Open Houses this weekend

I will be hosting two open houses this weekend and please feel free to stop by.

Saturday's (May 2) is a sweet NE Tacoma 2 bedroom condo with sweeping views of Tacoma Harbor. Totally updated by the current owner. Click here for a preview. I could hang out on that deck all day!

Sunday's (May 3) is a beautifully updated craftsman in the North End of Tacoma. Charming!! Plus it has a great yard, sports court and deck. Click here for the preview.

They are both awesome listings and well worth the visit!

Website of the Week

If you need a good dentist here you go!

John Hodges, DDS click it

Buyer's market?

This graph shows the Pierce County housing market up to $250,000 from January 2008 through March 2009. Whoa Nelly! Things are picking up! The little triangles represent pending sales and they leapt up in March. As of today, the standing inventory for homes for sale under $250,000 in Pierce County is below 7 months. 6 months is considered a neutral market. The "buyer's market" is gone in Pierce County in this price range. In fact, several agents in my office have experienced multi-offer situations repeatedly. It has been bank owned properties and short sales driving this improvement in pricing. Improvement? I know, I know. But even though prices have dropped and it is bumming sellers out, it's the only way we are going to see a turn around real estate. I am very curious to see how April turns out. Stay tuned...

Blister in a blister

As I mentioned earlier, I have been hired to address canvass for the 2010 US Census. It's been really cool and I have learned sooooo many nooks and crannies in Gig Harbor and Fox Island. What I have also learned is that you can have a blister in a blister. Not kidding. I have walked a tremendous amount of area in the last two weeks and developed a blister on my little left toe. I have monitored it and a few days ago, at the recommendation of a friend, popped it. Today, after 5 hours on my feet, my blister returned. I popped it again and found, AGH!!!, another blister under it. This is not right!!! The really funny/odd part of it is that more than several people, while address canvassing for the Census, have thanked me for my work. I really appreciate this, though I would first remind them that a) I am being paid and b) I am not being sent to Iraq or Afganistan. The Census is part of our Constitution, so I totally appreciate their thanks, but, funny enough, my FEET appreciate it more!

$8000 First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

There has been a tremendous amount of talk regarding the first time homebuyer tax credit for 2009, as you can well imagine. I think there is also a lot of confusion. The National Association of Realtors put together a good FAQ for it and you can click here for the link. It helps clarify how the credit is given. For example, if you qualify for the tax credit then next year when you file your taxes you will first have to see if you owe the IRS any money. Say you owe them $1500, then that would be deducted from the $8000 tax credit. So, instead of writing the IRS a check for $1500, you would receive a check for $6500.

One thing that I have not seen clarified anywhere is if the first time home buyer co-signs with someone else who is not a first time homebuyer. For example, a buyer who must co-sign with a parent in order to qualify for the mortgage. This is extremely common and, from what I understand, doesn't qualify for the $8000 tax credit. The lesson here is to consult with a tax expert if you think you may not qualify.

WASHINGTON STATE FIRST TIME HOMEBUYERS READ HERE!!!!

On April 16, the Washington State Senate passed an ammendment making Washington one of only a few states that will allow you to use the $8000 tax credit for your downpayment. How does it work? First they created a $25 million fund. The buyer "borrows" $8000 from the fund to make the down payment and signs over his/her federal tax credit to the fund. When the buyer files his/her 2009 taxes the $8000 credit is delivered directly back to the fund. Needless to say, the buyer would be responsible for paying any additional taxes they owe that year.

You have got until November 30, 2009 to go out and take advantage of this!

Website of the Week

I just tried a website called picnik.com. It's a photo manipulation website that mimics Photoshop. I love being able to play around with photography but never wanted to spend the big bucks on Photoshop. This site has a free version (that I used) and an upgraded version for a monthly fee. The free version had a bunch of options and I want to start experimenting with it. Here is my first attempt. It took me all of a minute to do. By the way, this is a self portrait of my nephew Connor. Apparently he got hold of my camera one day because when I recently downloaded pictures from it, I found several that I know I didn't take, including this one. I decided to give him a Quentin Tarantino look.

Accredited Buyer Representative Designation Earned

Yeah! I have officially earned my first Realtor designation, the Accredited Buyer Representative. This is the result of 24 hours of clock hour courses, passing the tests and having enough transactions under my belt to qualify. What this means is that I have taken the time to learn how to better serve and advise my buyer clients so the home buying process is smoother and my client's best interests are served.

Gig Harbor Getting Interesting for Foodies

I tried Sip at the Restaurant Wednesday night with a couple of friends and I am hopeful that Gig Harbor is finally going to get more interesting for foodies. The Tides is always good, my fish loving dad says they have the best grilled halibut sandwich he's ever had, and their new menu is showing some extra creativity. Anthony's has good food, but is really about the view. Also, as a vegetarian, their menu is too limited for me to give a true opinion. The Marketplace Grille, next to Anthony's, has a killer veggie burger, award winning clam chowder and a terrific view. Brix 25 has a spectacular wine selection, though I find their food sometimes in need of a little simplification. Complex doesn't mean throw in as many ingredients as you can. Also, not much available for a vegetarian.

Now, we have Sip, which opened a few weeks ago in Uptown Gig Harbor. I went with 2 friends, one a big time foodie from LA, and we were pretty darn impressed. There were a few things that still need some tweeking. My asparagus with black truffle oil was cooked perfectly but needed about a third of the truffle oil on it. Too heavy. My LA friend's white bean soup tasted great but has the consistancy of porridge. Just need to thin it out a little and perfection shall be obtained. My other friend loved her slider burgers and her french fries were sinfully good. We didn't really dig into the wine list on this trip, but it looks impressive. The thing I was most pleased with is that they are open late on Friday and Saturdays. 1am!!!!! Finally a place in Gig Harbor that doesn't start winding down at 8 o'clock. Now their is a great place to go after an 8pm movie.

What's coming next for Gig Harbor foodies... LeLe Vietnamese Food! More on that when it opens in Uptown Gig Harbor.

Website of the Week

I had a really nice dinner Saturday night at Maxwell's Speakeasy and Lounge in downtown Tacoma. We caught a movie at The Grand Cinema and then walked down to Maxwell's. Our ticket stub served as a coupon for a free dessert. Their wine selection is very good and their happy hour food prices are excellent!

http://www.maxwells-tacoma.com/

Census 2010

I have been pretty busy gearing up for the 2010 Census. About 6 weeks ago I read that they were hiring people with flexible schedules who would want to put in about 20-25 hours a week address canvassing. I thought, what the heck, that sounds like fun and it ties in well with my real estate career. Last week I completed my 5 days of training and learned, no, they want 30-40 hours a week. Yikes! Guess I'll be burning the midnight oil a little. Still, I am excited to get started. I already know the Gig Harbor area very well, but this will even improve on that. It's so important as a Realtor to have on the ground knowledge of your market. Many agents have become so reliant on the internet, but you just can't know a neighborhood until you've walked it.

Click here to read the News Tribunes article about the census starting.