Here is a beautiful custom Sequim WA home for sale in Happy Valley.  Sequim Wa has a special valley called Happy Valley, and this home sits on 10 private acres.  Here’s a more detailed description.

Sequim Wa Home in Happy Valley

This Sequim Wa custom home sits peacefully on 10 acres in a very private setting, only a few miles from downtown Sequim.  The features list is long, but here is a partial list:  custom cherry cabinetry, Avonite solid surface black countertops, stainless steel appliances, wine cellar, 4 bedrooms, a den, an office, hot tub, double car garage, sprinkler system, and comfort that says this is home.

More Sequim Wa Home Features

There’s a custom built horse barn with two stalls, wash rack, hay loft, heated tack room with cabinets/storage, saddle racks, and washer and dryer hookups.  How many Sequim Wa homes can boast so many quality features?  We’re not done yet.  The house has a double car garage and there’s a covered RV stall with hookups for electric, sewer, and water. The deck has Trex decking, and the house had all new roofing in 2010. This Sequim Wa home is available exclusively through eXp Realty, also known as Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate. There’s not another property like this in Sequim. This home is shown only by appointment. Call Chuck Marunde for your private showing.

Sequim Wa Home Photos and Video Tour

See more details and photos with a video tour at Sequim Wa home for sale.

For quality in a private setting on acreage, this Sequim Wa home is a California dream.

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Have you done a search on the Internet for Sequim real estate agents to help you buy your retirement home?  Back in the day buyers had to walk into a brick-and-mortar and sit down with some agent, any agent, it didn’t matter who to people back then, and you would find homes to look at by paging through a book of listings.

Sequim Real Estate Agents

Can Sequim Real Estate Agents Help?

Beginning the process of finding a home has changed so much in the past 20 years (in the last 5 years), that it seems like another life time since that 300 page MLS blue book.  This cork board is what I think many buyer’s cork board might look like, if they used one.  There are a hundred unanswered questions, and trying to do it yourself, especially if you are from outside the Sequim or Port Angeles area can be daunting.  I recommend hiring an agent from among the long list of Sequim real estate agents.

Are Sequim Real Estate Agents Old School or New?

I marvel at how buyers in the ’70s and ’80s didn’t give much thought to who they hired as their real estate agent.  They just hired whoever answered the phone or whoever had floor duty.  But times have changed, and buyers are much more aware of the need to be well represented, and who hasn’t heard stories (or had a personal nightmare) with an agent who just got their license or had little professional experience to do a good job.  And we won’t even get into the heavy subject of unethical agents and self-dealing agents, and there are plenty of those stories.

My perspective on Sequim real estate agents is that they are good people but mostly old school.  I say this with a smile on my face, because I’m 55 but I think I’m new school.  There are many reasons I say that, but that’s beyond the scope of this little article.  (Just browse this blog for an hour and you’ll see why I say I’m new school.)  But I think you can understand that small towns tend to be behind the times, and business owners, including Realtors, tend to be slow to pick up on new trends or new technologies.  Sequim is an agricultural community and largely old school.  That’s not bad for the community, but when you are looking for real estate, you’ll want new school in your buyer’s agent.

Looking for the right agent out of the couple of hundred Sequim real estate agents ought to involve more than the flip of the coin, or simply hiring the person who answers the phone first, or just hiring whomever has floor duty at the front desk.

There are serious questions you need answered.  Just click on the cork board above (first and then again after a few seconds to enlarge it), and you’ll see some of the relevant questions buyers are asking of Sequim real estate agents, and as a buyer, you’re probably asking these questions, too.  Can you answer all of these questions for the Sequim and Port Angeles areas? If not, look for Sequim real estate agents that can help.  Do your due diligence on the Internet and hire the best.  I hope you hire me, but even if you don’t, the questions on the cork board are still relevant, and there are more questions you need to get answered before you finalize the purchase of your retirement home.

I recommend someone who can not only answer your questions, but a Sequim buyer’s agent who shares questions you haven’t thought of, and then helps you answer them.  Remember that the answers you get are only as good as the questions you ask.

There are many good Sequim real estate agents and I recommend you hire one to help you answer these questions.

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What is the price range of Sequim homes sold (and Port Angeles homes) sold in 2010?  This is an important question, because it shows us the probability of homes selling based on price.  If you have a home for sale  now or  one that you want to sell that is in the upper price brackets, you can see how many have sold in this chart and, therefore, the probability that you will sell your home.  There is much more to statistical analysis and probabilities, but most homeowners don’t know how many homes have sold in their home’s price range, so this chart will be helpful to gauge the likelihood that you will get your home sold, or perhaps a better way to say that is the “reality check that homes in your price range are not necessarily selling every month” (or this year).   Armed with this information, you can put together a plan to market your home and get it sold, considering the realities of this data.

Site built Homes sold are represented in this chart, showing homes sold monthly from January 1 to August 31 in 2010 by price category.  Starting with $200,000 to $300,000, this chart shows how many homes have sold in each $100,000 price range.  [Click on the chart once and then after a few seconds again to enlarge it.]

Sequim Homes Sold

Sequim Homes by Price

Clearly the most Sequim homes sold are in the price range from $200,000 to $300,000.  This has been the biggest market for buyers from out of state who have found an opportunity buying Sequim homes at the lowest interest rates of their lives, and with the price reductions, a large inventory of homes fit in this price bracket.

Sequim Homes by Price Brackets

Sequim homes in the $300,000 to $400,000 price bracket represent some of the best values for buyers in this market.  Beautiful custom homes are being sold in this bracket that were as much as $450,000 to $500,000 in 2005.

