Sequim MLS The Sequim MLS shows us data for Sequim homes listed for sale and sold. If you click on this image below, you will get the enlarged version, and you’ll see a …

Search Sequim MLS Sequim MLS on your iPod – Now you can search the Sequim MLS on your iPod. For all you passionate iPod Phone and iPod Touch fans in the virtual iPod world, …

Sequim MLS on your iPod Sequim MLS on your iPod – Now you can search the Sequim MLS on your iPod. For all you passionate iPod Phone and iPod Touch fans in the virtual iPod …

Search the Sequim & Port Angeles MLS with Advanced Search Apr 10, 2011 … Search the entire Sequim MLS or Port Angeles MLS. No money has been spared to give you the most advanced cutting edge MLS search tool, …

Sequim MLS Aug 30, 2011 … The Sequim MLS shows us data for Sequim homes listed for sale and sold. If you click on this image below, you will get the enlarged version, …

Sequim Real Estate – Homes and Land Ultimate MLS Search Sep 2, 2011 … They want to be able to go online anytime of the day or night and search the entire MLS in the Sequim and Port Angeles area, but that’s not all. …

Possibly Related Posts:

• Safe Internet Search for Real Estate
• How Does the MLS Days on Market (DOM) Affect Buyers?
• Looking at Sequim Homes
• Sequim Homes for Sale in the MLS – Shocking Discovery
• How a Home for Sale is Advertised

Among the many Sequim homes for sale, this extraordinary home just sold.  When you hear about the features in this home and how much it sold for, you may find yourself a bit envious of the buyers.  You should.  This home was one in a thousand.  Rarely will a home and a stunning property like this come up for sale in the Sequim valley, and rarely will it be available for such an unbelievable price.  I know all about this home, because I represented the buyers.  Let me give you a guided tour.

Sequim Homes for Sale is Extraordinary

Sequim Homes for Sale

Such high construction quality and attention to detail are rare among Sequim homes for sale in any market, but the builder and owner of this home (an engineer with a fastidious eye to every detail) built this home to the highest standards and then some.  Some homes have good floor plans, others have great floor plans, but this home was planned by a master with efficient design, a comfort that defies description throughout the home (and which cannot be explained in photos), with surprises in the functionality of every room.  And yet this home is not ostentatious from the outside.  But we aren’t through.  As the infomercials said, “Wait, there’s more.”

Sequim Homes for Sale

This home also has solar panels (28 of them at $1,000 each) that provide this home with 70% of all its electricity needs throughout the year, and also creates a credit with the local utility company that pays the owners $2,000 a year.  In other words, this home never has an electricity bill.  Talk about green and cost efficient.  It doesn’t get any better than this.

A vineyard is already growing in the rich Sequim soil.  (Sequim has several commercial vineyards.)  Special fencing is in place to prevent the wild deer from feasting on vines or organic vegetables.  And speaking of organic vegetables, the kitchen is a chef’s delight since it does not have the all-too-common electric stove top, but a propane stove when you want better control or when you need an open flame.  Of course, there is a deck for the barbeque in a private back yard.

Did I mention this is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home in 1,900 square feet (not counting the two garages, the additional workout room or office adjacent to the shop, and not counting the guest unit)?  Is this exactly what retirees are looking for with the main living all on one floor?  Absolutely!  I see a lot of Sequim homes for sale, but every once in a while I see one I call a “pleasant surprise.”  This home is a very pleasant surprise.

One more thing.  This home is within walking distance of the Dungeness Recreation Area and the beaches.  As the kids would say in a text message, “OMG!”  By the way, this incredible property sold for . . . $325,000.  I know.  Unbelievable.  [This was a full price offer, and there was also a second offer that came in just behind this one.]

I feel privileged to have represented a wonderful couple from New Mexico as their buyer’s agent.  When you’re looking for your retirement home among all the Sequim homes for sale, I hope you are so lucky as to find a home like this.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Safe Internet Search for Real Estate
• How Does the MLS Days on Market (DOM) Affect Buyers?
• Looking at Sequim Homes
• Sequim Homes for Sale in the MLS – Shocking Discovery
• How a Home for Sale is Advertised

There is a healthy inventory of Sequim homes for sale, although the best homes in the best areas at the best prices are selling while the majority of Sequim homes for sale in the MLS have too many DOM (days on market).  But one other segment of the market is new homes.  I’ve been asked, “Are retirees building new homes in Sequim?”

Sequim Homes for Sale – New Construction

Sequim Homes for Sale Compared to New Construction

There are very few new homes under construction in Sequim this summer, perhaps only 8 homes.  Why?  Because the cost of buying a lot, getting permits from the county or city, bringing in utilities, excavation, and construction are almost certainly above the current listing price of comparable Sequim homes for sale.  There are some costs over which builders have no control.  They have no control over material costs, permit costs, and only limited ability to negotiate with subcontractors, who are already operating at low margins.

