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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

iRealty Virtual Brokers, aka Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate
125 Olympic Ranch Ln, Sequim, WA 98382

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True Story: Retiree Finds and Buys a Sequim Home

by Chuck Marunde / Thursday, 03 September 2020 / Published in Sequim Real Estate

If you are retiring and searching for your ideal Sequim home, you might enjoy this true story, which is very much the kind of story that explains the process you will go through as you search for your home with some variations. You’ll hire a Sequim Buyer’s Agent, draft and submit an offer, do your due diligence, and finally get to closing. That’s the abbreviated version. I won’t use my client’s real name to protect their privacy, and I won’t reveal the address of the home they bought.

Escaping California like so many good people, this couple knew what they wanted and they exactly what their budget was for this home. They wanted a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home with a garage and a shop in a nice area, and a little privacy would be good. They also wanted a peaceful area without a lot of noise, and they didn’t want to live under the final approach to a busy airport, not that we have a lot of those in the Sequim area.

They had some flexibility in the home’s floor plan, but they wanted a nice floor plan, something that was more traditional as opposed to weird or quite unique to the original owners. Sequim has had some people who built homes so uniquely suited for their unusual needs that no one else wanted to buy them years later.

We looked at homes in a large area, because as retirees they didn’t have to be within a certain radius of Sequim, and we couldn’t find anything in the Sequim market that fit their search parameters. What they were looking for was actually what the vast majority of retirees are looking for, but the inventory is quite depleted now around Sequim, and it’s hard to find the home I refer to as the one at the top of the retiree’s Bell Curve.

We expanded the search outside Sequim. We looked at homes in Port Townsend and even on Whidbey Island. Access to Whidbey Island is by ferry or by driving across Deception Pass Bridge way north on the Island and then out to I-5 and then south toward Seattle.

None of the homes we looked at were ideal, and then we found a new listing that came on the market in Sequim. It was perfect, and not only did the floor plan work superbly, there was a gigantic garage plus a separate large shop. It was almost too good to be true. Shops are hard to find, and finding two is like finding buried treasure.

Finding the ideal Sequim home was just the beginning of a long and challenging process. If you’re a couple in your 50s or 60s, your idea of the perfect home is very likely the same idea that dozens of other retirees have, and they are all looking for that home in the Sequim area. They’re looking every day online, and they have their radar on for that perfect home, even with email alerts of new listings, which they were able to do on specially programmed Sequim MLS site.

Because the inventory is so low for homes at the top of the Bell Curve, the kind that most retirees want, it means that when that home comes on the market, it has a lot of eyeballs the first day it shows up in the MLS online. For the best of the best homes, buyers are having to make offers site unseen, or it is sold to someone else.

We actually found a home on Beckett Point, a 20 minute drive from Sequim. It was really beautiful, well built, and it had a delightful water view of a bay. We reached an agreement with the seller, but had to terminate because during the due diligence period we ran into potential bluff instability issues. Fortunately, having been a real estate attorney, I was able to protect my clients, terminate the offer, and get their $5,000 earnest money returned.

Then we found the ideal home a few miles outside of the city of Sequim. The next challenge was drafting a winning offer. With the intense competition for homes like this, it would take a carefully drafted offer that could anticipate the potential competing offers and an understanding of how other Realtors think.

With the offer, which was full price and all cash, we included an escalation addendum. I’m going to withhold the specifics in the escalation addendum, because I know other Realtors in the area read this real estate blog to learn how to do what I do, and there’s no sense in giving them my secrets when I represent a lot of buyers as an Exclusive Buyer’s Agent.

This home had many other showings and two other offers. My clients’ offer won the day, but it was no sham fight. It was quite a strategic battle, and it took all four decades of my real estate experience, including my career as a real estate lawyer, plus my clients’ years of experiencing in buying homes to work together to make it all happen.

Once we had mutual acceptance, it was time for the due diligence, and that was no small task either. There was the house, the garage and shop, the well, the septic, the property and landscaping, and a large deep pond. All were carefully inspected before waiving all contingencies and moving toward closing. I often tell my clients who are at retirement age, you can’t afford any costly mistakes at this phase of your life, and you certainly don’t need the stress of litigation. I protect my clients as their Sequim Buyer’s Agent.

Buying a Sequim home is no small matter, and I’ve only touched the tip of the iceberg here. The true story is much much longer with far more details, too many to share in a short blog article. But you get the idea. Happy shopping, and if I can be of service, you know how to reach me.

Possibly Related Posts:

  • The Six Steps to Finding Your Sequim Home
  • Real Estate Books
  • When is Early Possession Safe for a Home Seller?
  • Sequim Real Estate: How do I find a Home in Sequim
  • Sequim Real Estate Trilogy for Buyers Moving to Sequim WA

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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.

1 Comment to “ True Story: Retiree Finds and Buys a Sequim Home”

  1. Summer Sprenger says :Reply
    January 22, 2021 at 9:25 pm

    My cousins are so happy with their house!

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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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