SEATTLE AVENUE

Each month I feature a different non-profit participating in my Community Partnership Program.

When a client hires me to help them sell or buy a property, 10% of my commission is donated to the non-profit of their choice in their name. I’ve established strong relationships with many different non-profits and continue to work diligently to spread the word about this abundantly productive opportunity. Supporting non-profits in this way is core to my business.

This month’s featured non-profits:

Team Reducing Animal Neglect & Suffering (T.R.A.N.S.);

Feral Cat/Dog Consortium; and

Furever After Rescue Society

About Furever After Rescue Society

Furever After Rescue Society is a non-profit organization, based in Calgary, AB (Canada), dedicated to the rescue of dogs from high kill shelters, disasters, neglect and other tragic situations from Canada and the United States, often focusing on southern states primarily Louisiana. Once selected, all their animals for adoption receive a full health check, spay/neuter and are then placed in a caring foster home where they are socialized and trained until their perfect home becomes available.

About Team Reducing Animal Neglect & Suffering (T.R.A.N.S.) and Feral Cat/Dog Consortium

The Feral Cat Consortium is an all-volunteer group working to stem the tide of overpopulation of feral and stray cats. Thanks to the insightful participation of many, there is real hope that they can stabilize the population such that it will then decline due to natural attrition.

Whether or not you care about homeless cats, it is clearly in the interest of the community as a whole to reduce the numbers, for practical as well as humane reasons. Many individuals feed colonies of feral cats, but the only alternatives to stopping the population growth have been inadequate and inefficient. The only options for the mostly-unadoptable feral cats have been euthanasia or life in a cage.

The alternative - cats can be humanely and affordably neutered to live out their natural lives peacefully. Volunteers continue to feed the cats. The population decreases due to natural attrition.

In its first two years, the FCC has spayed or neutered 1500 cats. Colonies of 30 cats have been reduced to six or fewer.

To donate, volunteer, or get involved with any of these organizations contact:

Wendy Guidry

Team Reducing Animal Neglect & Suffering (T.R.A.N.S.)
Feral Cat/Dog Consortium

4 Summer Haven Court
Madisonville LA 70447

Telephone: (985) 373-5937
Email: mrjames1@earthlink.net
Website: http://www.geocities.com/fccsttam/
Website: http://www.fcc.petfinder.com

Alissa
Furever After Rescue Society
Website: http://www.fureverafter.org/
Email: info@fureverafter.org

Bill Aubuchon, Henrik Brameus and I joined PAWS once again as a Guardian Sponsor with a booth at their 16th Annual PAWSWALK event on September 8th at Magnuson Park. We had sunny weather, a record number of participants, and raised over $175,000 for the animals - a new record!

Did you know that PAWS has a website for kids who love animals? It’s called PAWSkids.org and is a neat place where kids can learn about animals, subscribe to a kids helping animals newsletter, get information about touring PAWS, etc. And each week during the school year students at Spruce Elementary write the profiles that help the companion animals at PAWS find great new homes. Get your kids and check it out here.

Firstly, a quick note of appreciation for our very own Denice Rochelle. The stoic Eleanor Roosevelt (whom you remind me of with your spirit of giving and willingness to help others ) said, ‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, and today is a gift; that’s why they call it the present.’

Thank you Denice for the gift of your time on our behalf, shedding light on our corner of the Real Estate market. The Specificity of your focus brings it home for us in a truly meaningful way.

Speaking of the past, present and future of our market, what the heck is going on in the mortgage world? Well, I’m glad you asked. Thank you for allowing me to be part of your morning (afternoon/evening/wee hours) reading.

The national ‘credit crunch’ actually applies to our market and the focus of this issue’s newsletter in a much more tangible way than the national outlook on Real Estate.

“Huh?”

What I mean is, the nay-saying media’s spin on the national devastation in Real Estate values just plain doesn’t apply to our local market (Denice, back me up here).

