Port Angeles homes and land appeal to so many retirees because of the serene and peaceful country setting on the Olympic Peninsula away from traffic nightmares and high crime rates of the great metropolises   The Port Angeles countryside, the open fields, the grazing cattle, the mountain views, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the mild climate all make this an ideal place to live with “quality of lifestyle.” I know.   I live and work here and have since 1994.

In this photo taken between Port Angeles and Sequim, we are looking to the south to the Olympic Mountains and behind this photographer to the north is the Strait of Juan de Fuca with its stunning panoramic water views.   The Olympic Peninsula has evolved over the past 100 years from an agricultural economy, hence the fields and grazing cattle seen throughout our county.   There’s something peaceful about grazing cows, horses, and sheep.

If you’re considering retiring to the Port Angeles or Sequim areas and you’d like to see more photos and available homes and land for sale, you can easily search the entire MLS here for Port Angeles Homes and Land or Sequim Homes and Land.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sequim Real Estate Sales
• Did I Pay Too Much for My Sequim Home?
• Buyers Cannot Always Find The Perfect Sequim Real Estate
• What About Private Septic Systems and Private Wells?
• How to Make an Offer on a Home

The Sequim real estate market is most likely at or near a market bottom.   Interest rates are also at or near a bottom and are likely to go up from here.   The inventory of   Sequim homes for sale is large, although the inventory of really gorgeous homes in each price category is limited, and it will be first come, first serve.   I’ve written elsewhere about how buyers are cherry picking the best of the best of Sequim real estate.

But no one knows for sure what the future holds.   In uncertain times it may be difficult to make a decision to buy.   This is especially true for those with a personality that tends to dig deep into every issue with great analysis.   I’m working with a wonderful couple right now, and the wife is an extremely detail oriented person.   This can be a great attribute, because one of my arguments has always been that clients need to make fully informed decisions.   Then, and only then, can wisdom prevail.

But there is a downside to analyzing everything to the Nth degree.   First, it can be a cause of great stress for the individual and for one’s spouse.   The more you dig, the more you stress.   If you try to connect the dots and makes sense out of every issue that could be related to primary issues, there is no end to chasing after the wind.

Should a buyer dig to collect all the facts for their buying decision?   Absolutely. I think buyers should do great due diligence in buying their next home.   But one of the things a person learns in this life is how to focus on the things that are important and let the rest go.   If you’ve hired a Realtor who is truly knowledgeable and trustworthy, he or she will not misguide you. Ask questions.   Ask lots of questions. But don’t get caught on the merry-go-round of analysis paralysis as a buyer.   Know what you want, know what you can afford, lean on your Realtor to show you houses and to help you gauge fair market value for the homes you like, and then draft your offer, negotiate hard, and execute your plan.

By the way, the couple I mentioned here have found the perfect home and are buying it.   I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them, and expect they will be more than just clients.   Has she asked a lot of questions?   Oh my yes.   Did I have to help guide and keep them on track?   Yes.   But my job is to help my clients reach their goal of finding the ideal home and negotiating the best possible price.   The process is not just financial mathematics.   The process of buying a home also involves human relationships and feelings. The victory comes when you finally get to move into your new home and say, “This is our home.   Finally, we’re home.”

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sequim Real Estate Sales
• Did I Pay Too Much for My Sequim Home?
• Buyers Cannot Always Find The Perfect Sequim Real Estate
• What About Private Septic Systems and Private Wells?
• How to Make an Offer on a Home

Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, LLC was the beneficiary of a surprise audit by the Washington State Real Estate Division, which has the right to audit any real estate broker at any time unannounced.   The bad news?   There is none.   The good news?   Chuck Marunde’s records received a Gold Star.   Why is this relevant to buyers or sellers?

The audit is important because it showed that our records are impeccable, which means our files, our documents, our chronological history on each transaction, and our handling of client funds is of the highest professional, legal, and ethical standards.

“I think it is important that our clients know that our legal documents are not only well drafted with unambiguous language [Chuck was a real estate attorney for 20 years], but that we keep the documents together in precise chronological order.   In this day and age when an offer may go back and forth a half a dozen times or more before mutual acceptance, and the counteroffers can be transmitted through mail, faxes, and email scans, and when only some sections or terms of a transaction are changed, and some may be changed multiple times, it can be challenging to piece together what documents actually make up the full and final agreement and what the exact terms are.   Multiple handwritten changes with initials and dates that are often hard to read, and the avoidance of potential conflicting terms, can make this a challenge even for an ex-lawyer.”

Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, LLC is a client-centered business model.   Complying with the law is absolutely important, but doing it with the client’s best interest in mind and doing it better than anyone else for the client’s sake is another small way we demonstrate how we take care of our clients.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sequim Real Estate Sales
• Did I Pay Too Much for My Sequim Home?
• Buyers Cannot Always Find The Perfect Sequim Real Estate
• What About Private Septic Systems and Private Wells?
• How to Make an Offer on a Home

Searching for Sequim homes for sale?   The inventory of homes for sale is good, although if you’re looking for a great home in a great area with special features, what you’re looking for may be in the top 5% of the inventory.   Here is an idea of what is in the MLS in Clallam County.   I only included site-built homes, not manufactured nor condos or townhouses.   All data is from the Olympic Listing Service.   To view the homes in each price category, just click on the link.   Once you’re in that category, you can narrow the search parameters yourself.

There are 124 homes for sale in the price range of $100,000 to $200,000.
There are 247 homes for sale in the price range of $200,000 to $300,000.
There are 153 homes for sale in the price range of $300,000 to $400,000.
There are 84 homes for sale in the price range of $400,000 to $500,000.
There are 56 homes for sale in the price range of $500,000 to $600,000.
There are 37 homes for sale in the price range of $600,000 to $700,000.
There are 24 homes for sale in the price range of $700,000 to $800,000.
There are 39 homes for sale in the price range of $800,000 to $10,000,000.

The actual number of homes in each category will change with time as homes are sold, expire, or are withdrawn.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Buying Homes in Sequim This Week
• Buyers of Sequim Homes Discover Underwriter Nightmares: New Mortgage Problems for Buyers
• Buyers Find Shortage of Ideal Sequim Homes for Sale
• How To Compare Homes
• When Are The Best Months To Sell Sequim Homes

I believe the best Sequim MLS and Port Angeles MLS site where you can search all the local real estate listings is one I had programmed specifically with buyers in mind.   The reason this unique is because you can search the entire Olympic Listing Service and the entire Northwest Multiple Listing Service easily from this page.

If you didn’t know, we have two MLS’s here in Clallam County, so our listings are bifurcated.   Well, theoretically 100% of our listings are in the OLS, and from my statistical analysis, about 67% of the listings are also in the NWMLS.   The reason this is so important to buyers is that they could be searching an aent’s website that only pulls in listings from the NWMLS, which means you will be looking at all of their listings but not all of the listings available here.   If you have been reading my articles, you’ll already know that I am very consumer-centric, and I don’t like consumers not getting what they expect to get.   Some agents might prefer you only see their own listings, so they can double up on the commission.   That’s not the way consumers (buyers) ought to be treated.   I’m a member of both systems, so I had my programmer set this page up so you could search both MLS’s here.

Search the Sequim MLS and
Port Angeles MLS in the OLS and NWMLS

Notice the pull down menu near the top of the search section in the middle.   You can select either Olympic MLS or Nowthwest MLS.

Working hard night and day to provide buyers like you with the tools you need to do powerful searches on the Internet without me or anyone else getting in your face.   If you have any questions, you know how to reach me:   chuckmarunde@gmail.com or 360-775-5424.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sequim Real Estate Sales
• Did I Pay Too Much for My Sequim Home?
• Buyers Cannot Always Find The Perfect Sequim Real Estate
• What About Private Septic Systems and Private Wells?
• How to Make an Offer on a Home

When you purchase a home in Sequim or Port Angeles for your perfect retirement, the last thing you want to do is find yourself in a major fight, locked into a cage to do battle until you or the seller taps out.

Buying a home in Sequim or Port Angeles involves so many details, I sometimes find myself amazed, and I’ve been doing this for almost three decades as a real estate attorney and now real estate broker.   What details am I talking about?   Here are some of the details that have come up for my buyer clients recently.

The Home Inspection.   Most of my buyer clients are from out of the area, and while they are here when we look at homes and write up the offer on their ideal home, they are typically not here for the home inspection a week or more later.   Who should handle your home inspection?   Who is the best home inspector around?   Who can attend your home inspection if you are not here and hold the inspector accountable just like you would if you were here?   What kinds of issues need to be addressed for repair or replacement, and who will repair or replace those items?   Who can bring the supervision and attention to detail that you would if you were here?   There’s much more to a good home inspection than most people imagine.   If I am your buyer’s agent, I attend the home inspection for you and follow up on all the details.   Read What Does a Home Inspection Involve?

