Are people buying homes in Sequim right now?  Well, let me tell you a little bedtime story about three beautiful couples and their little bald Realtor.  Two couples are from the beautiful state of California.  The other couple  grew up in Port Angeles and now work in Moscow at the American Embassy.

Buying Homes in Sequim and Uncharted Waters

There are so many hurdles and traps for the unwary buyer these days.  Retirees buying homes in Sequim have to navigate through uncharted waters with complex legalese in the contracts and multiple addendums, seller disclosure and home inspection issues, and delicate negotiating challenges from the time of the offer to mutual acceptance and through the due diligence period.  Those buying homes in Sequim or anywhere know that there are new difficulties in applying for a mortgage because of changing standards and criteria, and underwriters are very demanding (and often irrational).  Then there is the even more complex challenge of making sure that language in a 35R does not cause the underwriter to reject the loan based on a home inspection report that merely identifies items that may need attention.

Things are not as simple as they used to be, and those buying homes in Sequim in this day and age would be well advised to surround themselves with wise advisers.  Consider the knowledge needed today to buy a home.  There are legal issues to consider as well as contract language that must be drafted correctly.  There are important sales and negotiating issues that take decades to master.  There are mortgage and underwriting issues a buyer must navigate.  There are structural and building construction issues that must be addressed appropriately.  And there are nuances in every transaction that definitely require experience and mature professionalism to handle.  For those buying homes in Sequim, there is a lot at stake, much more than most people realize.  If I had to make a list of the things I’ve seen go sideways in 37 years in this business, it would be a set of encyclopedias.

Buying Homes in Sequim and Navigating Safely

This week one couple had to work through an underwriter’s unreasonable demands that items in a home inspection report be repaired (including a kitchen outlet), and the underwriter caused the closing to be delayed twice three weeks beyond the planned closing.  The buyers already sold their home in California and the moving truck had all their possessions in Sequim.  We had to figure out how to get them in the home prior to closing, fix a cracked septic tank, and satisfy the underwriter’s quirky demands (which also meant hiring a licensed contractor to work through a checklist of repair items).  We were able to accomplish all of this and maintain excellent relationships between all parties.

A second couple is working through the home inspection issues, which necessitates that the seller repair some items prior to closing.  This requires drafting the language to handle multiple issues, including persuading the seller to fix the items.  In this case there is a Trustee involved on the selling end as well as an estate attorney.  The more parties involved in a transaction and the more degrees and designations after their names, the more complex any negotiating gets.  It also requires coordinating an extension of the closing that suits the seller, the buyer, the contractor who will have to do the work (and who needs time to inspect, order materials, and get the work done), the loan officer and the underwriter, the escrow company, the Trustee, and the estate attorney.  I’m pleased to say we are accomplishing all of this nicely, but believe me it has taken a lifetime to learn how to juggle so many complex relationships and issues.

A third couple have completed all their due diligence on the home itself, and are now at the mercy of the loan underwriter who sits at the right hand of the throne of God.  This couple is on pins and needles as they navigate closer to the closing date.

Buying Homes in Sequim is for The Adventurous

I don’t believe most buyers know how important it is that they surround themselves with professionals that can help them navigate uncharted waters.  There is no map for buyers charting all the possible dangers along the way, and every transaction has it’s own traps for the unwary.  If real estate had not gotten so complicated in so many ways, none of this would matter.  For retirees buying homes in Sequim it matters a lot.

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This gorgeous Sequim waterfront property is now officially available.  This is not only a Sequim waterfront property, it is a Sequim beachfront property.  Sequim is famous for its Rain Shadow, and this home is near the center of the Sequim Rain Shadow, located just off shore from this home. 

Imagine this.  You walk out the back door, across the deck and down the ramp to the beach, and stroll on the beach with the Sequim-Dungeness Lighthouse in the distance, Sequim Bay and the beautiful Strait of Juan de Fuca singing quietly to your soul, and Mount Baker resting in all its glory on the horizon.  Now you have a taste of what it would be like every day if you owned this home.

Sequim Waterfront Property is Beachfront

Sequim Waterfront Property Panoramic Waterview

Imagine this.  From most of the windows in this home you have a panoramic Sequim waterfront view spanning from Sequim Bay to the San Juan Islands to British Columbia.  Stand in the kitchen at the stove stirring your organic vegetables, and if you look up, you have a stunning Sequim waterfront in vivid live colors.  Pause while eating at the table, and you’re looking at the Dungeness Lighthouse.  Turn your computer chair in your office, and you’re looking toward Mount Baker.  Walk across your master bedroom, and you cannot help but stop to look at the tidelands (which you own).  What is it about water that gently encourages the mind, reduces stress, and uplifts the spirit?

