Commute Time and Home-Buying

If you lived here, you'd be home by now....

Drive time to work is one key factor considered by home-buyers looking for the perfect fit. Geekwire reports that Washington-based traffic data company INRIX and Seattle-based real estate company Windermere are partnering to offer home-buyers the technology to compare commuter data for regular commuting hours in actual time. The service is being rolled out in the 10 states where Windermere operates.

Another factor that appeals to many buyers in the Seattle area is "walk score." How walkable is the neighborhood in which they wish to live? Walk Score helps you find a walkable place to live. Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100 that measures the walkability of any address. Find yours at www.walkscore.com

For a free list of properties for sale in your favorite walkable Seattle neighborhood, email HomeLandInvestment@gmail.com or leave a comment for me here.

Seattle: Best Place to Live

What makes Seattle one of the top places to live in the country?

In metro Seattle, job growth is heating up, and that drives buyers to purchase. The city’s jobless rate fell to 5.9 percent, the first time since November 2008 that local unemployment has come in below 6 percent. The state unemployment rate held at 7.5 percent for the third straight month, according to the state Employment Security Department. It was 8.3 percent a year earlier. Both the state and the metro area are faring better than the nation as a whole: The U.S. unemployment rate was 7.7 percent last month.

Investment News recently published a list of their "12 Best Places to Live in the U.S.," and Seattle came in at the number-two spot behind only San Francisco. The factors that Investment News considered were Seattle's high average median income, standout clean air, and the presence of corporate giants like Amazon, Microsoft, and Boeing.

Australian innovation agency 2ThinkNow released their global index of the most innovative cities, where Seattle ranked tenth behind London, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam. Our city also ranked fourth in the nation. New York and Boston tied for first place globally and nationally. The index compiles the cities based upon three ranking factors: cultural assets, human infrastructure, and networked markets.

Invest with a Self-Directed IRA

Now that the stock market has hit an all-time high and real estate is just starting the most significant recovery since the great depression, a lot of investors are looking to allocate some of their capital to alternative investments such as real estate for better returns. In fact, the Seattle Times just examined the aggressive investments made by the Washington State pension system in “alternative investments,” including private equity and real estate.

The question is....Can you the individual investor do this in your IRA?

Technically, yes you can move your IRA funds to a self-directed account and then invest in many alternative asset classes such as real estate.

The big financial institutions that act as custodians for most traditional IRAs don’t advertise that you can do this. They generally limit investments to publicly traded stock, bonds, mutual funds and bank CDs. Why? Mainly because that is where they make a commission on managing your retirement funds-- regardless of whether you have a profit or loss!

So to gain complete control over your IRA fund investments, you may roll your IRA funds over to one of about two dozen smaller custodians offering self-directed IRAs. Once you have a self-directed IRA, you can then begin to place funds into real estate investments which can yield tremendous returns-- if managed correctly. See our full description of how this works at http://reicapitalusa.com/sdira/

Last year Forbes.com published an article titled "Go Rogue With Your IRA" where they described how some IRA holders have found very creative alternatives to investing with their self directed IRA funds in asset classes ranging from private equity and promissory notes to gold, oil and gas and even livestock. To read the full article browse to the link below:
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2012/0625/investment-guide-12-laura-harth-rodriguez-stock-bond-go-rogue-with-ira.html

Your IRA can be a great resource for funds to purchase and profit from investment in real estate. Once you have transferred your funds into a self-directed IRA, you will complete a Direction of Investment, and the custodian will then send or wire your funds to the applicable company to acquire the property.

As you make profits from that investment, all income is sent back to your self-directed IRA account and realized as either tax-deferred or tax-free income, depending on the type of IRA. Please consult with your accountant or financial planner for more information specific to your IRA status.

Need More Info?

My REI Capital business partner Bob Malecki and I recently held a live webinar for investors looking for more information on why real estate is an excellent investment alternative to traditional stock and bond investing. It was co-sponsored by the folks at CamaPlan, a self directed IRA custodian with whom we are working to provide their clients alternatives for their self directed IRA investments.

In this presentation we covered:
• The key economic drivers that benefit real estate
• How market and demographic cycles are used to increase ROI
• How to identify and evaluate real estate asset classes
• The operational requirements to be a successful real estate investor
• Funding strategies that fit your abilities and goals
• How to use a self-directed IRA to invest in real estate

You may find an archived copy of this webinar entitled “How to Prosper from Real Estate Investing” at the CamaPlan.com website, or contact us for more information at www.reicapitalusa.com or 425.270.7292.

