Tune in to listen to the Tri-Cities Real Estate Update with Lance Kenmore on NEWStalk 870AM KFLD every Saturday morning at 9:00 am.

This weeks broadcast topic is “Hidden Home Defects to Watch Out For”. You have made an investment of tens of thousands of dollars to purchase a home…should you pay the $300 or so to have it inspected by a professional licensed home inspector? What are the hidden defects and dangers that need to be addressed? This week we will talk with local inspection expert John Cagle with AccuSpec Technologies, Inc. to get the real story.

To view more information or to listen to previous broadcasts go to http://www.wahomestricities.com/tri-cities-real-estate-update.

Tune in to listen to the Tri-Cities Real Estate Update with Lance Kenmore on NEWStalk 870AM KFLD every Saturday morning at 9:00 am.

This weeks broadcast topic is “Avoiding the Top Five Mistakes That Buyers Make”. This week we are going to talk about being a buyer. We are going to go over the top 5 mistakes that buyers make when purchasing a property. You’ve heard the saying, “Don’t buy the most expensive house in the neighborhood.” Tune in Saturday to hear the other 4 major mistakes you will want to avoid.

To view more information or to listen to previous broadcasts go to http://www.wahomestricities.com/tri-cities-real-estate-update.

Tune in to listen to the Tri-Cities Real Estate Update with Lance Kenmore on NEWStalk 870AM KFLD every Saturday morning at 9:00 am.

This weeks broadcast topic is “How to Sell Your Home Fast and For the Most Money”! Sometimes you just have to sell, whether it’s a job relocation forcing you out of the area, you are stuck with two payments, or maybe you are facing an unfortunate family crisis. This week find out what you need to look for and implement to get a quick sale as we focus on how to sell your home fast and for the most amount of money.

To view more information or to listen to previous broadcasts go to http://www.wahomestricities.com/tri-cities-real-estate-update.

July 2010
Active Listings = 1101
Listings Sold = 224
Average Sold Price = $219,400
Listings Under Contract = 294
Average Days on the Market = 116

As compared to last month, our active listing inventory increased from 1068 to 1101. Our listings sold decreased from 446 homes sold in June to 224 sold in June. Our listings under contract went from 305 to 294. Average days on the market decreased slightly from 118 to 116.

Here is what is sold in July by price breakdown…

$0,000 – $149,999 = 25%
$150,000 – $199,999 = 27%
$200,000-$249,999 = 19%
$250,000-$299,999 = 11%
$300,000-$349,999 = 6%
$350,000-$399,999 = 5%
$400,000-$449,999 = 4%
$450,000-$499,999 =  2%
$500,000+ =2 homes sold

The 50% drop in homes sold is a result of what I call the Home Buyer Tax Credit SHADOW.  Many of the June closings were a result of delayed closings taking advantage of the tax credit.  Even with that taken into account our number was pretty low for July.  Most likely a lot of buyers that normally would have waited had already purchased.  We will keep a close eye on things but early indicators are starting to pop up that the market might be cooling a bit over the next few months.  However, if you are in the market to purchase a home,  interest rates have never been better. 

If you have any questions about buying a home or selling your home, Tri-Cities WA please feel free to contact the Kenmore Team at (509) 727-8977. We look forward to hearing from you soon.

The Kenmore Team was awarded the Prudential Sales Professional Award - 1st Place in Residential Units in Washington for the 2nd Quarter 2010.

We would like to thank our friends and clients for helping us accomplish this award. Thank you for putting your trust in us.

If you or anyone you know needs our help buying or selling their home, please give us a call at (509) 727-8977 or contact us through our website.

We are here to serve you.

Beginning April 22nd of this year anyone who renovates, repairs, or paints in homes that were built prior to 1978 that have lead based paint must be a certified renovator or supervised by one.  I can tell you from experience and seeing things that really happen in the field that this is either not the case, or many people are ignoring the procedures they are supposed to follow.

Homeowners – please especially if you have kids and live in a house built prior to 1978 – hire a certified renovator for your paint and remodel projects if you are still living in the home.  This needs to be contained. Airborne Lead based paint particles pose serious risks to children and adults.  On a most basic level – never dry sand a wall with paint that may have lead based paint in it. 

