SEATTLE AVENUE

“Sustainability” and “sustainable development” are terms you’ve probably heard a lot lately and no doubt will be hearing even more as we move into the future. Sustainable development is not always easy to define nor are the myriad definitions always agreed upon by all. My favorite happens also to be one of the simplest. In 1987 the United Nations in a publication known as the Brundtland Report defined sustainability as follows: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Seems fair enough doesn’t it?

Though most would agree that environmental considerations are paramount, the one thing sustainable development cannot do is focus solely on environmental issues. It is imperative that any sustainable development plan be comprehensive and incorporate economic and social issues as well. And there is no need for it to be limiting, with a little imagination a sustainable future can stimulate technological innovation, advance competitiveness, and improve our quality of life.

Global warming will not recognize national borders and any solutions will have to come from a global effort. It is imperative that we, all of us, the current stewards of our planet, live responsibly and work together to pass a healthy ecosystem onto our children. None of us can do this alone but we all can do this together.

It may require asking some tough questions and making some personal sacrifices, but in the end the reward will be not stealing the future from our children. Most of us can make an immediate difference by making small changes in the way we live: what we drive, how we conserve water and abate water runoff, increase the energy efficiency of our homes, lower consumption, increase recycling, think about where and what we purchase. As Gandhi once said, we start by “Being the change we wish to see in the world”.

Greetings and Happy 2008! I hope your holidays were festive.

First thing, let me be polite and make introductions. Please meet our new partnership known as Seattle Avenue Associates. Some of you know that Bill Aubuchon and I have been working together for many years. This year Henrik Brameus joined us and forming a trinity (or partners in crime) we naturally became Seattle Avenue Associates. Partnership allows us to cover an extremely broad geographic grid and allows our clients to share in our combined wealth of experience, knowledge, and diversity. Besides that, we’re just plain fun to work with and aren’t we a good-looking, fashionable team? (smile)

I struggled for weeks about what information I could share that would be of value in the current moment. It’s an election year, so much is going on politically and economically, real estate news across the country is a main topic of conversation, and the Seattle real estate market has cooled down - - which is good because more buyers can touch it now.

During this creative block James Wirth, a brilliant mortgage planner, sent me an email about a Winnie the Pooh episode he watched with his children. Gist of the tale was Pooh and Tigger wanted to have a moon party but the moon never showed up. They waited and waited but still no moon. So after much deliberation and discussion (as Pooh is famous for) Tigger took a cheese round from the party supplies, bounced up into a tree, and put the cheese round in the nook of a branch. Alas, with imagination they enjoyed a fine moon party.

The chart below illustrates King County residential and condominium sales from 2005 to present. In general, the pattern shows a gradual decline of sales and then in September 2007 a huge drop. That downturn probably started in June or July since average closings in our area take approximately 30 - 45 days. What contributed to this abrupt decline in closings? I don’t know if any one person can answer that with 100% certainty. What matters is that we have accurate information and awareness so we can avoid dreadful stupid decisions.

I know some sellers are hurting who expected fast sales, higher selling prices, and  multiple offers. I know some buyers are enticed when they see sweet deals but wonder if the fruit will get sweeter if they wait a bit longer to pick.

When things don’t work out the way we hoped they would, when the moon doesn’t show up for our moon party, we can still find a way to get what will make us happy. I truly believe we can benefit in this market having more responsible and solid financing conditions, more firmly qualified buyers, more inventory for buyers to choose from,  and Realtors who can successfully bring buyers and sellers together.

Next month I’ll talk about a hot topic in our area - - condo conversions!

Search NWMLS listings and contact us if you have questions.

Denice Rochelle (206) 769-1214
Bill Aubuchon (206) 931-8312
Henrik Brameus (206) 948-8032
Coldwell Banker Bain Award-Winning Realtor Team

 Featured each month is a different non-profit participating in our Community Partnership Program.

When we represent a Seller or Buyer, 10% of our commission is donated to a non-profit of their choice. Strong relationships have been established with a variety of non-profits as we diligently promote this opportunity. Featured non-profit: East African Center
 

Help One Child Attend School ~ 2008 Student Sponsorship Drive

My friend Suzanne Jeneby founded the East African Center which has been a featured Community Partnership in past issues. One of the important arms of EAC’s work is to provide education and nutrition to children in the village of Vutakaka. The current economic and political strife in Africa directly affects the EAC and the hundreds of people they serve. The EAC seriously needs financial help to continue their many valuable programs. A little goes a long way in Africa. You can send a child to school for one entire year for just .48 cents a day.

