Igor Stravinsky, one of my all time favorite composers, kind a sort of said once… (and I very loosely paraphrase and expound upon)… As an artist, we give birth to an idea. We may agonize over it or it may be effortless and spontaneous. Regardless the idea is not the composition, our symphony, our ballet; it’s just the kernel, the spark that sets things in motion. The idea may be a great one or sometimes just so so, but that makes no difference. The idea is meaningless unless it is framed within a context. The real work begins after the great idea, when we construct the rule book, the box where the idea lives. You can’t explore an idea without rules and the idea cannot reveal its secrets without them. The idea is just the idea, it’s not the music. Once the box is created the idea is set ... 05/30/2009

On A Monthly Basis, Home Values Look Better Than Press-Reported Annual Figures Each month, researchers measure home values in 20 large U.S. cities, then compile their findings in a report called the Case-Shiller Index. It's a popular measurement of housing health across the country, but it's far from perfect. As 3 examples: It gives more weight to expensive homes than inexpensive ones Its sample set includes just 37 states of 50 states Real estate isn't a "national" market -- it's local (We preach this over and over, that is why you must contact a Renton Realtor for neighborhood info) All that said, however, the data is still important. The Case-Shiller Index helps identify broader trends in housing and it's widely believed that the economy won't recover until the sector starts to stabi... 05/27/2009

New and old are indispensable partners. They may not like each other, but they don’t do well without each other either… Perhaps it’s time for a refresh. A good way to touch those that are interested in buying a home for the first time is via a well designed postcard. Postcard marketing is not dead, yet its value and significance has changed dramatically. Myself, I think it got a promotion! Now it can be (once again) rather unique and something special. A well crafted mailing can be very effective (although costly, admitted), especially if it's coordinated with a good online marketing strategy. I love the tactile… I think all of us take and/or bring meaning to something we can touch. If a smart realtor sends me a mail piece and their message is simple, true, and informative, I have a pos... 05/24/2009

In Flanders Fields John McCrae, 1915. In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on rowThat mark our place; and in the skyThe larks, still bravely singing, flyScarce heard amid the guns below.We are the Dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields.Take up our quarrel with the foe:To you from failing hands we throwThe torch; be yours to hold it high.If ye break faith with us who dieWe shall not sleep, though poppies growIn Flanders fields.    Have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend... 05/23/2009

NO YOU CAN NOT USE THE $8000 FIRST TIME BUYER TAX CREDIT FOR YOUR DOWNPAYMENT!   Well apparently the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing, read on... (sheesh the government did it again) ..... On Tuesday May 12, 2009, I posted about the HUD Secretary making the announcement that the $8000 first time home buyer tax credit could be used as a down payment. For a little historical perspective, I spent years working in the State Government and know how politics works and usually I don't spout off about a new program until it is for sure in place. HOWEVER, I made an error. Shame on me, I figured if the HUD Secretary made an announcement he would have already checked with his Boss President Obama. I mean they sit in the same cabinet room, and the HUD Secretary along with the Tre... 05/18/2009

There have been a handful of Renton waterfront home sales so far in 2009, with two on Lake Washington waterfront.  Renton's Kennydale neighborhood is on the Southeast corner of Lake Washington, and it houses some single family homes and condo buildings on the lake.The two Kennydale/Renton sales on Lake Washington so far have been a $1.1 million dollar, large 1960s era home and a $2.9 million dollar new construction home at the new Barbee Mill development of multi-unit properties.Renton Waterfront Homes Sam DeBord and Brian WiegandSeattleHome.com (206) 431-5900Seattle Waterfront Real Estate Brokers - RE/MAX ConnectedSeattle Waterfront Homes - Seattle Water View Homes - Seattle Floating Homes - Seattle Houseboats - Seattle Condos - Seattle Luxury Homes - Seattle Homes For Sale 05/17/2009