Even more so for our contractors that are not certified – if you plan on working in pre 1978 – get certified because this is serious and could cost you and your business some serious money and liability.  I was very happy to see many apartment owners and local contractors taking the course – in fact two classes were sold out. 

The class was put on by Benton-Franklin Rental Owners Association (BROA), they offer a lot of great information to people who have rentals or have considered owning rentals. 

It is highly doubtful you will find me doing this work myself, but now I can identify what has to be done and when work is being done incorrectly.  We always believe that more education makes us better agents.  If you have any questions about lead based paint or housing in general – feel free to contact us at 509-727-8977 or by email at sold@kenmoreteam.com

Step One: Start by working with a good real estate team, such as the Kenmore Team and begin by asking for our lender recommendations. Make yourself comfortable with financing a home in this new area by calling these local lenders and see what kind of financing is available to you.

Just as houses and markets are vastly different from state to state and city to city, so are lenders and lending practices. Changes in jobs and incomes, not to mention changes in cost of living, can have a huge impact on what type of home you want to buy.

Step Two: Have your Realtor give you a community tour, so you can get a feel for the different surrounding areas.

Because we help a lot of people move to the Tri-Cities area from elsewhere around the country, we are most frequently asked about the local schools.

It is very important for you to do your own homework regarding your decision on the best school for your kids. We don’t know you or your kids needs, plus we don’t know every school in the area well enough to give an accurate opinion. However, we are able to provide you with a wealth of resources to help set you down the right path.

The best place to start is with the Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Amongst many other things on this site, you will find one of our favorite tools that we like to inform our clients about which is the School Report Card. The first page of the School Report Card gives results for the entire state, however if you use the drop down menu at the top, left of the page you can choose a school district, be sure to hit the go button to activate it, and then if you use the drop down menu again, you can choose the exact school you would like statistics for as well as demographics.

There are three main public school districts in the Tri-Cities, Richland School District, Kennewick School District, and Pasco School District. These are boundary maps for the current year for each district, so you can see which area serves which schools:

• Richland School District Boundary Maps
• Kennewick School District Boundary Maps
• Pasco School District Boundary Maps

Take some time to visit the schools, and consider your options. There are a lot of schools in our area, public and private all with unique differences. Take the time to find the best fit for your child.

If we can help make your move smoother, please give us a call at (509) 735-1025 or send us an email to sold@kenmoreteam.com.

Let’s first get the guilt questions out of the way that we get from the public – Are we wasting your time? How much does this cost? 

The answer to both of those questions are – No you are not wasting our time as long as we are looking at a team approach to selling your house, and for the second part, this is part of our service to help you make good decisions, our initial consultation is free.  This is what we do. 

So then, What is the Process? 

Step 1.  We need to schedule a time to come inspect the property and talk with you as the owners.  What this does is allow us to look at the house and collect data.  Most of this process is just the specifics.

1.  How many beds, baths
2.  Square footage
3.  Improvements you have made to the house
4.  Stuff we cannot see – extra insulation, upgraded heating and cooling, special orientation

Now there are a number of factors that we also look at while we are at your house that are not so scientific. 

1.  What do the neighbors houses look like
2.  Which direction does the patio face
3.  How is your condition – paint, carpets, animals
4.  Kids rooms – super bright colors 

Step 2.  Once we leave the home we have our notes and we have actually been through your house.  Now we can start the pricing process.

1.  What has sold that is similar? When we say sold we mean sold.  Not asking, not active, not maybe but what has closed.  There is a big difference and this category normally gets the most amount of weight when determining price, the Solds. 

a.  We like to keep square footage close to the same.  Now for instance if you are 1500 sq ft, we don’t want to compare your house to a 2000 sq. ft. house,

b.  Style of house is also a big factor – two stories are generally cheaper to build than say a rambler, split entries are less desireable. Now some things can cross – say a split with a mid entry or a rambler with a bonus. 

c. Once we find the closest sold match we can drive by that and then we can figure out how much stuff matches up.  This is where we really start to narrow our pricing down. 

2.  Next up on the agenda is what has sold in the last 30-45 days but not yet closed, the Under Contracts.

a.  This is like a real-time snapshot of the market.  If the market is trending up or down, this is where you find out how much.  You can call agents and ask questions about the deals.  In many cases you can even tour these houses.