Sponsorship provides to a child for one school year: school fees, text books, school lunch, uniform, paper, pencils, crayons, shoes, a lantern, and even basic medical care.

Here is a special opportunity to make a real difference in a child’s life. In Africa, one in three children does not go to school and two thirds of the 40 million non-attenders are girls. Yet, when children, especially girls, are educated they tend to marry later, have fewer children, are more likely to stay HIV free, and their incomes rise. Please help a little boy or girl get a quality education. Together we can prepare these children for a bright future. We need your help to give them a chance.

Sponsor a child to attend Vutakaka Junior School!
 
The new school year just began on January 7, 2008. 

To sponsor a child please send $175 to:

East African Center

6040 Hardwick Place

Falls Church, VA 22041

You will be sent a picture and description of the child, and you will receive communications from that child throughout the year.

Sponsorship also makes a great gift! ‘We will send a gift certificate indicating your generous gift to the person of your choice.

Suzanne Jeneby, Executive Director sjeneby@eastafricancenter.org

Website http://www.eastafricancenter.org/

Tim Cornell specializes in designing and engineering pole houses which he calls “intelligent modern homes for the 21st century.” Ecologically smart, pole houses trace their beginnings to the indigenous architectures of ancient Africa, Japan and Polynesia.

Based in Hawai’i, Tim has been designing and building durable and attractive custom pole houses since the late 1980s. His key motivations are simplicity, innovative use of eco-friendly materials, harmony, and affordability. His unique structures are able to resist the ravages of hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, floods, and the damaging effects of sun, rain, wind and time. Currently there are five construction plans and, of course, you can customize.
Pole Houses use large diameter wood poles to create a skeleton frame that bears the entire load of the home, making both interior and exterior walls moveable without disrupting the structural integrity (making it semi-modular). The poles are bolted to concrete footings and carry the floor girders, roofing rafters and everything in between.

Pole Houses lean towards sustainability in much the same way other “sustainable” prefab homes do. They are intrinsically more eco-friendly because they do not require invasive site-preparation, they are quick to assemble and can be built by local builders using local, renewable materials. The more directly environmental features, such as photovoltaics, wind power, tankless water heating, gray water and composting toilets are all optional, letting you be as green as you want to be.

Tim is working on an off-the-grid design, too. Learn more at www.polehouses.com.

One of my friends has some long-term guests staying at his house. From what he tells me, it seems he’s feeling a little “displaced” in his own home. Maybe because his guests are older but it seems they like things - well -  amplified: the heat is higher, the tv is louder. He called me from a wash house while laundering a comforter because his guests had used all the bedding. He seemed mildly discomposed but because he’s got that French thing going on he cloaked it under a veil of dry humor.

Staying with friends or relatives when we travel (or for whatever reason) is not like staying at a hotel. Here are 10 things I read that made me laugh, things we can do when visiting our friends to improve our chances of being invited back (or at the least not kicked out):

The biggest holidays are behind us and surely some of us have visited or had visitors in the past few months. I’m sure somebody will laugh out loud after reading this!

As I was ferrying my two youngest back home on my lunch break the other day after picking them up from my wife at her Dentist appointment, I tuned in to AM 1000 to catch some financial news and see how the market was responding to the 1/2 point move by the Federal Reserve.

To my dismay and utter bewilderment I sat staring blankly at a red light, perplexed by the mortgage market commentary being offered by an Economics guru from one of our state universities. I really couldn’t believe my ears.

Asked a series of questions by hosts Manda Factor and Bill Yeend, the Economist’s responses were dismal at best. Here’s my recollection of his comments (in a nutshell, referred to below as “IANS”), and my response to each:

Question: Is now a good time to refinance? Economist (IANS): Well, maybe, IF you can qualify, but most people won’t, based on the credit crunch.

James: Come again? The ‘credit crunch’ is not even applicable for many borrowers. There have been changes to loans that allowed for no or low down payment, low credit scores and no or low-income documentation; however, for the majority of borrowers, if you qualified 12 months ago you qualify today.

For programs that have been affected, it usually means that I sit down with the borrowers and we put a 2-to-6 month game plan in place to help them prepare. We put a budget together; we identify ways to improve credit profiles. We put the horse squarely in front of the cart.

I don’t mean to sugar-coat changes in the credit and mortgage markets, but in all too typical fashion they have been grossly over-exaggerated.

