WIN THE BIDDING WAR!!!

If you tired of losing house bidding wars... than believe me, you are not alone. Last month, while the rest of the country was going cold, a modest West Bellevue home went onto the market at around $875,000. Nothing uncommon here, except that the bidding war escalated to around $1.2 million! Wow, and you thought that 5% over asking would be a sure thing.

Don't worry though, this example is extreme. Most bidding wars are going to buyers paying more like $680,000 for a $650,000 listing, and so on. However, I cannot emphasize enough, the importance of having a good agent versus the importance of having deep pockets. More and more often the winning bids are not the highest. This is particularly the case since many of the extremely high bids are more susceptible to falling through due to remorse, low appraisals, inspections, etc.

Forget the foo foo letters that some Realtors tell you to write about how much you love the house and how you hope to raise a family there, bla, bla, bla. What the seller wants to know is this:

1. What are they going to pay (usually and obviously the most important)

2. How flexible are they in closing times, etc?

3. What are the contingencies or other ways for them to back out? Like most of the top Realtors, I will never ever ever suggest forgoing an inspection. However, if you are viewing a home mid-week and they are not reviewing offers until the next Monday, why not pay the $300 and get a preinspection so you can wave the inspection in the actual offer? This is a great move! Some people go even further and have their lender do a drive-by preappraisal to justify the higher bid price... just a thought. Either way, if your Agent doesn't suggest these types of things than it's no wonder why you keep losing homes.

4. Amount of earnests money? In the Seattle/Metro area, it is common to use between 3 and 3.5% of the offer price as earnest money to strengthen your offer and put the seller more at ease. In other markets, 2% can still be a strong earnest deposit.

5. Get a strong letter from your lender (preapproval letter and not a prequalified letter)

6. Professionalism of the buyers Agent? Are they easy to deal with, organized, convincing? Being able to present the offer in person can be a huge benefit (assuming you have a good agent).

7. GET LUCKY!!! Sometimes timing is still the most important thing. Make sure that your Agent keeps on top of your search criteria and make sure that you do your own searching online while at home, during breaks, etc. People that do their own hunting tend to find their homes twice as fast than those who rely solely on their Realtor. We cannot read minds and people often see homes that do not fit their criteria, but when they fall in love, their criteria changes faster than you can say "sold."

Need a bigger home?

Need a Bigger House or Condo???

Guess what? It's that time of year again when people are going crazy for Real Estate in the Pacific Northwest. Unlike other regions of the country, we are still in a sellers market! Also, this is traditionally the busiest time of the year... kids are getting out of school, and families are ready to move. If you have a home, especially one in the $550,000 to $850,000 range, now could be the best time to start thinking about a June listing.

Also, attention all Cosmopolitan owners!!! Stop putting your units on the market! If you can afford to hold, then hold. Right now approx. 1/3rd of all the units have been placed back onto the market and the owners haven't even moved in. The idea here is to make a quick buck, but the problem is that they are all competing against each other and against all of the other condo projects that get revealed on a near daily basis. Also, potential buyers are starting to take notice and their suspicions about the building are increasing with every new listing. It's almost impossible to rent the units for the right price to pay for the dues, mortgage, etc. but if you can even wait 6 months or a year, make it happen. Better yet, move in, wait two years, and get the big deduction before you make the move to the Escala of similar.

Downtown, highrise condo buyers are often of similar breed, and the floor envy that one feels in the elevator when your neighbor pushs 32 (you live on 24) is now being pushed to building envy. Who knows what building will truly become the most posh or the most desirable? Will Trump indeed build a tower in the next five to ten years? Both the Seattle and Bellevue skylines are changing at a rate that puts most of the country into hybernation. Maybe we're like a tiny Dubai, without all the great weather, extreme wealth, and palm-shaped islands?

Bottom line, live where you want to live and buy anything that you can afford... Real Estate is still one of the safest and best investments. You can't live in your stock portfolio and it won't get you laid (unless you drive a Ferrari with the word "Google" on the license plate!)

New Website!!!

Everyone check out my new website and let me know what you think? It's all being done in-house (literally in my house) so any changes are easy to make (and free). I also hate editing, so if anyone finds any typos, etc. please let me know.

Thanks,
Shawn.

Real Estate Philosophy...

Whether looking to buy or to sell, one of the most important decisions you can make is to work with the right Realtor. Anyone can pass a Real Estate exam and most people can present themselves well enough to get a listing. However, there is a huge difference between an average Agent and the service and results that a Top Agent can provide.

Having lived in Seattle's finest neighborhoods for over 28 years, I have developed an excellent understanding of the local Real Estate market that only a local could have. In addition to my everyday experience, I also have a BA in Marketing and related experience in law and architecture. I’m also a licensed insurance agent and was recently one of the area’s leading insurance writer’s of luxury homes and commercial property with a book of more than $500,000,000 in property. All of this aside, my real strengths and passions lie in Real Estate.

My Selling Philosophy:

I firmly believe that homes sell themselves when they are matched with the correct target audience and the correct market price. When I take on a listing, I provide some of the most effective and modern marketing to that property to insure that this audience is found. Our listings reach over 1,000 websites worldwide within minutes of their initial upload and I use some of the best photographers in the business to capture the best qualities of each home.

This website was created and designed by myself in order to display some of my style and marketing techniques. Also, all of my ads, mailings, etc. are designed and written by myself in order to convey to my clients my personality and my style of marketing and selling. In addition to effective marketing, I also tour every new Coldwell listing every Monday to insure that our prices and objectives are staying current with the local markets. This extra step takes a lot of time out of my schedule, but it provides me with more Real World knowledge than any instructor could give.