The Crawlspace.   One of the most important aspects of a home inspection is a thorough examination of the crawlspace beneath the home.   What if your inspector cannot find the entrance to the crawlspace?   That just happened.   This home inspector and I looked for 45 minutes, and we could not find the entrance, and believe me we know where to look.   Even the seller (heirs to the elderly parents who owned the home but passed away) did not know, and couldn’t find it after searching.   The home inspection could only be completed when the sellers had to cut a hole in the floor to get under the house to find the entrance.   It was hidden behind thorn bushes and disguised in the siding of the house.   But all of this meant that the inspection deadline was looming and an extension had to be coordinated so the buyers did not lose that protection.   Who handles all those details for a buyer, especially one from out of state?   Again, I do for my clients.

The Appliances.   True story.   The cooktop in the kitchen island was cracked and had to be replaced.   My clients were already back in California, but they needed the model number of the cooktop so they could special order a new glass top.   Of course, customer service is one of my pet peeves, so I went out to the house to get the model number.   I could not for the life of me read it.   I had to pull the drawer out from under the cooktop, slide into a narrow space on my back while holding my weight above the lower drawer guides, and look up to the bottom of the cooktop with a little label that was turned the wrong way, and I couldn’t get my head close enough to read it because of braces in the way.   After some thought, I took my digital camera and held it where I had been lying and took several shots until I finally had one of the label, which I then blew up on my office computer where I could read the model number.

The Sprinkler System.   One of these houses had a sprinkler system that did not turn on with a simple flip of the switch.   I scheduled an inspection by a sprinkler system expert for my out of state clients and met him there.   Too many problems to mention here, but we are working through those issues to the satisfaction of all parties, and within the inspection time lines.

The Garden and Landscaping.   What if the home you are purchasing has a beautiful garden with lots of specially planted trees, shrubs, flowers, and an extensive watering system?   Who will make sure all of those gorgeous and expensive plants stay well watered and cared for between mutual acceptance and closing?   Just another of many details that need adult supervision while you are absent.

The Septic System.   Is the septic system okay?   Does it need maintenance or repair, and should it be pumped before closing?   Not all septic tanks should be pumped, and doing so can actually be damaging to the system.

The Water and Irrigation Systems.   Is there an outside water source, such as an irrigation system?   Is the potable water and the irrigation water on the same or different systems?   Does the irrigation water run year round or only from April 15th to September 15th?   Sequim has a lot of private irrigation systems.   Some systems have a hook-up fee for $2,500 or more, like the last house I sold on the John Wayne Marina water system.   The seller neglected to mention it, and the listing agent didn’t know about it.   These are things buyers need to know.

The Title Report and Clouds.   Will you get a preliminary title report as soon as your agent gets it?   There is a five day deadline to review it for potential restrictions on the property.   Is there a 60 foot wide utility or public road easement on part of your property?   What other clouds or encumbrances hinder your use of the property as you intend to use it?   This is where I am glad I was a real estate attorney and know how to interpret these things for my clients.

The Seller’s Disclosure Statement.   There is a new line on the Washington Purchase and Sale Agreements.   It’s line 9 on the first page and it deals with the buyer’s remedies regarding the Seller’s Disclosure Statement.   This is a legal subject that unfortunately is terribly misunderstood by many real estate agents and brokers.   As a buyer, you definitely need to have a handle on this issue.   Read articles on Seller Disclosure and Buyer Beware.

The Addendums to a P&S.   There are numerous possible addendums to a purchase agreement.   Which ones you need depends upon your agent’s experience in knowing which ones to use to protect your interests as a buyer.   Most buyers don’t know how many legal documents are associated with buying a home.   See List of Washington Documents to Buy a Home.

The Appraisal.   In this chaotic market, is your appraiser going to objectively and intelligently appraise your home without including foreclosures and short sales that went for a deep discount?   Who will help you work through that issue so you can get your appraisal done right with a decent loan to value ratio?

Well, this is not a comprehensive list by any means, but let’s stop there.   Your head may be spinning already.   I guess it is obvious at this point that if all of the details on your next purchase are not handled with great attention to detail and professionalism, you could end up in a major fight with the seller, or you could lose the home to another buyer.   Enough said.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Sequim Real Estate Sales
• Did I Pay Too Much for My Sequim Home?
• Buyers Cannot Always Find The Perfect Sequim Real Estate
• What About Private Septic Systems and Private Wells?
• How to Make an Offer on a Home