If you’re facing the possibility of a foreclosure on your real estate in Sequim or Port Angeles, you have a lot on your plate. Most people have heard sound bites of how a foreclosure works, how much time you have, and what your options are, but can you afford to find out if the rumors are true? Wise counsel is always good in a difficult time.

Having done many foreclosures as a real estate attorney, I had to work through the process, the statutory time lines, the costs and fees, and resolving real life dilemmas. There’s not enough time in a short blog to review the entire foreclosure process in Washington state and to discuss various options that can save you, but if there is an interest, I will gladly share more about the process than what is already on my website at:

For someone who is considering selling their real estate before it goes too far down the foreclosure pathway, I strongly urge you to consult with someone who has a lot of experience with this subject, including the legal process, short sales, and the real estate sales end of it. Frankly, that sounds like me since I have both the legal end and the sales end (Realtor) on my resume. If I can help, email or call (360-457-4587), but don’t procrastinate, or you may lose it all.

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[Click on Image to Enlarge.]

While the real estate market takes a long needed pause to breath deep, the reality is that we have not yet seen significant reductions in the number of homes sold in Sequim and Port Angeles, at least not of recession significance. Sequim actually sold one more house in this time period in 2007 than it did in 2006, and Port Angeles sales dropped by only 12 homes. Pricing is more significant.

As this chart illustrates, in 2006 (for the six month period from March 1 through August 31), the median price of homes sold in Sequim was $285,000, and in Port Angeles it was $271,500, and in 2007 $280,00 and $255,500, respectively. The drop in average prices in Sequim is larger than the reduction in Port Angeles. The Sequim average sales price of a home in 2007 is down to $283,347 from $294,407 in 2006 (an $11,000 drop). During the same time period, Port Angeles homes sold dropped by only about $8,000.

I took the liberty of refining (weighting) the statistics to arrive at more meaningful numbers. For example, the majority of sales are within the price range of $200,000 to $400,000. There were a total of 185 sales in this range in Sequim in 2006 and 146 in Port Angeles. The total houses sold in the same time period (in that price range) in Sequim for 2007 is 186, and for Port Angeles 134. I excluded sales below $200,000 because that represents lower priced housing, some of which is not comparable to the typical 3 bedroom, 2 bath home that represents the majority of buyers’ preferences. I also excluded sales above $400,000 because that is a much smaller number of sales, especially those above $700,000 (only 12 in Sequim).

By excluding these lower and higher priced homes, 81% of the remainder of homes sold in Sequim are within $200,000 to $400,000. A similar result is obtained for Port Angeles sales.

Beyond the statistics, clearly buyers are still buying. Timing is everything in real estate, and even when the market takes a breath of fresh air before continuing its course, there are people at their 20, 25, or 30 year retirement calendar, and they are moving to Sequim or Port Angeles to purchase their retirement home. They are not concerned about the statistics, only purchasing their dream home. As Martha Stewart would say, “That is a good thing.”

From a sales perspective, one message a person could take home from all these numbers is that a seller would be well advised to be represented by a professional agent with strong negotiating skills, not to mention access to hundreds of potential buyers (the two MLS’s, out-of-state broker referrals, and other buyer sources not available to unlicensed individuals or FSBO’s). This is not intended as a sales pitch, but it does seem very logical in light of the importance of getting the highest possible price for a home in a time when prices are dropping, and getting the best price would be a partial function of connecting with the largest number of prospective buyers. Something to think about.

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Press Release – Sept 11, 2007

Professional Recognition for Remediators Co-Founder

Port Angeles – Sam Nugent has met the professional requirements for membership in the Environmental Assessment Association (EAA) and has been recognized as a Certified Environmental Inspector.

Nugent, along with partners Howard Sprouse of Joyce and Dr. Thom O’Dell of Port Angeles founded The Remediators Inc. in 2005 to restore the economic value of contaminated or distressed properties.

The company focuses on bio-remediation techniques using fungi to breakdown toxic compounds. They also offer site assessment, cleanup planning, system design, tank removal, as well as the excavation and hauling of contaminated soil.

According to membership lists on the EAA website, Nugent is the only environmental inspector certified on the Olympic Peninsula, and only one of 30 in Washington.

The international association boasts over 5,000 members worldwide from the U.S. and at least eighteen other countries, and consists primarily of environmental inspectors, lenders, remediation firms and government agencies.

To be accepted for membership and certification, qualified individuals must first meet specific educational and experience criteria, then commit to adhering to the association’s strict Code of Professional Ethics, which establishes clear and ethical parameters for its members.

“I’m proud to have been accepted into this esteemed organization,” Nugent says, “I think it is an important way that I can help protect the beauty of our Peninsula as well as the people in our community. As home prices have continued to soar, it is essential that people protect their investments. No-one wants to be put through the nightmare of being liable for expensive cleanup costs should contamination prove to be a problem on their property.”

According to Nugent, under federal law any owner of contaminated property can be held liable for the entire cost of that cleanup, regardless of how the contamination occurred, unless they can demonstrate “innocent purchaser” status.

“An environmental assessment done prior to purchase alleviates much of the new owner’s financial burden should a problem show up after the sale,” he said.

Aside from underground and above ground fuel tanks, Nugent says that the development of homes in what was once agricultural or forested areas is a common source of unexpected problems.

“Years ago, no-one may have anticipated that there’d be houses where they are now. What was once considered a ‘safe’ distance from homes to discard hazardous wastes may well be the middle of someone’s back yard today.”

The Remediators Inc is located at the Incubator@Lincoln in Port Angeles, and can be reached at 360-565-2065.

For more information about environmental assessments, visit their website at www.greenlightsoil.com.

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Will buyers in Sequim and Port Angeles be forced to pay this real estate transfer tax? Just when you thought you were taxed enough, there’s a new tax on real estate coming our way. It started in California, as many trends do. It’s a private (not government) tax on the sale of real estate, and buyers are being forced to pay it when they purchase a home in a new development.

What Is This Private Transfer Tax?

Developers and builders often have opposition to their projects from environmental groups, land trusts, or other non-profit organizations. An alliance between develpers and these opposition groups has created a whole new paradigm, and developers are agreeing to pay off these organizations with a private transfer tax on the sale of each lot in exchange for their support for the real estate project. This saves the developer years of fighting, and clubs like the Sierra Club and the Audobon Society have found a new source of revenue.

The amazing thing is the way this new tax is imposed on innocent buyers. The developer includes a covenant incorporated into the deed, which requires future buyers to pay a percentage of the selling price to the designated land trust or charity. As of now, it appears the deeds have this requirement for a time certain, 20 years. Is this amazing? Creative, isn’t it! Because this seems to extort money from developers and ultimately from buyers while compromising what may be true environmental concerns, some would call this an unholy alliance. What say you?

This tax is apparently spreading to other states, and it is just a matter of time before it rears its ugly taxable head in Washington state.

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There are many perspectives on the Sequim real estate and Port Angeles real estate markets, and many ways to look at the state of the market. Here is another perspective. This chart represents the total residential units sold in the first eight months of the year from 1998 through 2007.

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Wondering about the trend of Sequim real estate and Port Angeles real estate prices? Here is a vignette of the last three months showing the number of price reductions of listed properties in the Olympic Listing Service in four price categories. Not conclusive by any means, but instructive. Stay tuned for more valuable market stats.

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