In contrast, the mortgage market has been affected more directly because the majority of lenders licensed in our state sell the loans on the national secondary markets. Because of this, our local loans are directly affected by the state of the market generally. There are exceptions to any rule but generally, that’s how it works.

So if you’re saying to yourself “What about this $1M condo, should I really be buying now?”

I don’t know of a single savvy Real Estate investor who would let a ‘right-ing’ of the mortgage market get in the way of making a right decision, regardless of the price range. Ultimately that’s a question for Denice (to buy or not to buy) and if the answer is yes, then we sit down to see what programs are available.

Does financing look the same as it has over the past few years? No, it’s changed and we’re going to structure things a little differently than we have been.

That’s all I really have to say about that.

Speaking directly to interest rates, a loan that meets the ‘conforming limit’ (currently capped at $417,000) is generally at a [slightly] lower interest rate than a loan amount that is non-conforming (over the $417,000 cap). This difference in rate based on the conforming loan limit is an historic trend we have found ourselves following once again.

So to re-cap: The sky is not falling and the Greater Seattle market is not going to pieces.

Have we even considered the net job growth that is projected for the next ten years? The affect of that on growth for our state? The real burning question should be, “Where are all those people going to live?!?” Wouldn’t that be GOOD for Real Estate?

Granite Falls just may become part of Greater Seattle after all.

In all seriousness, those of you that are really in this market I’m sure are more focused on the value of your investment than on the interest rate (which is enough in and of itself for a separate article). If you’re concerned about value, that’s a question for Denice; if you’re concerned about that interest rate, it’s time for us to chat. How about over coffee - I’m buying!

_______________________________________________________________

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) 215-1749Email: Jameswirth@landovermortgage.com
Web: http://www.landovermortgage.com/jameswirth/

On March 29th Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels announced a program called “Clean Up Your Act” which will significantly increase fines for landlords and property owners who refuse to repair dilapidated homes, who turn their backyards into junkyards, or let bushes and weeds grow out of control.

The changes to the city’s land use, housing, and weed codes will increase fines, add citations for overgrown yards, and make it easier to charge criminal penalties for the most flagrant cases.

Mayor Nickels believes most people in Seattle take pride in their community and do a good job of keeping their property and homes in shape, but one bad landowner can create health and safety issues that impact an entire neighborhood. His message to property owners who blemish neighborhoods and put others at risk is that they need to clean up their act.

Three bills submitted to the City Council revise the enforcement sections of the Seattle Land Use Code, the Housing Building and Maintenance Code (HBMC), and the Weeds and Vegetation Ordinance.

Among the proposed changes:

• Daily fines for violations of the Housing Building Maintenance Code increase from $15 per day to $150 per day for the first 10 days of noncompliance, and then up to $500 per day.
• Daily fines for violations of the Land Use Code increase from $75 per day to $150 per day for the first 10 days of noncompliance, and then up to $500 per day. 
• Violations for vegetation encroaching on streets, sidewalks and alleys will be addressed through a quicker, more direct citation system, with the citation for a first offense set at $150 and a second at $500.

The city has the option of seeking criminal instead of civil penalties. Currently, criminal penalties for violations other than hazardous conditions can only be sought if the person has received a judgment from court in the past five years.

The changes are directed at repeat offenders who negatively impact their neighborhoods and their tenants with substandard housing; zoning violations, such as auto repair, dead cars, and outdoor junk storage in single family neighborhoods; and chronic vegetation violations that create hazards for pedestrians and drivers, such as blocking views at intersections.

The codes are enforced by the Department of Planning and Development which handles approximately 2,500 complaints a year. The city collected more than $137,000 in fines in 2006. The proposed changes will help the Department more efficiently address the demand from the community for holding negligent landowners accountable.

The Seattle City Council approved the changes and they went into effect in late June or early July!

