The Cascade Team Real Estate is pleased to announce the launch of our NEW strategic partnership with Bank of America Home Loans.  As a valued client of The Cascade Team Real Estate, you'll recieve no loan origination fee (usually up to 1% of the loan value) and $1000 off your closing costs with Bank of America Home Loans.  In addition, to our 1/2% buyer rebate program, this can substantially reduce your out of pocket expenses in closing your new home purchase.  In addition, there is an additional $1000 credit if you are purchasing an energy rated home (ask your loan officer for more details). With no origination fees, Bank of America and The Cascade Team Real Estate can save you thousands of dollars on your next home purchase.  Be sure to submit your

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    More signs that NOW is the time to buy! By JANNA HERRON, AP Real Estate Writer Janna Herron, Ap Real Estate Writer – 19 mins ago

NEW YORK – The average rate on the 30-year mortgage topped 5 percent this week for the first time since April. Higher rates could further hamper the struggling housing market ahead of the spring's prime home-buying season

Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate rose to 5.05 percent from 4.81 percent last week. It hit a 40-year low of 4.17 percent in November. The average rate on the 15-year home loan, a popular refinance option, increased to 4.29 percent from 4.08 percent. It reached 3.57 percent in November, the lowest level on records starting in 1991.

Rates are following the yields on the

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Now is a good time to buy real estate, according to data from Moody’s Analytics. Home affordability has returned to pre-housing bubble levels or even fallen below the average in many U.S. markets.

In fact, housing affordability by the end of September had returned to or fallen below the average reached between 1989-2003 in 47 of the 74 housing markets that Moody Analytics tracked.

In September 2010, the ratio of home prices to annual household income had fallen to 1.6--below the historical average of 1.9 between 1989 and 2003. The ratio peaked in 2005 at 2.3.

"Based on incomes, this is as affordable as it gets," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "If you can get a loan, these are pretty good times to buy."

Some of the most undervalued…

While renting offers zero tax breaks, buying a home offers several tax benefits that can make homeownership more affordable. Real estate professionals need to be careful in providing detailed tax advice to clients to avoid lawsuits, but you can ensure clients have the information they need to understand the all of the tax benefits of home ownership.

The following is a few of the tax benefits to home ownership, according to Stephen Fishman, an author and lawyer who specializes in small business, tax and intellectual property law.

▪ Home mortgage interest deduction: Home owners can take an itemized deduction on interest paid on a mortgage or mortgages of up to $1 million for a principal residence and/or second home. This deduction could potentially reduce…

When I was in college, I spent my Spring Break working at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show (www.gardenshow.com/)  During the set up for the show, I had a blast driving fork-lifts, Bobcats, and man-lifts. Each day, I watched the designers create amazing indoor gardens with flowers, trees, bushes, grasses, water features, outdoor living areas, cottages, and bridges.  They were beautiful!

Then, the day before the grand opening, when all the gardens were built, I spent the evening 30 feet up in the man-lift helping the lighting designer "set the lights."  He used colored gels, created focal points, and carefully created light and shadow in each garden.  I was stunned by the transformation.  The room went from being pretty to being magical!  At

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How does your home smell?  Inviting?  Repelling?  Nuetral?  This is so much more important than you realize! Scent is powerfully linked to memory and mood.  You want people to be in a good mood when they tour your house, and you want them to remember it!

One weekend, I showed many, many houses, but one in particular stands out for HOW BAD IT SMELLED! It was so bad my clients and I didn't even go through the whole house!  The musty smell wasn't just annoying, it was a sign that the house might have a serious problem.

On the other hand, I previewed a townhouse recently that smelled amazingly good!  It was wonderful!  I didn't want to leave.  I took my time touring it, and I remember it for all the right reasons.

The scent of your home doesn't show

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There ought to be special place in hell for whoever invented popcorn ceilings. They're ugly, they're impossible to clean, they may contain asbestos, and they are a big turn-off to potential home-buyers.  My personal favorite is when it has glitter in it!  If you are trying to sell your home, I recommend getting rid of them.  Popcorn ceilings distract potential buyers from the true value of your home.  So what can you do?

The first thing you should do is test your popcorn for asbestos! Asbestos was added to many popcorn ceilings because of its strength and fire-proofing qualities.  It is very hazardous to your health.  If left undisturbed, they shouldn't cause any problems.  If the fibers are released into the air, they can be inhaled into

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KIRKLAND, Wash. (Feb. 3, 2011) – Dramatic increases in open house activity and shrinking inventory are fueling optimism among members of the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Commenting on the just-released MLS report on January’s housing activity, one director stated, "There is a strong belief in the industry that the worst is behind us and we can look forward with confidence."

Darin Stenvers, managing broker at John L. Scott in Bellingham, who made that comment, also noted consumers are gaining confidence and buyers may be seeing what they believe is the bottoming of the market. "I’m very optimistic about the housing market for 2011 and the buyers and sellers should be as well," he exclaimed.

Year-over-year pending sales were down

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Shane and Anne live in the Trossachs neighborhood, and will be focusing on The Sammamish Plateau and Issaquah.

(206) 915-7653   (sold)

shaneandanne@thecascadeteam.com

 

At the beginning of the housing crisis, sellers turned to gimmicky tricks like YouTube love letters about their homes and burying St. Christopher's figurines upside down in the front yard to try to move their homes off the market. These days, though, many sellers are getting smarter and more strategic, turning the transaction on its head to get buyers off the fence with a phenomenon called the reverse offer.

Usually, the buyer makes an offer for a certain price and on certain terms. A reverse offer goes in the opposite direction: from seller to buyer. In some cases, a seller whose home has been on the market for ages with lots of viewers, but no offers, may enlist their agent to go back and approach several or even all of the buyers who have come to

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