This awesome 4,800 sq ft 4-Plex is situated on 1.36 park-like acres within a great single-family neighborhood. It’s a perfect owner occupied property - you can live in the spacious 3-bedroom, 2 bath, 1585 sq ft unit with hot tub on the patio and rent out the other 3 2-bedroom units, which collect rent from $860.00/month to $995.00/month. Upgraded finishes include laminate wood flooring, custom cabinetry and granite surface tops. All units feature extra spacious decks and patio areas overlooking the beautiful landscaped grounds. Parking is no problem with one double garage, 3 carports with storage and 6 extra guest parking spaces. This is a condo feel property listed at $675,000. To view the complete listings search for MLS#28147726

We just listed an awesome 4 bedroom, 2.5 baths, 2400 sq ft home in the 24-hour secured gated Birch Bay Village golf course community for $419,000. The home backs up directly to the golf course and features bamboo wood flooring, vaulted ceilings, foyer entry, formal living and dining room, kitchen with open eating area, family room with access to patio overlooking the golf course, master suit with soaking tub, separate shower and double vanity, slab granite counter and vanity tops throughout and 3 car garage with stamped and exposed driveway plus RV parking with RV dump. This home is located on a quiet cul-de-sac. Enjoy all the amenities Birch Bay Village has to offer - marina, private beach, clubhouse, tennis, pool and of course the golf course! To view the complete listing search for MLS#28147718

We just listed a charming custom built and fully furnished 3 bedroom, 2 bath single story home in the park like gated golf course community of Semiahmoo at a most amazing value of only $430,000. The home is nestled amongst large evergreens for ultimate privacy and abuts a beautiful park with picturesque fountain and pond! It features 10-foot ceilings, formal dining room, great room with awesome wet bar, corner fireplace and access to the rear yard with covered patio. The spacious master suite offers his and her closet, double sink tiled vanity, separate shower and jetted tub.

Enjoy the ultimate lifestyle at Semiahmoo Resort in an exceptional setting at an affordable price. The resort includes a marina, a full-service spa, workout room with indoor racquetball courts, indoor tennis court, sauna, large pool, Jacuzzi and two championship golf courses, including one designed by Arnold Palmer.

To view the complete listing search for MLS#28141202

I just read an interesting article about trying to time the real estate market, especially in a time where everybody is talking about the subprime mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch, recession etc. Many of our buyers are inclined to wait buying their next (or first) home because prices could fall more and it might pay off to wait a year or so. Question is - is that really the case? Well, consider this:

Let’s say you are emotionally and financially ready to buy a home, be it the first time or second or third and you plan to stay put for at least 5 years. You found your dream home for a list price of $300,000. You could put 20% down and would get a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. With a current interest rate of 6.25% and a loan amount of $240,000 (80% loan to value on $300,000- purchase price) your monthly principal and interest payment would be $1,477.72

Let’s say that in 12 months from now the market actually does crash and the same house would sell for 10% less i.e. 270,000, but by then the low rates that we have now are gone. So, anything you gain by a further drop in prices might be offset by rising financing costs. If mortgage costs rise just one point, to 7.25% and you stayed at the same 80% loan to value ($270,000 x .80 = $216,000) your payment would be $1,473.51. You waited one year to buy, saved about $4.00 per month and spent a year living someplace you’d rather not be.

So, trying to time the real estate market might not pay off. What do you think, does that make sense? Give us a call if you are emotionally and financially ready to buy a home.

Isn’t it nice that we are being taken care of? Haven’t you heard about the tax credit for new home purchases that is being “given” to us by our generous leaders? If you purchase a new home you are going to get a tax credit of up to $7,500-. This is great. A stimulus to our economy. A boost to our dropping home prices and sagging housing industry. Why didn’t they think of this sooner? What else could they do to help out the poor consumer suffering from higher costs and economic turmoil? How about interest free loans?

Wait a minute!

What about allowing us to not pay income taxes for a year to make it seem like we have more money to spend and them making us pay it back over a 15-year period. This would be a great short-term fix to stimulate the economy. If this was an interest free loan tied to a major purchase transaction, like a home, it would really help to heat up the economy. We all know that our economy is based on consumer spending. Heck, maybe the tax credit could be used to help people buy a new car, (great way to make money, purchasing a depreciating asset). What if we actually gave people more cash than they actually owed in taxes? We could tie it to the purchase to get them to spend even more money!

This sounds great, doesn’t it?

Guess what: Our highly paid professionals running the country have come up with a plan that will allow us to do all of this!

H.R. 3221 - The housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

This will allow homebuyers to get into even more debt. An extra $500- per year in payments over the next 15-years for those who are lucky enough to take advantage of this program.

Used conservatively this could actually help some buyers out. Most though will fall to the temptation of spending it and find themselves owing an extra $500- in income tax every year for the next 15 years.

The Loan Master says,” Buyer Beware on this one”.

Sincerely,
The Loan Master.