Question: But aren’t rates a historic lows?

Economist (IANS): Well maybe but banks just aren’t making the loans. They are advertising low rates but when you go into to lock the rates you don’t qualify.

James: Come again? Humor me for a moment, but why would banks spend hundreds of thousands of dollars advertising rates if they didn’t plan on offering those rates to customers? I don’t even know what else to say to that.

Question: What about the FOMC lowering the Fed Funds Rate, won’t that help borrowers?

Economist (IANS): Well, the banks are just going to sit on those funds to increase their liquidity, so it won’t help the consumer.

James: Come again? I may be oversimplifying this, but the whole point of the Fed lowering that key rate is to pump additional funds into the system so the banks WILL make more loans. The reason banks get one rate and charge a higher rate is so they can make a profit. If they don’t lend it out, they lose money because they are paying interest on those funds and that doesn’t help the banks or us.

Someone once said you can’t believe everything you hear. Well shucks, I guess they were right.

By the way, I’m James Wirth, WA DFI License #510-LO-34536, and if anyone is asking, the comments in this post are the sole opinion of the author.

_______________________________________________________________

James Wirth is a Mortgage Planner licensed by the Washington State Department of Financial Institutions under Loan Officer License Number 510-LO-34536.

His Blog can be found at http://mymortgageplan.blogspot.com and he can be reached directly at:

James Wirth Landover Mortgage Cell/Direct: (425) 501-4749 Office: (425) 977-2244 Ext. 1002 Fax: (866) 215-1749 Email: Jameswirth@landovermortgage.com

Web: http://www.landovermortgage.com/jameswirth/

  The Brill Luxus 38 is the reel mower they like at Clean Air Gardening, they call it the “Mercedes” of reel lawnmowers.

You don’t have to yank a cord, spill gas and oil, wait until after 8 a.m. to avoid neighbor complaints/fines for violating  the noise ordinance, or sharpen the blades for like a decade. You DO have to push. Oh so good for the environment and your body, mowing can tone up winter flab get you in shape for summer bikinis and speedo’s. 

Back in the day … remember the swish of reel blades and the earthy sweet smell of fresh cut grass?

Afterwards, treat yourself to a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and sweet lemonade just like mom used to make. Well, not my mom but maybe yours. Satisfaction and nostalgia for just a couple hundred bucks.

Brill Luxus 38 Info:

5 Blades — The optimal number of blades for superior cutting and ease of pushing. Weighs only 17 pounds — light enough to hang on the garage wall or pick up with one hand 8″ diameter wheels. Silent cut design — The blade misses the bedknife by less than a millimeter. This reduces friction and allows the mower to cut the grass like scissors. It also increases the blade life, which means you won’t have to sharpen for a decade or more. Flame hardened, welded steel blades — harder than tempered alloy, which also helps increase blade life. Dry powder coat on metal components — Powder coated surfaces are more resistant to chipping, scratching, fading, and wearing than other finishes. And colors stay bright and vibrant longer. Powder coating is also highly protective of the environment, because it contains no solvents. Sealed bearings. No extra maintenance required, because the bearings are sealed. Brill mowers feature a 2-year manufacturer’s warranty.

Cutting height ranges from 15mm to 45mm (0.7″ to 1.8″ ). This lets you cut low enough for the golf course look, and high enough for an average length cut for a wide variety of grass types.

Mowing width is 38 cm (15.2″). Small enough to maneuver easily through the yard, but still about 75% as wide as the average 20″ wide gas mower.

Mower comes fully assembled except for the handle. The handle comes in three pieces and requires no tools to put together and attach to the mower. Takes about 10 minutes to get out of the box and into the yard.

The Brill reel mowers have a sealed bearing with a separate bearing race. This is the way such bearings were produced until recent manufacturing technology allowed for the entire structure (bearing and race) to be produced as a sealed unit.

Things to keep in mind with any manual reel mower:

1. Manual reel mowers don’t cut tall weeds well (but they do great on grass!) Because of the design, the reel will roll over tall weeds and dandelions without cutting much. So they aren’t a good choice to mow a vacant lot, but they’ll do superbly with a grass lawn.

