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How Owning a Home Builds Wealth
August 17, 2017 /Here’s something I wish I’d known in my early twenties: buying a home is one of the best ways to build wealth. In 2015, according to the Federal Reserve, the average homeowner’s net worth was $195,400, while the average renter’s net worth was $5,400. Perhaps you know all of this already and are wondering if buying a home is still, in the current economy, even after the 2008 housing crisis, one the best wealth-building strategies. The answer to this question is yes, and here are a few reasons why. 1. Owning a Home Builds Equity and Forces You to Save Home equity is an asset that comes from owning a home and represents one of the largest sources of net worth for most investors. In other words, equity is the portion of your home that you actually “own.” Of course, when you a buy a home you own all of it, but borrowing money to buy your property means that the seller still has an interest in it until you pay off the loan. Equity is essentially a form of wealth; you can eventually take out income or lump sum withdrawals from this asset, or you can pass it on…Read more
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Tips for Navigating Seattle’s 2017 Real Estate Market
August 9, 2017 /Seattle’s real estate market is on fire right now, and it’s easy to see why. Tech giants such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Expedia are creating healthy job growth, making the local job market one of the hottest in the country. Additionally, despite its growing costs, this urban area remains one of the more affordable west coast cities, especially when compared to Los Angeles and San Francisco. Not to mention, Seattle is just plain gorgeous. With these perks, Seattle one of the fastest growing cities in the county; the most recent data found that about 1,100 people are moving to the city every week (you heard me right--1,100 people per week!). So, how does one navigate this exciting and competitive atmosphere when buying or selling a home? Here are a few tips, along with more information about what to expect from Seattle’s real estate market in 2017. 1. Don’t Wait to Buy If you’re serious about buying a home in Seattle, now’s the time to go for it. Real estate professionals predict that the market will remain competitive throughout 2017 and beyond. According to the NW REporter, while there was a small increase in residential listings this past June (a 7…Read more
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Fannie Mae Changes Help Homebuyers With Student Debt
August 4, 2017 /It’s tough out there for students. Take it from me, a millennial who has collected a bachelor’s degree and a master's degree, as well as a bit of debt along the way. Recent surveys have shown that the average college graduate has more debt than ever before, and that this increased debt makes it harder for graduates to save money and therefore more hesitant to buy homes. What’s more, millennials aren’t the only ones who carry this burden--about 43 million Americans, including millennials, Gen Xers, and even some baby boomers, are currently drowning in student debt. However, luckily for us former students, the mortgage investor Fannie Mae has introduced three new changes that will make it much easier for individuals with student debt to purchase homes. Here are three situations in which these new rules will help. 1. If Someone Else Makes Your Student Loan Payments Many employers now offer their employees student loan repayment benefits. In the past, this system has made it more difficult for individuals looking to buy homes; when calculating a homebuyer’s debt-to-income required for mortgages, mortgage lenders did not take into account that the potential homebuyer did not have to make their student loan payments…Read more
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Neighborhood Profile: Gold Creek
