The Business of Philanthropy

PSBJ’s choice of Jeff Raikes reminds me of how lucky we are in Seattle to be at the center of the philanthropy “business.” I spent a few moments looking for stats on the local economic impact of these companies, but came up short. I’m all ears if anyone has something to add, but…the impact is obviously significant. Thank you, philanthropists.

Offer Presentation:

So, I had an offer presentation last night. I thanked the Seller for allowing me to discuss the offer in person and they thanked me, saying that they had sold five houses, and no agent had ever presented an offer in person. One of them actually said: "I think this speaks to what is wrong with your industry. Agents are forgetting that this is about people." Thoughts?

Apartment Hunting Best Practices

Anyone out there hunting for apartments/single family rentals? Do you care to share your experience? I often hear from people looking for residential rentals, so I’m on a constant search for tools/resources for them. We do find a few rental listings in the MLS (more commonly high-end rental listings). Here are a few other options, but…since I don’t use them myself, I don’t know how good they are. Anyone care to share their best practices in apartment hunting?

http://nestio.com/

http://www.apartmentfinder.com/

http://seattleapartmentfinder.com/

http://seattle.craigslist.org/apa/

FHA continues to fund "flips"

Article from Inman News reporting that the FHA will continue to fund purchase transactions for recently "flipped" homes. More interesting to me is the number of buyers who are interested in purchasing such homes. In my experience, during the first couple years of the downturn, buyers were wary of flipped homes, didn't want to pay for someone else's "profit," etc. That sentiment seems to be waning. Your thoughts? http://www.inman.com/news/2011/12/28/fha-will-keep-funding-flips

Apartment Market Strength

Interesting data from PSBJ on the strength of the apartment market in Seattle. I was interested in the 2nd to last paragraph, suggesting that 60% of the currently proposed projects will be built. (I'll be further interested to see how many of those units convert to condos if we see a lack in supply in newer-construction condos once the current supply + shadow inventory is sold).http://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/print-edition/2012/01/13/apartment-property-market-reawakens.html

Slippery Sidewalks in front of your property?

Reminder: You are likely responsible for public safety there.http://www.king5.com/weather/winter-weather/Who-is-supposed-to-shovel-and-maintain-Seattles-sidewalks-137454878.html

Is Cash King?

Found myself thinking again this morning about the old sentiment that "Cash Is King," and how that is only sometimes true in real estate. One place it can be: Foreclosure Flipping. Basically: Person purchases with cash at foreclosure auction, but already has a buyer for the property they don't yet own. Once they take title, they accept the offer. Obviously, there is some risk to this (unknown issues with the property, agreement with new buyer falls through, etc.). But...it is interesting to think about. But, if short-term ("hard money") is available to foreclosure auction buyers...is cash still king?