3.  We now look at your competition, so houses currently for sale, the Actives.

a.  Who has the same bedrooms, bathrooms, and similar square footage, within 2 miles of your house that is currently for sale.

b.  Review how Buyers shop for homes, think how you would shop for a home, put yourself in the buyer’s shoes.

i.  Meet with an agent for initial consultation of what they are looking for.

ii.  Search the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) that meet their criteria and search online on their own

iii.  Buyer’s want to see the best 6 homes, preferably the ones that seem to offer the same amenities for the best price.

c.  Knowing this is how Buyers shop, we like to put your house in this top 6, preferably putting you in the number 1 spot.

Taking all this into account, we can then come up with a marketable price for your home.  If you have any more questions about this process or would like some more informaiton feel free to contact The Kenmore Team at 509-727-8977 or sold@kenmoreteam.com.

However, although tour reservations fill up quickly when reservations are first opened, a large number of cancellations occur throughout the tour season, so if you didn’t register in time there are still opportunities that I would seriously consider. Cancellations can occur at any time. When a cancellation is received through their online system, the number of seats cancelled on that particular tour open up for others to fill the slot(s). A particularly good time to check for cancellations is 3-10 days before each scheduled tour, because a “Reminder message” is sent to all participants via email approximately 10 days before each set of tours that many times prompts cancellation of seats. There are also typically one or two cancellations or no-shows, leaving empty seats on the days of the tour. Those are made available to walk-ins.

We recently participated in our scheduled Hanford Site Tour. The tour began in Richland and lasted approximately 5 hours, which sounds a bit overwhelming, but it was incredible and flew by quickly. We had an extremely knowledgable, long-time Hanford employee as our tour guide. He was a wealth of information. The tour provided an overview of Hanford’s role in the nation’s defense effort during World War II and the Cold War, as well as information on today’s environmental cleanup mission.

The tour route included:

• A drive by of Hanford’s 300 Area where uranium was fabricated into fuel rods.
• The nine nuclear reactors in the 100 Area located along the Columbia River where the fuel rods were irradiated to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons.
• The original Hanford and White Bluffs town sites, the only buildings left standing are the school and the bank.
• Most notable we were given a 75-minute guided walking tour of the historic B Reactor, the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor, so impressive. I learned so much, I had no idea that not only was B Reactor a first-of-a-kind engineering structure, and the world’s first full-scale nuclear reactor, but it was built and fully functional in just 11 months. It was an amazing feeling to be in there imagining what it must have been like as a fully operational nuclear reactor.

 Additionally, the tour included briefings at several Hanford facilities supporting today’s cleanup mission:

• A drive by of the construction of the Vit Plant.
• The Environmental Restoration Disposal Facility (ERDF), where Hanford’s low-level radioactive, hazardous, and mixed cleanup waste are disposed in a massive landfill with a capacity of over 11 million tons. It’s comprised of 4 pairs of cells, and then we were able to watch them lining Super Cell 9 I believe it was, and Super Cell 10. 
• The new construction site of the 200 West Groundwater Treatment Facility, which once completed in December 2011 will have the capacity to pump contaminated water from the ground and remove several chemical and radioactive contaminants at a rate of 2500 gallons per minute.
• Hanford’s Cold Test Facility (CTF), a mock-up of one of Hanford’s 177 underground nuclear waste storage tanks.

If you have the opportunity to participate in this tour I would definitely do it. It gave me a much better understanding and awareness of Hanford and what all the stimulus money is doing for Hanford and our local community.

Tune in to listen to the Tri-Cities Real Estate Update with Lance Kenmore on NEWStalk 870AM KFLD every Saturday morning at 9:00 am.

This weeks broadcast topic is “The Importance of Maintaining and Protecting the Windows in Your Home”. We don’t think about it as much as we should but windows and taking care of them properly can add tremendous value to your home.  Before you waste thousands of dollars tune in Saturday as we talk with window cleaning expert Jason Klovansky with Sparkling Clean Windows.

To view more information or to listen to previous broadcasts go to http://www.wahomestricities.com/tri-cities-real-estate-update.