August 1, 2017 /If you’re like me, you might have trouble deciding where you want to settle in the Seattle area. With the city, the mountains, the Puget Sound and its islands, and the countryside full of farms and wineries, I am always wishing I could have five or six houses scattered around Washington. Luckily, however, there are places to live like Gold Creek. Gold Creek is a quiet neighborhood between Mill Creek and Snohomish, Washington. Nestled among the Cascade mountains and the Puget Sound, in one of the true centers of activity in Washington, this area is one of the most gorgeous and convenient places to live in the state. Vancouver, Canada is a little under 100 miles north, Seattle is 20 miles south, and the San Juan Islands and the Olympic Peninsula are just short ferry rides away. Neighborhood Stats As of 2010, Gold Creek had about 2,300 residents. While this neighborhood is small, it’s close to several exciting hubs, including Seattle ( about a 30-minute drive) and Everett (about a 20-minute drive). Because of its convenient location, Gold Creek is popular among families, couples, and single individuals who work in the nearby cities and want to enjoy a relatively short…Read more
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Seattle Summers: Golden Gardens Park
June 30, 2017 /While on a recent visit to Seattle, my partner and I hit the Washington weather jackpot for June: 65-degree mornings and 85 degree afternoons, without a single cloud in the sky. We decided to grab Thai food and head to Golden Gardens, which is a beachfront park located in northern Ballard. “Hooray, beach day!” I said as we drove to the park. “Well,” my partner replied, with that tone he often takes when he is about to be clever. “Beach day.” He pantomimed air quotes around “beach,” implying that Seattle beaches are not real beaches. My partner is from Colorado (which, let me just point out, has zero beaches), and he grew up frequently visiting family in Hawaii, enjoying pristine white sand beaches and warm waters. I love him dearly, but he is a tiny bit of a beach snob. “What are you saying?” I asked. “I mean, is it even a real beach if it’s all rocky and doesn’t have any sand?” I told him that he’d better change his attitude or I would eat all of the spring rolls and his pad thai (which I am totally capable of doing). While driving to the park, we were able…Read more
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Neighborhood Profile: Beacon Hill
June 28, 2017 /It’s a tough decision: should you live downtown amid the constant bustle of the deliciously funky urban organism that is Seattle? Or, should you live in a quieter neighborhood with better parking and perhaps slightly cheaper housing prices? Luckily, with Beacon Hill, you can enjoy the best of both worlds. The Basics Located south of downtown, between I-5 and Rainier Valley, the up-and-coming Beacon Hill is one of Seattle’s oldest neighborhoods. This large area is known for its relatively affordable housing and its convenient location—residents enjoy easy access to downtown Seattle without having to navigate the freeways (which we all know are not, ahem, Seattle’s best feature). Homes in the northern part of Beacon Hill were mostly built in the early 1900s, and so this area contains many lovely Craftsman bungalows and Seattle box houses. The hill also offers views of downtown, Elliott Bay, Rainier Valley, Mount Rainier, and the Olympic Mountains. Neighborhood Vibe Depending on where you are in the neighborhood, Beacon Hill can be both bustling and quiet. Currently, as well as historically, the neighborhood is home to a diverse population of working-class families. Completed just a few years ago, Beacon Hill’s light rail station has reenergized the…Read more
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Landmarks of Washington State: Mount Rainier
June 16, 2017 /Many of you have been reading Ian Clark’s blog posts for Pickett Street over the past couple of years. Since Ian is now moving on to a PhD program, he kindly passed the blog writing torch to me, his older (and, let’s be honest, wiser) sister. So, if you’re curious as to what it was really like growing up in the Clark household, I can fill you in. Anyway. Like Ian, I grew up in Washington State. Though I now live in the hippy haven of Boulder, Colorado, I look forward to the day when I can move back to the Pacific Northwest, where my heart and my family reside. To start off on a fun, perhaps sentimental note, I’d like to discuss one of my favorite spots in Washington, and, in my humble opinion, what is one of the best mountains in the entire world: Mount Rainier. Don’t get me wrong—Colorado’s Rocky Mountains are truly incredible. However, there’s something special about Mount Rainier. Maybe it’s the fact that, with the surrounding landscape at sea level, the peak with its 14,410 feet dramatically rises out of the clouds like a storybook mountain. I first heard about this mountain when my…Read more
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Do You Like Low Interest Rates?
