Gabriel Properties

Real estate is a complicated matter, which requires full understanding and constant checking of ups and downs in the market. Sometimes, it also takes comparing prices to make sure that whatever you wish to buy or acquire is reasonably priced. The best comparison can be made with UK house prices as the properties for sale in the said place are truly reasonable and quite affordable. Aside from the essentials when it comes to property buying, this site also offers helpful tips on practically everything about houses—from real estate consultancy down to decorating homes.

Tags: Estate, Real Estate

August 25, 2011 |

While the ratio of foreclosure sales nationwide fell during the second quarter of this year, distressed sales as a whole continue to have a significant influence on the mortgage market.

RealtyTrac reports bank-owned properties made up 31 percent of transactions during the second quarter, up from 24 percent in 2010 but down from 36 percent at the start of the year. At the same time, the firm said lenders appears to be speeding up short sales, which jumped 19 percent on a quarterly basis.

Streamlined short sales also give lenders the opportunity to more preemptively purge non-performing loans from their portfolios and avoid the long, costly and increasingly messy process of foreclosure and the subsequent sale of an REO, said James Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac.

He added that properties which progress to foreclosure status may end up selling for a lower price than a short sale, in addition to adding more strain to mortgage lenders REO departments.

However, the continued influence of distressed property sales continues to skew overall home prices.

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Tags: Foreclosure Sales, Sales

One of the most high-profile new buildings in Seattle is up for sale.

Aspira, completed last year at 1823 Terry Ave., is the tallest rental apartment building in Seattle, at 37 stories, and the only new glass apartment building in the city, according to Jones Lang LaSalle, which is marketing the building.

While theres no list price, word is the building could fetch more than $160 million.

The 324-unit building appeals to young professionals because it is the only Four-Star Built Green certified residential tower in the city, has an edgy look that includes exposed concrete, offers lots of common space , and has a Walk Score of 98 out of 100, sitting amid the tech, biotech, health science and philanthropy cluster in and around South Lake Union, according to Jones Lang LaSalle

Its the new spot to be, said David Young, managing director of Jones Lang LaSalles Seattle office, adding that young professionals want to be urban, they want to be downtown, they want to rent.

The apartments average 882 square feet and have 22 floor plans, ranging from 549-square-foot studios to 1,786-square-foot two-bedroom penthouses.

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Tags: Highrise Sale, Sale

Question: When a developer turns over the homeowners association to the owners, can the new board then enforce rules that were not enforced previously? For example, I erected a shed that has a county permit and was never challenged by the developer controlled board. Now I fear that the new board may try to force removal of the shed.

Answer: It’s common for developers to turn a blind eye to violations and, yes, the new board does have the right to enforce the rules after turnover. You can make the argument based on the time that has elapsed but unless you can show that you had permission in the first place, your construction is not defensible. In fact, you apparently knew it wasn’t permitted when you did it.

If you can convince the current board that the shed is acceptable, more power to you, but allowing your violation would allow a precedent.

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It’s be reported by King 5 that we’ll have temps in the low 70s today in the greater Seattle area. I sometimes relate to being a Meterologist in Seattle when it comes to predicting mortgage rates. I have access to data and various tools and years of experience, yet it can sometimes be challenging to predict mortgage rates. Mortgage rates, just like the weather forecast for Seattle, changes constantly and sometimes forecasts are wrong. In fact, as soon as I publish a rate on this post (or anywhere) it may have changed for better or worse.

One thing we all know is that rates are currently very low and although the current climate appears that rates should stay low for months, we don’t know how long they’ll be at these levels.

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Tags: Mortgage Rates, Rates