatcom County has been moving quickly I know a lot of sellers are having to get everything packed, organized and moved out a lot sooner than originally expected! First off, Congrats on selling your home! The first step is completed but now you have to get everything out of the home and hopefully you have a place to move into!!

If you aren’t as lucky to have gotten any offers on your home already,don’t worry, you will get there!

All sellers, including if you just went pending on your home, I think it’s a good idea to check out my Seller Guide Summary. Click here to view. And, if you are already pending just skip down the guide to the sections about moving, packing and settlements.

If you have any questions after reading through the Seller’s Guide please contact me. After all, this is just a summary and there are many more aspects to selling your home.

Thanks for reading,

Danielle

The two graphs above show trends for Lynden starting in January of 2014 until the end of March 2015. The top graph compares the number of sold units versus the number of new listings. It’s interesting to look at even just the last six months to see how the dip in new listings and how it is starting to go up but the number of solds continue to rise as well. The bottom graph is comparing the number of  units for sale versus pending. The amount of homes for sale in March 2015 compared to March 2014 is crucial. This lets us know that it is currently a  seller’s market. There isn’t a lot currently for sale in Lynden which is great for a seller. This allows them to often get more for their home and it will sell faster because of the low inventory.

If you have been thinking about selling your home now is the time! Let’s take advantage of the low inventory! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

Thanks for reading,

Danielle.

(picture taken from here.)

The term “going green” seems to be very popular and has been for awhile. It’s nice to see what the numbers look like in different age categories as well as in what fields of energy efficiency. These costs also seem to be ones that buyers might over look when purchasing. Next time you are looking at a home don’t be afraid to ask how energy efficient the appliances are or what their average utility bill may cost. Especially if moving to a bigger home because you will notice a difference in your utility bills because of the increase in square footage.

Also, from a home owners perspective: take these facts into consideration. If you are looking into buying a new furnace, hot water tank, etc. see what level of energy efficiency you can get and what the pros and cons may be as far as money spent out of pocket versus money saved in the long run. By the numbers in the above chart it is something that current buyers are looking for and is another way that your agent can market your home when/if you are trying to sell it.

Thanks for reading,

Danielle

Below is the flyer for my upcoming Home Buyer Class  that is on March 14.. I recommend coming to the class if you are a first time buyer, have bought before but still have questions regarding the home buying process or if you would like the ability of using different loan options. This class will discuss the home buying process from all angles. I will be discussing the realtor side of it and Dustin Brumley from Caliber Loans will discuss the lender side of things. We teach a very open class and are always willing to answer questions and listen to your concerns in a no pressure atmosphere.

If you have any questions or would like to sign up for the class feel free to contact me.

Thanks for reading,

Danielle

I am just amazed at the amount of homes that are currently going pending and sold in the last few months versus the amount of homes that are on the market; especially in Lynden and Bellingham areas.

Below are the graphs first of Lynden and then of Bellingham:


You can see very clearly in both graphs that there is a steady decline of homes on the market. This is what makes it a great time to list your home and get top dollar. There is way less competition out there but buyers are still looking. The amount of pendings keep increasing even though inventory is so low. Why don’t we get your home out on market before everyone else decides to list and you have more competition. Wouldn’t you prefer to have your home only have two other competitors compared to ten?

If you have any questions regarding listing your home and how the process works. I would love to serve you. Feel free to contact me at any time if you have any questions. I would love to send you my listing packet so you know what I do for my clients.

Thanks for reading,

Danielle.

Are you relocating to Whatcom County or even just relocating towns within the county then please continue to read. ☺

I don’t know how many times I have had clients that are new to Whatcom County and they want to know simple facts about different areas just to get a sense of what the area is really like. A few common questions are: ” What are the schools like?”,  “What are the crime rates?” or something along those lines.  I recently ran across the website called Homefacts.com where it gives you school ratings, crime rates that are categorized and also compared to state and national rates. You can also look up unemployment rates, enviornmental hazards, etc.

Basically, this is an amazing source to get to know Whatcom County a little bit better and the individual towns. Also, if you are relocating please contact me. I have a great relocation packet I like to send to anyone that is new to Whatcom County. My packet includes more than just the numbers. It includes the history of each town along with interesting facts about how they were named, founded and  more.

If you are new to the area and would like more information. Feel free to contact me. I don’t mind showing you around the area or answering any questions you may have.

Thanks for reading,

Danielle

Did any of you read the Bellingham Herald on January 15th? On the front page an article titled, “Foreclosure filings in Whatcom County lowest since 2006” made its debut. I recommend reading the entire article. ( I put the link at the bottom). The article does a great job of showing how far we have come since 2006 and what we should expect to see in 2015 as far as selling foreclosed homes.

The articled read, “The number of foreclosure filings in Whatcom County totaled 314 in 2014, according to RealtyTrac, a national online database of real estate property. That’s the lowest annual total since 2006, matching a national trend.”(Gallagher, D 2015)

Gallagher saysthat there are still some vacant homes around the county. He is calling them “zombie” homes that have sat empty just waiting for the right time to be put up for sale.

He then goes on to quote RealtyTrac’s Vice president, Daren Blomquist who says“A recent surge in foreclosure starts and scheduled foreclosure auctions in several states in the last few months of 2014 indicate that lenders are gearing up for a spring cleaning of deferred distress in the first half of 2015,” My guess is that since the foreclosure rates seem to finally be going down and the market seems to be going to back to normal that banks feel that it is finally “safe” to start selling some of their inventory.

Happy New Year! I can’t believe it’s 2015 already.

Now that 2014 is over lets take the time to look at the year in review. Here are two graphs showing stats for all of Whatcom County.

The first one indicates everything sold vs what was listed.

This second graph shows the Average Days on Market vs. the Sold/ Original List Price.

Both graphs verify that a lot more sold in the Summer and they sold quicker. Although Fall definitely was busier in 2014 compared to November of 2013. Unfortunately, these graphs don’t show December 2014 since that data hasn’t been collected yet.

I can’t wait to see what 2015 will bring us!

Thanks for reading,

Danielle

Photo taken from:

Most people seem to think that Spring is the time to sell but why not try selling this Winter? I read an article on Redfin.com and an agent from Denver named Paul Stone said, “There are plenty of people who need to buy a home in the winter, whether it’s because of a job relocation or major family change, like a new baby. These buyers want to get into a home quickly, and are sometimes willing to pay top dollar,”

Most sellers probably haven’t even thought about this before. Why not try to sell your home at a time where you have less competition and less flaky buyers. As an agent, I know how frustrating it is to have a lot of lookers and false interest in “buyers”.  And, with less competition you can often sell your home for a higher amount.

If you are debating on listing your home now or waiting until Spring feel free to give me a call and we can discuss your options. If you home already is listed check out these 6 tips on tips for selling your home this winter.

Thanks for reading,

Danielle

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