May 9, 2017 /Interest Rates Unchanged After The Fed's Wednesday Meeting After its meeting this Wednesday, the Fed voted to leave interest rates unchanged, keeping its benchmark rates at 0.75-1.00%. The decision was a response to the economy’s slow .7% growth in the year’s first quarter. Much of this slowing growth can be attributed to the transition period following the presidential election, so the Fed remains optimistic for future economic growth. In that case, two more rate increases are expected by the end of the year. The next rate hike is expected to occur in June as long as the economy continues to grow, while many experts expect a second increase to occur in September. Overall, the decision seems to have had a very slight indirect effect on mortgage rates. As of Thursday, the average 30-year FRM was down about 1 basis point, hovering around 4.02%, while the average 15-year ARM and remained around 3.27%. And, though rates are always changing, many experts don’t expect them to increase dramatically between now until the end of the year. Many economists expect the 30-year FRM to fall between 4.2-4.5% at the end of 2017. For some, these rates might seem to be way too high.…Read more
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Rain, rain, (Don’t) Go Away
April 28, 2017 /I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but Seattle’s had quite a lot of rain recently. For the second year in a row, Seattle has broken a century-plus record for rainfall, enduring almost 50 inches of rain since the beginning of October. Usually, the city gets just over 30 inches by this time, so it would be an understatement to suggest that it’s been moist lately. In fact, the whole of Western Washington seems to have been caught in the deluge. Quillayute in Clallam County, for instance, has received more than 100 inches of rain since the beginning of October, or more than 10 feet. To put that number in perspective, if you were to clone me (because why not?) and perch my double on top of my shoulders, our combined height would be only slightly taller than the amount of rain that’s fallen in Quillayute. Some of you (all the transplants from California, I expect) might balk at this veritable monsoon. However, I’ll take the opportunity to be bold and suggest that life in Seattle is at its finest when experienced under a constant curtain of drizzle. I’ve already written about how much I love rain in Seattle, so I…Read more
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How Paying Off A Mortgage Builds Wealth
March 10, 2017 /Few homeowners are likely to say that they enjoy making monthly mortgage payments. Fulfilling an essential financial duty might be satisfying in the same way that cleaning one’s room or emptying the dishwasher is satisfying, but few people are likely to relish the act of paying off a mortgage. Which is strange, because most people enjoy receiving checks in the mail. While paying for a mortgage and receiving a paycheck aren’t quite the same, the comparison highlights an important feature of owning a home and having a mortgage: both are far better at building wealth than renting. The classic argument for this idea is that, while rent checks pay for a physical space that the renter will never own, a mortgage payment finances a piece of property that will one day be owned completely by the occupant. However, while this reasoning is perfectly sound, it also misses a key factor in a mortgage’s wealth-building power: mortgage payments contribute to building home equity, while rent payments do not. Let’s say, for example, that you’ve just bought a $250,000 house using a 30-year FRM. The beauty of this loan is that, no matter what the market does in the three decades following…Read more
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How I Got The Gumption: The FHA 203K Loan
March 3, 2017 /Sometimes, renovations can cause even the mildest mannered homeowner to panic. After all, home improvements can be costly and stressful. However, when Pickett Street’s very own Margaret Smith, Director of Operations, decided to purchase a vacant, bank owned fixer-upper, the FHA 203K Loan presented her with an opportunity that turned the process into a dream come true. Margaret bought her duplex in south Everett near Paine Field in August 2014. It was a bank owned property, meaning nobody had been living there for over a year. The previous owners had gone into foreclosure, so the home sat there vacant, lacking love and attention. The upstairs unit was a 3 bed, 1 bath layout that Margaret planned to rent out. It needed a new bathroom, new washer and dryer, a fresh coat of paint on the laundry room walls, and an all-around thorough scrubbing. The bottom unit was a 2 bed, 1 bath layout that was perfect for Margaret and a roommate. That 2 bed unit also needed a new bathroom, new kitchen and new vinyl wood flooring (which also needed to be leveled). The bottom half of the duplex’s exterior required a new paint job, and some general TLC. The…Read more
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Five Tax Breaks for Homeowners
February 10, 2017 /Now that it’s February, most of us have probably emerged from our flabbergasted holiday stupors and (with the help of a strong cup of coffee), finally achieved normalcy just in time for tax season. However, before you panic and begin overturning couch cushions to find the receipts you foolishly lost back in September, it’s useful to remember that plenty of helpful tax breaks exist for homeowners. Tax breaks for homeowners vary widely according to each person’s unique situation. Even so, it helps to be aware of the general options available for homeowners looking to save money during the tax season. Read on to learn more about how your home can help you save money when it comes time to file. Deductions for Mortgage Interest The interest American homeowners pay on a mortgage is tax deductible. For those who are married and filing jointly, it’s possible to deduct your interest payments for mortgages totaling as much as $1 million. Additionally, private mortgage insurance payments are deductible for those homeowners who took on a mortgage after 2006. Overall, these tax breaks make a big difference when it comes to alleviating the financial burden of homeownership. In fact, in 2011 American homeowners benefited…Read more