If you’d like more information about the Clean Up Your Act program you can contact

Alan Justad
Community Relations Director
(206) 233-3891
(206) 295-1123 (cell)
alan.justad@seattle.gov

A wealth of information about our beautiful City of Seattle is at your fingertips when you visit http://www.seattle.gov/

I just returned from Orcas Island, the largest of the San Juan Islands which was once part of Vancouver Island.  There is much history in this quiet island which has changed dramatically since the 70s. What draws people here (Gary Larson, Warren Miller, Hobie Alter, Bill Anders) who can afford to live almost anyplace in the world? The San Juan Islands remain spectacular!

As of this writing, there are 111 Residential Active, Contingent or Active-STI (Subject To Inspection) properties on Orcas Island. Of these 111 properties for sale, 40 are over $1,000,000. Yes, that is 1 million dollars. The average list price of the 111 is $1,367,651. Average square footage is 2228. Average days on market is 220. The averages on Orcas Island are skewed by the higher priced properties but the biggest skewer of them all is an absolutely spectacular 161 acre waterfront estate on Deer Harbor road offered at $20 Million.  There is 3200 of glorious waterfront footage, 6 separate tax parcels with six impeccably maintained houses, 3 cabins, a cookhouse, shops, garages, barns, boathouses, carports, stable, tool shed, and sawmill. Goodness, that’s some estate! For more details about NWMLS #26142684 call me, (206) 769-1214.

There are currently 6 Pending residential properties. Average listing price is $1,095,333. Average square footage is 1865. Average days on market is 162.

Since March 2007, 45 properties have sold through the MLS on Orcas Island. Average list price was $835,852. Average square footage was 2248. Average days on market was 191. Average sale price was $795,769.

There is far less condominium activity on Orcas Island. The 2 current Actives at $145,000 and $215,000. The 4 Solds averaged $175,625 with 816 square feet, 165 days on market, and selling price of $163,250.

Predatory Lending Practices

There are a number of different forms that predatory lending takes. In each instance, however, a financial institution takes unfair advantage of a consumer’s financial needs by charging usurious interest rates and other unconscionable fees and charges:

Predatory mortgage lending involves a wide array of abusive practices. Here are brief descriptions of some of the most common.

Excessive fees: Points and fees are costs not directly reflected in interest rates. Costs can be financed so they’re easy to disguise or downplay.

Abusive prepayment penalties: Borrowers with higher-interest subprime loans have a strong incentive to refinance as soon as their credit improves. However, up to 80% of all subprime mortgages carry a prepayment penalty — a fee for paying off a loan early.

Kickbacks to brokers (yield spread premiums): When brokers deliver a loan with an inflated interest rate (higher than the rate acceptable to the lender), the lender often pays a “yield spread premium” which is a kickback for making the loan more costly to the borrower.

Loan flipping: A lender “flips” a borrower by refinancing a loan to generate fee income without providing any net tangible benefit to the borrower. Flipping can quickly drain borrower equity and increase monthly payments — sometimes on homes that had previously been owned free of debt.

Unnecessary products: Sometimes borrowers may pay more than necessary because lenders sell and finance unnecessary insurance or other products along with the loan.

Mandatory arbitration: Some loan contracts require “mandatory arbitration” meaning that the borrowers are not allowed to seek legal remedies in a court if they find that their home is threatened by loans with illegal or abusive terms. Mandatory arbitration makes it much less likely that borrowers will receive fair and appropriate remedies in cases of wrongdoing.

Steering & Targeting: Predatory lenders may steer borrowers into subprime mortgages even when the borrowers could qualify for a mainstream loan. Vulnerable borrowers may be subjected to aggressive sales tactics and sometimes outright fraud. Fannie Mae has estimated that up to half of borrowers with subprime mortgages could have qualified for loans with better terms. According to a government study, over half (51%) of refinance mortgages in predominantly African-American neighborhoods are subprime loans, compared to only 9% of refinances in predominantly white neighborhoods.

Short Term Predatory Lending

Payday Lending (sometimes called cash advance): is the practice of using a post-dated check or electronic checking account information as collateral for a short-term loan. To qualify, borrowers need only personal identification, a checking account, and an income from a job or government benefits, like Social Security or disability payments.