2. If you don’t mow weekly, it’s going to be much harder to push. You know how a gas mower will bog down when you try to mow grass that hasn’t been cut in weeks? Well, it’s like that with a reel mower, except you’re the motor!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. Pet food. A couple who owned a junkyard was allowed to write off the cost of cat food they set out to attract wild cats. The feral felines did more than just eat; they also took care of snakes and rats on the property, making the place safer for customers. When the case reached the Tax Court, IRS lawyers conceded that the cost was deductible.
2. Moving the family pet. If you are changing jobs and meet a couple of tests, you can deduct your moving expenses - including the cost of moving your dog, cat, or other pet from your old residence to your new home. Your pet - be it a Pekingese or a python - is treated the same as your other personal effects.
3. A trip to Bermuda. This island is more than just a scenic place to visit. It’s a great place to schedule a tax write-off, because business conventions held in Bermuda are deductible without having to show that there was a special reason for the meeting to be held there. That’s a sweet perk. Other countries in the Caribbean region qualify too, including Barbados, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, and Trinidad and Tobago. Meetings held in Canada, Mexico, and all U.S. possessions also receive this favorable tax treatment. Attend a convention in Paris, Rome, or Beijing, though, and there’s no deduction unless you can show it made as much sense to travel abroad as to head to Pittsburgh.
4. Body oil. A pro bodybuilder used body oil to make his muscles glisten in the lights during his competitions. The Tax Court ruled that he could deduct the cost of the oil as a business expense. However, the Court frowned on his deductions for buffalo meat and special vitamin supplements to enhance strength and muscle development.
5. A private airplane. Rather than drive five to seven hours to check on their rental condo or be tied to the only daily commercial flight available, a couple bought their own plane. The Tax Court allowed them to deduct their condo-related trips on the aircraft, including the cost of fuel and depreciation for the portion of time used for business-related purposes, even though these costs increased their overall rental loss.
6. Babysitting fees. Fees paid to a sitter to enable a mother to get out of the house and do volunteer work for a charity are deductible as charitable contributions, according to the Tax Court, even though the money didn’t go directly to the charity.
7. Breast augmentation. To get more tips, a stripper with the stage name “Chesty Love” decided to get breast implants to make her a size 56FF. A Tax Court judge allowed Chesty to write off the cost of her operation, equating her new, um, assets to a stage prop. Alas, the operation proved to be a problem for Chesty. She later tripped and ruptured one of her implants.
8. Landscaping. Sole proprietors who regularly meet clients in a home office can deduct part of the costs of landscaping the property. The deductible portion is based on the percentage of the home that is used for business, according to the Tax Court. The Court also allowed a deduction for part of the costs of lawn care and driveway repairs.
9. Free beer. In a novel promotion, a gas station owner gave his customers free beer in lieu of trading stamps. Proving that sometimes beer and gasoline do mix, the Tax Court allowed the write-off as a business expense.
10. Swimming pool. A taxpayer with emphysema put in a pool after his doctor told him to develop an exercise regime. He swam in it twice a day and improved his breathing capacity. Turns out he swam in the pool more than his family did. The Tax Court allowed him to deduct the cost of the pool (to the extent the cost exceeded its added value to the property) as a medical expense because its primary purpose was for medical care. Also, the cost of heating the pool, pool chemicals, and a proportionate part of insuring the pool area were treated as medical expenses.

The idea of how Seattle’s current real estate market could be related to sailing has been on my mind for days. Such an interesting sequence of events has led to this place that I’ve drawn a blank even settling for fiction. A thought did roll across my mind, oddly enough in the form of a streaming banner ad: Media + Seattle Real Estate = Confusion|Fear.

Our market has been showing signs of gradual normalizing and I’ve not met anyone who honestly believed our market could sustain its white hot sizzle indefinitely. What goes up must eventually come down. That doesn’t mean what goes up must crash and burn but that’s the impression you may get if you kept up on irresponsible and inaccurate media reporting. The real estate market in our state has taken some direct negative hits from the media that has confused both buyers and sellers - and frustrated the heck out of me.

Real estate is a teeter totter industry. There are two sides to every transaction and two sides to the market. One side of the market is more beneficial to sellers; the other side is more beneficial to buyers. Real estate is in constant motion, back and forth. Even in a very hearty market there are parts of that market that are not as robust. Some sellers experience multiple offers quickly; some sellers wait months for an offer.

It’s supply and demand that determines whether a real estate market is hot or cool, hearty or slow. The moment of the market determines whether a seller sells in a week or months.

Don’t pull out the shovel yet, our real estate market is quite alive. It’s not running marathons. It’s walking right now. Our economy and job growth are kicking you know what! More accurately I present for consideration that market areas here slowed because of supply and demand issues, not because our market was or is crashing. When areas have sudden increases in inventory, the increase will affect that market. Is anybody writing about our inventory increase happening at a time when demand has not? That situation could look like a market is slowing when it’s really adjusting to an increase in inventory.