Sequim Homes for Sale – The Biggest Cost in New Construction

New construction incurs a cost that current Sequim homes for sale do not.  The cost of raw land is still too high in Sequim and Port Angeles to make building competitive with existing homes.  In Pierce and King County on the Seattle and Tacoma side of the pond, big builders can purchase developments in foreclosure for as little as $15,000 to $20,000 per lot.  Not possible in Clallam County, where lots have been $80,000 plus, and only recently have we seen many developers being forced to lower prices even below their costs, but that still has meant lots at $50,000, plus or minus.  That still has made it mathematically impossible to buy and develop a lot and build a new home at competitive prices of existing homes.

But some retirees are still building, because they cannot find the ideal home with the floor plan they want, the kitchen design, and a location and view they really want with existing Sequim homes for sale.  And these retirees are willing to pay a little more than comparable prices of existing homes.

It really boils down to what you want and how much it means to you to retire and live in the home of your dreams for the rest of your life.  In other words, how much is it worth to have the perfect home for the rest of your life?  An extra $30,000?  $75,000?  This is the analysis many retirees are going through when they start looking at Sequim homes for sale.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Safe Internet Search for Real Estate
• How Does the MLS Days on Market (DOM) Affect Buyers?
• Looking at Sequim Homes
• Sequim Homes for Sale in the MLS – Shocking Discovery
• How a Home for Sale is Advertised

Exactly what is the process to buy a Sequim home?  For buyers who live outside the Sequim area, this is a relevant question.  I work through all these steps carefully with each of my clients as a buyer’s agent, but I realized that this might be helpful to many retirees who are thinking about buying a Sequim home.  In this article I will spell out the exact process for buyers, but if you have questions about the buying process or any of these steps, please don’t hesitate to email or call me.

Buying a Sequim Home

The Sequim Home Market

The Sequim real estate market and the local real estate issues are not the same as other markets around the country, and so buying a Sequim home will involve knowing the unique issues buyers face, and the contractual and due diligence processes involved from making an offer all the way to the closing table.  Here is the home buying process in Sequim and Port Angeles:

1. Search the MLS online, filter through the homes and save your favorites so you’ll have a list to look at when you arrive.  I recommend SequimHomesForSale.com and you can get help on my video on how to search for your Sequim Home (see in the right margin).
2. Hire a buyer’s agent who has experience to represent you well, and communicate with your agent by email and telephone before you arrive so you will be scheduled to look at your selected homes.
3. When you identify your ideal home, you will sit down with your agent and talk about the specific offer you want to make.
4. It is critical, and don’t miss this step, that your buyer’s agent knows how to negotiate to save you tens of thousands of dollars.  This is not a garage sale–this is the largest investment of your life.  Be absolutely certain your agent knows how to negotiate.  Discuss that until you are certain.
5. The first contingency you will want included in the purchase of your Sequim home is a home inspection.  That will cost you about $400, but it is well worth getting an independent inspection of the entire home.  If there is anything wrong, you want to know so you can address it with the seller.
6. The second contingency in the form of an addendum will be a septic inspection, if this Sequim home has a private septic system.  In Sequim it is typical that the seller will hire a septic inspector at the seller’s expense ($150) to find out if the septic system has repair items and whether it needs to be pumped.
7. The third contingency and addendum will be a well inspection, if there is a private well.  This will involve hiring a well company at your expense ($150) to do a flow test and to send a water sample in to a Seattle lab for a quality test ($65) for bacteria and nitrates.
8. The fourth contingency will be in the Financing Addendum, and if you are getting a loan, this is a standard contingency.
9. As part of this process, there may be issues that come up during each of these inspections, and it is absolutely critical that your buyer’s agent knows how to professionally handle each issue in ways that will serve your best interests and not simply kill the transaction.
10. Also as part of each step, it is also vitally important that your agent knows how to draft unambiguous language that the seller cannot drive a truck through.
11. Your agent also must be a good “transaction coordinator,” because there are literally dozens of steps during this process from making an offer to closing that someone must supervise, and this is why I always appoint myself as the transaction coordinator and adult supervisor to communicate with everyone so that we know everything will be done on time and properly.
12. The big job you will have as a buyer is to coordinate all the paperwork with your lender so that your loan gets approved in a timely manner.
13. Throughout this entire process, you and your agent should be communicating regularly to address all issues along the way.
    

Sequim Home Due Diligence

Here’s something I’ve learned in 37 years in the real estate business.  No two transactions are the same.  You would think they would be.  It would seem logical that buying and selling a home would be the same process, and that if you’ve seen one, you’ve seen them all.  But that would not be true, and it constantly amazes me how each transaction has it’s own unique issues that come up.  There is no simple template for each buyer, and while I’ve defined the process, there are a thousand variables that could and do regularly come up.