FREE Webinar on Real Estate as an Alternative Investment

Now that the stock market has hit an all time high and real estate is just starting the most significant recovery since the great depression, a lot of investors are looking to allocate some of their capital to alternative investments such as real estate.

The question is....Can you do this in your IRA?

Technically, yes you can move your IRA funds to a self directed account and then invest in many alternative asset classes such as real estate (see our Blog on some of the advantages at http://reicapitalusa.com/blog/).The big financial institutions that act as custodians for most IRAs generally limit investments to publicly traded stock, bonds, mutual funds and bank CDs. Why? Mainly because that is where they make a huge profit on managing your retirement funds-- regardless whether you have a profit or loss!

So to gain complete control over your IRA fund investments, you’ll first need to move your IRA to one of about two dozen smaller custodians offering self-directed IRAs. Once you have a self directed IRA, you can then begin to place funds into real estate investments which can yeild tremendous returns-- if managed correctly. See our full description of how this works at http://reicapitalusa.com/sdira/

Last year Forbes.com published an article titled "Go Rogue With Your IRA" where they described how some IRA holders have found very creative alternatives to investing with their self directed IRA funds classes ranging from private equity and promissory notes to gold, oil and gas and even livestock. To read the full article browse to the link below:

http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2012/0625/investment-guide-12-laura-harth-rodriguez-stock-bond-go-rogue-with-ira.html

Need More Info?

If you are looking for more information on why real estate is an excellent investment alternative, we invite you to attend our webinar this evening at 6 p.m. PST 9 p.m. EST. It's sponsored by the folks at CamaPlan, a self directed IRA custodian with which we are working to provide their clients alternatives to their self directed IRA investments. You can enroll in the free webinar by browsing to the sign up form at https://cc.readytalk.com/cc/s/registrations/new?cid=5fozvkk7dty7

This is a "no selling" educational seminar that will provide you a good understanding of the economic drivers that make real estate an excellent alternative to traditional investment vehicles like stocks, currency or natural resources. We'll also cover the various methods which can be deployed to invest in real estate from active "hands on" tactics to completely passive ways to build your wealth with distressed and rental real estate.

In this presentation you will learn:

The key economic drivers that benefits real estate

How market and demographic cycles are used to increase ROI

How to identify and evaluate real estate asset classes

The operational requirements to be a successful real estate investor

Funding strategies that fit your abilities and goals

How to use a self-directed IRA to invest in real estate

The presentation will last about 35 minutes then you can post questions near the end which we will answer live during the Q&A.

We look forward to seeing you online tonight at 6 p.m. PST!

P.S.: If you can't make the webinar, but want to learn more about using your IRA to invest in real estate, please give us a call at 425.270.7292 to set up a time to meet with us to discuss your needs and answer any questions.

Wendy Ceccherelli and Bob Malecki

The End of the Buyer's Market

Are we nearing the end of the buyer’s housing market in Seattle? Has the housing market recovered here?

If we look at Seattle’s most active zip code for real estate transactions, we can see that the median 3-bedroom home in 98115 sold for $439,975 in 23 days in 2012. This year, that same median 3BR home sold for $464,000 in 11 days! Multiple offers on houses in high-demand Seattle neighborhoods are now the norm.

So how on earth did sellers get the power all of a sudden? Well, there are a number of reasons. First, there isn't any inventory. This is partially because homebuilders slowed down, and partly because existing homeowners are either underwater or unwilling to sell at rock-bottom prices.

Investors also swooped in over the past few years and bought up all the foreclosed homes at major discounts (see my previous blog on institutional buyers in the single family market).

At the same time, homebuyer sentiment is on the up and up, and buyers are finally entering the fray, all at once. Responding to Fannie Mae's latest National Housing Survey, their chief economist commented, "Despite fiscal headwinds and political uncertainty, consumer sentiment toward housing is robust and continues to gather strength." This has to do with relatively low home prices coupled with insanely low mortgage rates, along with the expectation that things can only get better from here.

Specifically, 48% of survey respondents believe home prices will go up in the next 12 months, a high for the survey begun in June 2010. Only 10% of respondents believe home prices will go down, a survey low.