Sequim Waterfront Property in Closeup 3D

Imagine this.  You’re enjoying dinner in the formal dining room on the opposite side of the home when you look out the window to see a gorgeous mountain view.  It is a rare thing to find a property with both a stunning Sequim waterfront and a majestic mountain view–both unhindered forever.  The mountain side of this property includes 70 acres owned by the 12 property owners of this private development, and this 70 acres is permanently to stay in it’s undeveloped state.  It is beautiful and very green.

This home will not be on the market long.  That’s my prediction.  You can look for a property like this for the next five years, and you won’t find it.  Want to learn more?  Go to Sequim Waterfront Home and you’ll see more photos, detailed information, and soon a real video tour will be coming online.  If you would like a copy of the special features not shown in the listing data, you can email chuckmarunde@gmail.com.  If you’re looking for a Sequim waterfront property, you may have found it.  This Sequim waterfront property is brought to you by Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate and Chuck Marunde.

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Buyers of Sequim homes have had their challenges since the collapse of the mortgage industry and the real estate market.  Even eminently qualified buyers of Sequim homes have had to jump unreasonable hurdles placed in their paths by evolving mortgage standards, including changing appraisal standards, and new processes in the underwriting industry.  All of this has not only hurt buyer’s, it has literally destroyed the ability of many sellers to get their Sequim homes sold.

Sequim Homes Face New Threat

A new threat has arrived on the scene that hinders both buyers and sellers.  No one is talking about this, and I believe this is the first time this issue has been exposed and articulated in writing.

Nearly everyone is aware of the higher standards that mortgage underwriters are requiring of buyers.  I don’t think any of us has a problem with the mortgage industry and their underwriters enforcing higher standards.  They should have been paying attention to the standards before their industry collapsed.  Who could argue with an underwriter who wants a buyer to be qualified and proof that the property will secure the debt?  No one.  This is not the problem.  The problem is irrational and unreasonable demands by underwriters and their industry’s evolving rules and procedures.

Underwriters Killing the Sale of Sequim Homes

This is a true story.  A buyer makes an offer on a Sequim home, and the seller accepts the offer.  We have mutual acceptance.  We have a closing date, and we have a few contingencies to clear up before the closing date.  All perfectly normal, right?  The standard inspections include a septic inspection, a home inspection, but not a well inspection because the home is on a community well system.  The septic needs a new septic tank.  The seller agrees to replace it.  The home inspection goes very well, and the home inspector notes a few items on his report, which is normal.  Every home inspection report will have some items enumerated as the job of the home inspector is to find any possible items that may or could need to be replaced.  Obvious code violations will be noted in the report.  All that is good.  The buyers want to know if there are any issues of potential concern.  That’s why they hire the home inspector and pay him $400.  Read the rest of this entry »

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You might think I’m referring to houses when I title this article They Come in All Shapes and Sizes.  Of course, houses do come in all shapes and sizes, and I have always loved looking at homes.  You never know what you’ll find until you get inside.  Sequim certainly has an incredible variety of architectural plans.  Some retirees arrive in Sequim with a home design already in hand after years of planning.  Others hire a local architect, and still others hire a builder who has home designs they can choose from and customize.

But in this article when I write, “They Come in All Shapes and Sizes,” I’m thinking about unusual homeowners who have listed their homes and who are often present when I show their homes to my buyer clients.  Recently I showed a home to a couple from out-of-state. The owners required an appointment and they preferred to be present during the showing.  I didn’t mind at all, and neither did my clients.  It turned out to be pretty entertaining.

The owner invited us in the side door and through a messy laundry and utility room into an odd shaped room with weird things in it.  From there we entered the kitchen.  The man gave us the grand tour.  They had remodeled the home in many places, and I felt like we were walking through a labyrinthian maze.  But here’s what really struck me and my clients as funny.  During the tour, the woman told us, “When we first saw this home, it was a disaster.  It was dirty and full of spider webs and spiders, but we just fell in love with it.”

It just so happens I hate spiders.  So do my clients.  We later laughed in disbelief when we reflected on what she had said.  Our rhetorical question was, “How could anyone immediately fall in love with a house that was full of spiders?”  I guess she had no idea what a turn off that was for my clients.