Overdraft Loans (also called “bounce protection” plans): are offered by banks to low-income consumers. In exchange for covering account overdrafts up to a set dollar limit, banks charge bounced check fees, ranging from about $20 to $35 for each transaction. Some banks also charge a per day fee of $2 to $5 until the consumer’s account has a positive balance. In addition to writing checks, customers can borrow against their bounce protection limit using their debit cards and by making ATM withdrawals.

Car Title Loans: Like payday loans, car title loans are marketed as small emergency loans, but in reality these loans trap borrowers in a cycle of debt. A typical car title loan has a triple-digit annual interest rate, requires repayment within one month, and is made for much less than the value of the car. Car title loans put at high risk an asset that is essential to the well-being of working families — their vehicle.

Tax Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs): are short-term cash advances against a customer’s anticipated income tax refund. But the loans are offered at high interest rates, ranging from about 40% to over 700% APR. Also, they speed up the refund process by as little as one week, compared to what consumers can expect by filing online and having their refunds deposited directly into their banking accounts.
Visit the National Association of Consumer Advocates website and educate yourself about your rights.

Ron J Howard
Homestone Mortgage
Senior Mortgage Banker/Broker
www.ronhowardseattle.com

CELL/DIRECT 206.852.7023
FAX 866.771.0128

EASTLAKE OFFICE
2345 Eastlake Ave E Suite 202 Seattle WA 98102

Each month I feature a different non-profit participating in my Community Partnership Program. When a client hires me to help them sell or buy a property, I donate an amount equal to 10% of my commission to the non-profit of their choice in their name. I’ve established strong relationships with many different non-profits and continue to work diligently spreading the word about this wonderful opportunity. Supporting non-profits in this way is core to my business.

Seattle Artists | Total Experience Gospel Choir is this month’s featured non-profit.

Pastor Patrinell Staten Wright started the group as a gospel music class at Seattle’s Franklin High School in 1973. Louis Magor has been accompanist to the choir for about two years. Lou has a lengthy music history and currently serves as Minister of Music at his home church, Wallingford United Methodist. Pat Wright is also a member of the quartet Pat Wright and the Goodfoot Band. They’ve been performing together for about 12 years and perform publicly about four times a year.

The choir performs locally and internationally and also competes in choir competitions. Pastor Wright considers herself choir musician. Choir musician is a humble description to say the least. Pat works tirelessly and generously through her ministry to improve the general circumstances of people in need.

Pat is heavily involved in Gulf Coast areas where Hurricane Katrina caused great devastation. Numerous and ongoing fundraising efforts of Pat, members of the choir, and many, many volunteers continue to bring a steady flow of large tubs filled with clothes, shoes, household items, toiletries, and baby items to needy persons in Louisiana and Mississippi.

Pastor Wright and choir members will be traveling to Nebraska, Louisiana, and Mississippi August 24 to 31 delivering donations and working to support other volunteers helping with the rebuild efforts. On August 28, Pastor Wright and the choir will also be preparing two weeks worth of meals for volunteers working to rebuild the area. On August 29th they will be performing for the Hurricane Katrina two-year commemoration in Waveland, Mississippi, where they will be singing sunrise to sunset!

Pat’s vision is to get people out of cramped, undignified, toxic FEMA trailers — a short-term solution turned long-term housing problem.

Pastor Wright supports the work of Katrina Aid Today, City Team Ministries, and C.C. Here Hope. Pat tells me that Angie, Louisiana, a poor town about 80 miles north of New Orleans, was hit hard by Hurricane Katrina and its residents are in need of basic supplies and various assistance. Pastor Wright has a contact there, Rev. Alex Liddell, c/o Angie Junior High School, 64433 Dixon Street, Angie, LA 70426 Telephone (630) 207-0412.