I use aggressive marketing, not aggressive selling to get the job done. I make sure that each and every property gets seen by the right people and I gamble more money than most Agents on better placed ads and exceptional property listings. I also have several years of experience dealing with the unique and discrete needs of high net-worth and high profile individuals and I understand the care and attention to detail that every client deserves.

My Buyer Philosophy:

Finding your new home should be more fun and less stressful than the burden of having to sell a home. In today’s highly competitive market where bidding wars occur more often than ever, having a knowledgeable Agent is more important than ever. I am fortunate to have developed a great team of home inspectors, lenders, and escrow agents to help any of my clients push their offers through. I have also developed proven methods of winning the bidding process, including the benefit of pre-inspecting in order to comfortably waive the actual inspection when it comes time for the offer. Some of our lenders will also do drive-by appraisals before we submit the offer in order to accommodate the often inflated bidding war prices. I have also developed strong relationships with some of the top Agents from NY to LA to insure that any and all of your Real Estate relocation needs can be met as well.

The other advantage that I offer my clients is my ability to listen and their wants and needs in order to properly filter the best selection of properties for them to view. By touring so many homes, I can take most of the burden away from my clients and allow them to continue on with their normal lives without wasting too much time. However, I encourage all of my clients to spend time online reviewing new listings and keeping their eyes open since opinions about architecture, space, and location do tend to change.

Whether you are searching for your first home or condo or the waterfront mansion
of your dreams, I am committed to earning your business by providing a truly World
Class Real Estate experience.

My unofficial bio...

Welcome to my Bio!

Whether you're here because of your curiosity or because you heard that this is a cheaper alternative to Ambien CR, thanks for visiting! In a nutshell, I'm the type of person who enjoys life far more than I enjoy writingabout myself. I'm also the type of person who tends to stress about insignificant thingslike whether a bio should be written in the first or third person? To be honest, I'm noteven sure how these things are suppose to start? And to think that I was once publishedat an Ivy League University... if they could see me now!

As far as my background goes, I was born in Seattle in 1978 and grew up in theWindermere neighborhood located near Magnusson Park. My younger brother and I both attended Seattle Country Day School in Queen Anne until High School when I transferred to University Prep. It was in High School that I learned the importance of living a balanced life... for example, I was able to successfully balancemy average grades with my average athletic talent. However, I did set a school recordby earning 12 Varsity Letters which helped balance the "cool" factor of being a Mock Triallawyer for two years! In addition to sports, my status as a class clown also pulled me through some momentary lapses in judgment like when I joined the cast of "The Coconuts" in the school musical.

Before my senior year had begun, I left High School to attend the School or Architectureat Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. After only one quarter of pursuing what was then my dream,a series of events took place that led me back to Seattle. I had quickly discovered that architecture was not the career for me and more importantly that 17 was too young to be offon another coast studying day and night with little sleep. I also lost my Grandfather during thistime in my life, and easily matured more during those few months than at any other point in time. After returning to finish up my senior year at University Prep, I enrolled at the University of Washington andearned a BA in Marketing. During my five years at U Dub (slacker!) I became the philanthropy chairman at Beta Theta Pi and learned the importance of social networking and more importantly tomake sure that test files are kept current!

After college I was literally steps away from Law School when a serious leg injury put me on bed rest and on crutches for over 3 months. When I finally recovered my direction in life had once again changed and I decided to get some experience working with my Father in the family business. During my three years at the C. Don Filer Agency, I managed what was easily the largest book of businessin the State for anyone under the age of 30. This included accounts such as DiamondParking and over $500,000,000 in insured commercial property throughout the UnitedStates. After three years of selling insurance and two top-producer awards, yet another unexpected event changed my outlook on business and life. In September of 2005, my Father suffered a massive stroke and has since been unable to return to his position as President of the C. Don Filer Agency, Inc. This only added to the stress of the insurance business and forever changed the family dynamic at the company. After much contemplation during what turned out to be the toughest year of my life, I decided that it was time to reprioritize and to focus on the thingsmore important in life than work and money.

Luckily, during this difficult time in my life I had the love and support of my wife Jenna andtwo Golden Retrievers who constantly remind me of the value of good carpet cleaners!Jenna and I got married on December 16th, 2006 at the Sunset Club in Seattle and we currentlylive in Madison Park along with our two Golden Monsters. I must say that marrying Jenna made me one of the most complete and happy people I know and she has concurredmy 12 varsity letter ego and mock trial argumentative personality. I'm also very fortunate to have an incredible group of friends that keep me laughing and active in the communityas evident by some of the crazier pictures in the gallery section.

More recently I have jumped into the business that I intended to pursue all along,Real Estate. As both an investor and an Agent with Coldwell Banker Bain, I've learned to enjoy every minute of my work and to keep my life balanced by staying active with my friends, family, and clients (not always in that order). Between sports, boating, and traveling, Jenna and I live very busy, happy, and fulfilled lives.

Welcome to my new blog!

Welcome to me new blog... I say "new blog" as though I've been blogging for years. I guess I should have said "welcome to my first blog... that's right, first. For I am a 28 year old blog virgin and I hence carry with me years of blirgin (blog+virgin) baggage and insecurities. Don't worry though, I tend to catch on quick, like when I became member number 50,000,001 on Myspace. I guess you could say that I'm practically a founder.

Anyway, I'm excited to keep everyone posted on my life, both personal and professional, and to be able to publicly vent about stupid people whenever I get the chance! Hopefully some of my future writings will lighten people's moods with a little humor and occasional sarcasm... and if you're ever having trouble getting to sleep please let me know! I can write about the ever- changing Real Estate markets and the economic trends that have led to many crappy little crapper houses being sold for close to seven figures!

Come back to visit or comment at any time!

-Shawn