Oh! Oh! Here it comes: If I were planning a sailing trip to the San Juans I wouldn’t rely on what I read in the paper or what somebody at a sporting goods store told me the weather would be. I’d invest the time to do my own due diligence. I’d pull out my maps and charts, review historical data, get my weather resources. And I would consult my husband, the Swedish sailor.

Seattle area buyers and sellers: Do thorough due diligence with your real estate professional. Know what your market area has done and what it’s doing right now. Be prepared. Stay prepared. Liberate your mind of pesky demons advising you to make current decisions based on how our market used to be. And finally, don’t allow the media to be your source of real estate information - be your own source and connect with a knowledgeable Realtor.

Make yours a great New Year and maybe help someone else’s be great, too.

Happiness Health Wisdom Prosperity and Love to the end!

Search NWMLS listings and contact me if you have questions.

Denice Rochelle

Coldwell Banker Bain

DeniceRochelle@cbbain.com

(206) 769-1214

What’s In
Home buyers. What goes around comes around. Relegated during the boom years to bidding wars, over-full-price offers and new construction lotteries, buyers rule in 2008, and know it. With swelling inventories, they are looking for newly updated kitchens and baths, pristine conditions, and a perception of value.

Destination bathrooms. The master bath has evolved into the home getaway with multiple task areas. Freestanding or “throne” bathtubs (bath thrones) in the center of a soaking room, multiple flat screens TV’s and wireless Internet so you don’t miss anything as you move from bathing to grooming to lounging. Outfitted with serving bars featuring wine coolers, espresso machines, and grazing snacks. And, a burgeoning need for in-home hair salons.

Short Sales. Home owners who have over-extended themselves financially are increasingly looking to their mortgage holder to accept less than is owed on their property. Some mortgagee’s will accept less than is owed through a short sale, in place of taking ownership of a home back through foreclosure.

Pet showers. The kitchen or work sink is out for the dog bath. Dedicated dog showers are an emerging trend. Be it in a mud or utility room, garage corner or basement, dog lovers want a place to clean their favored pooch after a visit to the neighborhood dog park. Common dog showers feature a 3′ x 3′ shower base, surrounded by ceramic tile 4′ up the wall. Pet showers are all about the convenience for Fido to step in, and eliminate the master’s need to lift.

Home elevators. The boomers want their vertical palaces with elegant min-elevators. No more unsightly and very 1970s chair-on-the-rail-system for these financially flush, forward-thinking home buyers.

Outdoor living spaces that look interior. Massive, soaring “statement” fireplaces of cut stone, heated (think bathroom floors) flooring and walkways, entertaining sized custom kitchens, and indoor-looking artwork, fabrics, and finishes, but ones that can stand up to the elements.

Down payments. Sexy home mortgages are out. Those who underwrite home loans are looking for substance from potential home buyers. Substance equates into disciplined savings and credit scores.

A home’s carbon footprint. Manufactured homes, reused construction materials, and energy-friendly mechanical systems and appliances all reduce the need for fossil fuels. Home buyers are asking about how their potential new home can save the planet. It’s more than a trend, it’s a convenient truth.

Monitoring and controlling with hand-held devices. Forgot to turn off the coffee maker, close/open the blinds, and turn the heat down or the air conditioning up? The latest in technology that utilize hand-held devices to open or close the blinds, turn on or off lights, or let Fido out the electronic pet door, around the corner or across the country.

Floating Homes. Not just in Sausalito. If your hood has calm protected waters, you’ll soon have floating homes, those that look like conventional, soil-situated structures. From Louisiana to Vancouver, floating homes are at the top of must-have lists for those looking for a primary home to be lifestyle oriented. Plus, watching sunsets are a more enjoyable and greener alternative to lawn mowing.

Concealed appliances. Buyers bypass matching cabinet panels that are used to disguise the ubiquitous refrigerator and dishwasher. Hinged and pocket doors are the latest way to integrate visually those boxy necessities and make the kitchen more non-traditional and less functional looking.

Non-smoking Homeowners Associations. Who knew that some Homeowner Associations are rewriting by-laws and declarations to include those unit owners are not allowed to smoke inside their homes? Smoke-free common areas in addition to building-code-required ventilation systems and fresh-smelling hallways have taken precedence over individual’s rights to light up in their recliner.