I showed a builder’s spec home a while back, and it was listed as vacant.  I had a lockbox key, so when I arrived with my clients, I opened the lockbox and started to open the door.  I had looked inside the home earlier, and I knew there was no furniture in it.  It was just built and put on the market.  As I swung the door open with my clients close behind me, I suddenly stood facing a young woman wrapped in nothing but a towel.  Surprise!  Surprise!  Apparently, she was the builder’s niece and temporarily sleeping in one of the bedrooms.

This week I’m showing more houses.  Can’t wait.  You never know what will happen.  By the way, I do ring the door bells incessantly now, even for vacant listings.

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Are homes sales increasing around the state of Washington and in the Sequim area?  The questions have come up periodically.  Is the real estate recession over?  Has the recovery started?  The news has taken us on a roller coaster of bad news and then good news and then bad news again.  It seems reports come out one week with the talking heads proclaiming we are in recovery, only to have a new report out the following week with another expert telling us that we won’t see a recovery for a long time.

Homes Sales Increasing in Some Counties

Homes Sales Increasing or Not

Enlarge this graphic by clicking on it, and you’ll get a clearer picture of how homes sales this first quarter of 2012 compare with the first quarter of 2011 on a percentage basis.  Clallam County has zero growth, but at least no decline.  Other counties around the state vary dramatically.  For example, Okanogan County homes sales increased by 64%, Whitman County by 48%, Mason County by 37%, and Jefferson County by 25%.  Lewis County homes sales decreased by over 7%.  On the other hand, most other counties saw modest gains, and as you look at this chart, the pattern clearly shows home sales increasing.  Will that pattern be sustained?  That remains to be seen.

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The famous Sequim Irrigation Festival starts today and events are scheduled throughout the weekend.  The Sequim Irrigation Festival is 117 years old, which makes this the oldest continuing festival in the entire State of Washington.  There are many fun events, including a Sequim Irrigation Festival Pageant, Arts & Crafts Fairs, Merchants’ Street Fair, Sequim Open Air Market, the Sequim High School Operetta, the Logging Show, a Fireworks Show, a Kids’ Parade, a Sequim Irrigation Festival Grand Parade, a Car Show, a Carnival, and the Jesse Marunde Memorial Strongman Contest.

Sequim Irrigation Festival

Sequim Irrigation Festival Strongman Contest

I have many photos of Jesse Marunde flipping cars, pressing logs, carrying a Harley Davidson, and squatting massive weights, but this photo is one of my favorite photos of Jesse.  He was doing what he did best–encouraging young boys and girls to be their best and sharing his passion for life.  In this photo you can see the joy in his face as he greeted kids at his last Sequim Strongman event. 

The Strongman contest is in Jesse’s memory.  Jesse became Internationally popular as a young Strongman because of the new techniques he brought to the sport of Strongman, including his unique application of some Olympic lifting techniques, especially to the overhead log press.  He also was very charismatic and was the first professional strongman in the world to play to the audience.  Fans absolutely loved him.  He once spent two hours in Europe giving people his autograph after an event.  Jesse’s goal was to become the strongest man in the world, and he almost did.  He came in second in the World’s Strongest Man Competition in Chengdu, China before he died here in Sequim of a sudden heart attack while working out in his gym.  Jesse was my son, and may I say as a father, I was damn proud of him.  But my pride was not just because he was a great athlete (6’5″ and 320 lbs of muscle), it was because he was a man of good character, a disciplined hard worker, and because of his love and generosity to everyone.  He was my son, but he was also my best friend.  As you can imagine, having grown up in Sequim and becoming world famous, he was the pride and joy of Sequim.

This weekend the Sequim Irrigation Festival celebrates Jesse’s memory with strongmen coming from all over the country, including Karl Gillingham of Minnesota, Kevin Nee of Boston, Brad Dunn of Orlando, Corey St. Clair of Columbus, Grant Higa of Maple Valley, Zack McKarley of Ellensburg, and Nate Bollin of  Sequim.  The strongmen events will include the Keg Toss over a 15ft bar, the Giant Dumbbell Press Medley, the Axel Press Last Man Standing, and a 330# Stone Over Bar for Reps.  This is great entertainment for everyone and a good photo opportunity.

Sequim Irrigation Festival Events

You can check out the schedule of events from the Festival website at Sequim Irrigation Festival.

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