Two-story home with covered porch situated on a corner lot in The Foothills community of Monroe. Hardwood floors in entry lead past formal living and dining rooms to a spacious kitchen with breakfast bar. Family room is warmed by a gas fireplace and is host to a large picture window that looks out at back yard. 3 bedrooms upstairs, including master suite with walk-in closet. Fully fenced back yard and detached 2-car garage. Wonderful neighborhood parks!

List Price: $250,000
MLS#: 17641
Address: 16905 Copper Mountain Road SE, Monroe, WA 98272
Bedrooms: 3
Bathrooms: 2.5
Square Feet: 1,596
$/Square Ft: $156.64
Year Built: 1997
Taxes: $2,872
School District: Monroe
Elementary School: Chain Lake Elementary
Middle School: Park Place Middle School
High School: Monroe High School
Property Flyer: Foothills.pdf

Call Jesse D. Moore at 425.876.0766 for more information.

Pickett Street Properties is proud and honored to announce that all 4 of us just received the “2009 – 5 Star Realtor Award, Best in Client Satisfaction,” recently published in Seattle Magazine. This is a great honor for us – because our greatest desire is to serve our clients incredibly well. Only 758 local Realtors received this award of the over 20,000+ licensed Agents in our area.

Here’s how the awards are determined:

First, over 22,500 people who recently bought or sold homes were surveyed by mail and phone.  Next, professionals in the mortgage and title industry were surveyed for their nominees.  Stacks of surveys were received, screened and scored by Crescendo Business Services.  Finally, a blue ribbon panel of local industry experts reviewed the finalists list – and the winners were announced!

Those surveyed were asked to evaluate their nominees based on nine criteria:  Customer service, communication, finding the right home, integrity, negotiation, marketing the home, market knowledge, closing preparation, and closing satisfaction. We want to thank our clients and those we work with for nominating us.  We are thrilled with the awards, and will continue to do our best to exceed our clients’ expectations and goals.

Several Agents we know keep telling us how lucky we are.  I think Thomas Jefferson said it best: “Luck is a dividend of sweat.  The more you sweat, the luckier you get.”

While many in our area continue to complain that “nothing’s happening” – and that the real estate market is “still dead” – we beg to disagree: As a team, we currently have 15 homes Pending, and many more homes For Sale that are receiving regular showings!  And as a team, we’re currently helping  12 different Buyers find great homes and properties all over Puget Sound.

Finally, I’d like to quote one of my kids’ favorite burger-makers, Ray Kroc (founder of McDonalds): “If you work just for money, you’ll never make it, but if you love what you’re doing and you always put the customer first, success will be yours.”

We do love what we’re doing.  We strive to put our customers’ goals first.  And we’re thrilled to serve our clients, and to earn success. We’re proud to be winners!   And we’re looking forward to helping many more clients win in 2010!

Immaculate Rambler on nearly 10 acres! Just thru the gated entry- a slice of private paradise. Situated atop a knoll on almost 10 acres, this 3bedroom, 2.75ba immaculate rambler beams with pride of ownership. Inside are generous spaces including an entertainment size kitchen w/eating space, a separate dining room, living room and family room each with cozy gas fireplace. Attached 3 car garage AND detached 3bay shop/RV/Boat parking. Covered back aggregate patio for “any season” bbq’ing. Standby 13KW *natural gas* generator means you’ll always have power!

List Price: $950,000

MLS#: 4913

Address: 12711 238th St SE, Snohomish, WA 98296

Bedrooms: 3

Bathrooms: 2.75

Square Feet: 2750

Price/Sq. Ft: $345.45

Year Built: 1996

Taxes: $7,289 (2009 Tax Year)

Heat Source/Type: Gas / Forced Air; 2 Fireplaces / Gas

School District: Monroe
High-Resolution Slideshow

Call Lisa Bender at 425-770-4438 or Jesse Moore at 425.876.0766 or Dennis Pearce at 206.931.9945 for more information.

Frank Lloyd Wright aficionados! Nestled in a quiet cedar grove, commanding a bough-filtered golf-course view, you’ll find this classic 3 bed, 2.75 bath Mid-Century Modern home tucked into Bothell’s hillside Valhalla neighborhood. Offering 2660sf of striking modern architecture; the trademark straight roofline, raised clerestory windows, brick facade, wide-plank cedar siding, and elegantly simple design blending harmoniously with the natural surroundings. Many recent upgrades and community pool.

I just listened to a great call with an eye towards what we can expect in the year 2010 in the housing and rate market.  A great point was brought up about the cost of waiting.  Right now the government has pushed some major incentives into the market.  In December of 2008 the government announced a purchasing program that pushed rates roughly 1% lower than where they were the previous month, and had been for almost a year.

The Government is also allowing for a TRUE TAX CREDIT of $8000 for first time home buyers that is set to expire in April.  These 2 things can make a huge difference for a first time home buyer.  If you wait to buy and rates go up the roughly 1% that most experts are forecasting, you would be looking at a cost of about 5% of your loan amount upfront to buy down your mortgage rate back down to current levels, on a $200,000 loan that is $10,000.  Add to that the loss of the tax rebate, that is nearly $20,000, or about 10% of the purchase amount.  A more impressive number is the lifetime cost of a mortgage that is 1% higher than the available rate today.  The 30 year cost of a $200,000 loan with a 1% rate increase is $45,000.

This is a call to action, if you are debating buying your first house, or moving up to a larger home, please consider the cost of waiting.

Here in Washington state, we are accustomed to paying an excise/state sales tax when we purchase goods. Interestingly enough, when it comes to the most significant acquisition most of us will make, the seller, rather than the purchaser, covers the taxes.

Currently, the base Washington state excise tax rate is 1.28%, with each county adding on their own percentage for a total that fluctuates somewhat by area. Snohomish and King County excise taxes (in most areas) are at a .50 rate,  bringing the grand total to 1.78% of the purchase price.

An obvious question if you’re a distressed home seller would be, “who exactly pays this tax in the event of a short sale?”  In most cases, the burden falls to the bank that is carrying the mortgage to ‘eat’ that cost, along with the other costs associated with selling a home.

For a brief time at the beginning of 2009, some sellers were required to pay excise tax on the amount of the shortage (the difference between what they owed, and what they were able to sell their property for in a declining market). Sellers in this category may now be eligible for a refund of excise taxes. Use the following link to download the required excise tax refund application form.

Should you have detailed questions about Real Estate Excise Tax (aka REET) or short sales, we will happily refer you to a CPA and/or attorney who can further assist you. Give us a ring, or send us an email for a referral list to professionals who specialize in these issues.