Above $400,000 it gets interesting.  Only 23 homes have sold above $400,000 this entire calendar year in 2010.  And only 3 homes have sold above $600,000.  Of all the Sequim homes sold, only one has sold above $700,000, and zero Sequim homes have sold above $800,000.   This means that less than one-half of one percent of homes sold this year are above $700,000.

For buyers who can afford a home in the upper price brackets ($500,000 plus), there are some extraordinary buys right now in this market.  A home in 2005 that might have sold for $900,000 may be listed on the market now for $580,000.  While this segment of the market speaks to a very small percentage of buyers right now, it may be the greatest opportunity for buyers who want an extraordinary custom built home at a bargain price.

There are a number of conclusions that one may draw from this data, but one rational conclusion or deduction one can draw from this data is this:  Sequim homes in the upper price brackets must be marketed very effectively to connect with the potential buyers who are few and far between.

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Sunny Farms in Sequim is unquestionably Sequim’s most popular organic health food store.  Its appeal has become a part of local lore.  It’s a well managed family owned country store that has become a hit beyond anything paid advertising could ever do.  Customers learn about Sunny Farms by word of mouth, but once you start shopping there, you won’t want to go back to the corporate grocery stores.  There is a marked difference in the quality of the food and the taste of the food.

Sunny Farms in Sequim

Sunny Farms in Sequim is an Organic Country Store

Sequim’s Sunny Farms is a welcome change from the processed foods sold in the large national grocery stores.  What a delight to be able buy organic vegetables, fruits, breads and dairy products.  There was a time when I did all my shopping at Safeway, QFC, or Costco.  I still do shop at those stores for some items, and all the employees at those stores are wonderful, but once I began to buy my vegetables and fruits at Sunny Farms in Sequim, I can’t go back to processed foods grown in mass quantities that end up with so much less flavor, not to mention less nutrition (and packed full of chemical names I cannot pronounce).

Organic Vegetables at Sunny Farms in Sequim

Many of us have become more aware of the importance of a healthy diet and regular exercise.  Heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and a long list of health issues has plagued Americans, in no small part because of a lack of good nutrition and a proper diet.  It was an adjustment in my diet, but I am enjoying the fresh organic vegetables I buy at Sunny Farms in Sequim, and oddly enough, I now even enjoy the adventure of shopping for and selecting my vegetables and fruits.  Warning:  This store is usually very busy, the isles are narrow, and your cart will feel like a car on the I-5 corridor at rush hour.

A Blender and a Juice Extractor

I use a Blendtec blender to make healthy smoothies consisting of fruits and a little protein and psyllium, and I use an Omega 8005 Juice Extractor to blend the freshest organic vegetables.  If quality of life and feeling good is important to you, you might want to visit Sunny Farms in Sequim.

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If your home is either in foreclosure or will be soon, you can save yourself by immediately doing a short sale.  If you know someone who is in this situation, you will do them a favor by emailing them a link to this article.  This is the answer to a foreclosure that very few know about, and few have the tools I’m about to share with you.  (Read more about Foreclosures.)

What is a Short Sale?

Most people understand what a foreclosure is.  If payments are in default on the mortgage, the bank will foreclose.  But many people do not know what a short sale is.  A short sale is the sale of a home for less than the current balance of the mortgage.  Banks are agreeing to accept less than the balance of the mortgage balance when a home is sold at current fair market value (FMV) all around the country.

Short Sale Process

The short sale process has been chaotic at best, and a nightmare at worst.  Homeowners who want to sell their homes don’t know how to do a short sale, so they price their homes so they will net zero, but for many homes that is still over priced, which means the homes simply don’t sell and ultimately go into foreclosure.

Short Sale Listing

You might say, “Well, Realtors know how to do a short sale, so I’ll list my home with a Realtor.”  Nationwide very few Realtors know how to do a short sale.  The problem has been that there has not been a standard for the forms and information required by a bank, nor has there been a bank standard for the requirements to approve a short sale.

The result is that attempts to do a short sale have been frustrated by chaotic procedures around the country, inconsistencies in the process, differing standards among banks, loss mitigation departments without clear guidelines, and Realtors who have all but given up trying to get short sales through.

The Short Sale Solution

If you have a home you need to sell, and you expect to net zero anyway, and if it does not get sold fast you will end up in foreclosure, you ought to get serious about doing a short sale.  I recommend two things.

1.  Find a Realtor who understands how to market a home in this Internet marketing age, and who understands how to do a short sale; and

2.  Use the most powerful short sale engine in the U.S.  What is this short sale engine?  It is an entire online short sale software system that will help you organize and manage the entire short sale process from beginning to end.  It includes all the forms and letters, and allows each participant to log in and play their part.  That means your Realtor, your bank (and their loss mitigation department), the buyer, and an attorney (if you or your buyer have one) can all login and facilitation an efficient and quick short sale.

My associate is getting 85% of her short sales approved, which is unheard of across the country, and some of these transactions are getting approved within a matter of two weeks.  This is the single most powerful software to get a short sale approved.

You can use this short sale engine online now no matter where you live in the United States.  The database connects to banks around the country.  Go to Nationwide Short Sale Engine.  If you live in the Sequim or Port Angeles area, I recommend you hire me as your Realtor and we will use this short sale engine to get your home listed and sold quickly and get the short sale approved with your bank quickly.  You can go to SequimShortSales.com or PortAngelesShortSales.com.

There are potential tax and credit score consequences to both foreclosures and short sales.  Foreclosures are often done as non-judicial foreclosures, but banks are also doing judicial foreclosures to obtain a personal judgment, and short sales have potential taxes on the amount of the mortgage forgiven, although legislation may eliminate that issue.  For tax and other financial advice, I recommend you consult your tax account or see an attorney for legal advice.

Time is of the essence if your home is upside down or is approaching a foreclosure.  A short sale may be the best answer to get your home sold quickly.

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