HELP PASTOR WRIGHT COLLECT DONATIONS

Donated items must be in new or like-new condition. In the spirit of giving renewed hope and the highest humanity to individuals and families in dire circumstances, Pastor Wright won’t give anything to anybody that she wouldn’t want for herself. So don’t give her your junk. Do give her quality items that you’d like to share with others who are working through extremely difficult circumstances to rebuild their lives and independence. Items needed are:

• clothes
• shoes
• household items
• toiletries for men boys women and girls
• baby items
• laundry products
• everything normally used in a home
• kitchen ware (pots pans dishes silverware)
• beds
• cribs
• bedding
• dressers
• dining tables
• sofas
• chairs
• lamps and lighting
• refrigerators
• stoves
• microwaves
• building materials and supplies including tools (small and large), lumber, paint, etc.

A very generous independent semi-truck driver has offered to haul (for free!) all the donations that Pat and the choir collect to people in need in Louisiana and Mississippi on October 15th. Pat is looking for temporary large, clean, dry storage space to house these donations until the truck driver picks them up. If you have storage or know someone who does please contact Pastor Wright directly.

Pastor Wright and the Total Experience Gospel Choir are focusing their ministry efforts on helping displaced residents of Mississippi. If you would like to help or join their efforts in any way, call Pastor Wright directly.

The Total Experience Gospel Choir will soon be competing in Korea. Check out the TEGC website in September for details.

You can hire the Total Experience Gospel Choir or Pat Wright and the Goodfoot Band to perform at your event. Pat and the choir performed at my wedding on April 29 and they absolutely contributed to making our day “lifetime” memorable.

To donate, volunteer, or get involved with the choir contact:

Pastor Pat Wright
Seattle Artists
P.O. Box 22776
Seattle WA 98122
Phone: 206-322-7904
Fax: 206-324-3933
Email: altonharu@comcast.net
Website: http://www.totalexperiencegospelchoir.org

FEMA attorneys, fearing lawsuits, quashed early attempts to test trailers for dangerous levels of formaldehyde. Now the agency faces class action suits and Congressional ire.

When Hurricane Rita turned most of their house into a pile of debris, 63-year-old Nancy Sonnier and her 64-year-old husband, Mitchell, salvaged three walls of a back bedroom and slept in their makeshift shelter for almost two months. They were relieved when FEMA delivered them a trailer right before Thanksgiving 2005, as the retired couple were determined to remain on their Vinton property and rebuild their home themselves.

They noticed a horrible smell when they first entered the trailer, so they opened the windows and doors for ventilation. The winter season was mild, and the Sonniers kept the trailer open most of the time. But when cold spells came and they had to close up the trailer and turn on the heat, the smell inside the trailer intensified. The couple’s sinuses became irritated and they coughed more than usual, but Nancy paid it little mind.

“I chalked it all up to stress,” she says.

When they needed a new mattress and FEMA sent representatives out with a replacement trailer mattress, the Sonniers mentioned the smell. “One of them laughed out loud and said, ‘We hear that from all kinds of people. Just open your doors and windows,’” she remembers.

To read the full article by Amanda Spake, go to The Independent Weekly.

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) reports that Washington state has the 18th highest foreclosure rate in the country.

Foreclosures on subprime mortgages are at an all-time high. A situation fueled by adjustable rate mortgages sold in recent years. Rates are now adjusting, or recasting, and loan payments are increasing 10% to 50% in some instances. People can’t keep up and loans are being defaulted.

In King County, the two neighborhoods with the largest number of people losing their homes (in April 2007) were Rainier Valley and Kent — both areas with high concentrations of minority, foreign born, and single homeowners. Predatory lenders troll neighborhoods like these.

In Washington in 2006, there were 18527 foreclosure filings. This was an increase of 25% from the number of foreclosures filed in 2005. The 18527 foreclosure filings represents one foreclosure filing for every 129 households in the state.

Last year there were 1.2 million foreclosures filed nationwide (over 2 foreclosures a minute.) In 2005 there were about 900,000 foreclosures filed.

The foreclosure problem is expected to get worse this year with about 1.5 million foreclosure filings nationwide. 1 in 5 subprime loans could end in default.

Foreclosure rates for cities across the nation can be seen here. Scroll down to ACORN releases study on foreclosure epidemic.

Visit ACORN here to learn:

• What should people do if they face foreclosure?
• Why are there so many home foreclosures?
• How do people get stuck with bad loans?
• How did subprime lending expand so rapidly?
• Why is the crisis coming to a head now?

Call 1-866-67-ACORN if you know someone who is in danger of losing their home.

I was warned about this two years ago, sitting in an uncomfortable chair in a chilly meeting room in Kent. I needed continuing education hours to renew my real estate license so I took a $10 class by a highly-recommended Stewart Title officer. During the class our instructor described a road map of what we’d be coming up on two to five years down the road. Two years later, right on schedule, his prophesy has manifested into reality. He told us, “Position yourself NOW to be working with a flood of short sales and foreclosures in the next two to five years.” WOW!

Homeowners are losing their homes to foreclosure in record numbers due in large part to the creative mortgage products, subprime loans, and predatory lending.

Predatory lending practices often exploit lower-income and minority borrowers living in neighborhoods where traditional banking services continue to be in short supply. These people tend to turn to subprime lenders regardless of whether they would qualify for less expensive loans.

Subprime loans are three times more likely in low-income neighborhoods than in high-income neighborhoods. In predominately black neighborhoods subprime lending accounted for 51% of refinanced loans in 1998 compared with only 9% in predominately white neighborhoods. Significantly, these disparities still existed when borrowers in black and white neighborhoods were compared while controlling for the income levels of the neighborhood.

In particular, elderly homeowners are frequent targets of subprime home equity lenders because they often have substantial equity in their homes yet have declining or fixed incomes. While subprime lenders may expand access to credit for individuals who otherwise would be shut out of the market, unethical lenders take advantage of consumers in the weakest bargaining position.

Predatory lending in the subprime mortgage market covers a wide range of practices. While the practices are varied there are common traits to look for. They generally aim either to extract excessive fees and costs from the borrower or to obtain outright the equity in a borrower’s home. This is often accomplished through a combination of aggressive marketing, high-pressure sales tactics, and loan terms such as prepayment penalties that inhibit a borrower’s ability to go elsewhere for credit.

Borrowers with higher-interest subprime loans have a strong incentive to refinance as soon as their credit improves. However, up to 80% of all subprime mortgages carry a prepayment penalty.

Typically, an abusive prepayment penalty is effective more than three years and/or costs more than six months’ interest. In the prime market, only about 2% of home loans carry prepayment penalties of any length.

A predatory loan is a dishonest loan. Predatory loans harm borrowers by making it difficult or impossible to keep up with payments. Borrowers may pay unnecessary fees and excessive interest charges and if they miss their payment they risk losing their home.

Predatory lenders prey on people who are unfamiliar with the banking system. They target seniors, minorities, and anyone whose credit makes it hard to get a regular bank loan.

Loans from predatory lenders take advantage of borrowers with a variety of abusive practices:

• They target people of color
• They target elderly and disabled people for high-cost loans
• They charge excessive interest rates and higher fees
• They keep secret the true costs and terms of the loan
• They approve a loan without considering a person’s ability to repay
• They convince borrowers to refinance frequently (or flip) the loan
• They and carry terms that make it difficult for the borrower to refinance later

Danger signs of a predatory loan:

• Total bank fees greater than 2%
• Balloon payments
• Prepayment penalties
• The loan is based on home equity rather than the borrower’s income
• Credit life insurance added to the loan

Beware — points and fees are costs not directly reflected in interest rates. Because these costs can be financed, they’re easy o disguise or downplay. On competitive loans, fees below 1% of the loan are typical. On predatory loans, fees totaling more than 5% of the loan amount are common.

Predatory mortgage lending drains wealth from families, destroys the benefits of homeownership, and often leads to foreclosure. The Center For Responsible Lending (a resource for predatory lending opponents) estimates that predatory mortgage lending costs Americans more than $9.1 billion each year.