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Homes and Land in Sunny Sequim, Washington

Homes and Land in Sunny Sequim, Washington

Sequim's No.1 Buyer's Agent Where Knowledge & Experience Count.

(360) 775-5424
Email: ChuckMarunde@gmail.com

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125 Olympic Ranch Ln, Sequim, WA 98382

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Buying Land in Sequim

by Chuck Marunde / Monday, 03 December 2018 / Published in Buying Land
Sequim Lots

Buying land in Sequim requires a lot of due diligence, and some serious comparisons, because it is almost always more expensive to buy vacant land, develop it, and build a brand new home. I have clients who have been looking for their ideal property, and their ideal property happens to be a horse property. So here’s the story of how they made offers on three properties and terminated all three offers. I share this story, because it is very instructive on what the process is and perhaps it will be helpful for you on what to do and what not to do if you are thinking about buying land in Sequim.

Buying Land in Sequim

My clients have a horse ranch where they live now, but Oregon is changing, and many of the changes are not good. As many from California have said, “it’s not the state we grew to love for so many decades.”

My clients had spent months looking at properties online, and we looked at many homes in the area and narrowed the list down to one property that would work, although they felt it was overpriced and they would have to put a lot of money into it. They made an offer on the property that was $200,000 below the listed price of $649,000. The seller was quite offended, and ended the negotiations before they got started. 

Buying Land in Sequim or Port Angeles

My clients couldn’t find another suitable home, but they did decide that buying land they could build on and create their own horse property would work. After some hardball negotiating, we had an agreement for the purchase of a large parcel and started doing the due diligence. There’s a lot of due diligence to do with vacant land, but after a couple of weeks of collecting information and doing cost comparisons with buying an existing home, my clients decided to terminate this second transaction.

On to the third transaction. I had shown these same clients a home on 20 acres weeks earlier, and while they had dismissed it as unsuitable, we were back on that property. After some tough negotiating, we reached an agreement with the seller who was very motivated to sell. Unfortunately, after a couple of weeks of due diligence, my buyers terminated the agreement as they felt the property “just wasn’t the right property.” I’ve never worked with buyers who bought and terminated three transactions, all within a few months period.

First, I love my clients, and these buyers have been wonderful to work with, albeit high maintenance clients. I still appreciate them and hope to work with them again some day to find the property of their dreams, although that isn’t looking very likely now. Second, and the whole purpose of this article is that there are some lessons in all of this for you if you want to be buying land.

Lesson 1: Know what kind of property you want to buy. I think it is evident that my buyers did not have a high degree of certainty in what they wanted to buy. As a result, they bought and terminated three properties. That’s a lot of trouble, paperwork, and stress for nothing, isn’t it?

Lesson 2: Know the value of properties, at least within a range of fair market value, otherwise you might make low ball offers and tick off a seller, the listing broker, and cause a lot of wasted work for all the parties involved (escrow agents, Realtors, inspectors).

Lesson 3: Know in advance whether you want to buy an existing home or whether your true preference is buying land so you can build a new home. These are two completely different paths. Know what you want to do and the cost comparisons before you start looking at properties.

I hope this is helpful. I would add one note that many buyers already know, but if you don’t here it is. Buying an existing home that is move-in ready is far less stressful and less expensive than buying land and going through the lengthy process to build a home.

Possibly Related Posts:

  • Should I Buy Land in Sequim to Build a Home?
  • Buying Land in Sequim
  • Can I Have Chickens?
  • Some in Sequim Building Homes Again
  • Due Diligence and Buying Your Home

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About Chuck Marunde

After practicing real estate law for 20 years in Washington, Chuck opened iRealty Virtual Brokers covering the Sequim and the beautiful Olympic Peninsula. Chuck is the author of numerous magazine and Internet articles with a primary focus on real estate. He is also the author of over a dozen books, mostly about Sequim real estate. Chuck is a photographer, videographer, and Registered FAA Drone Pilot. Chuck has combined his love for real estate and technology to create a growing Internet presence in his market, and enjoys building his websites and blogs, including SequimBlog.com and Sequim4Sale.com and LuxuryWaterViewHomes.com. Chuck has degrees in Economics, Law, and Education.

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Chuck E. Marunde, J.D.

Sequim Buyer's Agent
(Atty Ret.)
Founder and Broker of
Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate dba iRealty Virtual Brokers
125 Olympic Ranch Ln,
Sequim, WA 98382
(360) 775-5424
ChuckMarunde@gmail.com

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From Los Angeles

It's rare, but once in awhile life provides the perfect collaborator for an important endeavor such as buying your new home. For me that person was Chuck Marunde. His two decade background as a Real Estate Attorney, his prolific career as an author of articles and books on Real Estate and his forthright and moral character made choosing Chuck a no-brainer. Chuck is dedicated, thorough, incredible at the negotiating table, knowledgeable about all local laws & regs but, most importantly, Chuck loves what he does. And what he does is find his client the perfect property. Chuck isn't about making the sale, he's about making the sale that is OPTIMUM for his CLIENT and this makes Chuck a rare bird indeed. I love my new home in Sequim and I am indebted to Chuck for making it happen. Kevin E.

From Seattle

I’ve had the pleasure of working with Chuck over the past three years in selling my parent's estate. It was a tough time to sell during the housing recession, but Chuck always kept things on the positive side. With his real estate law background, he offers sound, practical advice. He helps you along with the process using discussions and reason, rather than opinions and speculations. If Chuck doesn’t know the answers, he will get them for you. In several instances, Chuck took the initiative to meet with county officials to get up-to-date facts about zoning and regulations. I was always impressed with his company’s tech savvy communi-cations and internet presence: weekly email updates, blogs, videos, links, Linked-in networking, etc. He is truly pioneering the future of buying & selling real estate. Brian M.

From California

"Andy Romano is a successful motion picture character actor with over 40 years in 'the Biz.' Mr. Romano has a home in beautiful Santa Barbara, California, but he chooses to live most of the time in Sequim, Washington on the Olympic Peninsula in the great Pacific Northwest. Why? In his own words, 'Because it's even more beautiful and surrounded by more beauty in this incredibly peaceful and quiet place. With respect to real estate agents or brokers, well my friend Chuck Marunde, owner of Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, is hands down the best there" Andy R.

Intro by Chuck Marunde

From Florida

We do our homework for the task at hand and we look for and expect to enlist partners that do the same. It was our good fortune to select Chuck Marunde of Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate to represent us as a buyer's broker in our search for a home in the Sequim/Port Angeles area. Chuck's site is all encompassing and super fast compared to many others, he knows the market at every conceivable level and his guidance through the process of selecting and purchasing a home is priceless - above and beyond that of anyone with whom we have ever worked. Add to all this his 20 year background in real estate law and you have discovered a superb asset in the adventure of purchasing a home. Greg and Marilyn

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