Good morning all: Tomorrow, I'm pleased to announce our next class, "Short Sales and Foreclosures-Demystify the Process", will be taught from 10 a.m.-12 noon at Renton Technical College. Rebecca Haas and her team from Re/Max Metro. Realty will be covering a very hot topic these days. Cost is $10. We hope you can join us. Rebecca Haas is a Certified Distressed Property Expert and has extensive knowledge of the short sale and foreclosure market. If you don't already have plans, stop in and catch up on the latest news. I hope to see you there! Have a great day! 05/15/2009

Short and sweet try this one on for size. Twitter and Google on the same page. Twoozle. www.browsys.com/twoogle My home website is www.RentonHomeFinder.com My twitter handle (is that old cb radio talk??) @RentonHomeFinde My facebook page is Gary McNinch on Facebook I do all this to connect with people I enjoy, those I haven't seen in years and those I hope to meet. Any my business is to help these people buy and sell homes in Seattle and Renton. Great business to own, great way to help invest in their future, and lots of fun too. Gary McNinch Team Realtor Renton WA Real Estate Keller Williams Realty Renton WA. Call us 206-696-2329 email easy Gary@GaryMcNinch.com tweet us, text us, or send us a snail mail. We like our clients. 05/14/2009

Well here I am going along telling the story about our great office and how we helped a family here.  And I look up and 100 Posts and 40,000 Points on AR.  Good stuff in 3's. Here is the great RED DAY Post about the giving hearts and muscles of the Renton Keller Williams Realtors. Life is a gift, unwrap every day. 05/14/2009

Today, about 25 of us from the Keller Williams office here in Renton came together to celebrate the First Annual Keller Williams RED Day. Standing for Renew Energize Donate it is the international day of service by the entire Keller Williams Realty Company, which has over 70,000 Realtors in the US and Canade. The Keller Williams motto of God, Family then Business was seen in the service that we completed today. We chose to help the Steve and Karen Morris family in the Renton Highlands. Steve retired from the military and became a KW Renton agent several years. He was stricken with a MS like disease, which has caused him to have problems with his balance and lack of strength and energy. Steve was unable to continue his real estate business has been unable to work for the past couple of ... 05/14/2009

Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, said that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a downpayment. Donovan’s remarks came in an address to several thousand Realtors® gathered this morning at The Real Estate Summit: Advancing the U.S. Economy, a special daylong session at the Realtors® Midyear Legislative Meetings & Trade Expo here.Secretary Donovan said that important changes, which the National Association of Realtors® has been calling for, will help consumers purchase a home. “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the home buyer tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment,” Donovan said. According ... 05/12/2009

I bought my first home in 1992.  When I bought my home I was warned of two things, #1) don't buy it unless you are going to live it in for five years and #2) be prepared for the mortgage company to look at every hair on your body with a microscope. Now I can't believe how long ago that has been and today I find myself reminding myself of that experience when working with both buyers and sellers.  Buyers get it #1; real estate is a long term investment.  The difficulty I find is that so many of my clients are making very subliminal decisions based on unconscious assumptions that the mortgage or refinance process is going to be easy based on recent experience.  At GMAC, I learned the three golden things that are looked at when a loan officer considers a loan approval.  #1) the borrowers d... 05/11/2009

Pending Home Sales Rise In March -- Another Sign That Housing Is Recovering For the second consecutive month, the number of homes under contract to sell increased -- further evidence that housing markets may have already bottomed. As reported by NAR, the Pending Home Sales Index rose by 3-plus percent last month. A "pending" home is one that's under contract but has yet to close. This is one reason why the Pending Home Sales Index is an imperfect statistic. Just because a home is under contract doesn't mean it will actually sell. A lot can go wrong between the date of agreement and the date of closing. Transactions fall apart due to inspections, poor agents, financing issues and we make sure that doesn't happen to our clients. But, when the number of pending contracts rises, we can infe... 05/07/2009

KIRKLAND, WA, May 5, 2009 -Northwest Multiple Listing Service members reported pending sales for April surged 11.4 percent compared to twelve months ago - and rose 21.3 percent from March. Brokers reported 6,918 pending sales during April across the 19 counties that make up the Northwest MLS market area. That's up from the year-ago total of 6,208, and the March figure of 5,701 pending sales (offers made and accepted, but not yet closed). For the four-county Puget Sound area (King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish), brokers notched 5,372 pending sales, the highest total since August 2007 and a jump of 26 percent from March.Inventory is shrinking and prices are showing some signs of stabilizing, according to data in the latest report from Northwest MLS. The median price for last month's close... 05/07/2009

How to fix the current economic problem...(seriously) This will work. And it's so darn simple... Dear Mr. President: Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the Patriotic Retirement Plan: There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following stipulations: 1) They MUST retire. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed. 2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed. 3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed. It can't get any easier than that!... 05/06/2009

The Washington State Legislature passed the state budget with a provision authorizing the State Treasurer to invest $25 million in a Tax Credit Advance Loan Program. There are still details to be worked out, but the loan program would allow first-time home buyers to utilize the Federal $8,000 tax credit as down payment when closing the sale of their first home: We are monitoring the progress of this program and will update members as soon as this program is available to WA home buyers. This was an effort spearheaded by the Seattle King County Realtors and will most likely be administered through the Washington State Housing Finance Commission. The Gary McNinch Team will be conducting First Time Home Buyer Seminars to help first time home buyers become eligible for State Bond financing.... 05/06/2009

On Tuesday, April 28, the Conference Board reported that its consumer confidence index rose 12.3 points to 39.2 in April. Economists had expected the index to increase to 29.5. It is the highest level since a November reading of 44.7 and is the largest jump since a gain of 13 points in November 2005. The index was benchmarked at 100 in 1985, a year chosen because it was neither a peak nor a trough in consumer confidence. The Commerce Department announced Wednesday that gross domestic product - the total output of goods and services produced in the U.S. - decreased at an annual rate of 6.1% in the first quarter of 2009. This follows a 6.3% decline in the fourth quarter of 2008. It marked the worst two-quarter performance since 1957-58. One positive aspect to the GDP numbers was a 2.2% in... 05/06/2009

This weekend a good friend of mine asked my opinion on whether or not I thought Lease Options (sometimes referred to as lease-to -own or rent-to-own) were a good idea, and of course the answer is, depends.  The question was dove tailed with another call where I actually recommended a lease option route to a buyer client of mine. The first recommendation when it comes to lease options is to get a professional involved.  I would recommend an experienced agent and a real estate attorney as these agreements can be complicated and possibly a tax professional. The second comment, look at the reason why you are looking at a lease option.  Typically, there is some reason that a buyer needs time before actually taking title to a home.  It could be that the buyer is repairing their credit, waitin... 05/04/2009

Hello all: If you're a real estate investor, I'm hoping you can join myself, Rebecca Haas of Re/Max Metro. Realty, and Michael Linderkeugel (Rebecca's partner) for a 3 hour class next Tuesday evening from 6-9 p.m. The class is at Renton Technical College on May 5. Michael Linderkeugel is a CPA by training and has been teaching this "no fluff" real estate investment class for years. We already have several people interested and would love for you to join us. Whether you're an experienced investor looking for a brush-up or a first-timer wanting to learn more, expect this real estate investment class to be chock-full of ideas. I hope you can join us. To register, contact Renton Technical College directly or email Rebecca Haas at reba@teamreba.com. We hope to see you there! Thanks! 05/03/2009

A Buyer asked the following question on a real estate question board for the general public: appraisal price came back $6K less than agreed to price. seller was paying half our closing costs. i dont think i should pay anything more or pay the closing costs he agreed to pay now. we will pay the appraisal price and still expect the sellar to pay his agreed to closing cost contribution. can we ask the sellars agent or the bank to pick this portion of the closing costs if he flat out refuses. any advice ? This is likely to happen more often as the market values trend down and pricing is behind market values. I had a couple of questions before giving an answer?1) Why don't you ask your agent? Did you make the mistake of trying to buy a house unrepresented?2) How come the offer is more than a... 05/01/2009