And when supply is low, and demand is strong, the frenzy begins. The desire to buy has grown, as 67% of respondents said that if they were moving, they would rather buy than rent. It appears as if everyone is simultaneously scurrying to snag a home so they don't miss out.

The big question is will they? Do you need to buy immediately in order to get a good deal (and a good rate on your mortgage)?

While inventory is nowhere close to historic levels, it should pick up nicely over the next few months during the spring buying season. Most properties get listed in March through May, so there will be plenty more to choose from if you can wait a month or two. The number of new listings may be even more pronounced thanks to this well-documented buying frenzy.

At this point, prospective sellers know demand is strong, and for many who were holding out, this could finally be the time to throw up the for sale sign. After all, plenty of homeowners who were underwater for many years are finally breathing again, and the kneejerk reaction is to sell the minute you get the chance.

One in four say now is a good time to sell a house, the highest level in two and a half years. People will probably act sooner rather than later, as 45% of those surveyed think mortgage rates will go up, while only 7% expect them to go down. Sadly, few are thrilled about the overall economy. Only 38% said the economy is on the right track and only 41% expect their financial situation to improve in the next 12 months.

This could spell opportunity for those looking to buy - just note that some of these existing homeowners will need a place to live as well, and may be competing with you when you make your offer on a house.



Contributors to today’s blog include Katherine Swanberg of TriStar Finance and Stephen Bighaus of Insider Lending.

People Skills

"The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people."

--Theodore Roosevelt

REI Capital - First Flip For Sale!

Bob Malecki and I are completing our first residential remodel in the REI Capital Investments private equity fund, and preparing it for listing on the market tomorrow. The address is 22160 Apollo Dr NE , Poulsbo, WA 98370.

Here are some before and after photos showing the quality of renovation.



The property will be listed initially at $179,500. For more information please contact Wendy Ceccherelli at wendy@reicapitalusa.com or at 425-270-7292.

Half Bathroom? No Problem....

Still have that 2nd half bathroom that you use everyday and hate because it looks like a prop from the set of The Brady Bunch? We have them, we have seen them. Most people do not know what to do with them partly due to size. Like everything else in life, if you want to be inspired, you need a vision and small half bathrooms do not give much to wonder about. Most half bathrooms you will find are the size of a small coat closet. We treat them like one. 

The basic anatomy of a small half bathroom: toilet, small sink, vanity mirror/medicine cabinet and lighting. It is basic, cut and dry. So why do we have a hard time working with this? Well, it is not about the room itself, but about the actual fixtures themselves and how you pair them all together. When working with a small bathroom, size does matter. Believe it or not, you have room to play within a small room, and the trick is to go small. Using the above illustration as an example we can go step by step.

• Sink - replace the dated vanity and sink combo with a crisp and clean white pedestal sink. For starters, it takes up less room, and it immediately gives the illusion of open space. The average cost is higher in comparison to traditional sinks. Elegance has a price. A vanity tends to eat space and always becomes a hidden storage unit. Want the proof? Open yours and take an inventory of everything in there. Then ask yourself....When was the last time you used half of what you stored? 

• Faucet - go small, there are many styles to choose from. 

• Walls - small bathroom walls should not have a busy print or even stripes. If you are looking for a cleaner open look, choose light, paint colors. Not sure on color? Go to any top brand paint site like Benjamin Moore and check out their color chart. Darker colors make rooms smaller. If you want large in a small space...go light and bright. The color white works miracles. 

• Toilet - consider replacing your old toilet with a compact elongated model. These toilets are not only space savers, but newer models are fabricated to save water. 

• Vanity mirror/medicine cabinet - bulky medicine cabinets devour space on your walls. If you truly can do without, a wall to wall mirror can immediately give an illusion of a larger space. 

• Lighting - wall sconces, like the one in this illustration come in many styles. Consider a clear glass enclosure rather a frosted one and be mindful of the hardware. Brushed nickel looks stunning, be concise with the theme and keep all the same. A copper or bronze wall sconce will clash with a brushed nickel faucet. Also consider a dimmer so that you can regulate the amount of light in a natural light challenged room. 

• Over the Toilet Cabinet/Storage - if you can part with this, just remove it for starters and see the immediate space you will have before doing anything in your bathroom. You can get the same results with decorative shelving. Rule of thumb, corner shelves take less room when you have limited wall space. Less is best on walls. If you can store your personals elsewhere, consider it.

With little time and patience, you too can have this: