Month: December 2017

Is the active street life in places such as Tokyo and Barcelona due, in part, to the fact that many people there live in very small apartments? When your living quarters are about the size of a jail cell (90 to 100 square feet, including the bathroom), then perhaps it’s nicer to be outside …

The good news is that some sellers in the current real estate market are getting multiple offers on their property but buyers are being much more choosy when it comes to deciding on a new home.

This article first appeared on KNKX. Read the complete article here.…

These days home sellers are facing an uphill battle, and qualified buyers are becoming ever pickier. Find out how traffic congestion and pending construction project – even those that benefit the community at large- can impede the sale of a house.

This article first appeared on KNKX. Read the complete article here.…

Back in the early 1960’s, a string of motels along Seattle’s Aurora Avenue North sprang up to accommodate tourists pouring into town to visit the Seattle World’s Fair. Real Estate Appraiser Richard Hagar tells KPLU’s John Maynard that a lot of this property is being redeveloped.

This article first appeared on KNKX. Read …

Great deals on new homes can be found on the plains and near the planes.

That’s the word from Seattle-area real estate appraiser Richard Hagar. New developments on the  flatlands of  Quincy, Wash., and the “loud lands” near Sea-Tac Airport are being built and sold at a pretty fast clip. Hagar tells KPLU’s John …

It’s a drawn out, frustrating process, but if you’re willing to put in the time,  buying a home from a bank can save you a lot of money. Seattle-area real estate appraiser Richard Hagar tells KPLU’s John Maynard that while it is mostly investors who seek out these properties, average home buyers can score …

Some banks will pay you if you keep your foreclosed house in good condition. That includes things like  mowing your lawn and keeping your toilets and countertops spick and span.

Seattle-area Real Estate Appraiser and educator Richard Hagar tells KPLU’s John Maynard that some lenders offer in the neighborhood of $2,000.00 to ex-homeowners  for …

KPLU’s John Maynard bought a condo in 2007 – at the height of the market. He took out an adjustable-rate mortgage that’s “adjusting” in June.

That’s turned out to be good news for Maynard, who’s mortgage payment will go down considerably since interest rates are low right now and expected to be so for …

When most of us talk about condos, we’re usually referring to buildings with apartment units that are individually owned.  But as real estate appraiser Richard Hagar tells KPLU’s John Maynard, a condominium is technically a type of ownership.

So you can also “condominiumize” other types of property. Hagar says it’s a hot trend for …

Is it true that there there’s a bank vault out there full of cold, hard cash that’s now available to people trying to refinance? That’s what KPLU’s John Maynard asked Seattle-area real estate appraiser Richard Hagar when he dropped by KPLU’s studios recently. Without skipping a beat, Hagar responded:

This article first appeared on …

KPLU’s  John Maynard posed this question to Seattle-area real estate appraiser, Richard Hager: “If I sold a $2 million dollar house and paid the real estate agent his standard commission, then he’d get $180,000 out of the deal. Is that a negotiable situation?” Hagar’s answer?

This article first appeared on KNKX. Read the …

Since the 1970s, banks have been required to report any suspicious house purchases to the FBI. Now that mandatory reporting is netting mortgage brokers, too. Seattle area real estate appraiser Richard Hagar says that’s a good thing since about 80 percent of home loans go through mortgage brokers.

This article first appeared on …

Bored with regular, run of the mill houses? Looking for something unusual? How about buying a fire station or a church for a home?

Seattle-area real estate appraiser Richard Hagar says although places like this could be fun to live in, banks are usually skittish about loaning money for anything out of the ordinary.…

There are apartments and condos. Then there are co-ops.  This type of real estate ownership is pretty common in large East Coast cities such as New York, Philadelphia and Boston, but it’s not as common here.

This article first appeared on KNKX. Read the complete article here.…

There are not many places on the West Coast where you can find house boats. That means the supply is limited so they are usually in high demand. And don’t forget the slips for the homes. Those can go for a pretty penny, too. A recent ad in the Seattle property listings featured  …

As more people move into the Seattle area, the demand for housing goes up. And so does the style of housing with high-rise apartments and condos replacing older, stand alone homes. Real estate appraiser and educator Richard Hagar tells KPLU’s John Maynard this trend is expected to continue, thanks to our relatively stable economy …