Now you know what the process is when you get ready to buy your Sequim home.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Safe Internet Search for Real Estate
• How Does the MLS Days on Market (DOM) Affect Buyers?
• Looking at Sequim Homes
• Sequim Homes for Sale in the MLS – Shocking Discovery
• How a Home for Sale is Advertised

Sequim homes for sale in several price categories and with various features are easy to search on this site at SearchSequimMLS.com, but here are some of the Sequim homes for sale in our current listings for your easy viewing pleasure.  I’ve pulled some local listings that I think are some of the attractive homes on the market.

Sequim Homes for Sale in Sequim MLS

This list of 54 Sequim homes for sale are priced from $235,000 to $400,000, and are 3 bedrooms with at least 1,800 square feet and on 1 to 10 acres.  You can look at more photos and details on each of these listings by clicking on the image below or go to Sequim Homes for Sale.

Sequim Homes for Sale

Here’s a list of 71 homes priced from $235,000 to $400,000, and are 3 bedrooms with at least 1,800 square feet, but these homes have a salt water view of some kind.  You can look at more photos and details on each of these listings by clicking on the image below or go to Sequim Water View Homes.

Sequim Homes for Sale – Video Guide

You can learn to use the best Sequim MLS search site to find your ideal home with this video guide:  Sequim Video Guide.  Finding your home is not easy, but thank God you can use these online technologies to search and filter through over 800 local homes listed for sale, and as you will see in the video guide, you can save your favorite listings so you can print them all out before you come to Sequim.  You can let me know before you get here what homes you would like to view, and we can make your time here very efficient.  As your buyer’s agent, if you hire me, I will help you find your ideal home and negotiate the best possible price among all the Sequim homes for sale.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Safe Internet Search for Real Estate
• How Does the MLS Days on Market (DOM) Affect Buyers?
• Looking at Sequim Homes
• Sequim Homes for Sale in the MLS – Shocking Discovery
• How a Home for Sale is Advertised

Are there any Sequim homes for sale with owner financing?  This question has surfaced again after being absent for many years.  In the 1970′s and the 1980′s many sellers offered owner contracts as a great way to have a retirement income at an interest rate above what they could get in secure bonds or annuities.  Interest rates skyrocketed at banks during these years to as high as 18%, so owner financing was a viable alternative for many buyers, too.

Sequim Homes for Sale with Owner Financing – 11 Available

With the current recession and with so many buyers now unable to get loans, the question has been coming up again, “Are there any Sequim homes for sale with owner financing?”

Sequim Homes for Sale with Owner Financing – Good Timing

Since so many homeowners have been unable to sell their homes quickly for cash, this is also a reasonable question for sellers.  Are there any Sequim homes for sale with owner financing?

Owner financing essentially disappeared for almost two decades, primarily because interest rates came down so low even sellers couldn’t compete with such low interest rates, but also because buyers could get loans so easy.  It made no practical sense for either buyers or sellers to go with owner financing.

Today, there are a small number of homes available in the Sequim area with the option to get the sellers to financing the buyers.  But this isn’t a panacea for most buyers who can’t get a loan.  In other words, sellers are not just going to let any buyer walk in with no money and no credit.  That may be obvious, but it requires some explanation.

Sequim Homes for Sale with Owner Financing – Still Require Qualification

A seller takes a risk when he sells a home and carries the contract.  If a buyer defaults on the payments and destroys the home, the seller will have a nightmare on his hands.  Sellers are not so naive as to go down that path.  What sellers will normally do after a consultation with an experience professional is ask for a large down payment (some are asking for $100,000 or half of the purchase price), plus they will want to pull a credit report to be sure the buyer doesn’t have bad credit, and they will want proof that the person has a good steady income.  In addition, a seller may ask for references.  It would be foolish for a seller not to do these things.

But all that brings us back to a buyer who is asking if there are any Sequim homes for sale with owner financing.  A buyer will normally only ask if a seller will carry the paper if the buyer has bad credit with insufficient income, or has no job, or does not have a huge down payment.  Therein lies the dilemma.  If buyers had the money and decent credit and a good paying job or a good retirement income, they probably could get a loan.

If you are a Sequim homeowner who wants to learn more about your options on selling with a deed of trust and promissory note or a real estate contract, and how those work, give me a call at 360-775-5424.  I was a real estate attorney, so I know how this works.

There are some Sequim homes for sale with owner financing.  If you would like to view them, contact me and I’d be delighted to help you.  Here they are:  Sequim Homes for Sale with Owner Financing.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Safe Internet Search for Real Estate
• How Does the MLS Days on Market (DOM) Affect Buyers?
• Looking at Sequim Homes
• Sequim Homes for Sale in the MLS – Shocking Discovery
• How a Home for Sale is Advertised