Off-grid homes. Solar panels, windmills and inverters are here to stay, in a big way. With brown-outs and power line-damaging storms on the increase, buyers in 2008 will ask for hybrid home-energy options, even being partially off-grid beats getting expensive power from coal-fired utilities, to these eco-energy users.

What’s Out
Unrealistic home sellers. These relics of another time and market missed the cocktail party chat and water cooler angst by the transitional sellers of 2007. Cautions included: pricing their home right, consider home-sale contingencies, and offer closing cost givebacks. Hear-no-evil-sellers were overlooked by buyers who pined for reality minded ones. Because if sellers were flexible with buyers needs, buyers bought.

Living rooms. The great room has replaced the living room in American residential culture. Informal lifestyles with eating, cooking and living spaces combined so family members and visiting friends can congregate together through various activities has conquered the forced museum. In viewing homes with buyers I see the ex-museum used as work-out spaces, home offices, craft or hobby places, and I’ve seen more than once, the coveted living room with nothing more than a pool table as its solitary focus.

Empty for sale homes. Buyers thought people “lived” in houses, but after seeing one-quarter of the homes they viewed empty, they wondered. Even though staging was the buzzword, getting that right was prickly in 2007. Those leftover silk flowers, the left behind mis-matched furniture, and the one-off design-show decorating scheme were buyer no-no’s. Neutral palettes, personal objects, thoughtful furniture rental, and something in the refrigerator says to buyers, maybe a person lives here.

Double-digit home value appreciation. For now, the home as “get-rich-quick” investment is over. We’re back to pre-boom norm of housing or shelter. Flat or low single-digit appreciation in most markets in 2008.

“Order-taking” real estate agents. The hive during the boom years was real estate, and multitudes of the dot-com-busted became the worker-bees of real estate sales. Everyone and anyone got licensed and into the frenzy. Little did they know that seasoned (pre-boom), full-time, professional agents possessed ready, willing and able buyers, knew how to sooth seller’s anxieties, and produced the fifth highest year in real estate sales, in 2007.

McMansions. Size doesn’t matter if it’s not well finished. A large voluminous home whose best attribute is the square-footage is waning. Home buyers are looking for quality, not quantity in 2008. After all, who has the money to replace the faux-hardwood floors, builder grade carpet and fiberglass bathtubs?

Obese ceiling heights. It’s cheaper to go up than out. That’s been the thinking anyway as of late in residential design. Buyers have finally said enough, they prefer ceilings between nine and eleven feet. Anything more, especially in a smallish (under 10′ x 12′) room is waste. If you can’t add a loft in a soaring room, “down size me” height-wise, buyers say.

Pioneering locations. Buyers have moved away from take-a-chance-hoods. Pioneering or off the beaten path areas were once the hot bed of potential appreciation. However, buyers in 2008 have returned to the tried-and-true address, keeping resale desirability firmly in mind when making a purchase.

Balconies as a marketing gimmick. Functional outdoor space, not the anorexic appendage hanging off the building, is what buyers crave in outdoor space for 2008. Real balconies have room for a grill and a comfortable table and chairs. People love the outdoors and want to use it, but not only as a solo experience.

Option ARMS (Adjustable Rate Mortgage). Buyers have heard that these loans usually have only one option; foreclosure. Used by the rich for short-term financing, they were re-packaged to buyers who wanted to qualify for the highest loan amount. Negative amortization is the harsh reality of Option ARMS. Home buyers should run, not walk if these words are proposed as a financing option.

Pre-construction pricing on new construction. Builders who are plunging ahead with new projects in 2008 will be better off with one pricing model from beginning to end, and eliminating their “everything’s an upgrade” mentality.

What’s on the Way Out
Mosaic tile. Once deemed the ultimate in tile, now considered a very personal design commitment to the previous owner. The cost and waste to remove intricate mosaic is over-whelming to buyers, especially if it is has been recently installed. Even the most expensive but not agreeable tile could kill an otherwise acceptable property.

Retro-1970s chic. Trend-obsolescence by buyers in 2007 was rampant. Loving the retro-seventies was easy, but hearing horror stories from would-be sellers about the market’s hesitance to buy a design white-elephant, made more main stream kitchens and baths a sensible decision. As one Gen X buyer said to me; “I love the dark espresso colored shag carpeting, but, I know my decorating needs will change, I want an interior that will transcend trends.” I replied, “You’re looking for a ‘transcendent look” and her response: “exactly.”

survey info gathered by survey author Mark Nash